June 5th One Year Bible Readings

2 Samuel 23:24-24:25 + Acts 3:1-26 + Psalm 123:1-4 + Proverbs 16:21-23
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Old Testament - We finish up the book of Second Samuel today and begin First Kings tomorrow!  Are you ready to dive into our next Old Testament book??  Today in Second Samuel we continue to read about David's mighty men.  It is sad to read the name of Uriah the Hittite in verse 39.  Another reminder of David's sin against Bathsheba and Uriah - one of David's own mighty men...  And, yes, another reminder of God's forgiveness of David - and God's offer of forgiveness to you and me today.  Have there been any "mighty men (or women!)" in your life that you have sinned against?  Will you go to God for forgiveness for that sin today?  And will you apologize and reconcile with the mighty man/woman in your life that you need to apologize to / reconcile with?  Interestingly, I think this whole forgiveness/mercy talk ties in very nicely into Psalm 123 today.  As Psalm 123 sings to us today:  "Have mercy on us Lord, have mercy."

Second Samuel 24 today finishes up with David taking a census, then judgment upon Israel for this sin, and then closing up the book with David building an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.  A few things to point out here.  First, you'll note verse 1 starts out with:  "Once again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel.."  Commentaries suggest that God was likely upset with Israel because of their support of Absalom's & Sheba's rebellions.  This is why it is thought the plague in this chapter affected Israel and not just David's house for the sin of the census.  The census was a sin because it was not needed at this time in Israel's history.  Censuses were taken in the past for military conscription & review of number of men before a war.  But this was not a time of war.  The census was a sin because David may have been taking this census just for his own glory & pride - to see how many people were under his reign.  Even Joab asked David why he was doing this as we see in verse 3.  The overall interesting thing to me about this chapter is that many commentaries suggest that it was placed at the end of the book of Second Samuel for the primary reason of setting the stage for the building of the Temple by Solomon in First Kings.  The very interesting note about Araunah's threshing floor that we read about today is that it is believed to have been located on Mount Moriah!  Yes, the same Mt. Moriah where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac.  And the same spot where the Temple was to be built by Solomon!  So, this brings to light the importance of David actually buying the threshing floor from Araunah and not just taking it for free, as was offered.  David not only bought the threshing floor to build the altar for the burnt & peace offerings, but he bought the land for the Temple of the Lord to soon be built on by his son Solomon!  Pretty interesting to note as we close out this amazing book of Second Samuel.  I am very excited to begin our readings about David's son Solomon in First Kings beginning tomorrow!  Below is an image of Araunah the Jebusite offering his threshing floor to David:

Bible.org's commentary on today's Second Samuel readings titled "Neiman Marcus Military, Kmart Christianity? David Comes to His Census" is at this link.  (Some days you really have to appreciate the humor in Bob Deffinbaugh's essay titles!  Today is one of those days. :)

New Testament - Acts chapter 3 is a wonderful look at the power of Jesus' name and faith in Jesus as Peter heals a lame man.  I love verse 6:  "But Peter said, "I don't have any money for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!""  Below is a painting of this scene by the Italian painter Masolino da Panicale from the early 15th century:

It is awesome to see how Peter follows up this healing with preaching at Solomon's Porch!  He sees an opportunity to let others know about Jesus and he does not let this opportunity pass him by.  How often in your life do you come across opportunities to let others know about Jesus?  How often do you move forward with that opportunity?  Or how often do you let that opportunity pass you by? 

Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "A Lame Excuse for Preaching the Gospel" is at this link.  (again, quite a creative title here from Bob... :)

Psalms - Psalm 123 continues the songs of Ascent.  Psalm 123 is a short one, but a great one.  I love these portions of verses 2 and 3 -  "We look to the LORD our God for his mercy....Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy..."  Do you look to the Lord for his mercy?  What does God's mercy to you look like?  Why would you need God's mercy?  Do you pray to the Lord this simple prayer - "Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy"? 

Proverbs - Proverbs 16:23 today is fantastic:  "From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive."  Do you want a wise mind?  Do you want wise speech to come forth from your mouth?  Where in this world do you think you can find wisdom?  Wisdom that will transform your mind?  Wisdom that will transform your speech?  And then, with that wisdom, how will you persuade others?  What would you even want to persuade others toward?  Below are a couple of images of Jesus.  First image is of Jesus studying as a boy.  What can we learn from this image of Jesus and apply to our lives today?  Next image is an overview of Jesus' wisdom.  Would you agree that Jesus fulfilled this Proverb perfectly? "From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive."

Worship Video: Today's Psalm reminded me of the song "Lord Have Mercy" sung here at Moody Church:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iwF7tNS3O4

Have you ever prayed Lord Have Mercy?  Click here for mercy!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Acts 3:6 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray in that you treasure the name of Jesus above all else in this world. Pray that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Pray all things in Jesus' holy name.

