Tue, 20 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Samuel 16:5-13

⁵ When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. ⁶ And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. ⁷ And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! ⁸ The LORD has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

⁹ Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” ¹⁰ But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” ¹¹ And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. ¹² It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong done to me, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today.” ¹³ So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

David is fleeing for his life from his son Absalom. As he is leaving Jerusalem, we see several little episodes as people come to David. Some come offering help, but Shimei comes to mock David.

It is interesting to see the change in David. Remember how David reacted when Nabal insulted him and refused to give his men provisions? What a difference here, as David restrains his nephew Abishai from violence against Shimei as opposed to how he lead the men in an aborted attack on Nabal.

I think the key to the different reaction is that David knows what is happening is due to his own sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, and so he submits to what is happening. He takes it as coming from God. He is actively working to avoid being killed by Absalom, and he is positioning himself for successful battle against the rebelling forces, but David submits to God in this.

It is instructive to look at Psalm 3 as we read this passage, because this is when David wrote Psalm 3. In Psalm 3, David prays for deliverance from men like Shimei. He doesn’t take revenge at this personal slight, but rather entrusts himself to God and His protection. Rather than react with the sword, David prays and writes Psalm 3.

What do we learn from this?

Trust in God and let thing up to Him. That doesn’t mean we are inactive. But it does mean that we do not seek to avenge personal slights. Leave that up to God.

Take the things that are bothering you to God in prayer, and leave them there, for God has promised to grant peace to those who bring their concerns to Him in prayer. Note that David tells us that in his flight from Absalom, after entrusting himself to God, he can sleep. Even in this stressful time of fleeing for his life from his own son, David found peace in trusting God.

Where is Christ in this passage?

David shows the attitude of Christ in the way he treats Shimei. David could have easily had Shimei killed for his curses, and in fact, David had to act to spare Shimei’s life from Abishai. And so Jesus Christ endured the curses of those who crucified Him. He did not have to endure that abuse. He could have called down judgment upon those who abused Him. But He spared them and endured their taunts and abuse for our sake.

David’s suffering was not redemptive. David didn’t pay for anyone’s sins, like Jesus Christ did. But David does display the forgiving and submissive attitude of Jesus Christ as He faced the abuse of people and endured the cruelty of the cross.

Mon, 19 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 69:1-3

¹ Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
² I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
³ I am weary with my crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.

---

Psalm 69:34-35

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
³⁵ For God will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
³⁶ the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

This Psalm begins in the depths of despair, as David pours out his cry to God. As it progresses, we see David describing his situation in terms that clearly point us to the coming Messiah. And at the end, we see that God has worked so in David’s life that despite the desperateness of his situation at the beginning of the Psalm, David can call for all to join him in praising God.

What do we learn from this?

God works through our prayers. But often, what God does is not to change the circumstances but to change our attitude within the circumstances. As we read through Psalm 69, it isn’t clear that David’s circumstances have changed between the beginning and the end, but clearly David’s attitude has been changed from despair to confidence. David has moved from debilitating self-introspection to focusing on God and praising Him.

Here we see David living out Philippians 4:6-7 where we are commanded to bring our cares and concerns to God in prayer, and God has promised to give us peace.

Where is Christ in this passage?

David is prefiguring Christ in this Psalm. John tells us that verse 9 explicitly refers to Jesus cleansing the temple:

Psalm 69:9

⁹ For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

---

John 2:13-17

¹³ The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

One other obvious Messianic allusion:

Psalm 69:21

²¹ They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Sun, 18 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 21:1-5

¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel ³ and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. ⁴ Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. ⁵ And all flesh shall know that I am the LORD. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.

God tells Ezekiel that He will bring judgment against Israel because of their continued disobedience. The were to be the people of God, but they were living in rebellion against Him. And so He will bring the sword of judgment, and it will show all that God is the LORD.

What do we learn from this?

