II Samuel 6
David places ark of God on new cart: wrongverses 1-5
Again David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel
thirty thousand
And David arose – and went with all the people that were with him
from Baale of Judah – to bring up from thence the ark of God
whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts
that dwells between the cherubim
And they set the ark of God on a new cart
and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah
and Uzzah and Ahio – the sons of Abinadab
drove the new cart
and they brought it out of the house of Abinadab
which was at Gibeah accompanying the ark of God
and Ahio went before the ark
And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all
manner of instruments made of fir wood – even on
harps – psalteries – timbrels – cornets – cymbals
LORD kills Uzzah for touching arkverses 6-7
And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor
Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God
and took hold of it
for the oxen shook it
And the ANGER of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah
and God smote him there for his error
and there he died by the ark of God
David angry over deathverse 8
And David was DISPLEASED
BECAUSE the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah
and he called the name of the place
Perez-uzzah to this day
David afraid to move ark of Godverses 9-11
And David was AFRAID of the LORD that day
and said
How shall the ark of the LORD
come to me?
So David would not remove the ark of the LORD to him
into the city of David – BUT David carried it aside into
the house of Obed-edom the Gittite
And the ark of the LORD
continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite
three months – and the LORD BLESSED Obed-edom
and all his household
David moves ark of God properlyverses 12-15
And it was told king David
saying
The LORD has BLESSED the house of Obed-edom
and all the pertains unto him – BECAUSE of the ark of God
So David went and brought up the ark of God
from the house of Obed-edom
into the city of David with gladness
And it was so – that when they that BARE
the ark of the LORD had gone
six paces – he sacrificed oxen and fatlings
And David danced before the LORD with all his might
and David was girded with a linen ephod
So David and all the house of Israel brought up
the ark of the LORD
with SHOUTING – and with the sound of the trumpet
Michal has contempt for David’s actionsverse 16
And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David
Michal – Saul’s daughter looked through a window
and saw king David
leaping and dancing before the LORD
and she despised him in her heart
David places ark of God in tentverses 17-19
And they brought in the ark of the LORD – and set it in his place
in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it
and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings
before the LORD
And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings
and peace offerings – he BLESSED the people in the
name of the LORD of hosts
And he dealt among all the people
even among the whole multitude of Israel
as well to the women as men
to everyone a cake of bread
and good piece of flesh
flagon of wine
So all the people departed everyone to his house
Michal confronts Davidverse 20
Then David returned to BLESS his household
and Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David
and said
How glorious was the king of Israel today
who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the
handmaids of his servants
as one of the vain fellows shamelessly
uncovers himself?
David answers her concernverses 21-23
And David
said to Michal
It was before the LORD – which chose me before your father
and before all his house – to appoint me ruler over the
people of the LORD over Israel
therefore will I play before the LORD
And I will yet be more vile than thus
and will be base in mine own sight
and of the maidservants which you have spoken of
of them shall I be had in honor
Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child
to the day of her death
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 And they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. (5090 “drove” [nahag] means to drive, to lead, to take or guide somewhere, drive off, to lead off on in a course, or guide)
DEVOTION: Remember we carry two traits with us from our old nature into our life in Christ. This was true from the beginning of time for believers in their relationship to the LORD. The two traits are that we are selfish and lazy.
Here we find two sons of Abinadab who were involved in this changing of location of the Ark of God. They knew the rules regarding the moving of the Ark but they didn’t think they were important. They thought that it was just as good to disobey the LORD and put the Ark on a cart rather than them carrying the Ark all the way to Jerusalem.
Were they just being lazy? Where they not concerned with what the LORD might do to anyone other than a priest carrying the Ark? They caused a man to die because they didn’t instruct David in the proper way to move the Ark.
Sometimes we allow things to happen in the church which is not what the LORD commanded us to do. HE doesn’t just want us to come together as a group of strangers to worship HIM. HE wants us to come together as genuine brothers and sisters who love each other and want to worship the LORD together. HE wants us to show our love to HIM through showing our love for each other.
