When it comes to Mary, Protestants and Catholics agree on a lot – Q & A Oct 2024, Part 1

What does the Bible teach about Mary as intercessor?  Let me give me you a one word answer: nothing. The Bible teaches nothing about Mary as intercessor.  So why do Catholics believe that people can pray to Mary and Mary will intercede for them?

Have you ever heard the phrase “Hail Mary?”  In our culture that refers to a last-ditch effort of any kind, an attempt that has very little chance of working. Most commonly we think of the Hail Mary play in football, which is when there is only a couple seconds left on the clock, and a team needs a touchdown to tie or win, but they are really far away from the end zone.  So they send a bunch of receivers on a sprint, 50, 60 yards to the end zone, and the quarterback launches a long bomb pass, desperately hoping one of his receivers will jump up and grab it for a touchdown.  It almost never works.  Except yesterday. Check out this clip:

That football play is called a Hail Mary because of the Catholic prayer that goes like this, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”  That prayer can, like the football play, be thought of as a last-ditch effort. If we’re desperate and God doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers, maybe Mary can talk to God for us. Can she? Let’s talk about that.

Let me start by saying that we Protestant evangelicals have loads of common ground with Catholics.  Have you ever heard that there are Christians and there are Catholics, as if they are two unrelated groups?  That separation is false.  I am a Protestant, an evangelical Protestants to be precise.  Catholics are Roman Catholics.  Protestants and Catholics can all be Christians.  A Christian is a follower of Jesus, choosing to give their life, habits, and hearts to his ways. You can do that as a Catholic or as a Protestant. I’m bringing this up to say that Protestants and Catholics are both historically Christian, and we agree on far more than we disagree. 

That goes for Mary too.  Protestants agree with Catholics about Mary in many ways.  But let me back up.  Who is Mary?  There are a number of people named Mary in the Bible, but the Mary this question is referring to is Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as we heard in the Hail Mary prayer above.  So of course, a person who is the mother of Jesus is someone who was unique and special in history.  No other woman was chosen by God to be the mother of God the Son, the Messiah. 

We read about Mary the mother of Jesus in numerous places in the Gospels.  Of course, Mary is perhaps the central figure in the story of Jesus’ birth.  There is only one story about Jesus’ childhood, when he was twelve years old, and Mary is there too.  During a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, when it was time to go home, he seems to have lost track of time because he was having some theological conversations with religious leaders at the temple. His parents realize Jesus is not in the group traveling back to their home, and they get scared, as any parent would, retracing their steps.  When they finally discover him, Mary is not happy. 

The next time we encounter Mary is eighteen years later, when Jesus has just returned from being baptized by John. We read about it John chapter 2, verses one through eleven.  Jesus, his disciples and Mary are at a wedding together in the town of Cana, which was just down the road from his and Mary’s hometown of Nazareth.  During the wedding reception, when she finds out that the wine has run out, Mary looks at Jesus and simply says, “They have no more wine.” 

I would love to have seen the look on her face, the twinkle in her eye, the playful tone in her voice, because that simple remark from his mom produces in Jesus the most interesting response.  I also wish I could see the look on his face, the tone of his voice when Jesus says to Mary, “Dear woman why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”

It really seems they have a wonderfully close relationship, almost as if Jesus and Mary are teasing each other.  Mary knows what Jesus is capable of, and Jesus is perhaps slightly embarrassed, or maybe he is teasing her right back.  Just like mothers and sons can do.  I see it with my wife and our sons frequently, particularly because Michelle has such a good sense of humor. 

In this case, Mary makes a shocking response to Jesus’ comment.  Mary totally ignores Jesus.  He has just said, “Why are you bringing this up to me, Mom?  It is not my time yet.”  She doesn’t answer him.  Instead, she turns away from him, and she speaks to nearby servants saying, “Do what he tells you.”

There is only one person in the Gospels who ignores Jesus’ words and gets away with it.  His mom.  Mary has just overruled Jesus.  A human has just overruled God, and God acquiesces!  It is an astounding encounter.  It is only Mary who ever does this.  Jesus ends up doing what Mary said, famously changing the water to wine, in what is his first, or one of his earliest, miraculous signs. 

We will see Mary only rarely in the rest of Gospels, with her most notable remaining appearance at the foot of the cross.  So think about her relationship with Jesus at the wedding at Cana. Mary’s character and stature is obvious.  She is quite an amazing person. 

