For some people, the player above may not work. If that happens to you, use the link below to either download, or open a player in a new page to listen. You can also find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/6KKzSHPFT466aXfNT2r9OD
To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Lament Part 6
Grumbling vs Lamenting #6. Psalm 22
Today I want to explore the lament of Jesus from the cross. He is echoing the lament of David in Psalm 22. The Lord Jesus only quoted the first line, but it will be good to read the first two verses:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
(Psalm 22:1-2)
Have you ever stopped to consider that Jesus actually felt forsaken, abandoned and alone in those moments when He was languishing on the cross? Or, is it your opinion that He said these words so we’d connect the dots back to this messianic psalm which predicted the events of the day He was crucified?
To be entirely honest, until recently I (Kevin) never seriously considered that Jesus actually felt forsaken. I suspect that this is because I imagined that as God the Son He couldn’t possibly have felt that way. I don’t think I’m alone in this perception. However I remind myself that Jesus was not only God the Son, He was also an actual human being who felt psychological pain (“…he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”– Isaiah 53:3) and physical pain (he experienced scourging, the crown of thorns and crucifixion, an unthinkably brutal form of torture which inevitably ends in death– Matthew 27:27-35).
Scripture shows us that during the course of His life, first as the son of Mary and Joseph and later as an adult, he sat at the feet of elders and learned (Luke 2:41-51), He experienced physical maturation (Luke 2:52), hunger (Matthew 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), exhaustion (Matthew 8:24) and such things as anger and frustration (Mark 9:19). Also, we know that He experienced the unsettling effects of being tempted “in all ways as we are” and yet He didn’t sin (Hebrews 4:15).
I have come to believe that Jesus truly felt forsaken while He was on the cross. I base this perspective on some things Jesus said and some things that we observe about Him.
In the Garden, on the night of His betrayal, He admitted to His followers, “I’m overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38). Note the word “overwhelmed.” Such a strong word. Dictionary.com defines it as “being completely overcome in mind or feeling.” Overwhelmed? Yes, that’s the word the scholars think best represents the Greek word which is used in this text. Too strong for your taste? Some translations use the words, “crushed,” or “consumed.” Much to think about. Then, there’s “sorrow” so terrible that it was lethal (“unto death”).
Then we have His famous prayer that ends with “Not My will, but Yours be done.” We love to give that our attention but it would be good for us to spend some time thinking about, maybe even camping on: “Father, if possible, let this cup pass Me by,” before saying, “Yet not My will…”
Jesus had a will that was independent of His Father’s. He clearly reveals, doesn’t He, that He wanted the cup of suffering to “pass Him by?”
Then if we go back in the narrative about Jesus’ suffering, in the days leading up to His time in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see that He acknowledges to His followers, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished” (Luke 12:50). Have you ever thought of Jesus being distressed? He was and He didn’t hide it from His disciples.
Then we see that His disciples observed, “And being in agony…his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
Based on these things, can you consider that your Savior actually felt forsaken? Might this help you when you feel abandoned and alone in your suffering?
(Tom now) And the Bible seems to tell us that we do not have to suffer complete abandonment by God, like Jesus did. In fact, Scripture teaches that through faith, we live in spiritual union with Christ. In fact the way the apostle Paul puts it is this:
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
The idea is that Jesus himself lives his life through ours. That means that when we suffer, Jesus himself suffers along with us. In other words we ourselves are never abandoned or forsaken in the way that Jesus was. He is with us even in suffering; perhaps, especially in suffering. So in the first place, as Kevin says, we can know that Jesus understands what we are going through. But even more, we can lean on him, trusting he is there even when we don’t perceive him, knowing that he is feeling the abandonment and hopelessness along with us.
I want to close with some words from the Gospel transformation study Bible. It comes from the note found at Luke 22:42:
Jesus has previously given his disciples (including us) instructions on praying (11:1–13; 18:1–8). Here he models one of the most important and universal truths about what our prayer life should be like. Jesus expresses his desires and even laments before the Father with full honesty and humility (22:44). He desires to be delivered from the pain and suffering he is facing (v. 42). Yet there is something in his prayer that is even more important than his requests. It is his acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty and goodness in all situations and his glad submission to whatever God’s greater plan might be: “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (v. 42). This is the banner that should fly over all of our prayer requests. It is the heart of childlike faith that honors God and blesses us. We can pray bold prayers, knowing that God is our Father, through our adoption based on the work of Christ. Yet we can also rest in confidence that since he is our Father, even his denials of our requests can only be what is best for us—as can be his granting us “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).
Once again, during this series I encourage you to listen to the sermon, rather than simply reading the text. My right arm is in a sling, and I cannot type effectively. I am using voice dictation software to type these words, as well as any other content that I add to pastor Kevin’s message. Sometimes the results are not entirely accurate.
To listen to the sermon, click the play button:
For some people, the player above may not work. If that happens to you, use the link below to either download, or open a player in a new page to listen. You can also find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/6KKzSHPFT466aXfNT2r9OD
To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Lament Part 5
“Where are You, Lord?” The psalmist in Psalm 10, seems to be asking this question. Have you asked this question or even thought it? You’d be very unusual if you haven’t. Though early in the Christian life we learn that God is omnipresent, or “everywhere present,” it often feels like He is not present to us in our current circumstance, especially if those circumstances are particularly difficult.
Technically speaking God is simultaneously present everywhere. How? He doesn’t explain that to us. It’s part and parcel of His “Godhood.” It’s one of His attributes, spoken about in Psalm 139. Note the following verses from this psalm.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
God is everywhere. Jonah experienced God even in the depths of the sea. While God is actually present everywhere, He is usually only manifestly present, or present in a way that we can experience Him, at certain times and locations. Almost unpredictably. People who have journeyed with God and are known to know Him well will tell you that you cannot manipulate or manufacture His presence. Either God will or won’t be present in a way that is obvious. And, when that happens, you know it. There’s nothing quite like His presence. David testified that in God’s presence, “there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). When I have experienced the manifest presence of God on an individual level (as opposed to a congregational setting), and I can count on one hand the times that has happened in my 53 year relationship with Him, His presence satisfies every longing and infuses me with peace. It convinces me that there is no pleasure, no achievement and no material thing that can come remotely close to giving me what I have in Him. Asaph was a psalmist and he knew from his encounter with God’s manifest presence that there was nothing on the entire earth that could compete with it (Psalm 73:25,28– read this in a variety of translations).
Even though you can’t have this variety of God’s presence on demand– in fact, demanding it is a sure way to guarantee you won’t get it— God doesn’t respond to our impertinence– it is still good to ask the question, “Lord, where are you?” It’s a way of saying, “Lord, I need your comfort. I need your embrace. I am aching for a hug from you. I need to know that You are near. Please, please don’t delay.”
(Tom here now, almost until the end). The Lord does come to us through our feelings and our thoughts. He sometimes comes in a way that is hard to describe. We might call his speaking to us as a “spiritual” experience. But sometimes all that can be a little bit vague. We can find ourselves chasing a certain set of feelings, or experiences, but not actually getting them. However, as Kevin said, God does not show up for us in an experiential way simply because we demand it. Perhaps we aren’t even being demanding, but we desperately want some kind of experience with God, and it doesn’t happen. As Kevin has been pointing out this can be extremely difficult.
Thankfully, we do not have to rely on only our feelings or experiences. The Lord has given us three objective ways of experiencing his presence. These three ways do not require any particular feeling on our part. The first way is through reading the Bible. I’ve preached extensively on the remarkable text that we call the Bible. I’ve even written a book about it (Who Cares About the Bible?). We can have confidence that when we read the Bible (which we also refer to as “God’s Word”) we are, in fact, hearing from God. When we read the Bible, we are not making something up in our own heads. The text is there for any human being to see. Thousands of generations before us have read these same words. But when we feel abandoned by God, it is especially important that we continue to read the Bible.
When I teach and preach on a passage of Scripture, one of my goals is to help us understand the original, objective meaning, that the Holy Spirit intended through the human authors of the text. Preachers should do that. But there is another, more personal way, of reading the Bible. And that is to pray before you read, asking God to speak to you through his word. And then read the text as if God is speaking it directly to you. It may have been something that God originally wanted Isaiah to say to the people of Israel twenty-seven hundred years ago. But Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word of God is living and active. That means that we can receive what God is saying to us through the Scripture as intended directly for us. We shouldn’t build doctrines on reading the Bible this way, but it can be tremendously helpful in our sense of God’s presence and love in our lives.
I want to give you a quick example of what I’m talking about. When I was in college I went through a time of dark depression. During this time I went on a spiritual retreat. The leaders gave us a list of Bible verses to read. They told us to listen for the voice of God speaking through those verses. I went off by myself. I prayed before reading the first assigned passage. I asked the Lord to speak to me through the Bible. And then I read this verse:
1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1-2
This is a prophecy given by the prophet Isaiah. It speaks to the people of Judah after the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and laid waste to the entire kingdom of Judah. The people of Judah were now in exile, far from their homes. So originally, this text was announcing to God’s people that their exile in the land of Babylon would soon be over. It was a reassurance to them that God was not angry with them, and he was going to bring them back into their homeland. If I was preaching on this text I would make sure that my listeners all understood this.
However on that day, when I was under the dark cloud of depression, the Lord spoke to me through this Scripture in a unique way. I felt that he was proclaiming comfort directly to me in my depression. He was saying to me that the time of depression was now at an end, that my “sad days,” were over. That was what it meant to me to me as I read it. Thankfully, I believed the message that the Lord was given me through that Scripture. And then, it was so. My depression was over. Now, I would never preach on that text, and say that the meaning of that text was that everyone who is listening to me who was also depressed would now no longer be depressed. But this of how God speaks to us through his word. This didn’t take place in my head. It came from words that I did not make up.
A second place where God meets us, regardless of how we may feel, is in the sacrament of communion. We are taking real, actual bread into our bodies; real, actual wine (or, grape juice). Communion is not some kind of vague emotional experience. It is real bread, and real wine, in which Jesus has promised to be present. So, if you are wondering where you can find God, communion is one place he promises to meet us. It is not necessary for you to feel anything as you digest the bread and wine.
The third objective place where God meets us is through the fellowship of other Christians. Everyone who trusts Jesus has the Holy Spirit within them. Therefore, in a very real sense, when you are with other Christians, you are in the presence of God in a way that is outside of your self. The Bible seems to tell us that there is a special thing that happens when we gather together with other Christians specifically to worship the Lord. You may or may not feel anything as you worship the Lord with other Christians. Even so, he is there with you and the others, whether or not you feel it. You can look at the other people who are with you, and see that this is not something you are making up. God’s presence is also outside of ourselves.