There are places where people can come to church and never have anyone greet them or shake their hands. These could be people who have attended the church for many weeks.
I have found that people can attend a Sunday School class of about thirty people and everyone doesn’t even know each other’s names. Strangers in the same room for over a number of years who never take the time to introduce themselves to anyone they don’t know. This is wrong.
When we worship, we should worship with people who know each other and know the LORD. God wants worship to be done with a group of brothers and sisters who understand what the LORD expects of them in their relationship to each other and HIM.
This takes instructions from the leadership. Here it would have been good for the two priests to instruct the king in the right way to move the Ark. Sometimes the people in our churches are expecting the leadership to show them the proper way to worship with each other.
Even without proper instructions this next Sunday make sure you know the names of everyone in your Sunday School class and greet them. This should include even the children greeting one another by name.
CHALLENGE: The LORD wants you and each of your students to be a blessing to each other.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach on Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day. (2734 “displeased” [charah] means kindled, wroth, hot, angry, incensed, grieved, to be or become angry and feel aversion and antipathy for something)
DEVOTION: David thought he was doing a good thing by bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He was happy to be able to do it. He wanted to have the LORD’s Ark in Jerusalem in a special house that he would build for HIM called the Temple.
However, David didn’t know the standard that the LORD had set for the moving of the Ark. He thought he could just go to one place and take it to another place anyway he could. This was wrong thinking. He was not instructed by the priests at the time.
So we find that someone thought they were doing a good thing when they tried to steady the Ark because it hit a rough spot in the road. This was not his responsibility. It was the responsibility of the priest to instruct and carry the Ark. They didn’t do their job and someone who wasn’t a priest touched the Ark and was killed.
God doesn’t like it when we do things the wrong way when we should know how to do them the right way. If the leadership is not leading properly by instructing the people regarding what the LORD expects of them we would think that the leadership should be judged for the mistakes of the regular person who attends the church service.
In the New Testament we have a couple coming to church and giving their money but telling people that they gave more than they did and the LORD struck them dead for lying to HIM.
God doesn’t want his people to worship HIM any way they can but HE wants them to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. How can they know the truth if they are not taught the truth by those in leadership?
Uzzah died thinking he was doing something right but it was wrong. He didn’t have proper instructions regarding the treatment of the Ark. David was angry because he was not instructed on how to move the Ark properly. HE thought God was wrong in killing the man but the LORD had a lesson to teach the people. They learned the lesson the hard way. Sometimes we have to learn lessons the hard way but should we blame the LORD? Should we know more about proper worship than we presently do?
Should the leadership in the local church make sure that everyone knows what is expected of them in church each Sunday when they come to worship the LORD? Should there be more instructions given to older members as well as new members regarding proper worship of the LORD in the Sunday services? Are people worshiping the LORD in spirit and in TRUTH????
CHALLENGE: Are we worshiping the LORD in error? With more instructions could the worship services be more honoring to the LORD each week?
: 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. (8643 “shouting” [taruw‘ah] means joyful utterance, rejoicing, cry of the voice, loud sounds, or jubile)
DEVOTION: We find that David tried to bring up the ark of the Covenant the wrong way first. This first time of bring the ark was filled with the playing of musical instruments. In verse five we find a list of musical instruments used on this occasion: harps, psalteries, timbrels, cornets and cymbals. This was a great celebration of the moving of the ark into the capital of the nation, Jerusalem.
The ark didn’t make it this time because it was brought the wrong way. It was supposed to be carried by the priests rather than on a cart. The LORD judged Uzzah for touching the ark.
The LORD wants things done right when we come together to worship HIM. Too often in our churches we forget that we are there to honor HIM and not just please ourselves. HE doesn’t want confusion in any worship service dedicated to HIM. HE wants everything to be done decently and in order.
In the Old Testament the instruction were plain that the priests were to carry the Ark of the Covenant anywhere it went. If this was not done the first time but this time it was done right.