Catholics see that in her in a helpful way that many Protestants and evangelicals do not, and that is to our detriment.  Mary is a wonderful example of a heart for God.  But should we pray to her, and does she pray for us?  How do Catholics come to that conclusion?

We find out in the next post.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Praying to Mary, Separation of church and state – Q & A Oct 2024, Preview

This coming week on the blog is another Q & A week.  The way it works is that I receive questions from my congregation, Faith Church in Lancaster, PA, and then I not only attempt to answer those questions in my sermon, but I also blog them here.

First, we’re going to talk about why the Roman Catholic Church believes in praying to Mary.  Are they right or wrong?  Are there any passages in the Bible that refer to Mary as our intercessor before God?  Who is Mary anyway?  And what is an intercessor before God?  There are numerous places in the New Testament we will visit to attempt to answer these questions.

Then we have a question that relates to the intersection of religion and government.  Jesus only rarely dabbled into political speech.  My opinion is that Jesus’ life and ministry deeply relates to politics, and on many levels.  But he almost never talked about politics.  If you read Matthew 22:15–22, however, he comments on taxation.  In this familiar passage Jesus says, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”  With that, is Jesus teaching the separation of church and state?  

The third and final question is related to the second: What should Christians think about the Oklahoma State School Superintendent mandating the teaching of the Bible in all Oklahoma public schools?  This summer the mandate was published, and this fall all public schools across Oklahoma were to begin teaching the Bible in all classrooms, grades 5–12.  Even math classes?  Gym?  Music?  Is there a curriculum?  Which version of the Bible are they using?  How do teachers who are not trained biblical exegetes feel about this?  Why was this mandate created in the first place?  Most importantly of all, is there any teaching in the Bible that suggests what God might think about mandating the teaching of his Word?

How can we Christians think about these issues?  They are all hot topics to be sure, with varying viewpoints.  I’m going to try to bring biblical theology to bear on these issues.  I’m excited for this one, and bit nervous too, as I always am for these Current Events/Q & A sermons.  If you’re in the Lancaster, PA, area, come on out to Faith Church at 9am tomorrow 10/27/24 and watch me sweat.

Or check back here on the blog on Monday 10/28/24, and I’ll start posting the sermon in five parts, one per day Monday through Friday, as normal.

Photo by Vadim Bogulov on Unsplash

Do not give up on your dreams – 2 Samuel 8, 10, 21, Part 5

Kim Hale is a dancer whose dream is to dance on Broadway. But in her 20s and 30s, it didn’t happen for her. So she moved to California, and eventually became a dance teacher. A one point she stop dancing, and her dream faded away.

Before I tell you what happened to her and how her dreams relate to what we’re talking about this week, we need to finish the story we started in the previous post. We have heard time and time again in this series on the life of Israel’s great King David that he is a man after God’s own heart.  How will David respond when the Gibeonites ask David to apply the death penalty to seven of the previous king, Saul’s descendants, because of Saul’s murder of numerous Gibeonites decades before? As I asked in the previous post, the Gibeonites’ request cannot possibly be what justice looks like, can it?

The problem is that David is stuck. Israel has been experiencing a severe famine for three years, and God has told David that the reason for the famine is that Saul’s sin against the Gibeonites has gone unatoned for. So David has to do something to make this right with the Gibeonites. But the Gibeonites are asking David to condemn seven innocent men to death as payment for their ancestor’s sin. What does David do?

In 2 Samuel 21, verses six through fourteen, David puts seven of Saul’s descendants to death. It is an awful gruesome situation, and in the end, the famine was over. 

How should we Christians evaluate this application of justice?  Consider how Jesus reflected on this in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, verses 38 through 48,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’  But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor  and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

When I think about the story of the Gibeonites, frankly, I disagree with how it is resolved. It is an example of ancient justice that we should not support. Thankfully, Jesus teaches us a new way of love in the face of pain. True justice is rooted in love.

((Sidebar: 2 Samuel chapter 21 includes with a second story in verses 15-22, which features more conflict with the Philistines.  A powerful Philistine, Rapha, had descendants, and the story talks about how David’s men killed them in battle. Take a look at verse 19.  It says that Elhanan killed Goliath.  But didn’t David kill Goliath?  Yes.  Almost certainly this is an error in the passage, and the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 20 corrects it. David killed Goliath.  Elhanan killed Goliath’s brother.))

To conclude this week of posts on 2 Samuel chapters 8, 10, and 21, what do we learn about God from these three rather bloody military chapters?  Two things: (1) God is a God who is work, and (2) God wants leaders who pursue righteousness and justice. 

