2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
When I began writing this part of our messages on covenants, I had no plan to go through these chapters in the latter part of 1 SAM and the beginning of 2 SAM, but that is where God led me. The lessons we are mining from this precious “spiritual mother lode” are really worth our time, so I hope you will bear with me as we continue on the path God is forging for us. I never realized until now how many implications arose out of one seemingly simple covenant agreement made between David and Saul’s son, Jonathan. It gives us pause to think what possible long-term implications might arise out of our own personal covenant agreements. Where God is in the leadership role, it is always possible that things that seem small and insignificant to us do have huge long-term ramifications to His plan. That is one more reason why it is so crucial that we 1) allow God to be in leadership in our lives and 2) follow His commands exactly how and when He wants.
When we left off in the narrative of events leading from David’s covenant with Jonathan, Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle at Mt. Gilboa, and David was consolidating his power to be king. He was already king of Judah, while Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, had been made king of the rest of Israel. A conflict had arisen between Ishbotsheth and his great-uncle Abner, who was also the commander of his army, over a personal matter. This led to Abner changing his allegiance to David. In 2 SAM 3: 12-14, Abner offered to forge an agreement with David to help him. David agreed on the proviso that Abner see to it that the Judean king’s wife, Michal (Saul’s daughter) was returned to him. The same message was sent to Ishbosheth. She was returned to David from her then-husband, Paltiel son of Lasish (15-16), thus uncovering another dark side to the entangled personal life of David. 2 SAM 3: 17-18, “Abner went to the leaders of Israel and said to them, ‘For a long time you have wanted David to be your king. Now here is your chance. Remember that the Lord has said, “I will use My servant David to rescue My people Israel from the Philistines and from all their other enemies.” How very prophetic this statement would be! In the short run, David would rescue Israel from the Philistines. As for all Israel’s other enemies, it is out of the royal line of David that the real Source of rescue from evil would come!
In 2 SAM 3: 21, Abner promised David, “I will go now and win all Israel over to Your Majesty. They will accept you as king, and then you will get what you have wanted and will rule over the whole land.” David sent him on his way with a guarantee of safety. When Joab [David’s nephew and army commander] heard that, he was very obviously in disagreement with David, and without David’s knowledge or permission, left to recapture Abner. Joab brought him back to Hebron, took him aside at the gate as if he had something private to say to him, and mortally stabbed Abner in the stomach with his sword (27). This was Joab’s way of exacting revenge against Abner for killing his brother, Asahel, after the “Field of Swords” battle at Gibeon earlier. Upon hearing about this, David was furious with Joab and said in (29), “May the punishment for it [murdering Abner] fall on Joab and all his family!” Joab had a covenant of his own with David, to serve him loyally as his army commander. This covenant had been broken now, and he and his family would suffer the consequences. Since David’s covenant with Jonathan was also with God, that meant that Joab’s covenant with David was also with God. David then ordered his men to tear their clothes, wear sackcloth and ashes, and mourn for Abner (31). David walked behind Abner’s coffin, lamenting in (34), “His hands were not tied, and his feet were not bound; he died like someone killed by criminals!”-at his funeral and burial in Hebron. The people wept with him, understanding that their king had no part in this murder (31-37).
2 SAM 4 opens with the first mention of Baanah and Rechab, who were Ishbosheth’s officers and the leaders of raiding parties from the tribe of Benjamin (2). 2 SAM 4: 4, “Another descendant of Saul was Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, who was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were killed. When the news about their death came from the city of Jezreel, his nurse picked him up and fled, but she was in such a hurry that she dropped him, and he became crippled.” Yes, Dear Ones, we have finally arrived at the place in our story where Mephibosheth becomes a part of it! I know it was a long wait, but I hope you will agree a worthwhile one. What happened next reveals just how much David’s acceptance to be king of all Israel had spread. 2 SAM 4: 7-8, “Rechab and Banaah [who had arrived at Ishbosheth’s home while he was taking his midday rest guarded by a woman who herself had fallen asleep], slipped in. Once inside, they went to Ishobsheth’s bedroom where he was sound asleep, and killed him. Then they cut off his head and took it with them, and walked all night through the Jordan Valley. They presented it to King David at Hebron and said to him, ‘Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy, Saul. Today the Lord has allowed you to take revenge on Saul and his descendants.’” It was clear these men had no understanding of the covenant David and Jonathan had made! David’s response was both swift and consistent with his one against the Amalekite messenger who had told him of Saul’s death [2 SAM 1: 14-16]. He gave the order to have them killed, and they were. Ishbosheth’s head was buried in Abner’s tomb in Hebron (9-12).
PRAYER: O Lord, it is clear that there are parts of this story that we would view as bloodthirsty and cruel. But You lead us to understand it both in the context of the times it took place and on the level of the crucial covenant messages it contains. With 20/20 hindsight, we can look back on this story and get a view of Your larger purpose, that of establishing the royal line of David out which our own Savior would come. However, we also look at it to learn how seemingly unimportant actions can have huge consequences to our own sanctification and salvation, as well as Your overall plan for mankind. We do not have Your perspective on all these things, which makes it even more crucial that we obey Your commands without questioning them. You have told us in HE 11: 1 that, “Faith is to be sure of the things we hope for and to be certain of the things we cannot see.” David demonstrated his faith over and over again. He did this through his obedience. David had no idea of Who Jesus Christ would be or even that he would have a part in His ancestry. But David had trust in You and obeyed Your commands. That is what You want us to do. Today, we approach You in humility with the dedication to do that. We beseech You to give us direction in how to be obedient, and, as a part of our Covenant of Grace agreements with You, we promise to seek You out for that direction, to listen to what You say, and to carry out Your commands as a demonstration of our love for and faith in You. We offer You our worship, adoration, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise, and utmost thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at what happened when David became king of all Israel and had victory over the Philistines from the covenant point of view. We will see what happened during the years that Mephibosheth was growing up, so don’t worry, he’s not forgotten. In the meanwhile, it is my hope that we can all see the love that undergirds God’s part in all these events as well as our own lives. In causing us to view our own attitudes, decisions, and actions in the light of our covenant agreements with God, He is enabling us to find His direction in our lives and to act on it. That, Dear Ones, is the greatest love humans can ever access. It is that love that causes God’s heart to ache for us to declare Him as our only God and give Him the opportunity to declare that we are His children. Furthermore, it is that love which leads Him to want nothing more for us than we should share His glory in eternity in a relationship of closeness, joy, and fellowship forever with Him. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn