Reading 1 – 1Sa 26:19

“They have now driven me from my share in the LORD’S inheritance and have said, ‘Go, serve other gods’ ” (1Sa 26:19).

David’s sad words here demonstrate that his greatest sense of loss in exile was not that of his personal comfort or material prosperity, but rather his opportunity for fellowship with God. By making him an outcast, as they did at the behest of Saul, his countrymen were cutting him off from the tabernacle and the altar, and ‘suggesting’ that he serve other gods. In our zeal to do right, our ecclesias should consider whether their treatment of offenders might not have the same effect. It is impossible to justify the ‘middle-of-the-road’ course in a matter of disfellowship — that is, to ‘separate’ or ‘withdraw’ while still attaching no taint of moral judgment. For an ecclesia to practice excommunication, while holding out no realistic possibility of refellowship, is in effect to tell the brother or sister involved, ‘Go, serve other gods!’ How many righteous “Davids” have been so treated?

Reading 2 – Jer 3:25

“We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth till this day we have not obeyed the LORD our God” (Jer 3:25).

Where the prophets of Israel witnessed against the spiritual abuses among their contemporaries they did so while still continuing full fellowship with those whom they denounced. More than this, the examples of Moses (Exo 32:30-33), Daniel (Dan 9:5-14), Nehemiah (Neh 1:6,7), Jeremiah (Jer 3:25; 9:1), and Ezra (Ezr 9:6,7,13) show these men intimately associated with the people whom they reprimanded, even so far as confessing the sins of the nation as though they were their own. Here is the spirit of true fellowship, or sharing, by which those most exercised against error bear the burdens of their brethren, and strive with them as partners — not outsiders — to defeat the enervating effects of sin.

Reading 3 – Mat 14

Mat 14 presents a remarkable contrast between the two feasts:

There is Herod’s feast — which is sumptuous, attended by captains and kings, and the entertainment is provided by a “strange woman”. It is a feast of death — for a righteous man is slain on a whim. Then there is Christ’s feast — which is frugal, with food for the poor. Here is no strange, lewd woman, but rather Christ’s “bride”, for whom he provides the bread of life. In contrast to Herod’s feast of death, this is a feast of life, for it typifies the death of one who lays down his life for his friends.

“They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat” (v 16). None need depart empty-handed or hungry from the presence of Jesus. The bread that he provides is for all. In the atonement of Christ, there is ample provision for every man and woman!

Reading 1 – 2Sa 7:16

The LORD God’s promise to David:

“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me [according to some Hebrew manuscripts and the Septuagint; but most Hebrew manuscripts have ‘you’!]; your throne will be established forever” (2Sa 7:16).

In this covenant is revealed the selection of David’s house as the family through whom the Messiah was to come. Note the development of the covenant:

Adamic covenant: Gen 3:15. Abrahamic covenant: Gen 13:14-18. Immortal seed of Abraham will inherit the land of Palestine. Jacob’s prophecy: Gen 49:8-10. Selection of the tribe of Judah as the royal tribe. Davidic covenant: 2 Sa 7:12-16. Selection of the family of David as ancestors of the Messiah. Gabriel’s visit to Mary: Luke 1:26-35. Selection of the virgin to bear the Son of God.

David’s kingdom, of Israel, is also called also the Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of the Lord: 2Ch 13:8; 1Ch 28:5.

The key points of the promise to David are:

David’s throne will be eternal (Psa 89:34-36; Isa 9:6,7; 55:1-3). It will be established through a natural descendant of David (v 12; Ps 132:11; Jer 33:17-21; Isa 11:1-5; Acts 2:30,31; 13:22,23; Luk 1:30-34)… …Who would also be the Son of God (v 14; Psa 89:26,27; Heb 1:5; Luke 1:32). After David had died (vv 12,19; Act 2:29)… …But in his presence (AV has “before you”, instead of “before me”): Isa 24:23; Act 15:16; Jer 30:9-11; 2Sa 23:5; Isa 9:6,7; Luk 1:32,33.

Reading 2 – Jer 12:1-5

Jeremiah complains to God:

“You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts” (Jer 12:1,2).

“It was Job’s problem over again, in almost as acute a form, for, like Job, Jeremiah could urge his own blamelessness…” (HA Whittaker, “Jeremiah” 49).

“Yet you know me, O LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you” (v 3).

*****

Beginning in v 5, God answers Jeremiah. “Nevertheless in the LORD’s response there was but cold comfort at present for this solitary sensitive witness for truth…” (Ibid).

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (v 5).

” ‘Your experiences hitherto are but mild compared with what is to come; this is but an apprenticeship to fit you greater rigour and higher endeavour’… Poor Jeremiah! Is there no crumb of comfort for your soul? Hold fast to your confidence in the righteous judgments of Jehovah, and stay yourself on His promise of a day when ‘a King shall reign in righteousness’; there is naught else in this bitter evil present” (Ibid 50).

Reading 3 – Mat 23:29-31

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets” (Mat 23:29-31).