The conquest of Canaan was started by Joshua hundreds of years before David.  It started off well, but eventually stalled and it went dormant for centuries.  Maybe you have had a situation like that in your own life. Remember, Kim Hale, the dancer I mentioned at the beginning of the post? With the advent of social media, now in her 50s, she began posting short videos of her dancing, and some went viral. A Broadway producer commented on one post, encouraging her to never give up on her dreams. She moved back to New York City, and is again trying to get a break on a Broadway show.

Our hopes and dreams from the past can seem to be distant memories.  Perhaps we had a goal that now seems like the ancient past.  Maybe we think we failed.  Maybe you think there is no hope. 

Not in God’s heart and mind.  When God is at work, and when his people pursue his heart of justice and righteousness, that which is dead can come back to life.

This is why I am so excited my church has a Church World Service Welcome Team.  Our team was amazing in how they cared for a refugee family from Africa. 

I am so excited that my church has a Prison Worship Team.  Last month at the prison, our team members got to spend time in prayer with inmates.  Some of our team members have even done one-on-one visits with inmates. 

I am so excited that my church is invested in hosting a local social service agencies ESL classes.  We are building great relationships with people from all over the world who have moved into our neighborhoods, sharing the love of Jesus.

While Christians are not pursuing a military conquest, there is something Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are the people who usher in the Kingdom of God through our demonstration of the Fruit of the Spirit, allowing God’s righteousness and justice to flow throughout our community, so people can experience the love of Jesus in word and deed.  Let’s keep seeking ways we can demonstrate righteousness and justice, empowered by God, in our community.

Photo by Kazuo ota on Unsplash

A shocking reason for famine in Israel (and an equally shocking solution) – 2 Samuel 8, 10, 21, Part 4

Famine is awful.  I’m from the northeastern USA, so I know nothing of famine. In fact, weather reporters in my region regularly report on how much rain we’ve gotten in a given month or year, and many times they will say we are in a drought when our rainfall total is simply below average. In those so-called droughts, when you turn on the faucet in your home, water flows out. North America has, however, experienced significant drought.

From about 1930–1936, huge tracts of land in the American Midwest prairies and into Canada suffered drought and dust everywhere. It was called The Great Dust Bowl.  Thousands of people moved to different parts of the country to find work.  7000 people died. 

In 2 Samuel 21, verses one through fourteen, we read that ancient Israel experienced drought and famine for three years. King David goes to God for help.  God tells him the famine is happening because of something terrible King Saul did years prior, when Saul murdered Gibeonites. 

The story of King Saul murdering the Gibeonites is not recorded in Scripture.  But it is certainly right in line with Saul’s unhinged behavior that we studied earlier in this series.  Remember the story of Saul killing 80+ priests and their families simply because one of them helped David, when David was a fugitive from Saul?  You can read about that here. It should not surprise us that Saul also murdered a group of people called the Gibeonites. In response God says to David (and I’m adding some color commentary here based on what we talked about in this post earlier this week), “Remember about leading with righteousness and justice? You need to deal with Saul’s wickedness too. The famine is happening because Saul’s sin was never made right.” 

David wants to make things right with the Gibeonites, so he asks them, “How can I atone for the evil Saul did to your people?” Perhaps enough time as passed that they seem to take a measured approach.  The Gibeonites respond, “We have no right to demand silver or gold.” 

My first thought is, “Why not? Why do they feel they don’t have the right to request reparations?”  Is it because they are not citizens of Israel?  Is it because Saul was a king and could do what he wanted?  Is it because they are pretending to be humble?  It seems to me they definitely have the right to demand reparations!  Saul had decimated them.  In this case, what is justice?

Then they go on to say that they don’t have the right to impose the death penalty.  That one is obvious.  Only the legal system has that right.  And Saul, the perpetrator of the crime, is long dead. In essence, their answer to David’s question “What shall I do for you?  How shall I make atonement?” is “Well, there are two possibilities, reparations and the death penalty, but we don’t have the right to ask for them.” 

So how should they respond to David? They were treated with serious injustice when Saul murdered people from their clan.  What would bring justice to this awful situation?  What would make it right?  It seems to me that because Saul is dead, they should ask for a financial recompense. That’s what often happens in our contemporary American justice system, right? A judge or jury impose a financial reward for pain and suffering. But the Gibeonites have said they can’t ask for money. What gives?

I suspect they are being very wise.  They are showing their awareness of who has the power.  David.  Only David.  They are subject to him.  So instead of leading with any demands, and risk David thinking they are arrogant or disrespectful, they start off by clearly admitting to David that they have no standing in this.