The words of the Bible are not dependent on how you feel. The reality of the presence of the Lord through communion is not some vague experience. This is also true of the reality of God’s presence when his people meet together for worship.
No doubt there are times when we would really, really like to have some kind of an emotional experience of the presence of God. But by giving us the Bible, communion, and the fellowship of other believers, he has made it so that we can reliably be in his presence, no matter how we feel.
(We’ll close with a final paragraph from Kevin)
God sometimes uses silence and what appears to be aloofness to draw us to a deep longing for Him. When you are suffering, when you are confused, when you are desperate for His touch, ask “Where, Lord, can I find you?” And, be sure to include your faith community in your search for God’s incomparable touch. In time, He will provide a way to comfort you. He is faithful and He will not allow your despair to become permanent, if you turn to Him. Turn, turn to Him. Again. And again. Ask Him for the stamina you’ll need. He wants to do a deep work in you. Let Him.
For some people, the player above may not work. If that happens to you, use the link below to either download, or open a player in a new page to listen. You can also find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/6KKzSHPFT466aXfNT2r9OD
To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Lament Part 4
Grumbling vs Lamenting #4. Psalm 13
For the choir director: A psalm of David. 1 O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? 2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? 3 Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. 4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. 6 I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me. Psalms 13
There is more to the spoken sermon than there is to the text here. My right arm is in a sling and will be for several more weeks, so I type these words through voice dictation. But when I record the sermon, I add in things that will not show up in this written version. That’s why I encourage you to listen to the audio versions of these particular sermons.
When you are facing a trial have you asked this? This psalmist, David, continues his lament with, “How long must I… have sorrow in my heart all the day?” (v. 2). Read more from this psalm and you will see some of what David was facing.
What are you facing? Illness/Chronic pain? Divorce? Conflict? Insomnia? Bankruptcy? Legal problems? Loneliness? Addiction? Depression? Abuse?
The problem with trials and suffering is that each new one can seem permanent and worse than the one which preceded it. Suffering is an inevitable part of life on this side of heaven (John 16:33). We’ve learned that some suffering comes simply because we are occupying space here on earth. Sometimes it comes because we have done something to make our situation worse. Sometimes someone else does something which makes our situation worse. Sometimes God is pruning us and bringing us into a “dark night of the soul.”
When you experience a “dark night,” which typically lasts far longer than a single night, your circumstances may not change for the worse, but you will be exposed to a kind of purgation, a spiritual aridness that is exceedingly painful. In these seasons, it can seem impossible to go on.
I remember my first such experience with a dark night. I was pretty new to the faith and had just been baptized in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist describes that experience as “a baptism of fire” (Matthew 3:11). I was experiencing the fire of purgation, a terribly painful purifying process. I felt like I was being turned inside out. This has been experienced and written about by many who have gone before us, the most notable perhaps, would be St. John of the Cross.
My circumstances were not more difficult than usual. I had some good friends and a budding relationship with the woman who became my first wife, Laura. Yet, internally I was in great distress (Sadly, Laura passed away just a few years ago). I was confused about what I was experiencing. I began to fall into despair and didn’t want to live. In my deepest pain, I heard, “John 15:2!” I didn’t know what it said, so I read that verse. It says, “…every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” Then I heard the same voice say, “You’ve been bearing fruit and now I am pruning you so you will bear even more…”
When it appears that your suffering has a purpose, it helps. I found hope but the suffering continued. The writer of the book of Hebrews indicates that we should treat all suffering as God’s discipline and something that is useful for our sanctification (Hebrews 12:7, 10).
Then I began to wonder, “How long?” I didn’t receive an answer. I think one of the reasons we may not get a definitive answer to this question is because we’re called to walk by faith, not by sight. God wants us to keep our eyes on Him and not fixate on what we are walking through. He wants us to learn to move forward putting one foot in front of the other, even when, especially when, we are confused, afraid and feeling alone. My first dark night lasted about two years. It was hard but it was an important season in my life. It helped me to know that God doesn’t remove His presence from us even though He sometimes will remove our awareness of it.
If you can get an answer to the “why?” question, ask “How long?” You may or may not get an answer. God’s silence is sometimes an answer. Sometimes it’s an invitation to trust Him when nothing makes sense. For now, perhaps it will suffice to acknowledge that God wants you to simply proceed without any assurances that your suffering has an end date. Ouch.
(Tom here, for a bit). In fact, there is a definitive end date for all of our suffering. We have the promise that when we leave this mortal life, if we have put our hope fully in Jesus, our sufferings are at an end. Sometimes I quail at the thought that I have another thirty years or so to suffer my kidney stone pain. At the same time, I know that it won’t be forever. The Lord has been faithful to me for these past ten years of physical suffering, and I can trust him to continue to be faithful to me, and walk with me, as long as my suffering endures, and in whatever other suffering I may experience. As it says in Hebrews:
For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” 6 So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NLT)
Our culture, now more than ever, is all about instant gratification. I find myself frustrated that when I order something from a place like Amazon sometimes it takes three whole days to get to me. It’s insane that that length of time bothers me. But the economy of the entire world has grown by providing what we want ever more quickly. It makes life comfortable, but it leaves us confused, and at a loss, when things don’t work out for us the way we want them to. The promises given to us in and through Jesus are so very worth waiting for. There is literally nothing better that we could have than the fulfillment of those promises. Can we hold on in faith, knowing that what we wait for far outweighs any of the struggles we might have here and now?
The spiritual practice of lament encourages us to recognize our feelings. It isn’t wrong to feel like our struggles are long and drawn out. It isn’t wrong to say that to God, and to wish for them to end soon. But in lamenting, we don’t simply complain. What separates it from grumbling is that we also turn our hearts towards God in faith. In lamenting, in a sense, we preach to our hearts. We remind ourselves of God’s promises, and his goodness, and his presence with us in every moment.
So, go ahead and ask “how long?” You may or may not receive a satisfactory answer. You will receive a satisfactory Presence, whether or not you perceive that Presence. For the entire length of your struggle, the Lord does, and will, walk with you, no matter how long. And though we may not know exactly how long we will have to suffer, we know that there is a certain end to the suffering, and a real beginning of an incredible life free from our struggles, infinitely longer than the amount of time that we may suffer here in this life.
Here’s a promise we can speak to our hearts today, any day in which we wonder “how long?”
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:1-5)
For some people, the player above may not work. If that happens to you, use the link below to either download, or open a player in a new page to listen. You can also find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/6KKzSHPFT466aXfNT2r9OD
To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Lament Part 3
Lamenting vs Grumbling #3. Romans 8:16-18; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
This week, I’ll start with some thoughts from Pastor Kevin McClure, but most of the message is my own, since I have wrestled a great deal with the main point he raises.
Lamenters, as you will see from a study of the psalms which are known as the psalms of lament (there is some lament in Psalm 12, 13, 22, 44, 86), eventually get to three questions: “Why?” “How Long?” “Where are You:” Today, I begin to explore the “Why?” question.
When we are suffering, even though we live in a world that is “fallen” and is actually a spiritual war zone, we wonder if there is a particular reason for our suffering. In a moment we will turn our attention to some possible reasons for your individual suffering.
Though we wonder about a specific reason, it is good to remind oneself of the ramifications of living in a world where everything is fallen, meaning, everything has been influenced by the power of sin and Satan. Everything. Though redemption has been brought about through the Person, life, teaching, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, that redemption is both “now and not yet fully.”
For example, God has given us infallible truth, and yet we are told by the Apostle Paul that even so, we know only in part and look at truth as if through a smudged window. Later, in the new age, we’ll see perfectly (1 Corinthians 13:9,12). Also, God provides miracles of healing and yet not even Paul the apostle was able to help all of his friends and ministry associates receive healing (1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20). God has revealed Himself as the Provider for our every practical need and yet Jesus acknowledged, “…the poor you will always have with you” (Matthew 26:11).
If you were living in Ukraine right now, the likelihood of suffering injury or premature death would be greatly increased. Flying bullets, buildings being bombed and falling down around you, and shrapnel, all pose a threat. Similarly, we live in a world where there are sickness-inducing chemicals in the air, water and ground, where frustrated people behave impatiently, people drive drunk and children are exploited. We do our best to make life work in the midst of such challenges, but we can’t control everything. With God’s help we aim to experience God’s promises for health, deliverance, provision and joy while living in this fallen world. Yet disappointment and hardship remain part of this life. Some of the suffering we experience is simply due to living and breathing on this planet.
But, sometimes even in a war zone like the world we live in, there are additional reasons for suffering. It may be that I am suffering consequences for my sin. Maybe I’ve been sexually permissive and have contracted a STD. Maybe I’ve stolen and gotten myself arrested and have landed in jail. Maybe the reason for my suffering is that God is pruning me or perhaps I’ve entered a dark night of the soul. Each of these is very, very difficult. Asking God “why?” is okay, especially if you are truly confused about why you are suffering your particular hardship. It is good to ask God if He’d like to bring some clarity into your suffering that will lessen your confusion about it. When you ask, ask in the company of your faith community. Don’t try to figure this out by yourself. Yes, God can and often does speak to us personally, but sometimes He wants us to learn to lean into our brothers and sisters so they can not only pray for us in our suffering, but so they can walk alongside us in it.
This is Tom, here, now, and it will be my own thoughts for the rest of this message. I want to add some things about the “why” question. In my own struggle with physical suffering, I’ve grappled with this in a very personal way. As Kevin says, it can be helpful to ask the Lord about your suffering. Is the Lord trying to teach you something, or trying to address something in your life? At times, that is indeed the case. At times, the Lord allows suffering because he wants to root out something in your life: a lack of faith, or a persistent sin, an attitude that completely unbiblical, a way of relating that hurts others, and so on. It is good to ask “Why?” and then listen for the answer.
But as Kevin also mentioned, there is a whole lot of suffering that simply defies explanation.
One of our most distressing and puzzling questions concerning suffering is the question of why we or our loved ones suffer, when there is no obvious answer along the lines that Kevin offered. My own suffering does not have any easy answers to the “why” question.