“How? Why? Might not the Pharisees have replied that, by honoring their remains and their memory, they condemned their murderers? The greatest sin of Israel and of the world was and is, apostasy from the true God and His worship by idolatry; and the most prevalent mode of this apostasy is sacrilegious reverence for dead men’s tombs and bones… Now, it was for rebuking this and other kinds of idolatry, that ‘the fathers killed the prophets’; and those who built their tombs would, in like manner, kill anyone who condemned their idolatrous reverence for these very sepulchers. Thus the Pharisees, by the very act of building those tombs of the prophets, and ‘honoring’ them as they did, showed plainly that they were activated by the same spirit that led their fathers to kill them; and, to make this matter self-evident, they very soon proceeded to crucify the Lord of the prophets because of his faithful rebukes. Nor has this spirit changed in the least during the subsequent eighteen hundred years. Now, here, in Jerusalem, should the Savior reappear, and condemn with the same severity our modern Pharisees, they would kill him upon his own reputed tomb. I say this not with a faltering perhaps, but with a painful certainty. Alas! how many thousands of God’s people have been slaughtered because of their earnest and steadfast protest against pilgrimages, idolatrous worship of saints, tombs, bones, images, and pictures! And whenever I see people particularly zealous in building, repairing, or serving those shrines, I know them to be the ones who allow the deeds of those who killed the prophets, and who would do the same under like circumstances” (WM Thomson, “The Land and the Book” 639,640).

Do we “build up” the “tombs” of our Christadelphian “prophets”? If so, is there any danger in doing so?

Are dead “prophets” less threatening than living ones? Seems to me that dead “prophets” (and I use the term loosely here — whether referring to Isaiah and Jeremiah, or John Thomas and Robert Roberts) can be shut up in books, closed between the covers, and “controlled”… whereas living “prophets” go walking around sticking their noses into our business when we least like it, encouraging us more directly by word or deed to DO something when we would rather do nothing, and generally kicking us out of our “comfort zones”. They can’t be as easily “shut up” or “put on a shelf”. Maybe that’s why we don’t care for the living “prophets”. Maybe that’s why we sometimes hasten their demise! Jesus also said, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor” (Mar 6:4).

Reading 1 – 2Sa 17

“The spirit of Judas against Christ is revealed in the wicked and treacherous action of Ahithophel against David. Ahithophel conspired with Absalom as Judas did with the rulers of Judah. He offers a seven-point situation to Absalom. But Absalom was not convinced that this advice would achieve his designs on the throne (vv 1-4). He was doubtful of the genuineness of the advice of David’s former counsellor, and sought confirmation by Hushai (vv 5,6). David’s future trembled in the balance as the court waited to hear the counsel of Hushai. But Hushai was able to sway Absalom (vv 8-14). Contemptuously brushing aside the previous advice as unsound, he drew a picture of the extreme difficulties it presented, then sketched a plan for a general campaign. It succeeded. A warning was sent to David (vv 15-20). There was a near escape as an anonymous sympathiser of David in this apparently bitter and hostile city sent a message, causing David to retreat over the Jordan (vv 21,22). The result of Hushai’s advice caused Ahithophel to commit suicide, as did Judas after him (v 23). As a result civil war erupted in the Land (vv 24-26), whilst the remnant with David was strengthened in exile (vv 27-29). Here is a picture of the experiences of the multitudinous Christ as they, with their Lord David, wait in exile until the great King will return to Zion” (GEM).

Reading 2 – Jer 21:4,5

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath’ ” (Jer 21:4,5).

The very powers exercised on Israel’s behalf in days gone by (Deu 4:34; 5:15; 26:8) were now to be turned against them.

Contrast Jeremiah’s firmness of conviction, here, with his timidity in Jer 1, and his bitterness of spirit in Jer 20:14.

Reading 3 – Rom 7:18,24,25

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature [or ‘my flesh’]. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Rom 7:18).

This statement repudiates any theory in the mind of Paul’s readers concerning “inherent goodness” as being an innate possession within “flesh”; the “flesh” is radically bad!

In Victor Hugo’s story, a ship is caught in a storm. The frightened crew hears a terrible crashing sound below. Immediately the men know what it is: a cannon has broken loose and is crashing into the ship’s side with every smashing blow of the sea! Two men, at the risk of their lives, manage to fasten it down again, for they know that the unfastened cannon is more dangerous than the raging storm. Many people are like that ship — their greatest danger areas lie inside, not outside!

Instead of “lives” in Rom 7:18, the word might better be rendered “dwells” (AV): it is “nothing good” that “dwells” in me! The invader — which is “sin in the flesh” — has managed to secure more than a foothold; he roams the place, considering it his home. In putting the matter like this, Paul has moved from a consideration of outward acts to an emphasis on the unwanted tenancy of King Sin. With this alien master in control, no matter how strongly a man wants to do the good, he finds himself checkmated. He cannot carry it out.

*****

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24).

Paul felt that he bore a loathsome, leprous nature which he called “a vile body” (or a body of humiliation: Phi 3:21). Such a nature is incurable.

“There seems to be an allusion to the ancient custom of certain tyrants who bound a dead body to a living man and obliged him to carry it about, till the contagion from the putrid mass took away his life” (Adam Clarke).

*****

“Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (Rom 7:25).