By not answering David, they have tossed the ball back to David. Is the matter over? Should David say, “Okay, let bygones be bygones?” No, there is still a famine, and God said the famine is due to Saul’s sin. God directed David to make things right with the Gibeonites. In other words, if David wants the famine to be over, he has to do something here that is amenable to the Gibeonites. But their first response is “We have no right to ask for anything.”  Perhaps David appreciated their humility.  Perhaps he respected that they maintained a proper decorum between subjects and their king.  So he simply repeats his question: “What do you want me to do for you?”

And then the Gibeonites do a 180.  Get this:

“They answered the king, ‘As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen one.’”

Woah. Their idea is the death penalty for seven of Saul’s descendants? How do they go from saying, “We can’t suggest anything, really,” to suggesting what sounds like a massive response against more innocent people.

In the world of the ancient near east, this is the principle of “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.”  Justice is often depicted this way in the Mosaic Law.  If your family member kills your neighbor’s family member, than justice is when one of your family members is killed. 

Why do they ask for seven of Saul’s descendants? The text doesn’t tell us, but the number seven often signifies completeness. Thus, the death of seven of Saul’s descendants would be seen as complete atonement for the Gibeonites that Saul unjustly murdered. My hunch is that Saul killed far more than seven Gibeonites, and that this request would have been considered more than fair in that “eye for an eye” culture.

Still, the seven descendants of Saul are innocent, aren’t they? Should they face any consequence, let alone the death penalty, for what their long dead ancestor did decades earlier? With this suggestion, the Gibeonites don’t sound humble or reasonable, they sound crazy. This cannot be the right way to bring justice to Saul’s sin, can it?

David is a man after God’s own heart.  How will David respond? We find out in the next post.

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What happened when David’s peace delegation was shamed by the Ammonites – 2 Samuel 8, 10, 21, Part 3

Could you imagine if a peace delegation from the USA went to North Korea, and the North Koreans forcibly shaved the heads of the men and women in our delegation, and then cut off their garments at the waist and kicked them out of the country?  What kind of response do you think the US government would have?

As we continue the story of David completing the Conquest of Canaan, in 2 Samuel chapter 10 we read a story in verses 1-4 that includes some dark comedy like that scenario above. 

“In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. David thought, ‘I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.’ So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, ‘Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?’ So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.”

Yes, that is in the Bible.  What the Ammonites do to the Israelite peace delegation would be shameful in our day too.  It’s an act of war.   Which is exactly what happens.  In verses 5-14, David sends his general Joab to attack the Ammonites. The Ammonites hire the Arameans and some other people groups to bolster their forces. A massive battle ensues, and Israel is victorious. The Ammonites hide out in their city, the Arameans flee, and the armies of Israel return to Jerusalem.

With a pause in the war, the Arameans regroup.  Now David and the whole army go out to fight the Arameans, and Israel routs the Arameans.  That leaves the Ammonites holed up in their city, which is the battle that David should have been at in the David & Bathsheba story (read post here).  At the end of the David & Bathsheba story in 2 Samuel 12, David and Israel were eventually victorious over the Ammonites.  God continues to give David victory everywhere.  God is at work, helping David and Israelites complete the conquest.

Photo by Akshar Dave🌻 on Unsplash

Leadership that does what is just and right – 2 Samuel 8, 10, 21, Part 2

Ancient Israel was a theocracy.  A theocracy is a nation that is organized around a religious system.  For Israel, God was their true king, and his law was the law of the land.  God was the true Shepherd of the people.  David was only an undershepherd.

Great Britain had some similarities to theocracy.  The King or Queen was not only the leader of the nation, but also the leader of the national church.  That is still technically true in the United Kingdom, but in recent centuries, England has shifted away from that kind of theocratic monarchy. 

Our American forefathers intentionally chose not to create a nation like that.  We do not live in a theocracy, and thus we should not view our nation or our leaders as having a special mandate from God, for which God gives them victory.  Even though many people have talked about the USA as blessed by God and as having a manifest destiny, that opinion is not consistent with the teaching of the Bible.  The only nation in history that was chosen by God for such a purpose was the ancient nation of Israel under the Old Covenant.  But they broke that covenant, and now God has entered into a New Covenant, not with a geographical nation or people group, but through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, all those who are in Christ.  Therefore, we take a stand against any idea of Christian nationalism.

Keep that in mind as we study 2 Samuel chapter 8 today, which describes how David continues the conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan, which I introduced in the previous post.

