2 Samuel 12:1-31, John 16:1-33, Psalms 119:65-80, Proverbs 16:4-5
Today is the 27th day of May. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here with you as we dive into the work week and move our way toward the end of this month. We’re reading from the New International Version this week and working our way through second Samuel. So, we’ll pick up with the story that’s unfolding before us, a sordid story. David has become king, he had taken another man’s wife, who happened to be a soldier in his military. And as we’ll find out, one of David’s elite warriors. When this warrior, his name was Uriah, Uriah the Hittite, when David summoned him back to Jerusalem from battle and told him to go home to his wife he wouldn’t, like, he wouldn’t. And that was David’s plan. He was gonna cover the whole thing up. So, David sent him back into battle and essentially…essentially murdered him by having him put on the front lines and then having people withdraw so that he was killed. This is the kind of things that Saul tried to do to David. So, it’s quite a turn in the story and we’ll pick it up. Second Samuel chapter 12.
Commentary:
Okay. So, no doubt about it, the story happening in second Samuel in David’s life is…well…its sordid just like we said at the beginning. All of our time as we’re traveling along with David through first Samuel watching him be on the run from assassination plot after assassination plot, after plot, after plot, after plot, to have him killed, he’s become stealthy, he’s become a warrior, he’s had to grow up fast, he’s had to become a national hero or a national figure without any training. So, he has held on to God for dear life and some of his heart is poured out in the Psalms as he runs from King Saul, then he becomes King and he’s honorable through that process and everybody rallies to him and he’s the king and then this happens, right? This is a very large turn in the story of King David. Things are not going to go well in his family after this. It’s almost like this is the kind of story that nobody really wants to talk about like if you were back in this time. And yet, his family knows what happened and we’re gonna see that it appears they’ve lost respect and it’s certain that after the prophet Nathan came and told the story to David and David’s all angry and wanting to kill this person that he’s realized, that he realizes that the story is about him. And, so, we see him repent and things will never be the same again. And it just becomes a mirror of our own lives in so many ways because it is in the times of difficulty and hardship and wilderness of our lives that we are clinging to God for dear life, especially when we feel like there’s nothing else to cling to. And we find, as we look back over those times, that they were rich. They taught us how to trust. They taught us how to navigate. And yet, then when things get easy again, like when we get back in control again then we find ourselves wandering into things that have no possible good outcome and can really mess things up going down the line into the future. And, so we find in the story of King David, once again the Bible becomes a mirror into our own lives.
And then as we move into John’s Gospel we’re continuing to listen to Jesus speak His final words to His friends in the last recorded conversation that we find in the Gospels before Jesus was arrested. And, so, Jesus says, “I’ve told you these things so that you won’t lose faith, right, so you won’t abandon your faith, so you won’t fall away because you’re gonna be thrown out of synagogues and a time will come when people who kill you will think they’re doing God’s work.” How true that proved to be. How true that remains. Throughout history followers of Jesus have been have been subjected to appalling persecution. Even in our own lifetimes we’ve seen this brutality continue but it’s what happened to Jesus. Those who put Jesus to death, they thought they were doing the right thing. So, let’s be sure to take a moment to just consider the freedoms that we enjoy and that we take for granted every day because mixed in with the gratitude, we need to have the earnest plea for our persecuted brothers and sisters who, if they had the freedoms that we take for granted, it would be like the very kingdom of God itself for them. So, may we pray for the persecuted church today. I have spoken to a lot of people and a lot of places in the world and some of those places in the world aren't…you just can’t take safety for granted, especially in religious…in terms of religious freedom. And so often they feel forgotten. And it’s easy to forget them because we may find ourselves geographically or nationally or politically at odds with the nation that they live in. And, so, their trapped and feel as if no one cares. And Jesus went on to say, “when the spirit of truth comes, He will lead you into all truth”, which is something that we pray for on a continual basis because this is a promise given. And Jesus said that, “He’s not going to speak on His own will. He’ll tell you what He’s heard. He’ll tell you about the future. He’ll bring me glory by telling you whatever He receives from me. Of course, this is the Holy Spirit that we’re talking about. The spirit of God is within us and will lead us into all truth, but we have to ask ourselves, how much truth are we really after? Like, how much truth are we really seeking? Because often what we want is our cake and eat it too, right, to enjoy the light but keep shadows on the things that we that we don’t want to face or that we don’t want exposed. But, here’s the deal, hiding will not make us like Jesus. Even though we may battle this all our lives, we’re struggling to be true and walk in the light. This is what Jesus modeled for us. That’s what Christ like looks like. That’s what we’re supposed to be becoming. And then lastly, Jesus said, “I told you all this stuff so that you can have peace in me because here on earth you’ll have many trials and sorrows but take heart, I have overcome the world.” So, even as we hear those words, even as we read them today, we can just look around and see that this is true. We indeed will face trials and indeed we experience sorrow in this world. And at times it’s overwhelming. And at times is like a tsunami has washed us away. But Jesus is telling us that there is a peace that the world cannot give and the world cannot take because this peace can only be found intertwined in a relationship with God and that has been bestowed upon us. So, take heart. Take joy. Take peace. Jesus has overcome the world and through him so can we.
Prayer:
Father, we come into Your presence today acknowledging that a lot has happened in the Scriptures for us to consider. The story of David is certainly a complicated one, much like our lives. And we may have, at times, found ourselves doing things toward other people that had previously been done to us and we like, we know the story, like we know the pain that’s causing, and we find ourselves doing the same thing, like David. So, we invite the Spirit of truth into that. And when we listen Jesus, to Your words, as You’re coming to the end of Your conversation at the Last Supper and You are assuring Your friends that they won’t be able to take anything for granted. We have these freedoms that we take for granted that they did not have. And, so, any time that we face any kind of little obstacle we want to start screaming and shaking our fists at the sky when You prepared us for this in advance. So, come Holy Spirit and help us to understand and rightly interpret the circumstances of our lives and what the seasons of wilderness actually mean to us. And lastly Father, we pray for our brothers and sisters who feel and in many cases are forgotten in this world, trapped behind the borders, trapped behind cultures, struggling to survive and avoid the persecution that descends upon them regularly. When we think of them we confess a sense of helplessness because we don’t know what to do. And yet, we’re reaching to You Father, we’re reaching toward our brothers and sisters in the Spirit that they might feel comfort today, that they might have a sense that they are not forgotten. Come Holy Spirit we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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