V 25 is a summary of the whole chapter. “My mind” is a synonym for the intellectual assent of the believer; and “the sinful nature” for the human, sin-prone flesh he bears.

“Paul was human and he knew the difficulties of life. His apostleship did not exempt him from any conflict that is the common lot of all. His early efforts to keep the law of Moses, combined with his later knowledge of God’s purpose, must have given him a fearless and honest power of introspection. While it is one Paul, he yet recognizes that he is under two influences. In Galatians he says ‘I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me’ [Gal 2:20]. [But] here he says, speaking of failure to do as he would have liked, ‘It is no more I, but sin that dwelleth in me.’ There is a danger of these words being used to get rid of personal responsibility. They will always remain true when every effort has been made to follow righteousness, but should only be used when that effort has been made, when the words from Galatians can also be used. To follow a way of sin and excuse it by putting the blame on ‘sin that dwelleth in me’ is as far removed as possible from Paul’s position. In fact, it would seem that those only can rightly use his words who are trying most to be followers of Paul as he was of Christ” (John Carter, “Romans”).

Reading 1 – 2Sa 1

“At long last, the man who had hounded David from pillar to post around Israel and indeed had driven him from Israel, was dead. He was the man who had made family life for David impossible. It is likely that David never again saw his mother and his father after he joined Saul’s court. He was hounded out of Israel, and the most frightful impact on this faithful man was his lament to Saul, ‘You have driven me from the heritage of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods!’ His life hung on a thread on more than one occasion and he had been mercilessly harassed and ill-treated by Yahweh’s anointed. Saul’s death might have been an occasion for joy and relief. It might have been time to allow the huge grudge against Saul to be lifted. It might have been time to reward a bragging Amalekite. At last, life could return to normal.

“But instead… what a lament! ‘The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high places! How are the mighty fallen!.. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Lovely? Pleasant? Saul???’ David’s magnanimity and love for one who had harassed, threatened and sought to kill him for so long is breathtakingly beautiful and immensely moving. He loved one who was undeserving of his love. In the face of condemnation, evil talk and murderous intent, David was not easily provoked and answered not a word. His love covered a multitude of sins.

“A fitting example of his greater Son. And a fitting reminder too of what it means to be a man or woman after God’s own heart” (Ken Chalmers).

Reading 2 – Jer 7

“This chapter reveals the hypocrisy and false confidence of Judah in their religious formalism. It is typical of the reign of the flesh within the community of the faithful. It was probably proclaimed before the second reform of Josiah, when the people were enthusiastically contributing to the restoration of the temple, and when an apparent willingness to honour Yahweh was presented. But it was an empty facade. The spiritual perception of the people was soon to manifest itself in the feasting and debauchery of the gods of the land. The people were involved in a religion of deceit, with false prophets contradicting Jeremiah’s warnings, and turning from his appeal for righteousness in the land. Instead the false leaders preached peace and unity, where there was none. Jeremiah stood in the very court of the temple and courageously declared the divine will.

He told them…

that the temple will not save (vv 1-7); that it would experience a similar fate to Shiloh (vv 8-16); that the city and people were full of adultery against God (vv 17-20); that ritualism cannot save (vv 21-28); that the ecclesia had forgotten her vows (vv 29-31); that it has prepared for its own destruction (vv 32-34).

What a sad end to a monarchy that commenced with the courage and faithfulness of David, and now saw the abandonment of the royal sons of David when ultimately Zedekiah assumed the throne. When the pioneers of the ecclesia are ignored; the people become wilful in their folly (cp 2Pe 3:3-4)” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 3 – Mat 18:10

“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (Mat 18:10).

“Personal” angels are mentioned or alluded to in Heb 1:13,14; Psa 34:7; Dan 10:12; and Zec 3:7.

It would appear that even (or especially!) the little children have THEIR angels! Thus there is angelic and providential care even before baptism. Apart from its spiritual significance to the “little ones” who are believers, who should be “like” little children, Jesus seems to be saying that even small children — themselves unbaptized — may such care:

“Unnumbered comforts to my soul

Thy tender care bestowed,

Before my infant heart conceived

From whom those blessings flowed.”

And the words of the Psalmist in Psa 22:9,10 suggest the same: “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust [or ‘kept me in safety’: AV mg; RSV] in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”

“The face of my Father” suggests Jacob in Gen 28:17-19; 32:30: first realizing that he was in the “house of God” (Beth-el), and then later seeing the “face of God” (Peni-el) after wrestling through the long night. We may see a “Beth-el” wherever a child is found!

Reading 1 – Jdg 7:15-24

“When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, ‘Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.’ Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. ‘Watch me,’ he told them. ‘Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, “For the LORD and for Gideon.” ‘

“Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, ‘A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!’ “

“While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, ‘Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.’ So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah” (Jdg 7:15-24).

*****

“From now on everything Gideon did was marked by the most complete confidence in God. So he well deserves to be included in Heb 11 with those who wrought ‘by faith’. But — it should be especially noted — this was a faith maturing from personal experience of the ways of God.

“He now pushed forward preparations for the most unorthodox military operation in history. The three hundred elect were equipped with weapons of a unique kind. Trumpets were gathered from among the host, so that each of the three hundred might have one. Torches were fashioned and kindled, and carried in earthenware jars. Weapons they may have had, but not for use in the wild melee that was to ensue in this grotesque operation. Divided into three groups, these men of faith went forth into the night to take up assigned positions on the perimeter of the Midianite camp.

“His last instructions rang in their ears: ‘Look on me, and do likewise — as I do, so shall ye do.’ Was the faith of these three hundred any less than that of Gideon himself? They were prepared to give implicit obedience in carrying through the most quixotic scheme ever detailed to a band of soldiers.

“Time passed slowly as they crept stealthily to their appointed stations. There they waited, tense and motionless. Then, suddenly the air was filled with a hideous crashing sound, the smashing of three hundred pitchers. Midianites, Amalekites, Arabians rushed forth in bewilderment and alarm from their tents to see all round the camp hundreds of torches describing vivid circles of fire like so many outsize Catherine wheels; and at that moment their ears were assailed by a deep-throated thunderous shout: ‘The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’

“Immediately all was panic and chaos indescribable. Camels, plunging violently, broke their tethers and ran amok in the darkness and confusion. The startled Bedouin, already expecting the worst, were convinced that their enemies were in the midst of the camp in large numbers. Thus they fell to fighting furiously among themselves, an error made all the more easy since they were a mixture of at least three different tribes. And all the time there was this startling appearance of fire on the edge of the camp, as though supernatural powers were taking a hand in the bedlam of noise and carnage now rapidly intensifying. Many a son of Ishmael fell in violent bloody struggle that night as ‘the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host.’ At last, crazed with fear by unaccustomed sights and sounds and baffled by the mysterious destruction in their midst, the remnant broke and fled eastward through the night.

“As that night of horror passed, and morning broke over the shattered, mangled remnants of the camp, Gideon rapidly organized for instant pursuit and destruction of the enemy, the rest of his forces — those out of the thirty-two thousand who had not yet gone back to their homes. Cross-country runners went out to the Ephraimite villages away to the southeast to warn fellow-Israelites there to hold the fords of Jordan. And the drama moved to the last act in the utter destruction of the hated Bedouin oppression” (Harry Whittaker, “Judges and Ruth”).

Reading 2 – Isa 34:11-15

“The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation. Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away. Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls. Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also repose and find for themselves places of rest.

The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate” (Isa 34:11-15).

“Edom [will be] a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood” (Joel 3:19).

As for the Last Days: “The most obvious outcome of this remarkable divine intervention will be the utter devastation of Esau’s land for all time. The language of its wasteness is remarkably like that of Sodom and Gomorrah. How will this come about? It is tempting to assume that Israeli nuclear bombs will be used against an Arab oilfield so as to set going the mightiest conflagration the world has ever know. Sodom and Gomorrah over again, only worse. But how is one to reconcile this with the hint of cherubim of glory and divine action? There is a remarkable catena of prophecies which foretell that God will impose His final judgment on the nations by the simple device of allowing full rein to human devilry: Eze 38:21; Isa 24:19; 9:14 (= Jdg 7:22); Hag 2:22; Zec 14:13; Joel 3:11,12” (Harry Whittaker, “Isaiah” 338).

Reading 3 – James 5:7

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains” (James 5:7).

If I can be sure, when the time finally comes for the Great High Priest to return from the Most Holy Place bringing the final blessing…. that I’ll still be here, waiting at my post, rejoicing in the tribulations which I endure, and having learned patience…. real PATIENCE…… enough for a lifetime, of broken hearts and broken dreams [sounds like a country western song, doesn’t it?], of hurt feelings, of resentments, of disappointments, of bitterness, of ailments and illnesses, of the gradual and insidious decline of all my human powers, and the frustrations of coming short time and again of what I would like to be, but can’t quite be, of asking forgiveness for the 490th time for the same sins, of forgiving others for the same number of times…. without throwing up my hands and walking away from the door of the temple. Out into the howling waste of a wilderness of snakes and scorpions — where there is no hope and no life and no love… the wilderness where Judas went, and Cain, and Saul, and a million others — who could not truly believe that the High Priest was coming to bring them the last great blessing. Yes, if I can only wait… long enough… then “I WILL BE saved” will turn into “I AM saved”! God give me strength enough to wait… that long. And I won’t even care whether that strength should be called the Holy Spirit or something else…

Reading 1 – 2Sa 19

“As we look back, David seems to stand out apart from all others in the history of Israel. Moses truly is a far more majestic and awe-inspiring figure; Abraham exemplifies the nobility of a patient, enduring faith through a long and weary pilgrimage; but it is into the heart of David that we enter most closely. His life seems crowded with every variety of experience, and ranges from the purest God-fearing courage of his youthful encounter with Goliath to the ugly depths of adultery and murder. His life was a battle between the highest and most intimate spiritual conceptions of God on the one hand, and all the strong currents of human nature on the other. That he repeatedly failed is true, but what is far more important is that he freely and humbly recognized his failures and continued to press on, accepting every form of tribulation with unresentful resignation.

