Bible 365: Week 10

Sorry for the late posting.  I'm still visiting with family.  Things are way more chaotic and hectic here than when I'm back at my house.  Every night this week it's been a real struggle for me to keep my eyes open after I put the kiddies to bed.  Thank goodness for audio bibles!

So, in Week 10, David is finally given thrown to rule over the Israelites.  He continues to lead them in battle to conquer their neighboring enemies.  Up until this point David hasn't really strayed too far from God's commandments.

However, one evening he was feeling restless and decided to go for a little walk on his roof.  "And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold" (2 Samuel 11:2).  And thus David let his lust get the best of him.

The woman he was watching bathe was Bathsheba.  And he was fully aware that she was married to Uriah, one of his men.  However, this did not stop David from sending some of his other men to fetch her so that he could sleep with her. (Power tripping!)  She ends up pregnant and to cover up his sin or to stop Uriah from confronting him, David has him sent to the frontline knowing he'll get killed in battle.

This is the kind of stuff you'd see on a soap opera for sure!  Uriah dies of course and David takes Bathsheba on as one of his wives.  Now, we know from our previous readings that God doesn't put up with foolishness and direct disobedience from leaders He has chosen and anointed to be more righteous than the rest of the Israelites.  So, God tells David that his punishment will be the death of his love child with Bathsheba.

David thought that he could get God to change his mind and show him some mercy by fasting and praying.  However, God follows through and seven days after Bathsheba gave birth their son died (2 Samuel 12:18).  Soon afterwards David sleeps with Bathsheba and she gets pregnant again.  This time their son lives and they name him Solomon.

We get to meet Solomon again later on in the Bible.  He has own book which is one of my favorites.  It's a cross between his personal diary and one of the best love letters ever written in my opinion.  Can't wait to get to it.

Trouble didn't end for David with the death of his newborn son either.  His older son, Amnon, rapes his daughter Tamar (Amnon's half-sister).  Then Amnon's half-brother Absalom gets even with Amnon for raping his sister by killing him (2 Samuel 13).  Absalom then flees from their father thinking David is going to be furious with him.  

However, since it was already commanded under Moses that the sin for sexual sins committed against close relatives was death, David forgives Absalom.  I guess he felt it was better that Amnon die by the hand of a loved one than a stranger.

I personally don't know how I would have handled or felt about the situation.  I imagine that David felt embarrassed and a great deal of pain having had one child rape another and then yet another one of his children killed the offending child.  That is beyond being a dysfunctional family.

As if David hadn't been through enough, Absalom turns his back on his father when David welcomes him back to Jerusalem.  Thus, David goes on the run from his own son!  In the end Absalom gets his due and is killed by Joab and his men (2 Samuel 18:12-18).

One of my favorite passages from Week 10 was 2 Samuel 22.  It's David's song of praise to God for delivering him from his many enemies.  It's definitely one of those passages to bookmark to read during times when you need reassurance or to remember why God is totally awesome!

Week 11 Readings

3/11- 1 Kings 1-4

3/12- 1 Kings 5-8

3/13- 1 Kings 9-11

3/14- 1 Kings 12-16

3/15- 1 Kings 17-19

3/16- 1 Kings 20-22

3/17 2 Kings 1-6