One Year Bible, May 22

2 SAMUEL 1:1-2:11                                                                                                          
JUST SO YOU KNOW: God was responsible for King Saul's death. 1 Chron 10:13-14 says "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; And inquired not of the LORD: therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse."  And Saul's three sons died with him. Saul was 70 and Jonathan was 53 years old.

2 SAMUEL: This is a biography of David and the Kingdom. Chap 1-12 are David's triumphs; and Chap 13-21 are David's Troubles.  2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles go together.  They run from the death of Saul to Solomon's reign.  In a nation full of idolatry, David stood like a Rock for God.  In everything, he went directly to God in prayer, praise and thanks. David not only fell lower than most men, but also rose higher.

DAVID'S ANOINTINGS:
1 Samuel 16:13                            2 Samuel 2:4                                 2 Samuel 5:3
Bethlehem                                    Hebron                                           Hebron
Killed a giant                                 Ruled Judah                                    Ruled all Israel
17 years old                                  23 years old (?)                               30 years old

HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN? (2 Sam 1:19, 25, 27, in three dimensions)   David called Saul "The Lion King" (v.23).

HEBRON:  David went "UP" to Hebron - up from "the valley of the shadow of death" - where he had been for over 6 years. Psalm 23 and 18 were written, where he "coined" many new names for God. His FIRST ACT as King was to "bless" the men who buried Saul.  David's time at Hebron was a time of patient waiting and trusting , 7-1/2 years.

ISHBOSHETH:  "Ishbosheth" means "man of shame".  He is Saul's son, 40 years old, and was made king by Abner (Saul's general), in an attempt to preserve Saul's dynasty.  ABNER is a type of SATAN.  This act of Abner's was a declaration of war against the house of David - an illustration of FLESH (aided and abetted by the devil)  vs  SPIRIT.

RESPONSE:  From the time David was anointed by Samuel to be King, until he finally ascended the throne at the age of 30, was 13 years! And he spent much of that 13 years as an outcast and outlaw, being hunted. Timing must be very important to God. For sure, He measures time differently than we do! It seems to me that maybe I would get impatient waiting that long for fulfillment.  On the other hand, running ahead of God assures failure.  Impatience is evidence of underlying anger and rebellion.  And that's not a good way to start reigning with God.

JOHN 12:20-50                                                                                                                   

"WE WOULD SEE JESUS": And what was the answer to that plea?   More about the principle of Death and Resurrection.   Keep in mind that chapters 11 and 12 of John are exclusively about Jesus' authority over Life and Death.

THE "LOST" LIFE: Jesus is talking here about the "soul" - the inner man of the flesh.  The losing of the soul (FLESH life) is linked to Jesus' death with an end in view of fruitfulness.  In order to produce "the Life" of God, the strength of the soul must be broken away to expose the Life within.  Death and Resurrection are the abiding principle --- death of the FLESH, resurrection of Spirit, or the New Life in Christ. 2 Cor 4:11-12 says, "For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you."   A pain-avoiding strategy in life leads us away from God.  It will cause us to avoid obedience and trust.   It will eventually lead to our betrayal of the faith.

"PRINCE OF THIS WORLD"  "NOW" shall he be "cast out" (GR: ekballo) - "to eject", "be thrown outside".  Thrown out of where? Out of heaven, of course.  In Luke 18:10 Jesus said He saw it happen - with the evangelization work of the 70.  So where is he now?  On earth. BUT, if we lift up Jesus FROM the earth, Jesus will draw men to Himself. The world thought it was judging Jesus; but Jesus was judging the world. Satan thought he was judging Jesus; but Jesus judged Satan. And then, the very cross Jesus died on became the magnet that draws sinners to Himself for Life.

JESUS' FINAL PUBLIC STATEMENT:  (v.44-50) The Word that these unbelievers rejected comes from the Father and offers "THE Life.  To refuse to receive Jesus' word is to reject Jesus Himself, just as to refuse to receive the Father's Word, Jesus, is to reject the Father Himself.  The same word which was to save us, judges us.

RESPONSE:  I used to think that all I had to do was "reckon" myself "dead" like it says in Romans 6:11.   I didn't know that I had to actually kill off my "affections and lusts" (Gal 5:24). What are those? What I want. What I think. What I feel. Selfishness and self-interest.  And the outside husk comes off the seed under pressure, in the dark. So it is a painful process. This is probably why so many Christians die alone and bitter. They refused to "die" to SELF. The only alternative is to be alone and bitter. Fruitfulness (the GOOD Life) comes from dying.

PSALM 118:19-29                                                                                                             

GATES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: The gates of the Temple are called "gates of righteousness" because they are the entrance to the place where God and man can meet because of the provisions of salvation.  And when the gates of righteousness are opened to us we must go into them and praise the Lord.  Our business within God's gates is to praise God.

Ps 118:24:  I begin every day with this verse: "This is the day that God has made FOR ME; I will rejoice and be exceedingly glad in it."  As this was probably sung at the Feast of Tabernacles, "THE day" is referring to a day in which we REST - or WALK BY FAITH. This is speaking of the "rest of faith". When we are "in faith", we are at rest.  Rest is being at peace with God's sufficiency, God's ability and God's strength. Our rest is obtained by coming to the Lord and trusting Him. Its opposite is "an evil heart of unbelief" (according to Hebrew chapters 3-4).  We are IN the everlasting Sabbath!

PROVERBS 15:27-28                                                                                                       
Bribes are given to pervert justice; and greedy people take bribes. Greedy people are also tormented by their own greed.

People who blurt out whatever is in them get into trouble a lot.  I know.  The only way to change that, is to change what is in "abundance of the heart". (Matt 12:34)

RESPONSE:  Every day is the Sabbath for believers in Jesus!  He MADE every day for us! Whatever is on your plate, God put it there. Talk your heart and your mind to the place of REST - that is what is EXPECTED of you! Do it by thanking God for His goodness and His greatness. Notice I said HIS goodness and HIS greatness - not who or what YOU are! That's a sure-fire way to get into UNrest, or "an evil heart of unbelief!"  To focus on ourselves is a guarantee for failure.