I’ll be honest with you: In all of my fifty-five years, with half of those as a pastor, I have never seen any real good come from this question when the answer isn’t already obvious. It is the question that often leads people to reject the God of the Bible. It leads to angst and anger and frustration. I’m not saying it is wrong to question God. The Judeo-Christian tradition has a very healthy attitude toward expressing all feelings – including anger and frustration – toward God. It is neither wrong or bad to question God. He is patient, and he can take it. However, I happen to believe that the question: “Why is this happening?” is not a particularly helpful question to ask, and I’ve rarely seen it lead people to greater peace. Other questions are more constructive.
I think we might find it more useful if we step back and consider why we ask why. I think that what most people are really looking for when they ask the “why” question is to find some reason to believe that their suffering has meaning and purpose, and will ultimately result in something good.
Human beings have a tremendous capacity to suffer when we know that it is for a worthwhile cause. Billions of women each year go through intense pain in order to deliver a child into the world. Many of them have done so multiple times. Soldiers will endure hardship, terror, anguish and pain if they believe in what they are fighting for, if they believe that what they endure is necessary, ultimately, to benefit others. Many soldiers say that what they are most willing to suffer for is each other. There is enough value in knowing that to sustain many.
So, it is natural to want to have a reason, some solid explanation we can cling to, so we can say, “I can endure this terrible thing, because it will result in something good or worthwhile. I can endure, as long as I know that this suffering is not meaningless.”
Some people are blessed to see why they suffer. But many people never find out why they, or their loved ones, have to suffer. Their struggles, pain and hardship all seem so pointless. This is often why people reject the Bible. The Bible reveals God as all-powerful, and all-good. If he has the power, why, then won’t he use it for good? Often times, we want him to do something that, as far as we can tell, God himself tells us is good, right in the Bible. Why then won’t he act? The “logic” continues: either God must not be good (not even by his own definition, as given in the Bible) or he must not be strong enough to make sure good happens instead of evil. Therefore the God of the Bible doesn’t exist.
But there is something missing in this reasoning. The Bible does indeed tell us God is good. It tells us that he is powerful and loving. But it also tells us that we will never be able to fully understand him, or his ways. There is no logical reason for us to suppose that we will always be able to comprehend how God is making our suffering meaningful.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (ESV, Isaiah 55:8-9)
The Bible also reveals God as infinite in all ways. His power is infinite, his goodness is infinite, and his knowledge, wisdom and intelligence are infinite. He has no beginning, no end, no limit beyond those he sets for himself. It doesn’t take a Bible to realize that human beings are not infinite. As a race we had a beginning. As individuals we have beginnings, and so far, every human being that has ever lived, save one, also had an end, at least to this life. Our brains are finite both in physical size and in mental capacity, and in how long they last.
The finite cannot hold the infinite. It’s like turning on a garden hose and trying to contain all the water in a small shot glass. The shot glass can hold some of the water, but the water never stops coming. It is ridiculous to compare the capacity of a shot glass to that which comes endlessly out of a hose.
In the same way, logic compels us to conclude that if God is infinite, we will never be able to understand everything he does, nor why he does it. He has told us some of it, the most important parts, in the scriptures. But He is infinite. There is no book, no library, no collection of libraries, that can tell us everything about an infinite being.
If I believe in an infinite God, then it is not only likely, but probable, that something that looks like terrible suffering to me could actually be something that God is doing that will be better for me than anything I can imagine.
A few years ago a friend of ours brought her baby to stay with us while she went to the dentist. The baby was about nine months old. He was at that stage that most babies experience, where he was realizing that he was a separate being from his mother. Babies at that point tend to be very clingy, and they become very upset when separated from family members.
When his mother left, he was heartbroken. He sobbed – well, he sobbed like a baby. As far as he knew, he would never see his mother again. We took care of him, and tried to comfort him, but there was really no way we could make him understand that in reality, everything was perfectly all right. We spoke to him, and explained, but of course, he really was too little to understand our words, let alone the concept. We knew that his mother was going to come back, and neither he, nor she, would come to any harm.
This little baby boy was entirely safe. With our fully developed brains and much greater experience, we could clearly see that there was nothing whatsoever for him to cry about. But his still-developing brain did not have the capacity to understand our explanations and reassurances.
The truth is, it was entirely appropriate for the baby to cry. He thought he had lost his mother. He had no way of understanding that he hadn’t. Crying, based on his developmental level, was perfectly normal. We weren’t upset with him for crying; we understood that he couldn’t understand. To tie this with our current series, it was perfectly appropriate for this baby to lament.
At the same time, while his grief was entirely appropriate, in the big picture, there was nothing actually wrong.
Sometimes I think we are like that little baby. The grief that we experience is real and appropriate. It would be cruel to make light of our pain and suffering. It makes perfect sense, and it is even good, for us to lament. At the same time, I believe that we simply do not have the capacity to see the bigger picture. If God is infinite, it is entirely possible, even probable, that there is a deeply satisfying answer to why we suffer, but we simply cannot comprehend it.
This is exactly what the Bible tells us about pain and suffering.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18, ESV)
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, ESV)
We can’t see it. We can’t quite grasp it in the here and now. But the promise is that when we stand face to face with Jesus, we will be more than satisfied with what we receive in return for our sufferings.
We may or may not ever know the reason why. But the All-Good, All-Powerful, All-Wise, Infinite God invites us not to understand, but to trustHim.
Abraham walked with God for many years, decades in fact. God made promises to him, and those promises were delayed for years and years. Abraham and his wife Sarah made many false moves and missteps during all this time. Finally, Abraham’s son Isaac was born. Isaac was the fulfillment of all of Abraham’s lifelong hopes and dreams. Thirteen years passed, years in which Abraham grew not only to love him, but feel for him the overwhelming combination of pride and gratitude that only a father can fully appreciate. On top of all of this, Isaac was God’s own answer to Abraham’s many prayers. I don’t think it would be too much to say that Isaac meant the whole world to his father.
One night God came to Abraham. He commanded Abraham to take his son, this object of fatherly-pride, and love and joy and promises, and kill him as a sacrifice to God.
Now, God is always God. He can always give whatever he wants, take whatever he wants. But the question for Abraham was this: “Do you agree that God hasthe right to do that in your own life? Will you trust that God is good and right and loving even while he takes away your lifelong dreams, your hopes of a future, you pride and joy, your fiercely beloved son?” It wasn’t just about whether or not God was capable of it. It was about whether Abraham would trust God while he destroyed Abraham’s life in front of his eyes.
Abraham answered the question with a resounding “yes.”
As it turns out, God did not make Abraham go through with it. The question of God’s right to ask everything of Abraham was settled for once and all.
Instead, God was the one who offered up his one and only Son, his fiercely, eternally-beloved son. It was Jesus who trusted even while God abandoned him, and withdrew the eternal sense of presence that had been the wellspring of his eternal joy. God turned his back while his Son was condemned, covered in sin and shame that were not his own, and sent to hell to pay a price he did not owe.
No matter what God asks of us, it will never be as much as what he himself has already done for us. No matter what we or our loved-ones suffer it will never be as unjust as the suffering of Jesus.
We can trust God, even when we don’t understand, because he has shown that he is trustworthy. He is not a God who sits distant in heaven and demands that we perform. He himself suffered on our behalf. He promises to be present with us in absolutely everything we encounter, including suffering. In my own experience, he is present in suffering in a particularly powerful way. Author Tim Keller puts it like this:
“So suffering is at the very heart of the Christian faith. It is not only the way Christ became like and redeemed us, but it is one of the main ways we become like him and experience his redemption. And that means that our suffering, despite its painfulness, is also filled with purpose and usefulness.” (Tim Keller, Walking With God through Pain and Suffering)
For some people, the player above may not work. If that happens to you, use the link below to either download, or open a player in a new page to listen. You can also find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/6KKzSHPFT466aXfNT2r9OD
To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Lament Part 2
Once again, I will be adding things in the recorded audio sermon that may not show up in the written version. Please consider listening to the audio.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, the famous chapter on love, that among the many things that is true of divine love is this: “…love keeps no record of wrongs” (v. 5).
If you lament however, and pour out your complaint to the Lord, as David did in Psalm 142 (discussed last week), it may seem that you are doing exactly that. Yet, I am trying to make the case that there is a difference between lamenting, in which you identify the specific nature of your troubles, and in keeping a record of wrongs. The two can look very much alike, but what distinguishes them is your “why.”
If you take offense and allow yourself to become bitter, you view everything in your life through the lens of what was done to hurt you. You become a victim. To everyone who will listen, you will recite in detail what various people did to hurt you. You do this in order to receive sympathy and support for your case against those who injured you. There is a tone of resentment that seeps through these discussions. This is evidence that your heart is unhealed and it is a clear indication that you need both healing in your heart and you need to learn to cancel the debt of the person or people who have hurt you. By the way, this is a bit different than processing your hurt with people who can help you heal. The person who has taken offense is someone who doesn’t plan to heal. They just want to complain.
(Tom here, now, for this paragraph) We should remember that it is possible take offense at God, and even resent him. In such cases, we might complain to him, but our complaint to God has no trust, no hope. In such cases we are merely expressing our dissatisfaction, and we want to show not that we trust God, but rather, that it seems he has failed us. This was the kind of grumbling that the people of Israel did in their journey between Egypt and the Promised Land.
By contrast, the lamenter’s focus is one of trust in God. He or she has a purpose in verbally identifying the specific nature of his or her troubles in order to invite God into them. This process is very similar to asking God to heal your physical body. Usually when you do that you are very familiar with the particular ailment that you want God to heal. You mention it by name. When you are asking Him for healing, it is likely you will say something like, “Lord, I would like you to heal my back…” Or, “Please heal my skin cancer…”
When you do that, you are not offended by the problem. You certainly don’t like the thing that afflicts you, but you want to identify it in order to bring it to the Lord for healing. That’s what we are doing when we are lamenting and pouring out our complaint to the Lord. This is why doing so is not grumbling or murmuring.
What I’m recommending in this series is identifying to God the things that are creating misery, anguish, torment, grief, relational loss, anger, or even a sense of rejection in your life.