“His life, on the whole, was a broken and frustrated one. A long period he spent as a hunted fugitive — a wanderer away from his country and kindred, attended by a motley following whose company must have been on the whole small comfort and a constant burden. Then, after his wanderings end and he finally becomes king and has subdued all his enemies, he stumbles into a grievous sin which plagues him without respite for the rest of his life.

“Had Jonathan lived, much may have been different in David’s life, but such was not the purpose of God. The affection between them was of the most exceptional character, calling for the strongest terms of description. In the friendship of Jonathan, David could have found satisfaction and guidance for the restless desires that led him into pitfalls. But it was God’s will that he should learn alone.

“After Jonathan’s death, David seems to have found affinity with no one, and such comfort as he could get in the course of a life of disappointment and turmoil he must get by a direct and lonely approach to God by himself which, while infinitely more difficult, was perhaps in the ultimate for the best.

“The Psalms could never have been written by a man who could find satisfaction and comfort in anything short of a direct and individual communion with God. And therefore, in the wisdom of God, it was Joab and not Jonathan who became David’s lifelong companion, though such would never have been David’s choice.

“God’s purpose with David was very high, and David had much to learn. Therefore considerations of his present comfort must give way to those which through long and bitter tribulation would develop in him the peaceable fruits of purity and righteousness.

“The wisdom of God chose a vessel ideally suited to His purpose, and no small part of that purpose was the recording of the Psalms. The strong light of the inspiring Spirit, shining through every facet of David’s character and experiences, threw as on a screen each detail of hope and despair, of failure and triumph.

“Moses’ character is made before we meet him as he comes on a divine mission from the wilderness to deliver Israel from bondage. But in the Psalms every aspect of David’s development is laid bare before us. Christ alone combined the exalted and prophetic majesty of Moses with the keen humanity of David. Tried and tempted in all points like his brethren, he alone as the representative of mankind fulfilled all the experiences portrayed through David in the Psalms and emerged triumphant and unspotted from them.

“David typifies the body of Christ, those whom Christ came to redeem, the chosen generation, the spirit willing and eager but the flesh weak, a man after God’s own heart, who through much tribulation must learn the way to the kingdom.

“But David, as the writer of the Psalms, was permitted to be the instrument by which Christ was encouraged and strengthened. And each of the members, too, can in some small way share in this honor. For it was for the joy that was set before him that he was enabled to endure, and that joy consisted in the love and affection of those who gratefully accept the benefits he procured.

“Our participation in the victory is measured, therefore, by our affection for him, and the value of that vice-royalty is increased by each one that lays hold upon it.

“Between Joab and David there was no affinity. David was a man of God. Joab was not. No greater gulf could separate two men than that. They lived in different worlds. David repeatedly struggled and fell, but from beginning to end he was a man of God, intensely loyal and devoted.

“Joab was a man of the world. Wiser at times than David, and strangely enough, sometimes his perception rose higher than David’s, but to the deeper currents of divine communion which were the basis of David’s life, Joab was a stranger.

“In his reaction to David’s grief for Absalom, Joab is practical and wise. But David could see many things to which Joab was utterly blind. David could see that day many years earlier when the prophet Nathan had stood before him and had solemnly spoken of the great anger of God and the consequences he would have to suffer. David could now see the humiliation of Tamar and the murder of Amnon, his firstborn. He could see that now another wayward son had been taken, leaving behind an ignoble memory of treachery and dishonor, all the consequences of his own folly and sin. And he would wonder where and when the next blow would fall.

“But Joab’s rough counsel would sharply remind him that his pilgrimage was not yet ended. Those terrible words would always be before his mind — ‘Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house,’ and he would see dimly, stretching into the future, a continuation of that trail of wickedness and bloodshed which he had set in motion. And so, aroused once again by Joab’s brusque prodding, he concealed his grief that no one would understand, and carried on” (GV Growcott).

Reading 2 – Jer 23:29

” ‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’ ” (Jer 23:29).

By the fire, God melts the hard metal, softens it, and subdues it. Then He may take it out of the fire, and with hammer upon anvil He pounds and shapes the softened metal into a fit instrument for His use.

Reading 3 – Rom 10:4

“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4).

Just as in English we speak of “the end of the matter” and use the expression “to the end that” — in the one expression “end” meaning conclusion or termination, and in the other, goal or purpose — the same dual possibility lies in the Greek word “telos”. The work of God in Christ both put an end to the Law, but it also fulfilled the goal or purpose of the Law, which was a “schoolmaster” or “guide” to point the way and to lead others to Christ (Gal 3:24)! In a similar vein, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mat 5:17). But in being fulfilled, in and through Christ, the Law — by necessity — came to its end or conclusion.

In Christ, the Law came to an end in the same way that the seed comes to an end in the new plant that springs up, or the bud comes to an end in the blossoming flower. “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.”

Reading 1 – 2Sa 14

“Problems in David’s family continue. His son Absalom, now the eldest and in line for the throne, conspires against his father, thus repeating the attitude of king Saul against the shepherd-elect. But, like Saul, Absalom has no scruples against Yahweh’s Anointed! He meditates on seizing the throne. But the powerful Joab acts with a political intent.