Comments from You & Questions of the Day:  In Acts chapter 3 we read about Peter healing a lame man in the name of Jesus.  I am curious about how you might say or pray the name of Jesus in your life today?  Do you close out your prayers in the name of Jesus?  Do you do other things in your life in the name of Jesus?  Do you have any stories or examples of the power of the name of Jesus that you have experienced in your life?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.

p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

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Comments

[Ramona]

2 Samuel 23:24-24:25
Sometimes we groan at reading the “lists” of people, places and things as we go through the Bible. But each and every time we override the desire to either skip over passages, or read at speeds over 100mph we can miss what may appear to be something of little importance and bypass something that can set us free. If Bruce Wilkinson had not read the lists in Chronicles, we would not have been blessed with the book, The Prayer of Jabez. It was reading this list a few years ago that I discovered some of these names sounded so familiar that I went back reread and then looked up other occurrences of the names.

David’s life not only is the life of a man who was greatly blessed of God, despite the traitorous acts he committed, sleeping with another man’s wife and then having that man killed; it is a life that shows God’s mercy and grace. Our God is a God of mercy, grace, love and kindness. If he were not David would have been toast if I were in charge. Therefore, I am glad that God doesn’t go by my rules because I would be burnt to a crisp before the Day of Judgment.

I took note of two names in this listing of David’s thrity men of valor, Eliam (2 Sam 23:34) and Uriah, the Hittite (39). Going back to the eleventh chapter of 2nd Samuel you will find these names mentioned dealing with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife and the man David had killed making him a murderer. I realized that David would have had to have a close relationship with Uriah and Uriah’s father, Eliam (2 Samuel 11:3). Not only that Bathsheba’s grandfather, Eliam’s father, was Ahithophel, David’s trusted advisor; the advisor that defected to Absalom, the seditious son we read about attempted a rebellion (2 Samuel 15).

There is a saying; familiarity-breeds-contempt and Ahithophel with his close association to David had to have seen the turmoil in both homes caused by David’s acts of adultery and murder. How much of what he had seen and heard contributed to his defection? In his eyes, did David look like a man of God? This says to me that despite appearances, we have no idea who God is using despite their actions. Clearly, God’s grace and mercy does not look to us for guidance.

The twenty-fourth chapter shows us again, that God’s chosen man can do ungodly things. Things that appear on the surface to be inconsequential but under the surface lay unrighteous motivation. Israel was told when a census was carried out that each male counted must pay a redemption price. So it would be costly to the populace; this obviously was not done (Exodus 31:12; 38:25).

I believe there is a greater lesson for all of us, when we violate a command; we saddle those under our care, under our leadership and authority with a price greater than the cost of obedience. In this case, 70,000 people paid with their lives.

What I so love about David and which is an example for me he did not make excuses for his error. When caught in a lie, in a sin I am prone to blame everyone else but me. “If you hadn’t said; did; looked …I wouldn’t have. You saw me doing …why didn’t you say; do; make me stop?” Not only did David accept responsibility for his actions he paid the cost of the sacrifice. Now that is a model for accountability! David’s actions also show the difference between godly sorrow and worldy sorrow, godly sorrow says I will suffer the consequences for my actions. Worldy sorrow is just, I’m sorry because I got caught.

Acts 3:1-26
There were three directional entrances into the Temple and this lame man was laid at the gate daily and had been lame from birth. This means that this man was a fixture at the temple when Jesus was born until after His death so why did not Jesus heal him. The last week of His life on earth, Jesus went in and out of the temple daily, yet this man was not healed. Had he been placed at the wrong gate at the right time? On the other hand, maybe he was not ready to be healed when Jesus was around. I’m not sure of his state of mind, but I know from my own experience that God had been calling me long before I accepted His invitation to come to Him and be healed. My problem was I didn’t think I would receive anything.

Maybe we and those we are now trying to minister too to accept God’s salvation must get to the place where we become sick and tired of being sick and tired. The text says that the lame man looked upon “them” expecting in earnest to receive something. Maybe our expectation switch has been turned off, or we have dropped the eagerness from our body language. Whatever the cause when we accept the “free gift” of Salvation we certainly get more than we expected. How is your expectation level?

Psalm 123:1-4

2 We look to the LORD our God for his mercy,
just as servants keep their eyes on their master,
as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.

Too often, I find myself looking to men for mercy and not to God. I forget that the mercies of men are really curses in the eyes of God. It is like looking for love in all the wrong places.

Proverbs 16:21-23
22 Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it, but discipline is wasted on fools.
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God give me discernment to distinguish between the wise and the fool so I will not waste your Pearls of Wisdom. Amen.

Ramona