David’s life has not been easy. He knows rejection, betrayal, humiliation and loss. As a boy he wasn’t considered in the line up for king. His brother dismisses him before he takes down Goliath. Saul chases him for years trying to kill him bc of his own jealousy. His best friend dies in battle. He loses his infant child as a result of his own sin. His grown children have severe brokenness; Amnon raped Tamar and Absalom killed Amnon. His own son, Absalom, slept with his concubines in public and tried to take the kingdom and then was murdered. David’s own men betrayed him. He was constantly at war against his enemies; so much so that the Lord would not allow him to build His house, as David’s heart desired, due to the amount of blood on David’s hands. Yet…in spite of all that…David had joy! How is that possible?! 👆🙏 David understood that his joy did not come from his circumstances but from his relationship with the Lord. “The Lord is my light and my salvation…The Lord is the strength of my life…Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.” David also understood that pain on this side of heaven is fleeting but the goodness of the Lord is forever. “And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

And yes, even King David hit rock bottom but he always had hope in the Lord. “I am forgotten like a dead man, out of my mind; I am like a broken vessel. For I hear the slander of many…But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’” Keep reading.

(Psalm 27-32)

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David hits on 5 truths about the Lord in today’s Psalms:

1) The Lord is your guide. “He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness”. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me”.

2) The Lord is your rescuer. “O my Strength, hasten to help me! Deliver Me from the sword”.

3) The Lord forgives sins and restores you. “Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins …Keep my soul, and deliver me”.

4) The Lord doesn’t always work quickly but He does work on behalf of those who wait for Him. “For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.” “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.” Isaiah knows this same truth about the Lord as he says in Isaiah 64:4, “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for Him”.

5) Sometimes the Lord may seem silent. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me…O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear…They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Later in the Story, while Jesus is hanging on the cross dying so that we may have salvation, He will ask the same as David fulfilling prophecy. “…Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying…’My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) And the soldiers “..when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.” (Matthew 27:35) BUT 3 days later when Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’s tomb, she was told “…He has risen, he is not here”. (Mark 16:6) And after Jesus was on earth 40 days, He “…was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God”. (Mark 16:9) See, God may be silent but He is NEVER inactive! The Lord is always working to accomplish His plans and His purposes and to work ALL things for the good of His people! Keep reading.

(Psalms 22-26)

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“The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times, You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.” The number 7 in the Bible represents completion and divine perfection. David is saying that God’s Word is complete and perfect and the Lord will preserve His Word throughout the generations. Paul will later say in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”.

How do we know the Bible is true? Well, lots of reasons but I’m going to list 3:

1) The Bible is the only book that predicts future events that actually happen. Plus, it is made up of 66 books written by over 40 authors over a 1500 year period in 3 different languages and it all goes together to tell One Story! 🤯

2) There are many historical events documented in the Bible that are supported by outside manuscripts and other historical support.

3) Many have been killed over the years trying to pass this Story along. Once we get to Jesus’s resurrection, we will read about men who go from being scared and hiding out to boldly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus and being brutally murdered for it. In 1536, William Tyndale, an English scholar, was strangled and burnt at the stake for translating the Bible into English for us. There are many, many more stories of people laying down their lives to spread this Story. Would all these people, over all these years, do that for a Story that wasn’t true?!

As King David says today, “The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple”. “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”” This must be a Story worth reading…so keep reading!

(Psalms 12-17, Psalms 19-21)

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Before David dies, he gives Solomon final instructions regarding 3 men:
1) Kill Joab for killing David’s son Absalom and the 2 Israelite commanders, Abner and Amasa.
2) Show kindness to Barzillai’s sons bc of Barzillai’s loyalty to David when he was on the run from Absalom.
3) Kill Shimei for taunting David while he was on the run from Absalom.

David’s last words include, “He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God”. David knows that the only way to be just is to be in the Word of God as he instructs Solomon, “And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statues, His commandments, His judgements, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses”. King David dies after reigning for 40 years as king.