Joab schemes to fetch Absalom home: vv 1-3. Three years have passed, and Joab seeks opportunity to influence David. Then came a woman of Tekoah with a plea: vv 4-11. She presents a case in which forgiveness should be exercised. One brother had killed another, but had been incited to do so. She pleaded the intervention of David, who was so touched by the case, he granted the request. Then the case became personal. The woman pleads for Absalom: vv 12-17. Although the nation endorsed the action of the king, it was a subtle suggestion, that if the king recalled Absalom from exile, his action would be endorsed by the people. It was a suggestion based on what Joab knew the king wanted. Absalom is recalled but not forgiven: vv 18-24. Then the record reveals: Absalom’s appealing responsibility: vv 25-27. His was an appeal to the flesh, and traded on such appeal. He became renowned for his hair. the weight of which was recorded throughout the kingdom. Absalom seeks power: vv 28-33. Though recalled from exile, the king’s obvious disapproval of Absalom stood in the way of his ambition and power. Absalom reveals the ruthlessness of his nature in this action towards Joab” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 2 – Jer 18:1-4

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him” (Jer 18:1-4).

“The potter was making a vessel on the wheels, the upper and lower discs made of stone or wood. The lower one was worked by the foot of the potter and was attached by an axle to the upper one, on which the clay was worked. The discs were in a horizontal position. As happened frequently in the daily life of a potter, the clay did not turn out right. Often in throwing the clay, some defect would become evident. The potter then rolled the clay into a lump to begin his task again to make a more suitable product. The chief point here is the power the potter had over the clay. The clay was in his hand and under his control. The defects were in the clay, not the hand of the potter. The potter’s perseverance must not be overlooked at this point in this passage” (Expositors Bible Commentary).

In contrast to the clay pot in Jer 19:1,10, the same clay here could still be changed into a different vessel — not having been hardened yet.

Reading 3 – Rom outline

Romans, a brief outline, chapter by chapter:

Men may have a knowledge of God from general revelation, and thus all men are in some sense guilty, since they have rejected this revelation. The Jews are guilty of rejecting God’s law as well, and thus are doubly guilty. Since no man can be saved by his own righteousness, justification can only be by faith in the work of Jesus Christ. The chief Old Testament example is Abraham, who was saved by faith. The fruit of this justification is peace with God. Free grace gives no license for sin, but rather provides resurrection power for a new life of righteousness. Nevertheless, our regeneration introduces a struggle, within our own natures, against indwelling sin. Christ works with us in the war against sin, and guarantees us our final victory in the resurrection. Our security in Christ is grounded in God’s choice of us, not our choice of Him. God brings His elect people to Himself by means of the preaching of the gospel. God has taken the gospel to the Gentiles now, but there will come a time when Israel will also be gathered back to Him. Paul shifts from theological exposition to practical application. The appropriate response to such a great salvation is to present ourselves as living sacrifices and transformed people in the ecclesia. Believers should live in submission to the civil authorities. Weak and strong believers need to live in harmony, understanding each other. The apostle to the Gentiles hopes to visit Rome soon. Paul sends greetings to the saints, and gives warnings against “wolves”.

Reading 1 – 2Sa 6:17

“They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it [in Jerusalem], and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD” (2Sa 6:17).

A number of David’s psalms stem from this incident:

“LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart” (Psa 15:1,2).

“Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false” (Psa 24:3,4).

“Your procession has come into view, O God, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary. In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the maidens playing tambourines. Praise God in the great congregation; praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel” (Psa 68:24-26).

“O LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured… I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob… Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool — arise, O LORD, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might” (Psa 132:1,4,5,7,8).

Reading 2 – Jer 11

“Jeremiah’s message continues its indictment against a generation of faithless Israelites. The ecclesia was facing its last days, and entered into a conspiracy against the divine covenant in Jer 11.

As a representative of the small, faithful remnant within the nation,

Jeremiah endorsed the covenant: vv 1-5. He supported king Josiah, and later predicted the advent of the New covenant (Jer 31:31-34). Then the prophet proclaims the Truth throughout Judea: vv 6-8. He is directed to tour the land with the message of the Covenant — a tour that brought him into conflict with his own city, and in so doing, he typed the Christ. The people turned back: vv 9,10. Some time elapsed. The people returned home after the enthusiasm of the proclamation of the covenant, and celebration of Passover, but the tour of Jeremiah received little success. The people heard with impatience his warning words, and like their forefathers, stubborn of heart, they repudiated his strictures. Therefore the People will experience the curse of the Covenant: vv 11-14. Olive branches to be broken off: vv 15-17. The lamb to the slaughter: vv 18,19. Jeremiah’s prayer: Vindicate divine judgment: v 20. Yahweh promises to vindicate the prophet: vv 21-23.

Thus the chapter is a sad commentary on the way in which flesh reacts to the divine mercy, and reminds us that rejection of the warnings of the Word will bring a sad destiny” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 3 – Mat 22:11

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes” (Mat 22:11).

The word “see” is the Greek “theoreo” — suggesting a formal inspection by the king: something like being “presented” at court!