I am encouraging you to get specific in your lamenting to God about the particular nature of the pain you are feeling. Perhaps you have experienced a relational injury and you know that eventually, it will be to your benefit to get to a place of forgiving the person who hurt you. That’s good, but you won’t get there by pretending everything is okay. It’s much more authentic and beneficial to you if you talk to God about how you were injured. What was said that you find hurtful? Christians often make the mistake of prioritizing forgiving someone over receiving healing for the pain that sets them up for future resentment. If you attempt to forgive before you lean into your pain and bring it to the Lord, you short circuit the process. In order to be able to authentically cancel someone’s relational debt, you must not minimize what happened. It may be that there are a hundred other people who have experienced worse than what you experienced, but if what happened to you hurt you, it matters. So begin there. Feel your feelings. They are there to serve you. It was God who gave you the capacity to feel. Your feelings are like spiritual nerve endings which inform you of an injury. Pay attention to them. Identify them. Say out loud how someone’s actions make you feel. Did they make you feel shamed? Accused? Condemned? Judged? Insulted? Disrespected? Dishonored? Misunderstood? Rejected? Exploited? Victimized? Abused? Admitting them is an important first step to healing. Admit them and lament them. Grieve them. And, invite God in.
Lamenting is good for your spiritual health. It keeps you from imploding. It helps you avoid fakery. Lamenters understand that you don’t have to “fake it till you make it.” Lamenters are not image managers. They get comfortable letting it all hang out because they know God is a God of big shoulders. He’s not fussy– not annoyed by the lamenter’s anger, frustration, hatred or by the raw language they may use to express their frustration. Why? Because a lamenter is turning toward God in his pain.
Grumbling is not good for your health. Grumbling causes you to focus on your problems. The grumbler is stuck in a rut because He stopped inviting God in. He or she is actually keeping God at arms length. Grumbling is the breeding ground for resentment. The grumbler has an entitlement mindset and his temporary disappointment with God becomes permanent because He views God as someone who was supposed to help Him cope. He views God like an illicit drug– something to make him feel better. In their hearts, grumblers feel that God is a means to an end, and they feel he has failed to do for them what they expect him to do. In other words, the grumbler’s world is oriented around him/her self and not around what delights God. Perhaps it never was.
It’s been occurring to me a lot lately that this way of thinking, that is, the one that is based on orienting my life around myself is a counterfeit version of real Christianity. The real disciple of Jesus is called to a life that is oriented around, centered in and based on Jesus of Nazareth. It’s normal for every person, including every genuine follower of Jesus to want things to go well. It’s normal to work hard at making life work, however we define that. BUT and this is a big “but,” but an actual follower of Jesus has embraced the idea that it is right, good and holy to forsake literally everything to follow Jesus, to surrender every agenda, every longing, every ache, every hope, dream and ambition in favor of living to please the Savior. He or she adopts and begins, over the course of time, to embody the motto, “not my will, but Yours be done.” He or she has come to the realization that he or she must be grounded in the value that God’s Kingdom is his/her first priority (Matthew 6:24).
A lamenter can sound a lot like a grumbler. The thing that makes lamenting different is the reason behind your complaining. The lamenter is turning to God, not away from God and inviting God into his or her hardships. Doing this can lead to some questions, questions like “Why?” This question usually bubbles out of the profound confusion that disables the lamenter. The lamenter’s pain is profound, and his/her confusion is great. He or she simply must ask, “Why?” Next week we’ll lean into this question more fully.
For some people, the player above may not work. If that happens to you, use the link below to either download, or open a player in a new page to listen. You can also find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/6KKzSHPFT466aXfNT2r9OD
To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer: Download Lament Part 1
Numbers 14:1-4; 26-28 & Psalm 142
When I was a young pastor, I used to meet weekly with another pastor who was about 18 years older than me. His name is Kevin McClure. We met almost every week for about seven years. Kevin and I encouraged one another, learned from one another, and became friends. I don’t see him very often any more (2 times in the last two years) but I still consider him a dear friend, and precious brother in Christ.
Kevin writes a weekly email called the E-pistle. The E-pistles are generally fairly short and pithy. Kevin might take several weeks to offer short teachings on one subject, and then move on to another topic. Recently, he started an E-pistle series on the topic of Lament and Grumbling. I found his thoughts interesting and helpful.
For the next several weeks, I’m going to be laid up after rotator cuff surgery, which will add a layer on top of my “normal” pain. So, I got Pastor Kevin’s permission to use his E-pistles on Grumbling vs. Lamenting. I know that many of you prefer to listen. Kevin is retired, which means he is too busy to record these as sermons 😊. So, with Kevin’s permission, I’ll read what he has written, and, at times, add a few thoughts of my own. I probably won’t mess much with what Kevin has written, because I won’t be able to type for a few weeks. So if you normally read, you might want to consider listening to this series instead; otherwise you might miss some of the sermon. Usually, I’ll probably use 2-3 E-pistle episodes as one sermon. In general, I would say that 80-95% of what I say in the recording will be Kevin’s words, and, depending on the message, 5-20% will be clarifications or other comments that I add.
If you are blessed by this series, please consider leaving a comment below, and I’ll share the comments with pastor Kevin McClure.
Ever grumble? If you are familiar with Scripture, you know that God doesn’t look kindly at it (Numbers 14:27). He was very upset by the grumbling and murmuring of some of the people whom He liberated from Egyptian slavery. In spite of what God had done for them when He provided a miraculous deliverance from Egyptian oppression, in spite of the way He led them through the Red Sea and demonstrated His presence quite supernaturally in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of loud by day– in spite of all of this, some of His people whined every time it looked like they’d be facing another trial. There seemed to be little trust in God. Grumbling and murmuring dishonors God and sets you up for additional trouble.
The New Testament isn’t soft on grumbling either. Check out the following words by Paul: “Do everything without complaining or arguing…” (Philippians 2:14,15). James takes a dim view of it too: “”Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged…” (5:9)
On the other hand, God seems to welcome laments. These have the tone of a complaint but they are different. How? The people who are recorded as lamenting are worshippers, psalmists, who like the murmurers are suffering, but unlike them, they turn to God in their pain. They ask the questions every suffering person will eventually ask if he or she is actually paying attention. They ask, “Why?” and “How long?” and “Where are You?”
Jesus Himself lamented. Remember, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” That’s a lament. Lamenting is an honest way to pour out your troubles and invite God into them.
Over the course of the next few weeks I want to address the upside of being absolutely honest with God about the pain you are feeling in your suffering– identifying it and presenting it to Him to invite Him into it. We’ll explore a number of things, eventually getting to the three questions the lamenting psalmists ask.
During the days of Moses’ leadership, grumblers incurred God’s wrath because they were ungrateful and because they did not invite God into their concerns. In essence, they spurned God, belly-aching, but not inviting Him in. Lamenters also face pain. But in their suffering they cry out to God. Consider Psalm 142:
A psalm of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer. 1 I cry out to the LORD; I plead for the LORD’s mercy. 2 I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. 3 When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me. 4 I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. 5 Then I pray to you, O LORD. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. 6 Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. 7 Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me.” (Psalms 142, NLT)
David probably prayed this before he wrote it. This “complaint” bubbled out of him when he was in a cave. When was he in a cave? He may have been in a cave a time or two when he was shepherding his dad’s sheep, but more than likely, he’s talking about the time he was hiding from King Saul, who was trying to kill him (1 Samuel 24). In this psalm, he specifically mentions being in trouble. So, if he’s referring to the incident I think he is, his very life was at risk. That’s serious trouble. Unlike a grumbler who would simply harp about his situation, he talks to the Lord. Why? Because God had shown David many times that He is trustworthy. David didn’t hide from God that he didn’t like his situation. It’s okay to do that, especially if you invite God into it.
It takes faith to invite God into your troubles. You might be low on faith at the moment. When you go through trouble, your faith takes a lot of hits and it can influence you to question whether God really cares. You might feel like you are really shaky. That’s okay. If you’ve never gotten to that place, it’s probably because you haven’t been tried to the extreme. When you have faced extreme pain, pain that leaves you feeling unstable, when you feel like your soundness of mind is hardly hanging on by a thread, you are probably not feeling strong in faith. That’s okay! It’s okay! That’s a great time to talk to God and ask Him to bolster your faith. Ask Him to help you find Him in the pain. It’s certainly fine to even ask Him to deliver you out of your suffering– remember Someone saying, “Father, if possible, let this cup pass me by…?” Yes, even Jesus prayed that way. Yes, we know he also added, “yet not my will, but Yours be done” but we sometimes fail to linger in that place where our pain instructs us to cry for deliverance. This is another subject that I hope to explore some day in an E-pistle, but for now I just want to mention that Christians are far less in touch with their humanity than Jesus was.
If you’ve never done this, write out your prayer-complaint to God. What is it that you are facing that is so distressing? What would you like Him to do about it? Add that too. More on this next week.
The very end of the book of Samuel encourages us to put our hope in the only appropriate place: God’s mercy. We don’t need to waste time wishing for a great leader. We don’t need to waste our hopes and dreams on things that will always, eventually, let us down. Instead, the Lord is continually calling us to look to him for our greatest and most enduring hope. Sometimes that call from the Lord comes through judgment, but even then, the ultimate purpose is to bring us back to the Lord.
To listen to the sermon, click the play button:
For some people, the player above may not work. If that happens to you, use the link below to either download, or open a player in a new page to listen. You can also find us on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/6KKzSHPFT466aXfNT2r9OD
To download, right click on the link (or do whatever you do on a Mac) and save it to your computer:
Download 2 Samuel Part 28
2 SAMUEL #28. 2 SAMUEL 24:1-25
This is our very last sermon on the book of Samuel (which includes both 1st and 2nd Samuel). Remember it began with the prayer of a godly woman, who desperately wanted a baby, but, at the same time, she wanted it only on God’s terms. So the Lord gave her Samuel, who became a great prophet and leader for Israel. As Samuel grew older, the people began to fear. His sons were nothing like him, and the people were worried about what would happen when Samuel left. So, they asked for a king. In Saul they got the kind of king they wanted: Big, and impressive looking. But Saul had deep fears and insecurities, and time and time again, he refused to trust the Lord. Instead, when he was worried, he took control of things, rather than trusting the Lord, or doing things the way the Lord commanded. Then came David, and we followed his life from the time he was an unknown shepherd, through his slaying of Goliath, his many victories as a battle-leader for Saul, and then his trials and sufferings when Saul tried for years to have him killed. Then David became king, and in general, he was a good one, deeply concerned, above all, with what the Lord wanted. David failed horribly during his middle-aged years, but he returned to whole-heartedly following the Lord.
When we read 2 Samuel chapter 24, it seems like the whole book of Samuel ends rather abruptly. But when we understand that it is the final part of a six-part epilogue, it begins to make more sense.
Up through the end of the chronological narrative, in chapter twenty, David appears to be an inspiring hero, a wise and just leader. Yes, we learned of his failings during the years with Bathsheba, but following that, he returned to being the man whose one goal was to please the Lord. By the end of 2 Samuel chapter 20 (the end of the chronological narrative) readers are bound to be very impressed by David, because he really was an extraordinary and admirable person.