We are going to read the Psalms written by David and his lead song writers before we get into the story of King Solomon. Today David says, “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!” “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness…” So we have established that David’s righteousness is from the Lord but then David says, “The Lord tests the righteous”. We have also learned that the Lord doesn’t tempt anyone with evil but He does allow His people to be tested and to undergo trials in order to build their faith in Him. James, the brother of Jesus, will later say, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) And Peter will say, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7) Christians can still rejoice even through trials here on earth bc our hope is in Christ. As David says in his Psalm, “Let those who love Your name be joyful in You.”

We have 13 days of nothing but Psalms ahead of us…so keep reading!

(1 Kings 2:1-9, 2 Samuel 23:1-7, 1 Kings 2:10-12, 1 Chronicles 29:26-30, Psalms 4-6, Psalms 8-9, 11)

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Today David tells the people who have a willing heart to join him in giving gifts to the temple and they all gave generously to the house of the Lord. “Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a willing heart they had offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly”. David explains how the people could give so joyfully in his prayer of praise “For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You”.

Solomon is again presented as the next king but apparently his older half brother Adonijah isn’t on board with his younger brother becoming king. So Adonijah tries to seize what he thinks should belong to him once his dad dies. However, the Lord has other plans. God already said that Solomon would be the next king. When Nathan, the prophet, and Bathsheba inform David of what is happening, David quickly makes Solomon king in his place and says “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it!”. Adonijah then fears Solomon greatly and Solomon says if Adonijah “…proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die”. Will Adonijah prove to be a worthy man? Gotta keep reading to see!

(1 Chronicles 29:1-22, 1 Kings 1:1-53)

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One thing King David knows is that you have to have order, good leadership, and clear roles and responsibilities to effectively manage anything. King David is managing an entire kingdom and he is laying out plans for the management of the temple. You probably noticed that Ahithophel is mentioned today as David’s counselor. From what I read, it is likely that he was David’s first counselor but we know how his story ended…bitter betrayal and suicide (2 Samuel 16 & 17).

Today David assembles all the leaders of Israel and makes 5 declarations:
1) God chooses David to be king over Israel forever which is referring to when the Lord told David that the throne will not leave David’s lineage (2 Samuel 7); pointing toward Jesus to come.
2) God chooses Judah to be ruler as prophesied by Jacob in Gen 49:10. King David is from the tribe of Judah.
3) The Lord selects Solomon, David’s son, to be the next king.
4) The Lord selects Solomon to build His house.
5) God says He will establish Solomon’s kingdom forever if he obeys the Lord.
The reading ends today with David telling Solomon to serve the Lord “…with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts”.

Then David hands the prep work for the building of the temple over to his son and says, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God – my God – will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord”. Keep reading bc tomorrow we find out that another one of David’s sons thinks he should be the next king. 😳

(1 Chronicles 26:1-28:21)

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David makes Solomon king over Israel and he continues the preparations for the temple that Solomon is going to build. Did you notice the inconsistency in the age eligible for the work of the Levites? In Numbers 4 the age assigned is 30-50 but this is specifically for the Kohath clan that had the stressful job of carrying the items within the tabernacle which required mature men…bc you touch, you die. In Numbers 8:24-26 we see the age is 25-50 for all Levites to do the work within the tabernacle. Today when David numbers the Levites, he originally counts the men 30 and above but then he lowers the age to 20. David says, “They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.” So the new age was lower because they no longer have to carry the tabernacle and this will also add more hands for the job. ✋✋

Lastly David assigns duties for the musicians. Before now the only organized music for the tabernacle was the blowing of the trumpets described in Numbers 10 but David loves music! He plays the harp and writes songs. So David takes fellow song writers, Asaph, Jeduthun, and Herman and their sons, and arranges them in 24 divisions, same as the priests, for handling the music for the temple. We will later read Psalms written by David’s lead song writers as well as David. Tomorrow David continues the temple prep work so keep reading. 

(1 Chronicles 23:1-25:31)

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“Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”” 2 Chronicles 21 says the Lord allows Satan to move David to take a census. Ok. So we have seen this before in the book of Job where the Lord allows Satan to have his way with His people to accomplish His purposes. God never does evil but will allow it for a bigger purpose. The Lord does not say why He is angry with Israel and uses David’s census to bring judgment upon them but David knows he was wrong.