“Anciently, kings and princes were accustomed to make presents of changes of raiment to their friends and favourites, to refuse to receive which was an expression of highest contempt (2Ki 10:22; Est 6:8; 8:15). It was, of course, expected that such garments would be worn when they came into the presence of the benefactor. The garments worn on festival occasions were chiefly long white robes; and it was the custom of the person who made the feast to prepare such robes to be worn by the guests. This renders the conduct of this man more inexcusable. He came in his common ordinary dress, as he was taken from the highway; and though he had not a garment of his own suitable for the occasion, yet one would have been provided for him, if he had applied for it. His not doing it was expressive of the highest disrespect for the king” (Albert Barnes).

The respected rabbinical scholar Edersheim cites, as background to this parable, two commonly-known rabbinical parables (from which Jesus may have borrowed, or at least used as his “jumping-off” place):

In one parable the king is represented as inviting his subjects to a feast, without, however, fixing the exact time for it. When inviting the guests, the king had told them to wash, anoint, and array themselves in their festive garments. But the foolish assume that they will know well in advance, from the preparation of the food and the arranging of the seats, when the feast was to begin; and so they had gone, the mason to his cask of lime, the potter to his clay, the smith to his furnace, the fuller to his bleaching-ground. But suddenly comes the king’s summons to the feast, when the wise appear festively adorned, and the king rejoices over them, and they are made to sit down, eat and drink. But he is angry with the foolish, who appear squalid, unwashed, and unadorned, and are ordered to stand by and look on in anguish, hunger and thirst. The second parable tells of a king who committed to his servants the royal robes. The wise among them carefully laid them by while the foolish put them on when they did their work. After a time the king asked back the robes, when the wise could restore them clean, while the foolish had them soiled. Then the king rejoiced over the wise, and, while the robes were laid up in the treasury, they were bidden go home in peace. But to the foolish he commanded that the robes should be handed over to the fuller, and that they themselves should be cast into prison.

And so the Bride makes herself ready for the wedding, and she is given “fine linen, bright and clean” — which represents “the righteous acts of the saints”. In the Mat 22 parable, all the guests are in the same role as the “Bride” in Rev 19: they are the multitudinous bride — and the garments they have been “given” are twofold:

Their nakedness, or sins, have been covered by the “garment” provided by the Bridegroom (in symbol, this is equivalent to being washed and cleansed with water through the word, etc, in Eph 5:26,27; and/or garments washed white in the blood of the Lamb, in Rev 7:14) [contrast this with the fig-leaf coverings, which is all Adam can provide for Eve to cover her nakedness after the original sin!]. But without their own righteous acts, by which their faith is demonstrated to be real (Jam 2:17-26), they would be rejected, because their faith would have been dead!

So it would seem that, in the special wedding garments, there may be two aspects involved: first, a garment which is provided by the host, or bridegroom, or king; and secondly, the need for each invited guest to keep his or her own special garment washed and clean and ready to wear.

Reading 1 – 2Sa 9

” ‘Don’t be afraid,’ David said to him [Mephibosheth], ‘for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table’ ” (2Sa 9:7).

What a blessing! To be invited to eat at the king’s table. Although — like Mephibosheth — we may have a limp as we walk there, it is nevertheless good to go!

“Mephibosheth bowed down and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?’ ” (v 8).

“If Mephibosheth was thus humbled by David’s kindness, what shall we be in the presence of our gracious Lord? The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity… The meanest objects in nature appear to the humbled mind to have a preference above itself, because they have never contracted sin: a dog may be greedy, fierce, or filthy, but it has no conscience to violate, no Holy Spirit to resist. A dog may be a worthless animal, and yet by a little kindness it is soon won to love its master, and is faithful unto death; but we forget the goodness of the Lord, and follow not at His call. The term ‘dead dog’ is the most expressive of all terms of contempt, but it is none too strong to express the self-abhorrence of instructed believers. They do not affect mock modesty, they mean what they say, they have weighed themselves in the balances of the sanctuary, and found out the vanity of their nature. At best, we are but clay, animated dust… but viewed as sinners, we are monsters indeed. Let it be published in heaven as a wonder, that the Lord Jesus should set his heart’s love upon such as we are” (CH Spurgeon).

*****

“And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was crippled in both feet” (v 13).

“Mephibosheth was no great ornament to a royal table, yet he had a continual place at David’s board, because the king could see in his face the features of the beloved Jonathan [2Sa 9:7]. Like Mephibosheth, we may cry unto the King of Glory, ‘What is Thy servant, that Thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?’ [2Sa 9:8] but still the Lord indulges us with most familiar intercourse with Himself, because he sees in our countenances the remembrance of His dearly-beloved Jesus. The Lord’s people are dear for another’s sake. Such is the love which the Father bears to His only begotten, that for his sake He raises his lowly brethren from poverty and banishment, to courtly companionship, noble rank, and royal provision. Their deformity shall not rob them of their privileges. Lameness is no bar to sonship; the cripple is as much the heir as if he could run like Asahel [2Sa 2:18]. Our right does not limp, though our might may. A king’s table is a noble hiding-place for lame legs, and at the gospel feast we learn to glory in infirmities, because the power of Christ resteth upon us. Yet grievous disability may mar the persons of the best-loved saints. Here is one feasted by David, and yet so lame in both his feet that he could not go up with the king when he fled from the city, and was therefore maligned and injured by his servant Ziba [2Sa 19:26,27]. Saints whose faith is weak, and whose knowledge is slender, are great losers; they are exposed to many enemies, and cannot follow the king whithersoever he goeth. This disease frequently arises from falls [2Sa 4:4]. Bad nursing in their spiritual infancy often causes converts to fall into a despondency from which they never recover, and sin in other cases brings broken bones. Lord, help the lame to leap like an hart, and satisfy all Thy people with the bread of Thy table!” (CHS).