David’s amazingness is one reason for the epilogue at the end of the book. The author of Samuel wants to make sure we aren’t confused. This book isn’t about David, it’s about the Lord. So the author is using this epilogue to show us that not even an earthly leader like David is the answer for our hopes and fears. He keeps pointing us back to the Lord himself. Remember that this epilogue is written in ancient chiastic structure, which involves sections that mirror one another. The very first part of the epilogue told of a famine that came upon the land because of a terrible sin committed by Saul. This last part, which mirrors the first, is about a plague that came upon the land because of a sin committed by David. In the first part, we learned that the only way they could atone for Saul’s sin was to execute seven men from his family. Now we learn that at some point, David also committed a similar sin that affected the entire country. I feel pretty confident that this was not at the end of David’s life, but rather some point when he was younger. Remember, this epilogue is not set out chronologically.
This same incident is also recorded in 1 Chronicles 21. I’ll be using some things from that passage to help us understand the situation. It says in this text that the Lord was angry at Israel, and stirred up David to take a census. In 1 Chronicles 21, it says that Satan, plotting against Israel, incited David to sin by taking a census. Either way, we can see that the consequence of David’s sin was that all Israel suffered. I think one of the first questions should be, “Was it God or was it Satan?” As I have mentioned in previous messages, there are several other places in the Old Testament where the Lord used evil spirits to accomplish his purposes: Judges 9:23-24, 1 Kings 22:18-23, 1 Samuel 16:14, and Job 1:6-12. In each case the picture we get is the Lord allowing an evil spirit to affect a particular person or group. In each case, the evil spirit wants to do the evil, but must get permission from God first. God’s permission to the evil spirit seems to be limited to what will accomplish his (God’s) purpose. In most of these cases, the purpose is to bring judgment, and if possible, repentance. [For a longer discussion of this issue please go to one of my previous sermons: Does God Send Evil Spirits?]
So it is entirely consistent to see God allowing a limited evil influence upon David in order to accomplish his purposes. It was Satan who tempted David, but it was ultimately God who allowed that temptation to happen. The answer to our first question then is: both. It was both God and the devil.
The next natural question is, “Why did God let this happen?” My most honest answer is, “I don’t know for sure.” I do have some ideas, however.
Clearly, the Lord felt that, at this point in time, there was something not right in David’s heart – and also not right in the hearts of the people. Again, we don’t know exactly when this happened. In fact, I suspect that this may have happened before David sinned with Bathsheba, during the time when he had begun to drift away from the Lord for a season.
Let’s start with a clear biblical understanding of sin and punishment and judgment. There is only one satisfactory and just punishment for sin. According to the Bible that one appropriate punishment is eternal separation from God. Since God is the source of all Life and all Good, that separation means death and unimaginable suffering. So if David and the people of Israel were not killed and sent away from God’s presence forever (that is, hell) then they were not being punished for doing wrong. They were being judged. There is a difference. It was God’s punishment for our sins that Jesus took upon himself.
In the Bible, God’s judgment establishes that his actions are right and good, and that ours are wrong and sinful. God uses judgment to try and get people to repent and turn to Him and receive life, hope and forgiveness through Jesus. Judgment always has this purpose: to turn people back to the Lord. It isn’t vindictiveness or anger or even righteous punishment. It is an extreme measure of love. It is like amputating a limb to keep the deadly cancer from spreading, or taking the car keys away from someone who drinks too much. It seems harsh, but it is intended for good, for love.
So God allowed the sin in the hearts of David and his people to be revealed through temptation, and then he brought judgment to turn them back to Himself.
When I was fifteen I tore open the back of my heel in an accident, and had to have stitches. It was in Papua New Guinea, and the healthcare I received was, unfortunately, typical for third world countries at the time. The wound became infected. It sealed up on the outside, but underneath, it was filled with pus and infection. Left alone, it would have looked all right, but eventually it would have developed gangrene and rotted my foot and leg, finally killing me. My dad realized what was happening. He made me lie down, while he clamped my leg to hold it still. He squeezed around the wound and it was incredibly painful. The wound burst open and what came out was truly disgusting. For almost a week afterward I had a gaping, weeping hole in my heel. I still have a scar there. But it was absolutely necessary that the infection be exposed and cleaned out.
So, the Lord exposed what was hidden in the hearts of David and of the people, and then cleaned the infection, though it was a painful, awful-seeming process. My dad inflicted pain upon me in order to bring about my healing. He didn’t cause the infection, but he did cause me pain in order to first expose it, and then eliminate it. So God did not cause the problem in the hearts of his people, but he loved them enough to engage in the painful process of exposing it and judging it, to bring them back to himself.
Now, another question that I have is: what was so bad about taking a census? Moses did it twice – because God told him to. So why shouldn’t David do it? How did the census expose the sin of David and of Israel? I think this is also an important question to ask.
I have to admit, this part is speculative. Here are some possible reasons. Perhaps it was pride. Maybe David wanted to know how great his kingdom was. Or maybe he was contemplating a new conquest that was not sanctioned by the Lord, and he wanted to know if his army was big enough to do it. Another possibility is that he was afraid of rebellion, and was using the census to ferret out any potential enemies. The men of Judah and those of the other tribes were recorded separately. So maybe David was afraid, and was trying to see if the men of Judah had enough soldiers to defeat the other tribes if it came to civil war again.
In any case, it did not arise from faith. Romans 14:23 says: “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” We want a book of rules, so we can just take care of things on our own, and not make the effort of staying close to the Lord. Rule 447, paragraph 8, section c: “Do not ever take a census.” But living that way actually separates us from God, because it allows us to function “righteously” without really interacting with him. Even if we do the right thing, it needs to be because we are living in right relationship. Taking a census is not always wrong. But David was not walking in faith.
Here is one other possible problem with this census, and it is the one I am inclined to think most likely. It could be that David ordered it to be conducted in a way that violated something the Lord said in Exodus 30:11-16.
The LORD spoke to Moses: “When you take a census of the Israelites to register them, each of the men must pay a ransom for himself to the LORD as they are registered. Then no plague will come on them as they are registered. Everyone who is registered must pay half a shekel according to the sanctuary shekel. This half shekel is a contribution to the LORD. Each man who is registered, 20 years old or more, must give this contribution to the LORD. The wealthy may not give more and the poor may not give less than half a shekel when giving the contribution to the LORD to atone for your lives. Take the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will serve as a reminder for the Israelites before the LORD to atone for your lives.” (Exod 30:11-16, HCSB)
The point of this was to recognize that the Lord owns all of the people. They don’t own themselves – they owe their lives to the Lord. In the same way, no leader (for example, like David) owns the people – they all belong to God. It may be that the people did not want to pay the census fee, nor did David want to require it of them. This exposed that in their hearts they were not serious about belonging to God as a people. This may be the sin in the hearts of the people that God was exposing.
With the sin exposed, God acted in judgment, to bring the people back to himself. Because David repented so quickly, the Lord gave David a choice about the form of judgment: three months of rebellion and battle, or three years of famine, or three days of a plague. David chose the last one, as I would have. He trusted God’s mercy (in the form of the plague) more than the “mercy” of a human enemy.
As the plague was coming to Jerusalem, David apparently had a vision of God’s angel striking the people. He cried out for mercy for them, pleading with God to limit the judgment to himself, to strike him and save the people. God did not do that—not yet—but he did end the plague at that point. The angel in the vision stopped. David’s plea to be punished instead of the people echoes the heart of the ultimate chosen one, Jesus, whom God did punish in place of all sinful people.
What follows is very interesting. The Lord sent the prophet Gad, who told David to make sacrifices and offerings on the spot where he saw the angel stop. If you remember, Jerusalem in David’s time was fairly small, maybe ten or fifteen acres. It was on the tip of a ridge, with deep ravines to the east and west and south. Behind David’s city to the north, the ridge rose to the top of the mountain. It was there, at the top of that ridge or mountain, where David went to offer his sacrifices. This was about 1/3 of a mile from the north wall. The picture below gives you a rough sense of the geography, though it is not 100% accurate.
David found the land was owned by a Jebusite, not an Israelite. Refusing to take it as a gift, David purchased the land, and made offerings and sacrifices there. This ridge-top was the very place where Abraham had taken his son Isaac, when he obeyed God’s call to sacrifice him. On that mountaintop, Isaac, not knowing what was to come, asked what they were going to use for a sacrifice. Abraham answered prophetically, saying, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Gen 22:8, HCSB). God stopped Abraham when he saw that he was willing to give up even his son. Instead, God planned to give his own son. And so on this same spot, almost eight hundred years later, the plague was stopped. On this same spot, David offered his life in exchange for his people, but again, the Lord refused that sacrifice, looking ahead to the time he would offer his own son. On this same spot, purchased by David, Solomon later built the temple of the Lord. This temple became a meeting place between the Lord and his people, a place where sacrifices were offered to reconcile the people with the Lord and each other. So, the author of Samuel, who lived in the next generation after the temple was built, is saying: “Don’t waste your energy wanting another king like David. Instead, pay attention to the presence of God among his people.”
The New Testament teaches us that those sacrifices were all a shadow, pointing toward the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus to save people from their sins. The writer of Hebrews writes about the temple, and its purpose:
9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. 10 For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. 11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. (Hebrews 9:9-12, NLT)
In other words, even though the writer of Samuel did not know it, this epilogue points beyond David, even beyond the temple, and to the eternal atonement that Jesus secured for us. The message is that we need atonement, and only God himself can truly provide it. And not only that, but God has provided it, through Jesus Christ, the descendant of David.
We human beings tend to make the same mistakes in each generation. Many people in our country are very focused on politics and on the “culture wars.” But our main focus should be on Jesus Christ, and reconciliation with the Lord through him.
What are the things you tend to put your hope in? A job? Your skill or experience? Your family? Your investments, your house? All these are good things when they are held in the right place of importance in our lives. But as good as it is to enjoy the blessings God gives us, our only hope should be found in Jesus Christ alone.
How has the Lord spoken to you through the book of Samuel?
God shines his glory not just through David, but also through the many people who were part of what the Lord was doing at the time of David. As each part of this epilogue shows, once again we see that salvation does not come from David, but from the Lord. He used some amazing people to build the kingdom of Israel. Just as those people shared in David’s hardship, and then, finally, David’s glory, so we too will one day share in the glory of Jesus, even when we suffer with him in this present life.