God displays that He is the LORD when He comes in judgment. And when the visible church is in blatant disobedience to Him, God will bring judgement against it. God will not let those who claim to be His people to continue in rebellion against Him unjudged.

Notice that God says that his judgement will fall on both righteous and wicked. The righteous do not necessarily get a free pass when judgement falls upon the disobedient church. They will suffer too.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Here we see that judgment will sometimes fall on both the righteous and the wicked. We understand that the righteous are those who are trusting in God for salvation, and are attempting (however imperfectly) to live lives that are pleasing to God. They are not righteous in that they are perfect. But as they are in Jesus Christ, they are righteous in God’s eyes. They have the perfect righteousness of Christ applied to them, and so God declares them to be righteous. This doesn’t exempt them from suffering, and they will suffer in the general judgment of God. But when they stand before God on judgment day, He will declare them to be righteous and acceptable to Him because of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Sat, 17 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
¹⁸ and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”

Paul has been dealing with severe problems in the Corinthian church. In this section he is warning about being unequally yoked with unbelievers.

What does it mean to be unequally yoked? There was an Old Testament prohibition against mixing different kinds of draft animals when plowing. Like the law against mixing seed in a field, and mixing different kinds of material in clothes, the law against mixing draft animals appears to have been to remind the people of Israel that they were to be separate from the world. They were to be a pure people. There conduct mattered, and therefore they needed to maintain a separation from those who would draw them away from God.

Here, Paul seems to be alluding to this Old Testament ceremonial prohibition against unequally yoking. But Paul points to the deeper spiritual significance.

What do we learn from this?

We must be careful in our relationships to not let unbelievers have undue influence over us. We must not be yoked together with them in any way that binds us to a common purpose for our lives where they will have the ability to influence and control us. We must not be yoked with them where we join our forces together to accomplish a common goal, and we are bound to focus on the same things and must drive to the same goals together.

Paul is warning against such things as a Christian marrying (or dating) a non Christian, coming into a business partnership with a non Christian, or any close association that will lead us into sin.

Christians can and should have contact with non Christians. But we must be very careful to guard our lives so that we do not develop the kind of relationships where non Christians can influence our moral decisions and draw us into sin.

Where is Christ in this passage?

What accord has Christ with Belial? How much does Christ agree with and work with Satan? Can Christ and Satan join together to focus their energy for a common goal? No. There is no accord between Christ and Satan. So how much accord can there be between believers who are in Christ Jesus, and unbelievers who reject Him and are at war with Him? How much accord between the children of God and the children of the Devil?

Those who have come to God through faith in Christ Jesus have been bought by Him. We belong to Him. Therefore we need to be holy, and not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

Fri, 16 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Samuel 12:24-25

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him ²⁵ and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

Yesterday, David sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband killed to cover it up. Today, Nathan the prophet confronts David about his sin. David is not hardened in his sin. When he is confronted by Nathan, David immediately repents of his sin and throws himself upon God’s mercy.

As the chapter continues, we see the sad episode of the death of the baby who was the fruit of David’s sin. But then we come to the two verses above. Solomon is born.

What do we learn from this?

In God, there is forgiveness for even the greatest sin as we truly repent. Be sure that consequences will remain. (The baby died. Absalom will rebel against David.) But we can be confident in our ultimate forgiveness for our sins as we repent and trust in God.

See how great God is in His forgiveness. David and Bathsheba lose their baby as the direct result of their sin. But God gives them another child. And what a child! Solomon. The wisest, most prosperous ruler of Israel. The builder of the temple. The beloved of the LORD, for that is what Jedidiah, the name given to Solomon by God, means.

Even after our great sin, as we are living out in the consequences of our sinful choices, if we come to God in faith, we are forgiven, accepted, loved, and comforted by God.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Solomon was a great king. He was beloved of the LORD. But Solomon also had great failings, as we will soon see. Solomon will continue the promise to David of a son to sit upon the throne. But Solomon, in all his greatness, only foreshadows the great King to come. Solomon points us to Jesus Christ who is the Beloved of the LORD.