Reading 2 – Jer 13

“The taller they are, the harder they fall! Judah prided itself in its great privileges, and ignored the responsibilities that came with such a position in the divine reckoning. Jeremiah was commissioned to declare the prophecy of the marked girdle (vv 1-11). The linen girdle was the symbol of righteousness, based on faith. It was the ordinance of priests, and thus a fit emblem for Judah, which is likened to a kingdom of priests. But the girdle had lost its significance because of the manner of Israel’s contempt for the righteousness of Yahweh. Jeremiah took the girdle to the Euphrates, for Yahweh would take Judah into captivity through the Babylonians. The nation had not honoured its profession.

“Then came the prophecy of the wine jars (vv 12-14). The earthenware bottles likewise represented Judah, which would be broken, and the contents spilled, as the people would be subjected to the attacks of the Gentile powers. Thus the prophet warned the nation against pride (vv 15-21). By acknowledging their folly and seeking forgiveness, the people could have been redeemed. Jehoiachin and his mother (v 18) would be involved in the captivity, for their external marks of glory were only a facade for their real character. So Judah would be scattered (vv 22-27). Hypocrites are seldom ready to acknowledge their own faults and Yahweh’s righteousness, so the judgment fell heavily upon the nation, and the words of Jeremiah were confirmed” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 3 – Mat 24:48-51

“But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants’ ” —

that is, who do not serve God truly, and furthermore abuse those who attempt to do so…

” ‘and to eat and drink with drunkards’ ” —

…that is, to enjoy the worst possible fellowship with the world…

“The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 24:48-51).

Literally, “shall cut him asunder” (AV): the Greek is “dikotomesi” (cp the English “dichotomy”), meaning to cut in two. The “Lord” upon his return will, by the “sword” of his judgment, separate the real man from the actor, revealing him for a hypocrite!

Or, possibly, “cutting him in two”, as is done with the covenant-victim — to make him a sacrifice!

Reading 1 – 2Sa 16:5

“As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out” (2Sa 16:5).

In these verses (vv 5-14), there are many types of and comparisons with the trials of Christ:

Shimei (of Benjamin: like Saul, and Saul of Tarsus?) curses David as he is led outside the camp to suffer (notice: there is Kedron: 2Sa 15:23; and Olivet: 2Sa 15:30). David, being forgiven (and thus sinless), accepts this rebuke quietly — as coming from God. His followers beg permission to attack his accusers, but he refuses (cp Mat 26:52). David shows no violence or anger: he is like a “lamb” led dumb to the slaughter.

“The scene is one we would do well to carry in our hearts — Shimei’s violent language and the flying stones, and David’s silent, disciplined army marching towards Jericho, with their king humbled in their midst. Another, greater than David, ‘who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth,’ would bear a greater reproach outside the walls of Jerusalem. When reviled, he would not threaten but would commit himself to Him that judgeth righteously. [1Pe 2:21-25] Twelve legions of angels would be his servants, but not one of them would silence those who cursed the Son of God. Christ’s submission before undeserved cursing and bitterness was part of the triumph of his spirit” (Harry Tennant, “The Man David” 169).

Reading 2 – Jer 20:18

“Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” (Jer 20:18).

Was I born to see trouble and sorrow? YES! That is the very reason why you were born. Trial is not proof that God does not exist; it is proof that He DOES exist! Trial is one means by which God prepares character.

Reading 3 – Rom 5:2-4

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom 5:2-4).

If I can be sure, when the time finally comes for the Great High Priest to return from the Most Holy Place bringing the final blessing…. that I’ll still be here, waiting at my post, rejoicing in the tribulations which I endure, and having learned patience… real PATIENCE… enough for a lifetime, of broken hearts and broken dreams [sounds like a country western song, doesn’t it?], of hurt feelings, of resentments, of disappointments, of bitterness, of ailments and illnesses, of the gradual and insidious decline of all my human powers, and the frustrations of coming short time and again of what I would like to be, but can’t quite be, of asking forgiveness for the 490th time for the same sins, of forgiving others for the same number of times…. without throwing up my hands and walking away from the door of the temple. Out into the howling waste of a wilderness of snakes and scorpions — where there is no hope and no life and no love… the wilderness where Judas went, and Cain, and Saul, and a million others — who could not truly believe that the High Priest was coming to bring them the last great blessing. Yes, if I can only wait, and persevere… long enough…. then “I WILL BE saved” will turn into “I AM saved”! God give me strength enough to wait… that long.