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2 Samuel #27. 2 Samuel 23:8-39
As I have mentioned before, 2 Samuel chapters 21-24 are a carefully crafted epilogue to the book of Samuel. The content is arranged in a common ancient middle-eastern pattern called chiastic structure. We are now in part B1.
A. The need for atonement
B. The Giant-killing warriors who took over that role from David
X. David’s psalm declaring that the Lord alone saves his people
X1. David’s last words depending on God’s promise alone to bring an eternal messiah
B1. The warriors who helped David throughout the years
A1. The need for atonement and the provision for it.
One of the purposes of this epilogue is to encourage people to hope not in an earthly leader, not even a really good one, like David, but rather, to put all of their hope in the Lord alone. We can see looking at part B, above, that when David could no longer fight there were other warriors who stepped up. The point was, the Lord is the one who saves his people, and he is not dependent on any one person. That point is being reiterated now. Now, the author of Samuel is saying, “Look, even when David was young, it wasn’t only David whom the Lord used. He was surrounded by these amazing warriors, even in his prime.” Again, the message is that we shouldn’t look to any single person like David. The Lord is the one who saves.” There’s something else too. The beginning and end of this epilogue are focused on our need for salvation. Ultimately, there is something deeply ugly and rebellious at the core of every human being. But the Lord also made humans in his own image, and people are not only sinful: they are, at the same time, beautiful and amazing too. So here we see some of the amazing things done by David’s closest associates.
We are introduced first to “the three;” that is, the three most famous and honored warriors led by David. First was Josheb Basshebeth, also known, in 1 Chronicles 11, as “Jashobeam.” He killed 800 enemies with his spear in a single battle. Next of “the three” was Eleazar. He and David stood alone together against the Philistines at a place called Pas Dammin. They fought so long and furiously that Eleazar’s hand cramped around his sword, and he couldn’t let go of it for some time afterwards. Although David was a part of that battle, the point in this passage is not about David, but his men. Third was Shammah, son of Agee from Harar. He defended a field from the Philistines, apparently all by himself, and won a great victory. Apparently, one of the “thirty mighty men,” a man named Jonathan, was the son of this Shammah.
In verses 13-17 we have another exploit that “the three” undertook together. Some translations, in verse 13 say something like: “And three of the thirty chief men went down (ESV).” This casts doubt on whether it was “the three” or just three unidentified men out of “the thirty.” However, the text has not yet introduced us to “the thirty” and verses 16 and 17 seem to be talking specifically about “the three.” So I prefer the NLT. “The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there.” There is a bit of interpretation, or clarification, added to the Hebrew here by the NLT, but I think it’s the right interpretation, and it is supported by the context.
In any case, the incident took place when David was in the cave of Adullam, and the Philistines were in the valley of Rephaim, and had spread out all the way to Bethlehem. Although this could have been before David was king, when he was hiding from both Saul and the Philistines, I think the context best fits 2 Samuel 5:17-25. In fact, we looked briefly at this story in 2 Samuel #5.
David had only recently become king, and the Philistines invaded up the valley of Rephaim, getting as far as Bethlehem, which was David’s hometown. David, being a great strategist, had already taken his army and concealed it in the caves that were found in the south side of that valley. They were in a good strategic position, but it broke David’s heart that he had to let the Philistines occupy Bethlehem. It was probably a hot day, and he exclaimed how much he wished he could have a drink from the well at Bethlehem, the clear, cold water he grew up drinking. He was certainly wishing for that drink because he was hot and thirsty. But he was also wishing that the battle was over and the Philistines were defeated, and his hometown was safe. But “the three” took David at his word, and broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well, and brought it back to David without getting hurt themselves. David’s response is interesting
But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the LORD. 17 “The LORD forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” (2 Samuel 23:16-17, NLT)
The reason the author of the book of Samuel tells that story here, and not in chapter five, is because it illustrates his main point in this epilogue. David is not the hero. Salvation does not come from David. Instead, David is just a servant of the Lord. It is through the Lord that salvation comes, and even David himself consistently testified to this.
When I first read this, I thought, “I’d be angry if I were one of those three warriors.” But actually, I think what David was saying was this: “I am not worthy of such a costly drink. I can’t claim it. Only the Lord is worthy of that kind of effort and self-sacrifice.” He was actually honoring the men more by pouring it out than by drinking it. He “poured it out to the Lord.” He was saying that the lives of these men were precious to the Lord. There was a type of offering called a drink offering, where a drink (usually wine) was poured into the ground. The idea was to say, “this is God’s, not mine, and I pour it out to show that everything I drink ultimately comes from God.” So, David did not consider himself worthy of that kind of sacrifice from his men, and he directed their attention to the Lord. Life wasn’t about him, it was about God. The Lord was the one who gave them the strength and flat-out guts to do this amazing deed. He was the one who was to be honored, not David.
The hero of this entire story is the Lord. David consciously realized this, and made statements to draw attention to the Lord, rather than himself.
The author of Samuel goes on to tell about a few more people whom the Lord used to establish the kingdom of his people, Israel. The next one is Abishai. There are some differences of opinion about the original wording of verses 18-19, about Abishai. Here’s one way it could be:
18 Abishai, Joab’s brother and son of Zeruiah, was leader of the Three. He raised his spear against 300 men and killed them, gaining a reputation among the Three. 19 Was he not more honored than the Three? He became their commander even though he did not become one of the Three. (2 Samuel 23:18-19, HCSB)
Or:
18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three. (2 Samuel 23:18-19, ESV)
This difference is known as a “major variant” in textual criticism. Basically, the main Hebrew textual traditions have it the way the HCSB says it. But there are some early Hebrew texts, as well as a translation of this passage into Syriac (an ancient middle eastern language) that have it as the ESV translates it. The ESV contains a note explaining this.
We don’t know which one of these is closest to the original. You can see that it doesn’t matter theologically at all. What we can know for sure either way is that Abishai is one of the four most honored warriors of David. He’s either number one, and the chief of the three, or he is number four, the chief of the other thirty most elite soldiers.
As we’ve gone through the book of Samuel I’ve found myself admiring Abishai more and more. He shared David’s troubles while David was still an outlaw. He and David performed the amazing feat of sneaking into the camp of Saul and stealing his spear and water jug. He was clearly a fearsome warrior. He often didn’t understand, or agree with, the decisions David made, but he went along with David anyway, and submitted to David’s leadership. For instance, when they were standing next to a sleeping Saul, Abishai wanted to kill Saul, for David’s sake. David said, “no,” and Abishai acquiesced. Much later, Abishai accompanied David when he left Jerusalem in shame, fleeing from Absalom. The man named Shimei insulted David in a cowardly way, and Abishai wanted to kill him, but when David said no, Abishai did as he was told. When they returned in victory, Abishai wanted to kill Shimei again, then, but David still said no, and Abishai, again, obeyed. In other words, he followed David, and obeyed him, even when he didn’t understand, or agree. It boils down to this: he trusted David and David’s leadership even when he didn’t understand it. In that respect, he shows us how we ought to follow Jesus Christ.
In all of this, Abishai was very different from his older brother, Joab. We know that Abishai killed at least 300 enemies in a single battle. He certainly fought in many other battles, presumably killing other enemies. But the scripture never mentions Joab killing enemies in battle, except as a general, in which case he, personally, was not likely involved in the fighting. The only time we know for sure that Joab killed anyone was on the three occasions when he committed murder. And Joab committed those murders explicitly in defiance of David. Joab himself is not honored in this text as one of David’s elite warriors. Even though he was the overall commander of the army as a whole, here, he is only mentioned as Abishai’s brother. He also gets a mention because one of the thirty, Naharai, was his armor-bearer. Abishai had the strength of character to be a better man than his older brother, following God’s chosen leader faithfully, even when he didn’t understand, or fully agree.
The final person singled out for special praise is Benaiah, son of Jehoiada. If you want to think about what kind of a warrior he was, simply remember these things: on a snowy day he chased a lion into a pit and killed it; and on another occasion he faced an imposing Egyptian warrior with a spear, while he only held a wooden staff. He took the spear away from the other warrior, and killed him with his own weapon. Benaiah was younger than many of those named here, and only served David later on in his reign. However, he went on to serve as the chief bodyguard of king Solomon as well. In that capacity, he executed both Shimei and Joab.
Next, we come to the list of “the thirty,” who are, along with the others mentioned, the most fearsome, elite warriors of David. You may notice that the list of “the thirty” includes more than thirty people. It’s not clear whether Abishai is to be counted among them, or Benaiah son of Jehoiada. We know that some of those listed died when David was still relatively young. Asahel was killed before David became king over all Israel. We know, of course, that Uriah was killed when David was middle aged. So “the thirty” is obviously a round number, and there was some change in the composition of the group, but it was a special and exclusive company.
As we read about these people, their names are very foreign to English speakers. Even worse, most of them are also identified by their family or clan name, or possibly the town they are from, and those names are difficult as well. These things make this text hard to follow. Because of this I recommend reading a translation like the New Living Translation, since it simplifies and clarifies the names. The God’s Word version helpfully puts each name on a new line so we can keep track of them more easily, and that also helps us separate the first names from the family names and place names. Of course, what remains are still names that are strange to us.
But maybe these names are there for a reason. After thirty centuries, these names have never been forgotten. God knows his own people, by name. He knows you, too, and your name, if you trust Jesus, is also written in God’s book.
Even though we humans have been broken by sin, there is still part of the amazing image of God that shines through our brokenness. David’s gang of thirty were people who willingly gave themselves to serve David; ultimately, to serve God. Because of that, we see God’s glory through them. We too, are called, broken as we are, to let the glory of God shine through us, as we serve God’s chosen one, Jesus Christ.
Another thing I think we are meant to understand is that David did not become king all by himself. Though he was a remarkable man in many different ways, he needed the help of many others. No one really does anything significant without help from others.
We all need each other. We each need to find our own “gang of thirty” and guard each other’s backs, deal with life side by side together, and cheer one another on. Start with a “gang of three or four,” and build from there. In other words, we need close fellowship with a few other believers who will stand with us when we need it. We need to be prepared to stand with them in times of need, as well. If you don’t have a gang of three or four, or a larger support network, start by asking the Lord to provide that for you, and then keep your eyes and ears open to hear from the Lord who you should spend time with to develop that support network. Remember that these people will not only be there for you, but you should be there for them, as well.