When we worship are we worshiping in spirit and in truth? Does every part of the service bring glory to his name? Are we raising our voices in praise to HIM?
Too often when there is congregational singing it is only a few that are singing and most of them are singing quietly. My music director preferred that I sang quietly but that was not in my nature. I can’t carry a tune but I make a joyful noise to the LORD.
The LORD wants us to put our hearts into our singing of praise to HIM whether it is a hymn or a chorus. We are there to worship HIM with our whole heart and voice. HE understands those who don’t have a good singing voice. HE still wants our hearts involved with our voices.
CHALLENGE: Make your joyful noise unto the LORD while you are worshiping each day of the week. Singing is a great part of worship.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. (959 “despised” [bazah] means contemned, disdained, hold in contempt, disdain, to look down on with contempt, to think lightly of, or raise the hand loftily and disdainfuly)
DEVOTION: Here we have the first wife of David who had been given to another man when David was not in favor with Saul.
So this daughter of Saul was returned to David after marrying another man. Now she was back with David but didn’t appreciate his leaping and dancing before the LORD. She thought it was below a king to do such a thing. He should have had more dignity.
David was just enjoying the fact that the ark of the LORD was going to be put in its rightful place. He was worshiping the LORD with great joy. He was being an example to the rest of Israel regarding the rightful place of the LORD.
Worship of the LORD should be a first priority of every believer. It should be done with enthusiasm. It should never be done in a “ho-hum” manner like we can see in many churches. Some of the people don’t even sing when there is a hymn to honor the LORD being sung.
Too many “believers” look like they are sucking sour lemons during a worship service for the LORD. There are times when the music is not something to my liking but if it is a song that praises the LORD – I sing it.
There is such a thing as too much emotion but there is also such a thing as too little. We have to hit a balance in our worship of the LORD. It should be done with our whole heart involved.
CHALLENGE: We serve a great God who has provided a great salvation for us for eternity. This should bring out our thankfulness to HIM.
: 21 And David said to Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before your father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. (7832 “play” [sachaq] means to laugh, celebrate, make merry, or to rejoice.)
DEVOTION: Have you ever had your spouse disagree with your actions? Have they made a comment about it? Was your action good like David’s or bad like others in the Bible? Our actions speak of our relationship with the LORD. David was celebrating in the LORD and his wife was more concerned with appearances. Who was right?
The movement of the ark of the LORD from the house of Abinadab the priest was started in the wrong manner. The priest should have known that the ark of the LORD had to be CARRIED not put on a new cart. They put the ark on a cart and the cart shook the ark and Uzzah tried to stop it from falling. Wrong move!!
David is displeased with the LORD because he thought he is doing a good work. He didn’t do enough research or ask the priest for the proper way to move the ark. As we study the life of David we find that he acts like we act on a normal day. He just does things without a time of prayer. When he counsels the LORD, he does it right the first time. We can do a good work the wrong way and it not please the LORD.
Finally, David did it the right way and the ark was in Jerusalem. David offered sacrifices and gave gifts to all the people. Michal, the daughter of Saul, watched her husband dance before the LORD. He was excited about bringing the ark of the LORD to Jerusalem. He only cared that he was pleasing the LORD with his actions.
David told his wife that what he did with the ark of God was rejoice before the whole world. He said that he didn’t care what the people around him thought of what he was doing. He was doing it before the LORD. He was happy that the LORD chose him. He was rejoicing over the fact that the LORD had appointed him ruler over Israel.
When we are happy with what the LORD is doing in our lives we want to sing and dance before the LORD. One time while I was in Buffalo Bible Institute, I was rejoicing in the LORD as I was walking down the sidewalk toward the dining hall. One of my fellow students asked me what was wrong. I told him of a blessing of the LORD that day but he wasn’t impressed. Some people never seem to rejoice in the LORD. Some Christians look like they suck sour lemons all the time. This is wrong.