Thu, 15 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 62:5-7

⁵ For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

This is another Psalm of David. We don’t know the circumstances that led David to write this Psalm, but we see that someone is again lying about him. ³ How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? ⁴ They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.

David is very distraught about this attack, and so he brings his complaint before God.

What do we learn from this?

It is interesting that our Family 1 reading for today is David’s sin with Bathsheba. But in this, our Secret 2 reading, we see why David was called a man after God’s own heart. Despite all his failings, and they were tremendous failings, David continued to throw himself upon God as his only hope and refuge. Whenever he faced difficult times, David fled to God. And as David came to God in silent expectation, trusting only in God, he found salvation and peace with God.

When he had peace with God, how could he be shaken in the circumstances? And thus David could write such a Psalm.

Where is Christ in this passage?

When we flee to God for refuge, when we come to Him as our only hope, when we seek Him for salvation, we are coming to Him through Jesus Christ. It is only because of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, as He died for the sins of all those who come to Him in faith, and because of His perfect life that is credited to them, that anyone can find refuge, hope and salvation in God.

David came to God by trusting in the substitute God had provided for his salvation. David came to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Wed, 14 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Ezekiel 17:22-24

²² Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

In this chapter, Ezekiel has this elaborate prophecy of trees, vines and eagles. Knowing the history of what happened in the Babylonian exile, the message is pretty clear. The great eagle is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. When the eagle takes the top of the cedar tree from Lebanon, it refers to Nebuchadnezzar taking King Jehoiachin into captivity.

The seed that the eagle plants that then grows into a small vine is Zedekiah, who was appointed king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. When the vine turns to a different eagle, this alludes to Zedekiah’s turning to Egypt to rebell against Babylon, which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and Zedekiah’s blinding and imprisonment.

What do we learn from this?

God is in control of all history. Whether it is the big things of life, like the falling and rising of nations in our chapter today, or the small things of life, like the dying of a bird, God is in control.

There is much comfort for us in knowing that our Heavenly Father is in control of all things. So even if things do not go well for us, we know that God has allowed it to happen for a reason, and that He will work in the terrible circumstances to bring about His glory and our ultimate good.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The chapter ends with God promising to set up his own apointed twig that will grow into a mighty tree. The birds will come to this tree for shelter and rest.

This tree is the promised Messiah. It is God again renewing the promise He made to David to bring a king to sit on the throne forever. The kings of Judah had failed, and were being carried into captivity for their disobedience, but God promises He will establish His King.

Jesus Christ is this King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the one to whom we flee for refuge and rest. He is sprig that has been made into the high tree.

Tue, 13 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Corinthians 2:12:17

¹² When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

In this chapter, Paul is writing about his great concern for the church at Corinth and the severe letter he had written to them. He is overjoyed at their reaction to the letter, but he had been very concerned about how they would receive it.

When Paul arrived at Troas, he had the opportunity to preach about Christ there, but because of his concern to meet Titus and hear about how the Corinthians had received his harsh letter, Paul continued on to join Titus and find out what had happened.

At this point, Paul now tells us that despite all the hardships and his great concern for the church, he considers himself to be in a triumphal procession. Just as conquorers would lead a procession into the conquored city, with the captives in trail, so Paul considers himself conquored by Christ, and being part of God’s triumphal procession.

Paul also tells us that he considers himself to be the aroma of Christ. But the aroma is different depending on who you are. For those who are being saved, it is the aroma of life. For those who are not saved, it is the aroma of death.

What do we learn from this?

Paul saw his preaching as having two different results. In his preaching of the condemnation of the law and the forgiveness of God’s grace in the gospel, Paul saw that this causes those who reject the message to smell death. They walk away from Paul’s preaching and they are either hardened in their sins, or they grow in their apprehension and fear of death. In either case, they smell the death of the condemnation that comes from the preaching of the law and its consequences. They do not repent, but continue in their sins. Therefore they smell death.

