2 Samuel 10-11; Psalm 110; Romans 13

June 11: As we approach the day Christ returns, if we could only be revived and act according to the power of God, with conviction and evangelistic fervor and righteous living, how many could be saved? So many of the enemies of God use our carnality as “great occasion… to blaspheme” (2 Samuel 12:14) and disbelieve. It’s clear that our failures have consequences and we have much to answer for at the judgment seat of Christ.


2 Samuel 10-11: Joab’s instruction to the messenger was to tell him about Uriah only if “the king’s wrath arise” but the messenger got to that part of the message rapidly without any mention of David’s anger. Did the messenger know what was going on? Maybe not why it was important that Uriah was dead, but that some kind of conspiracy to ensure his death had taken place. As good a man as David had been, there’s no way to whitewash this chapter: it’s deep selfishness, corruption and treachery against an honorable man. That it is recorded in the Bible tells us something profound: David is not the hero of the story: God is. David is not the Messianic figure the Hebrews were looking for: Jesus is.

Psalm 110: The obvious question at the time this Psalm was written would be the one by the Ethiopian eunuch: “of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?” (Acts 8:34) At times, it must have seemed that David was meant to conquer all the heathen - but the statement about the priesthood would have confounded David’s contemporaries: wasn’t Saul judged unworthy of the monarchy because he intruded into the priest’s office? Who, therefore, is the Lord (Adonai) that YHWH invites to “sit at his right hand?” (See Acts 2:33) All this time since His Ascension, we have been living in that wait “until” - this, the patience of God is salvation. (2 Peter 3:15)

Romans 13: So the context for this beautiful verse 11 is the higher law of love and subjection to avoid punishment but also for conscience’s sake. What does it mean to “awaken out of sleep” in this context? “cast off the works of darkness” like a blanket thrown off to rise from sleep, and put on our armor. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

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