Do we enjoy worshipping the LORD every day of the week especially on Sunday? Or are we just putting in our time? The LORD has given each of us a gift of the Holy Spirit to serve HIM in the local church. We need to enjoy our gift from the LORD!!!!
CHALLENGE: Go to church with a smile on your face. It might cause others to smile too. The New Testament tells us to rejoice in the LORD always. Some need to their face they are rejoicing!!! Don’t let it happen to you.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Ark of Godverses 2-23
House of Abinadab in Gibeahverses 3, 4
Uzzah- son of Abinadabverses 3, 6, 7
Put hand on ark of God
Killed by the LORD
Ahio – son of Abinadabverses 3, 4
Played before the LORD instrumentsverse 5
Made of fir wood: harps, psalteries,
Timbrels, cornets, cymbals
Ark of the LORDverses 9, 10
Carried the Ark of the LORDverse 13
Sacrifices of oxen and fatlingsverse 13
Dancingverse 14
Shoutingverse 15
Sound of trumpetverse 15
Tabernacleverse 17
Burnt offeringsverses 17, 18
Peace offeringsverses 17, 18
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator)verses 2-4, 6, 7, 12
Ark of Godverses 2, 3, 12
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 2, 5, 7-18, 21
LORD of hostsverses 2, 18
Dwells between the cherubimsverse 2
Anger of the LORDverse 7
Ark of the LORDverses 9-11, 13, 15-17
LORD blessed Obed-edomverses 11, 12
Name of the LORDverse 18
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Cherubimverse 2
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Moving ark on new cartverse 3
Errorverse 7
Displeased with the LORDverse 8
Afraidverse 9
Despisedverse 16
Vain fellowsverse 20
Vileverse 22
Baseverse 22
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Worship with instrumentsverse 5
Blessedverses 11, 12, 18, 20
Gladnessverse 12
Sacrificesverse 13
Dancedverse 14
Give giftsverse 19
Chosenverse 21
Appointedverse 21
Honor of the LORDverse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Davidverses 1, 5, 8
Displeased at death of Uzzah
Named place of death: Perez-uzzah
Afraid of the LORD
Asked: How shall the ark of the LROD come to me?
Danced before ark of the LORD
Girded with linen ephod
Offered offerings to the LORD
Blessed the people
Blessed his household
David gave good reason for his actions
Chosen men of Israelverse 1
Thirty thousand
House of Israelverses 5, 13
City of Davidverses 10, 12, 16
House of Obededomverses 10-12
Michal displeased with Davidverses 16-23
Complaint of his dancing before all
Called him a vain fellow
David gave good reason for his actions
No child
Whole multitude of Israelverse 19
Cake of bread
Good piece of flesh (meat)
Flagon of wine
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Uzzah killed by LORD for touching arkverse 7
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QUOTES regarding passage
The centerpiece in the literary unit in which it appears, David’s response (vv.21–22) to Michal (not called “daughter of Saul” in v.21, perhaps because “attention now focuses on David, who is the subject of the sentence,” Clines, “X, X Ben Y, Ben Y,” p. 272) is honest and direct. He begins and ends his first sentence (v.21) by insisting that he is celebrating “before the Lord” (noted also by Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel, p. 252; cf. vv.14, 16), not before the slave girls. In his rebuke of Michal, David is at pains to dissociate himself from Saul (“your father”) and the Saulides by asserting that God had chosen him rather than them, a sentiment shared by the representatives of Israel’s tribes (5:2). David, of course, knows that the Lord had in fact chosen Saul (see 1 Sam 10:24 and comment), but he also knows that Saul’s abortive kingship has been replaced by his own (cf. 1 Sam 16:8–13; 1 Kings 8:16 = 2 Chronicles 6:5–6; 1 Chronicles 28:4; Ps 78:70). David is “ruler” (nāg̱îḏ) over Israel by divine appointment (see 1 Sam 13:14 [“leader”] and comment; cf. also 1 Sam 25:30), as his son Solomon would be after him (cf. 1 Kings 1:35). The phrase “ruler over the Lord’s people Israel” (v.21) contains distinct echoes of “my people Israel, and you will become their ruler” in 5:2 (Gunn, The Story of King David, p. 74). Thus David, in a spirit of gratitude and dedication, is quick to “celebrate before the Lord” (v.21), as he had been during the first (unsuccessful) attempt to bring the ark to Zion (see v.5 and comment; cf. further Deut 12:7; 16:1).