I encourage you to pause the post and read 2 Samuel chapter 8. As you do, take note of verses 6 and 14.  In both of those verses, the author declares: “The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.”  God was at work.  God empowered David and his soldiers to fight as they pursued the conquest of Canaan.  God’s empowerment of David and the military is vital to victory.

But also notice how the chapter concludes in verses 15-18.  In verse 15, we read that “David reigned over all Israel, doing what was right and just for all his people” and in verses 16-18, we have a list of David’s royal officials.

In chapter 8, then, we see two major principles. First, as David strives to complete the conquest of Canaan, God gave David victory.  Second, David ruled with righteousness and justice for all.

For sure, though, any leaders of any nation or any organization or family would do well to lead like David, with righteousness and justice.  In other words, one principle in this passage is that the character of a leader is of utmost importance. 

This is not saying that a leader is to be perfect.  A few weeks ago we studied the story of David, Bathsheba and Uriah (first post here in a five-part series on that story), where King David abused him power to commit adultery and murder.  David was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But he demonstrated the character to confess his sins when he was called out.  That kind of humble self-reflection that leads to admitting one’s sins is in line with righteousness and justice.  We need leaders who are humble like that. 

Back in 2 Samuel 8, let’s not assume we know the definition of the righteousness and justice the author is referring to.  Let’s take a moment and study those two words, especially considering that principle of leadership.  Whether in national governance or in a local church or in your work or family, leaders of character are people who lead with righteousness and justice.

First, what is justice?  It is a Hebrew word that relates to measurement.  A proper measurement.  A tape measure is called a “rule”.  A ruler is a stick for measuring.  In English, words like “law” and “rule” are connected to measurement.  There is a standard, and whether on gas pumps or speed limits or taxation, there is a side of justice that is about following the rule of law.  A judge or a jury in a courtroom hears a case and pronounces a ruling. 

Second, what is righteousness?  Though this is a different Hebrew word, it is also sometimes translated by the English word “justice” because the two terms are thematically related.  This word is also frequently translated as “righteousness” because of it speaks to what is right.  This word is very much a community-oriented word.  Some define it as “loyalty to the community” because as one scholar writes, “it includes the elimination of anything breaking the peace and the preservation of good order.”[1]

When you put these terms together, what emerges is a very well-rounded idea of a society that is whole, a society that is flourishing because there is both justice and righteousness.  In the Old Testament Hebrew, the word for that is shalom.  It is commonly translated by our English word “peace,” but it is much more than brokering a peace deal between two warring parties.  Shalom is when we are in right relationship between God, others and ourselves.  There is wholeness and flourishing for all.  This especially means that there is a passionate attention to places and people in the community who are not experiencing justice and righteousness.

It means that we nurture sympathy and empathy for people on the margins.  This is why Jesus’ parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46) is so on point. 

It is of utmost importance, Jesus says, how we treat people in need, people who are oppressed, people who need food, clothing, homes, healing, people in prison.  And when we care for them, we are not only doing the right thing, we are ministering to him! 

We sacrifice on behalf of those in need.  That is a vision of righteousness and justice.  In other words, we lead with righteousness and justice, not only by following the law, not only speaking the truth, both of which are vital, but also by how we treat others, and especially how we treat the most vulnerable.  In both the Old and New Testament, we see God’s heart in this numerous times when we says that we are to care for the widow, the orphan, the foreigner. 

That’s what it means to practice justice and righteousness.

[1] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 1006.

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How abandoned buildings help us understand the Conquest of Canaan – 2 Samuel 8, 10, 21, Part 1

When you go on vacation, you lock up your house, and you expect to return after a week or two to a house that is just as you left it.  But what would happen if you were gone for a lot longer than that?  At what point does property get condemned and given or sold to another? 

A law firm near me reports that: “The primary legislation regarding abandoned properties in Pennsylvania is the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act (Act 135 of 2008).”

They go on to describe that you must establish the following when filing for conservatorship of an abandoned or blighted property:

  • The owner has legally abandoned the building for at least 12 months.
  • The owner has failed to provide evidence that they have actively marketed the building during the last 60 days and have not made efforts in good faith to sell the building at a price reflecting the market condition and circumstances.
  • No individual or nongovernmental entity has a pending foreclosure action on the property.
  • The current owner has failed to present sufficient evidence that they acquired the property within the last six months, subject to specified exceptions.

Bottom line: if a property is vacant for 365 days, there is a process whereby another party can legally take over the property.