Not only is this action used to judge Israel but it could also be exposing pride in David’s heart. James 1:13-15 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” David’s desire for military strength does not show humility and a dependence on the Lord. David also disobeys God’s law by not collecting a ransom for a person’s life during the census as instructed by the Lord in Exodus 30:12.

David later repents and the Lord allows David to choose between 3 punishments: 1) 7 years of famine, 2) 3 months of enemy attack, or 3) 3 days of plague. David chooses the plague so that the punishment is in the hands of the Lord and not man. David knows that God’s mercy is great. He says in Psalm 103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” So as David chose, the Lord sends a plague that kills 70,000 people and then the plague stops at the threshing floor of Araunah. David purchases the land and builds an altar to the Lord where he worships with sacrifices. David then begins gathering supplies for the house of the Lord that his son, Solomon, will build. David tells Solomon to be strong and courageous and to be careful to abide by the Word of God so that he will be prosperous. Will Solomon obey and walk in the ways of the Lord? Keep reading to see.

(2 Samuel 24:1-9, 1 Chronicles 21:1-6, 2 Samuel 24:10-17, 1 Chronicles 21:7-17, 2 Samuel 24:18-25, 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:19)

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David sings a song of praise to the Lord for delivering him from all of his enemies. David says the Lord is my rock, fortress, deliverer, my strength, my shield, horn of my salvation, my refuge, my Savior, and my lamp. David has a really high view of the Lord! 🙌

But… it also appears that David has a really high view of himself bc he says “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands…For I have kept the way of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from God…I was blameless before Him…” 🤔 Are you thinking what I am thinking? I hate to remind David of his affair and subsequent murder. How can David declare himself righteous? 👆 It is because David isn’t talking about his own righteousness. He knows that his righteousness does not come from himself or from his works; it comes from his faith in the Lord. David is fully aware that he is a sinner. He says in Psalm 25 “Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions…pardon my guilt for it is great”. And he says in Psalm 52 “Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me”. David is clean and righteous bc he trusts the Lord, he repents when he blows it, and he knows that God is the One who washes him clean. David can’t clean David! Same with us. We are righteous through the blood of Jesus and our faith in what He did for us.

Later in the Story Paul will say in Romans 3:20-25, ”For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe…(go read the rest 👌)” David goes on to say in today’s song “You will save the humble people, But your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down”. David may struggle with pride and sin but David doesn’t put his hope in his own righteousness, it’s in the Lord! This is good bc David stumbles again tomorrow. Keep reading.

(2 Samuel 22:1-51, Psalm 18)

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Today David has 2 major conflicts to settle and then ends with battling giants.

1) Judah escorts David back to Jerusalem which does not go over well with the other tribes who weren’t included in the escort. Conflict between the tribes begins and will continue throughout the Story. Sheba starts a revolt against David and David sends Amasa, the newly appointed head of army over Joab (2 Samuel 19:13), out to subdue Sheba. Joab must have not liked the demotion bc while in pursuit of Sheba, Joab shoves his sword in Amasa’s stomach killing him. 😳 Then the men follow Joab to the city where Sheba is. A wise woman talks Joab out of destroying the city in exchange for Sheba’s head. So Sheba’s head is chopped off and tossed over the wall which ends the revolt. Joab returns home as the commander of the army once again but David will not let Joab’s betrayal and murder go unpunished. As mentioned before, Solomon will be given orders regarding Joab.

2) Ok. So we read in Joshua 9 that the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and he made a covenant with them. Today we see how serious the Lord is about not breaking a covenant. There is a 3 year famine and David inquires of the Lord. The Lord says it is bc Saul attacked and killed the Gibeonites whom the Israelites were supposed to protect. David asks the Gibeonites how he can make things right with them and they ask for 7 of Saul’s sons to be handed over to be killed. So David gives them 7 of Saul’s sons but spares Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, bc of the oath he made with Jonathan. (The Mephibosheth that is handed over was another son of Saul’s with his concubine.) “After that God heeded the prayer for the land.”

The reading ends today with David and his men battling the Philistines where they take down 4 giants from Gath. Tomorrow David sings a song of praise to the Lord for the victories over his enemies. Keep reading.

(2 Samuel 19:31-20:26, Psalm 7, 2 Samuel 21:1-22, 1 Chronicles 20:4-8)

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