David now preempts the verb kāḇēḏ (lit., “be heavy”) used by Michal in v.20 (“distinguished himself”) and opposes it to the verb qālal (lit., “be light”). He revels in the fact that he will become even more “undignified” (qll, v.22) than he now appears, to the extent that he will be “humiliated” (lit., “low”; cf. similarly Mal 2:9) in his own “eyes” (as opposed to the “sight” of the slave girls [v.20]; the same Heb. noun in both cases). But by those same slave girls (v.22), whom Michal herself has already mentioned (v.20)—“by them” (emphatic; ʿimmām left untr. in NIV)—David will be “held in honor” (kbd; cf. the description of David’s mighty men in 23:19, 23).
The counterpoise between kbd and qll appears elsewhere in the books of Samuel as well. In 1 Samuel 2:30 the Lord says, “Those who honor [kbd] me I will honor [kbd], but those who despise me will be disdained [qll].” And in the earlier ark narrative in 1 Samuel 6, the Philistine priests and diviners suggest to their questioners that they should “pay honor [kbd] to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift [qll] his hand from you.… Why do you harden [kbd] your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did?” (1 Sam 6:5–6). In such passages there is something of “the exalted being humbled and the humbled being exalted (Matt. 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14). David is indeed the one who humbles himself and who, by the power of God, is exalted” (Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel, p. 253).
The chapter ends on a somber note: “Michal daughter of Saul” remains childless to her dying day (v.23). The use of the patronymic in this case “presumably means: ‘Here is the punishment for an opponent of David the divinely chosen king’, and perhaps also: ‘So David fails to legitimise his succession to Saul’s throne through Michal’” (Clines, “X, X Ben Y, Ben Y,” p. 272). In ancient times childlessness, whether natural or enforced, was the ultimate tragedy for a woman (see comment on 1 Sam 1:2). Negative connotations are also implied in the expression “to the day of (one’s) death” (cf. 1 Kings 15:5; see also 1 Sam 15:35 and comment).
Josephus states that Michal, “after her later marriage to the man on whom her father Saul bestowed her, … bore five children” (Jos. Antiq. 7, 89 [iv.3]). Verse 23 clearly asserts that Michal’s childless state was perpetual. While the Lord’s blessing on Obed-Edom resulted in a large number of descendants for him (see comment on v.11), David’s intended blessing on his own household (v.20) was effectively nullified by Michal’s tragic criticism of her husband. Her resulting childlessness “gave David the opportunity to pass the leadership on to his sons by other wives.… The return of Michal and her barrenness serve as the pivot upon which the transition of ruling houses turned” (Flanagan, “Social Transformation and Ritual in 2 Samuel 6,” p. 367).
At the same time, David’s treatment of Michal is less than exemplary. In this respect Alter’s summary is worth pondering:
The writer … does not question the historically crucial fact of David’s divine election, so prominently stressed by the king himself at the beginning of his speech; but theological rights do not necessarily justify domestic wrongs, and the anointed monarch of Israel may still be a harsh and unfeeling husband to the woman who has loved him and saved his life. (The Art of Biblical Narrative, pp. 124–25; cf. 1 Sam 18:20, 28; 19:11–17) (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, pp. 877–878). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
6:16–23. At length the procession made its way into Jerusalem itself. Michal, David’s first wife and Saul’s daughter, saw the king … dancing excitedly before the Lord and, chagrined and embarrassed by his celebrating, later rebuked him for it (v. 20). David defended his actions, affirming that he had done nothing wrong (vv. 21–22). David apparently separated from her and she never had any children. Michal had impugned his holy zeal to be nothing but exhibitionism, a charge which hurt him deeply. (See comments on 21:8.) The ark had been placed in a tabernacle which David had prepared (6:17). There the king continued his burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord and climaxed the festivities with food gifts, a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins to each person in the assembled crowd. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 463–464). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The church today needs to heed this reminder and return to the Word of God for an understanding of the will of God. No amount of unity or enthusiasm can compensate for disobedience. When God’s work is done in man’s way, and we imitate the world instead of obeying the Word, we can never expect the blessing of God. The crowds may approve what we do, but what about the approval of God? The way of the world is ultimately the way of death.