Most of “the thirty” joined David when he was still an outlaw. Some of the others were children, who grew up in David’s nomadic camp, and then joined the thirty when they were older. They traveled with him, fought alongside him, planned, did chores and simply lived life together. They willingly shared David’s hardships and suffering, and, at the end of it all, they also shared in the success and honor of David. They were an important part of the kingdom that David was building.
David was not the messiah, but the Lord used him to show us some things about the true Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus invites us into close fellowship with himself. He invites us into everyday life with him. He also sometimes invites us into hardship and suffering; but that suffering is to be alongside him—we are not alone in it. In fact, if our lives truly belong to him (as they do, if, in fact, we trust him) then it is really his suffering that we are sharing in. David’s followers encountered that hardship and suffering as, and because, they went through life with David. Though they all suffered, it was, in a sense, David’s suffering; they shared in it because they were connected with him. In the same way, even our own sufferings are not really our own. We encounter them as we are part of the people of Jesus. So, we are not alone as we suffer. We have God’s own promise that one day the suffering will end, and we will share in the glory.
16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. 18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. (Romans 8:16-19, NLT)
When we see the earthly glory that David’s followers shared, we should be encouraged to look beyond. Jesus is better than David. His promises are powerful and real. We can learn to have peace and joy now, no matter what is going on, because we know that one day glory will far outshine the worst sufferings we experience.
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NLT)
Finally, we should be reminded that hope does not come from earthly leaders, even really good ones. True hope that lasts is found only in God’s promised messiah, Jesus Christ. In Christ we will be led to our support network. In Christ, we will share in suffering, and in Christ we will share in eternal glory and joy so amazing that we will consider the sufferings of this life not worth mentioning.
David’s last words speak of the goodness of authority when it is used well; especially when it is exercised with a recognition that all authority comes from God, and we are all accountable to him. The heart of David’s words reveal that he was resting fully on the promises that the Lord had made to him. May we, too, rest completely on God’s promises to us, and upon the covenant that he established with us through the messiah, Jesus Christ.
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2 SAMUEL #26. The Last Words of David. 2 Samuel 23:1-7
1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2 “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, 4 he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. 5 “For does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 6 But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand; 7 but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire.” (2 Samuel 23:1-7, ESV)
Chapter 23:1-7 contains “the last words of David.” This is not meant to be literal, but it is a picturesque way of saying “these are the thoughts David was having at the end of his life, this was something he wrote near the end.” All of these verses (1-7) are in the form of Hebrew poetry. Hebrew poetry does not usually rhyme. It is about “parallel thoughts.” You can see the parallelism if you just read it carefully. My Bible separates the parallel thoughts by starting new lines. I’ll do it here with two slashes, like this: “//.” So we have: “The last words of David//the declaration of the son of Jesse//the declaration of the man raised on high//the one anointed by the God of Jacob//the favorite singer of Israel” You can see that each phrase gives us a parallel description of David. First he is named, then he is the son of Jesse, and so on. They are parallel thoughts about who David was.
Next come David’s own words. Verses two and three express poetically that David is sharing insights that he received from the Lord.
The first insight is that when someone rules a group of people in justice, and in the fear of the Lord, it is a wonderful, positive thing. I think sometimes, even yet today, it is hard for us to grasp what life was like for people in the ancient middle east. Existence was difficult, brutal and short. When someone had wealth and power, they used that power to benefit themselves, and their family and friends. If you did not have wealth or power, and were not related to someone who did, you were out of luck. Of course, that meant that, by far, most people were out of luck. The powerful would do to you whatever they could get away with, if they thought it would benefit them, and often, that was a lot. They might simply take your things, including your home. If you were a man, they might take your wife or daughter, if they found them attractive. If you were a woman, you had no rights even to your own person. So David’s words here are revolutionary:
“The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God, 4 is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”
David is saying that a ruler does not get to do whatever he wants. Even kings themselves are under a greater authority—God. The only responsible way to exercise authority is by being under authority yourself. In other words, no matter how much authority or influence we might have, we must use it with a recognition that we are accountable before God for the way we use it. When we do that, it is a wonderful blessing.
Do a thought experiment with me. Picture a policeman. He has the authority to compel you to obey the law. If you refuse to obey him when he gives you a lawful order, he has the authority to use force to compel you to obey, or to enact consequences on you if you don’t obey. But the key here is that what he is telling you to do is a lawful order. If he stops you while you are driving and demands to see your driver’s license, that is a lawful order. The policeman is himself acting appropriately under authority – the authority of the laws and regulations that say the police can stop you and ask for your license. However, if he stops you and demands that you give him all your money, the policeman is no longer acting “under authority.” No law gives him the authority to take your money. Therefore, when he is not himself under authority, he has no real authority to exercise.
Or imagine a boss. Suppose you work at a place of business that has a dress code, or uniforms, for employees. In that situation, your boss, under the authority of the rules of employment, has the right (the authority) to tell you how to dress. If you show up to work dressed inappropriately, she has the authority to enact consequences on you for that. But if the boss sees you when you are not working, she does not have the authority to tell you what to wear. In that situation she is not under authority as your supervisor, therefore she has no authority over what you wear.
We take all this as a matter of course. But these things were not always obvious, especially not during David’s lifetime. The idea that the king himself must be under God’s authority in order to exercise authority was revolutionary. The only reason we think it’s normal is because we live in a civilization that was profoundly shaped by the bible, including David’s words right here. When David said these things, it was an amazing thought: even the king has no appropriate authority unless he himself remains under the authority of God.
By the way, I think this is one reason that the Lord inspired Nathan the prophet to tell the story he did when he confronted David about Bathsheba and Uriah. David himself was passionate about people not abusing their authority. When he saw that he himself had been abusing his authority, it broke him. So, now, at the end of his life, David wants people to remember that even he himself had to remain under God’s authority.
Jonathan Leeman, in his book Authority, describes two different kinds of authority. The first is an authority to command. This is the authority to compel others to obey by causing serious consequences for those who disobey. A policewoman has that kind of authority. Bosses and owners have that sort of authority as well, at least in the workplace. Parents have that sort of authority over young children.
The second kind of authority is an authority of counsel. This is an authority that can strongly recommend a course of action, however, if someone wants to disregard it, the person with counsel authority cannot make someone else listen to them or compel them to obey them, or enact serious consequences upon them.
Most adult humans in the western world do have certain areas where they exercise appropriate authority. If you are a business owner, you have authority over your employees. If you are a boss, or supervisor, or team-lead, you have authority over others at your workplace. Even if you are a server at a restaurant, you have a kind of authority over the restaurant patrons. You can tell them not to go into the kitchen, or not to be disruptive. They must wait on your service before they can order or eat. Parents, of course, exercise significant authority over their children. Many children have authority over their pets. Even parents of adult children have a kind of authority over their grown children, in that their words feel “weighty,” to their kids. We can easily brush off something said by a random stranger, but it’s harder to ignore the words of a parent, even when we are grown.
Authority can be abused—I would guess we all know that. But do we know that when authority exists and is used properly, under the authority of God, it is, in fact, a blessing? Without God-blessed parental authority many children would die, or be treated cruelly. Without lawful authority the strong and wealthy would take whatever they wanted, and the rest of us would not be able to stop them. Authority that recognizes that God is over everything is a force for good. It allows families and societies to flourish in safety.
In verse five, David moves on. I spent a lot of time and labor trying to get at the Hebrew of this verse, because there is something that is not evident in the English translations. The closest is the ESV, which typically is the most literal. But let me give it to you in a “literal-ish” translation so you can see something going on in Hebrew:
Indeed, is it not right, my house, with God?
Indeed, an everlasting covenant he made with me, being arranged in the whole and being secured
Indeed, all of my salvation and every desire
Indeed, will he not bring to fruition?
There are four phrases, each one beginning with the Hebrew word that I have translated here “indeed.” The word is a conjunction that can be used as “for,” “and,” “but” and several other possibilities depending on context, but the point is, in Hebrew these four phrases each begin with the same word. This sets apart this verse from the others, and also makes us pay attention to each of the phrases.
In the first place, David has confidence that his house is indeed right with God. Now, he is not claiming to be innocent before God. But he is confident that the Lord has made things right with his entire family line. Indeed, it is about the covenant that the Lord made with David in 2 Samuel 7:8-17, the covenant of a messiah, a descendant of David, who will reign forever. David does not feel confident because of anything within himself. No, he is confident because the Lord made a covenant—a solemn agreement—with David, and the Lord arranged it, and the Lord secured it. The promise is not contingent upon David: it is the Lord’s doing from first to last. In case we missed it, David is talking, indeed, about all of his salvation, all of his desire, which, indeed, the Lord himself will bring to fulness.
This is the core of David’s last word and testimony, and it is that all his hope is in the coming of the promised Messiah, a descendant of David, and David dares to trust this hope because it is the Lord who made the covenant, the promise, and he who will make it happen.
Once again we see that the writer of Samuel is pointing us to something beyond just David. David’s own hope was not in himself, but in the Lord, and the Lord’s promises, especially in the promised messiah. We too, should not hope in a worldly leader, government, or system, nor even in our own talent or hard work, but in the promises of God, and in salvation through his promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. All our hopes and desires should be, like David, fixed on the promises of God, and upon the messiah, Jesus Christ. When that is the case, we can find rest and peace in our hearts, even as David himself did.
This last saying of David is put forward in a kind of shortened chiastic structure. The first part talks about the goodness of God when people live under his authority. The middle part, the “main point,” is the one we’ve just looked at, which is that our hope should be firmly rooted in the eternal promises of God, our desire should be for his chosen Messiah. Next, the ending part is a kind of reverse mirror of the first part: the fate of people who do not live under the Lord’s authority, and who do not hope in the promises of his covenant. Such people are like thorns. You can’t even touch them, lest you hurt yourself. Instead, thorns are killed by cold iron and then destroyed by hot fire. In the same way, for those who reject the authority of the Lord, the end is one to consider soberly.
All right, so where does this leave you? Perhaps you need to give some thought to the areas in your life where you have some authority. Maybe you need to remember that we can only properly be in authority if we are under authority, especially, under the authority of the Lord.
The writer of the book of Samuel probably lived two generations after David. The kingdom of Israel that David had worked so hard to create and secure was now split in half. The kings of both new kingdoms were not remotely like David. I suspect that people during that time were inclined to look at the past, especially to the time of David, and wish that they could have another king like him. But the author of this book is saying: “Don’t waste time wanting another David to come along. Instead, want what David himself wanted.” The heart of David’s last words are his trust in the promises of God. All his desire is wrapped up in what God promised. His heart is at peace because he believes what God has said.