But to those who are broken by the law, and come to God in faith claiming the promises of the gospel, Paul’s preaching is the smell of life. They are born again, and they are drawn to God. The preaching of the law and gospel is beautiful to them, and although it causes pain in the revelation of their sin, that pain leads to repentance and forgiveness, which is beautiful. They are saved. They smell life.

And so we are both the smell of death to those ungodly around us as they sense their own condemnation before a holy God, and we are the smell life to the regenerate around us who sense the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ.

Where is Christ in this passage?

We are the aroma of Christ. It is Christ who will judge everyone at the last day. He will condemn those who have not come to Him in faith. They will be consigned to eternal damnation and so to these people, the aroma of Christ is the aroma of judgment, condemntation and death.

But to the saved, the aroma of Christ is the aroma of life, because Jesus Christ is our Savour, and through faith in Him we are saved from our sins and are given eternal life.

Mon, 12 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Samuel 7:2-16

¹² “‘When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, ¹⁵ but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. ¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Out of gratitude for what God has done for him, David decides to build a temple for God to replace the Tabernacle Moses had built. When he tells the prophet Nathan of his intentions, God has Nathan inform David that he is not the one to build the temple. But after stopping David, God graciously tells him that David’s son will do this. Solomon will build the temple that David had it in his heart to build.

Then God goes even further and promises David that he will have a son on the throne forever. Unlike Saul who had the kingship torn from him and given to David, David’s heirs will continue to sit upon the throne.

What do we learn from this?

David had it in his heart to change the way the people worshipped God. He wanted to honor God by building Him a permanent temple. What could be wrong with doing this? The people worshipped God in a tent. Wouldn’t a temple be better?

The problem was that God had not commanded this change. It was entirely from David, and so God has to stop David in his plans. God will have Solomon build the temple, but this is not for David to do, and although David’s desire to do something for God is commendable, God had to stop him.

This is the same point made in this week’s Westminster Catechism question: We are limited in our worship to doing only that which God has commanded. Even David could not make changes to how the people worshipped God without God’s express command.

We are responsible to God to worship Him only in the way that He has commanded. We cannot add to or subtract from doing that which God has commanded us to do in our worship. To do so is to disobey God. It is sin, regardless of our good intentions.

Where is Christ in this passage?

How is David’s throne established forever? No one is king of Israel anymore. Who is this descendent of David who is reigning and where is he reigning?

Jesus Christ is the descendent of David, and He is reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the ultimate fulfillment of this promise.

Sun, 11 September, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 55:1-14

¹ Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
² Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
³ because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

⁴ My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵ Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
⁶ And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
⁷ yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸ I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹ Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
for I see violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they go around it on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
¹¹ ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.

¹² For it is not an enemy who taunts me–
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me–
then I could hide from him.
¹³ But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
¹⁴ We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God’s house we walked in the throng.

In today’s Psalm, David is facing an attack, but this time the attack is not coming from an openly declared enemy. The attack is coming from someone who had been a close friend, and so the attack is that much more devastating to David.

What do we learn from this?

David is in the depths of despair, to the extent that he tells us he wants to run away to escape. I know I find it encouraging to see that people in the scriptures have these feelings also. It is natural to want to run away, and it isn’t a sign of spiritual immaturity to want to be released from the troubles.

We also see that sometimes we are betrayed by friends, and the pain of this betrayal is worse than that which we receive from an enemy. We might not face this ourselves, but this Psalm help us to deal with others who have. And it can also encourages us to be true to our friends and not abandon them.

And finally, although we didn’t include the end of the Psalm in our quote above, we see that David ends the Psalm with the appropriate response to such betrayal: ²² Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Where is Christ in this passage?

David, in decrying the betrayal of his close friend, prefigures Jesus Christ, as He was betrayed by Judas. David’s description perfectly fits Judas: ¹³ But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. ¹⁴ We used to take sweet counsel together….