Michal said that David had disgraced himself before the people, but David countered her false accusation with a declaration that she would be disgraced even more, and from that day on he ignored his marriage duties toward her. For a wife to bear no children was a disgrace in that day, especially if her husband rejected her. But Michal’s barrenness was a blessing from the Lord. It prevented Saul’s family from continuing in Israel and therefore threatening the throne of David. David and Jonathan had covenanted to reign together (1 Sam. 23:16–18), but God rejected that plan by allowing Jonathan to be slain in battle. The Lord wanted the line and throne of David to be kept apart from any other dynasty, because David’s line would culminate in the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. That will be the theme of the next chapter in David’s story. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2002). Be restored (pp. 44–45). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor.)
6:23 Michal … had no child. Whether David ceased to have marital relations with Michal or the Lord disciplined Michal for her contempt of David, Michal bore no children. In OT times, it was a reproach to be childless (1Sa 1:5, 6). Michal’s childlessness prevented her from providing a successor to David’s throne from the family of Saul (cf. 1Sa 15:22–28). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Sa 6:23). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 23. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child until the day of her death, &c.] The children she brought up for Adriel were not her own, but adopted ones, or Adriel’s by another woman, ch. 21:8. however, she had none after this time, whatever she had before, and it does not appear that she had any, though the Jews say she was Eglah, and Ithream her son, ch. 3:5. see the note there. And thus she that vilified David brought a reproach upon herself, as barrenness was always reckoned, and no one descending from her arrived to royal dignity, and sat on the throne of David; and so it was ordered in Providence, as Abarbinel observes, that the seed of David and of Saul might not be mixed. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 590). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
HE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
But ye have an unction from the Holy One. 1 John 2:20
What is it that enables us to stand and to remain and to avoid the seduction of false teaching that would separate us from God and Christ and eventually lead to our condemnation? Well, John says here that it is all due to the work of the Holy Spirit. Christians are who they are because of the Holy Spirit. Christians, he says, are those who have received an “unction or anointing” that is his way of describing the Holy Spirit. It is because of Him that they are able to discern and understand and avoid the subtle dangers that threaten them within the realm even of the Christian Church itself. John says in verses 20-21, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Then he adds in verse 27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you.”
John’s words unction or anointing are just a very graphic way of describing the influence and the effect of the Holy Spirit upon the believer. It is the wording of the Old Testament where we are frequently told that prophets, priests, and kings, when they were inducted as it were, were anointed with oil; that was the mechanism, the ceremonial,that was used to set them apart for their office. Samuel anointed first Saul and then David as king. The same anointing was given to the priests and prophets, and the results of that pouring of the oil upon them was that in that way they were regarded as consecrated; they had become anointed ones who were now enabled to do their duty.
A Thought to Ponder: John’s words “unction” or “anointing” are just a very graphic way of describing the influence and the effect of the Holy Spirit upon the believer. (From Walking with God, pp. 118-119 by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Jesus teaches His followers concerning the need to follow the Lord fully in everything.