I’m at an age where it’s easy to look back at earlier parts of my life and wish things were like that again. I’m tempted to want to somehow regain things that are lost in the past. But the message here is this: what’s past is past, and even back then it wasn’t everything you needed. Instead, like David, let’s learn to desire the Lord and the fulfillment of his promises above everything else.
One of my prayers for myself is that I desire what God has promised more than I desire anything else. When what we desire most is the Lord himself, our innermost being is fully satisfied. Often, I find that I have all sorts of other desires competing with my desire for the Lord. Sometimes, I have to pray kind of like this: “Lord, I want to want you more than anything. Please work in me so that I desire most what you want me to desire most.” That is a prayer that he loves to answer. All he requires is our willingness for him to make it so.
May we, too, trust God and be at rest in our souls.
The writer of Samuel is using his epilogue (closing part of the book) to emphasize certain themes again and again. One of the most important of these ideas is this: The Lord is the only source of salvation and hope. Even if the people imagined that a king like David could save them again, David’s own words point them not to any human leader, but to the Lord himself.
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1 SAMUEL #25. 1 SAMUEL CHAPTER 22:1-51.
Let’s remember where we are. The narrative history of the book of Samuel ended with 2 Samuel chapter 20. Chapter 21 does describe a historical incident, but it’s out of chronological order—it happened much earlier in David’s reign. Chapters 21-25 form a six part epilogue, organized according to an ancient writing style called chiastic structure. I want to remind us of the overall picture of this epilogue, because we have now come to the center of the structure.
Part A: A sin, and the need for atonement
Part B: God’s provision of salvation for his people, even when David becomes too old to fight
Part X (our section today): A psalm of David proclaiming that the Lord saves
Part X1: A psalm of David proclaiming that the Lord works through leaders
Part B1: The warriors who helped David save and lead Israel
Part A1: A sin, and the need for atonement, and God’s provision for it.
So we see that our section today (which is all of chapter 22) is building on what has come before.
2 Samuel chapter 22 is almost identical to Psalm 18, but there are quite a few differences between the Hebrew text of 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18, and some of those show up in the English translations. Almost all of those differences are due to the fact that the book of Psalms was gathered together and compiled a few centuries after the book of Samuel was written. During those intervening centuries, written Hebrew changed somewhat. Whoever collected the Psalms into one collection updated and standardized them so that all of the psalms used the same, latest form of Hebrew. Our verses today were written in the older form of Hebrew. The small differences between 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18 do not change any major teaching of the Bible (nor indeed any minor one).
The beginning of 2 Samuel 22 says:
“1 And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.”
Because of the mention of Saul, and a few other things in the psalm, most Bible scholars think that David wrote this when he was a fairly young man, probably around the time when he first became king of all Israel.
Remember, the first section of this epilogue was about the seriousness of sin and the need for atonement. Next came the crisis of the giants, and how the Lord made sure to provide a warrior to save Israel from each one. Now, in the first part of the psalm, David makes the overall theme perfectly clear: God alone is our salvation:
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. 4 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. (2 Samuel 22:2-4, ESV)
The people of Israel may have begun to feel that David was their savior. He saved them from the first giant. He fought the Philistines and won many battles for Israel. He outlasted the unstable, volatile, king Saul. As a new young king, he defeated the Philistines again, more completely. But here he says clearly that salvation and deliverance come only from the Lord. He, David, is not Israel’s savior. That title belongs to the Lord.
Verse 4 is a concept that appears throughout the Bible. To call on the name of the Lord is to worship him, and to give over your life to serving and worshipping him. Abraham “called on the name of the Lord.” So did Isaac and Jacob. Moses and the prophets urged the people to “call on the name of the Lord.”
The apostles made it clear that to call upon the name of the Lord was, in fact, the same thing as receiving and worshipping Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter quoted from one of the prophets when he urged people to receive Jesus:
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:21, ESV)
Paul wrote:
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13, ESV)
To call upon God’s name is to look to him earnestly and trustfully for help. It is to recognize that the only true help comes from the Lord, the only true salvation or deliverance comes from him alone. And as I said, the apostles taught that this was the same thing as receiving Jesus.
So calling on the name of the Lord is not simply saying the name “Yahweh,” or even “Jesus.” It means to worship the Lord, and to follow him, to allow your whole life to belong to him. David, for all his faults, did indeed do that.
In the next section of the psalm, verses 5-7, David talks about being in very serious distress. He called out to God for help in his particular situation. The way I read it, he is talking about the precarious way he lived for almost fifteen years. King Saul wanted him dead, so it wasn’t safe for him to go north into Israel. The Philistines wanted him dead, so it wasn’t safe among them, to the west. If he strayed too far south, the Amalekites were ready to get him. The wilderness he lived in was no picnic either. At different times during that period of his life, David faced all of those dangers.
The person who put together the book of Samuel included this psalm because he wants us to remember that following God did not always mean life was easy for David. We can therefore expect that sometimes life will be hard for us, even if we are faithfully following God.
Next, David gives us a very pictorial, metaphorical representation of how God responded to save him. The most remarkable thing about this is that God in all his majesty and power, cared deeply about David, and came to save him. Again, it was not David who delivered Israel, but the Lord who saved both David and Israel. David ends this section with this:
17 “He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. 18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. 20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. (2 Samuel 22:17-20, ESV)
The next section of the psalm, verses 21-25, is probably the hardest one to stomach. In it David claims that God dealt with him according to his (David’s) own righteousness. In the first place, that can make it sound like we have to be good people before God will help us. Second, we know that David was far from perfect. We know that even before the terrible sins he committed in the Bathsheba incident, he still sometimes forgot to ask the Lord for guidance, or, at other times, he was hot-headed and angry. He didn’t listen to what the Lord said about having many wives.
However, remember, David wrote this in his youth, long before he sinned with Bathsheba and had Uriah murdered. And I think that David, when he talks about being “blameless” here, means that he faithfully followed the Lord in not killing Saul, and in not trying to steal the kingdom for himself. In other words, he isn’t claiming to be blameless in every area of his life, but rather, he is talking specifically about the way he waited patiently for God to make him king, and the times he refused to kill Saul.
Remember when Saul promised that whoever killed the giant would marry his oldest daughter, and be made rich? Saul broke those promises to David. Not only that, but he added conditions onto his public promises. Saul made David kill an additional 100 Philistines before he allowed him to marry his youngest daughter. David did not complain about the broken promises, nor use them as an excuse to serve Saul poorly. Instead, he continued to faithfully serve Saul, even when Saul treated him badly. David is thinking about specific things like this when he says he was “blameless.”
He is saying, in fact, that he knows the Lord gave him the kingdom, because he did get the kingdom for himself. He was “righteous” in not assassinating Saul, and in not leading a rebellion. He goes on:
26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity. 27 To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. (2 Samuel 22:26-27, NLT)
This section includes amazing promises, and serious warnings. First, this isn’t about earning our salvation. It’s more like this: if we allow the Lord to build a straight, open pipeline within our hearts and minds, then God can show us his love and goodness directly. When we trust the Lord, He uses that to build an open channel to show us his love and goodness.
On the other hand, when we don’t trust God, we tend to make deals with him, or try to manipulate him into giving us what we want, no matter what. We ourselves throw twists and curves and complications into our relationship with God, and then we blame him because he seems tricky and shrewd to us.
This isn’t actually all that complicated. Imagine a good human father who has two sons. He showers both sons with love, and he also creates strong boundaries with discipline. The first son, Peter, responds by trusting his dad, even when he isn’t always happy about the boundaries, or when he doesn’t understand them. The second son, Eric, wants what he wants, right now. He doesn’t see his dad’s boundaries as loving—he only sees that his dad appears to be denying him what he wants. So he tries his best to subvert the rules, and manipulate his dad, and get what he wants. Peter’s relationship with his dad is likely to be warm and loving, and not super complicated. But Eric will have a totally different experience with the same loving father. Because Eric himself has not responded to his dad in love and trust, his dad will have to find additional ways to discipline him, different ways to relate to him, and get through to him. Because Eric is so fixated on what he wants, his perception is that his dad is standing in the way of that. Therefore, Eric will not easily be able to have an open, honest, loving relationship with his dad, even though it’s the same dad that Peter has, who loves Eric just as much as he loves Peter.
Honestly, I think perhaps David was thinking of Saul when he wrote this part of the Psalm. Both David and Saul served the same loving God. But they had a totally different experience of God because David responded to God in trusting faith, while Saul only tried to use and manipulate God. When we try to make deals with God, or manipulate him, we find that these things backfire on us.
David finished this part of the psalm with this thought:
28 You save a humble people; but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. (2 Samuel 22:28, ESV)
This is another concept that is echoed and re-echoed throughout the Bible—in both the Old and New Testaments.
Here are two examples from the New Testament:
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:6-10, ESV)
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:5-7, ESV)
If we try to claim that we have something worthwhile to offer God, something with which to bargain, we will find God hard and inaccessible. If we think we don’t really need God, or that we can stand in judgment of him, we find that he opposes us. But if we approach him with true humility, with a understanding and attitude that we have nothing whatsoever to bargain with, no claim on him, no reason he should be kind to us, we find that he reaches out toward us in love and grace.
David continues in this psalm with a lot of words about his victories in battles, but if we pay attention as we read it, we notice that David always insists that it is the Lord who brought him victory, not his own skill or athleticism. He can “run through a troop” because the Lord enables him to do it. Over and over, in different ways, David tells us that the Lord alone is the source of hope and salvation. He is not king because he is an amazing person. He is king because God chose him. He did not win battles because he was a great warrior. He won them because he looked humbly to God, and God fought for him. We are meant to hear it clearly: God is the only source of hope and salvation.
One thought is that the way we approach God can have a large influence on our relationship with him. If we approach him like Saul, if our ultimate commitment is to ourselves, or to our own goals and desires, we might find that God seems difficult and tricky. If we approach him with pride or preconditions, we might feel almost like God opposes us. But if we approach him with open faith, and the humility to receive everything from him, even if some of what we receive we’d rather not have, we will find that God is kind and gracious and loving. He opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. If you feel like God has been opposing you lately, give thought to whether you have been humble enough to trust him in all things.
Finally, we need to train our hearts and minds to look to the Lord alone for salvation. And “salvation” doesn’t mean “everything goes the way we want it to.” It means that God has us in his hands, that he will be with us no matter what we face in this present life, and in the life to come we will find joy beyond imagining with the Lord, and with his people.
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