INSIGHT
Love is the basis of all that God asks of us. Jesus says, “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). This teaching goes hand in hand with what Jesus urges later in Luke 10:27, that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
We want to be appreciated, loved, treated with dignity, and esteemed. This, then, is the way we ought to treat others. The double benefit is that when we treat others that way, they begin to treat us the same, and our relationships are characterized by depth and meaning. (Quiet Walk)
JOY
And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world,that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. John 17:13
How in practice do we have this joy? The first thing is to avoid concentrating on our own feelings. Many Christian people spend the whole of their lives looking at their own feelings and always taking their own spiritual pulse, their own spiritual temperature. Of course, they never find it satisfactory, and because of that they are miserable and unhappy, moaning and groaning.
The secret of joy is the practice of meditation—that is the way to have this joy of the Lord. We must meditate upon Him, upon what He is, what He has done, His love to us, and God’s care for us who are His people.
And obviously—this almost goes without saying—we must avoid everything that tends to break our fellowship with God. The moment that is broken, we become miserable. We cannot help it; whether we want it to or not, our conscience will see to that. It will accuse us and condemn anything that breaks our fellowship with God and His Son. The joy of the world always drives out the other joy, as does any dependence on the world; so we must avoid sin in every shape and form. Let us stop looking to the world, even at its best, for true joy and for true happiness. But above all, we must look at “these things” (John 17:13) that He speaks of, these truths that He unfolded. Let us meditate upon them, contemplate them, dwell upon them, revel in them, and I will guarantee that as we do so, either in our own personal meditation or in reading books about them, we will find ourselves experiencing a joy we have never known before. It is inevitable; it follows as the night the day.
A Thought to Ponder: Let us stop looking to the world. We must meditate upon Him, upon what He is, what He has done.
(From Safe in the World, pp. 116-118, Dr. Martyn Llyoyd-Jones)
Promised Performance
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
Our Lord gave this powerful promise to perform the good work that He began at and with the church at Philippi (the “you” is plural in the Greek text).
It is an earthly, temporal promise; that is, the promise is to “perfect” the good work “until the day of Jesus Christ.” The church at Philippi closed its earthly doors centuries ago. Something much more than mere continuation is pledged.
Surely our Lord has in mind His assurance that “the gates of hell” would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18), but there were some churches to whom Christ spoke who were in danger of losing their “candlestick” or church-hood (Revelation 2:4; 3:16). What, then, can we be assured of by this marvelous promise?
Perhaps the basic “good work” that our Lord refers to is seen in the list of commendations given to the seven churches in the letters dictated to John at the beginning of Revelation. All except Laodicea had some strengths. Even troubled Sardis had a “few names” not yet sullied and “things which remain” that were still good and worth preserving (Revelation 3:1-4). Our Lord knows all His works “from the beginning” (Acts 15:18) and sees the eternal fruit of our ministry that ripples long beyond our short earthly life (Revelation 14:13).
There is also the mystery of our being “builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22)—a “spiritual house” that produces “spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). All of this, perhaps, is what our Lord had in mind when He promised to perform the good work He had started in Philippi.
(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
God’s Storybook
God blessed them. . . . God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 1:28, 31
Wanting to enjoy the beautiful day, I headed out for a walk and soon met a new neighbor. He stopped me and introduced himself: “My name is Genesis, and I’m six and a half years old.”
“Genesis is a great name! It’s a book in the Bible,” I replied.
“What’s the Bible?” he asked.
“It’s God’s storybook about how He made the world and people and how He loves us.”
His inquisitive response made me smile: “Why did He make the world and people and cars and houses? And is my picture in His book?”
While there isn’t a literal picture of my new friend Genesis or the rest of us in the Scriptures, we’re a big part of God’s storybook. We see in Genesis 1 that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them” (v. 27). God walked with them in the garden, and then warned about giving in to the temptation to be their own god (ch. 3). Later in His book, God told about how, in love, His Son, Jesus, came to walk with us again and brought about a plan for our forgiveness and the restoration of His creation.
As we look at the Bible, we learn that our Creator wants us to know Him, talk with Him, and even ask Him our questions. He cares for us more than we can imagine.
By Anne Cetas (Our Daily Bread)
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