The people of Israel were away from the Promised Land way longer than 365 days.   They were in Egypt for over 400 years.  Think about how much can change in 400 years!

Do you know what life was like in North America in 1624?  First of all, I have to call it North America, because in 1624, there was no USA.  The United States of America would not come on the scene for another 152 years, and it would take a conquest of our own called the Revolutionary War.  400 years is a long time for change to occur, and in Canaan, a lot happened in 400 years.  Not only did the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob grow into a nation in Egypt, so did the many other nations that now lived in Canaan. 

That meant when God brought Israel to the Promised Land, they were returning to occupied land.  For that occupied land to become their land, they would have to fight for it.  In the Hebrew Bible, that fight is called “The Conquest of Canaan.”

This week we are looking at three chapters in 2nd Samuel, all of which relate to the Conquest.  2 Samuel chapters 8, 10, and 21.  I think you’ll see how they all relate to the Conquest.

When God freed his people Israel from slavery in Egypt, he told them he was taking them back to the land of their forefathers, the Promised Land of Canaan.  But when they returned to Canaan, it was not as if the land was empty and they could just move in.

After God freed them from Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and they finally made it to the banks of the Jordan River.  So when Israel camped on the eastern shore of the Jordan River, they were about to begin a military conquest.  Moses passed away and Joshua became the leader of the people.  He led the people for the next several decades, as they fought numerous battles and established themselves in the land.  They defeated most of the Canaanites in the land, but they never completed the conquest. 

During the period of the Judges and throughout the reign of their first King Saul, the conquest pretty much stalled out. They had plenty of conflict, especially with the Philistines, who tended to be aggressive.  Still Israel never fully occupied the Promised Land.

Until David.  A few weeks ago we learned that David restarted the conquest, and one of his first moves was to conquer the Jebusites who had control of Jerusalem.  There David made his palace and brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city.  As we learned last week, David also wanted to build a temple for God there, but God said No.  One reason God said David wasn’t the one to build the temple was because David was a warrior king who had lots of blood on his hands.  We’re going to see that blood very clearly this week on the blog, as we look at these three chapters that describe how David completes the Conquest.

Photo by Andrew Amistad on Unsplash

Human approaches to justice are often convoluted, but what about God’s approach? – 2 Samuel 8, 10, 21, Preview

I am an adjunct professor, and in class recently I did something that the students were not prepared for.  I raised my hand.

Let me explain.  I am teaching the Gospels, and one of the projects the students do is a group presentation on a section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Each week a different group of three or four students teach the class about 10 verses from Jesus’ sermon in Matthew chapters 5—7.  Over the course of the semester, we’ll cover the whole sermon.  Last week, the group had Matthew 5, verses 21–32, which starts “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder…’”.  The student teaching that section made what he thought was going to be a humorous question, “How many of you are murderers in the class?”  

That’s when I raised my hand, and it threw the student off balance. He said, “Uh…I didn’t expect that.”  

I don’t believe anyone in the class expected that, as I had not shared the story of my car accident when I was seventeen.  You can read it here.  Put simply, I was speeding, hit an Amish buggy, and a woman inside died.  I was charged with vehicular homicide.  Homicide is murder.  While it is a technicality of language, which we call semantics, I committed murder.  It was unintentional and accidental, but it was absolutely reckless, awful and 100% my fault.  If you read the story, you’ll learn about the amazing forgiveness of the Amish family, and how God has redeemed a terrible sin and tragedy.  Which is exactly like him.

Through the accident, I became acquainted with our state justice system in a personal way.  I had a public defender, probation officer, and eventually a court hearing at the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas.  I pled guilty and was ready to receive the punishment dictated by the law.  At the trial, the only question my dad asked the judge was if there might be leniency on one part of the punishment, the suspension of my driver’s license for three years.  The judge said No, and I accepted his decision without hesitation, given that a woman’s life had been lost.  Placed on the scales of justice, losing my driving privileges for three years doesn’t come anywhere close to the loss of a life.  

And that begs the question: What is justice?  How does the loss of my driver’s license for three years have any connection to the loss of life?  Who came up with that sentence in the first place? Is that sentence helping offenders and families of victims find reconciliation? Is that sentence effective in keeping offenders from becoming repeat offenders?

Over the past year or so, my congregation has participated on a rotation of local churches that lead worship services at Lancaster County Prison.  That connection has meant that I have spent time thinking about justice and the justice system in a new way.  Does the time fit the crime?  How does our justice system determine what justice looks like when a crime has been committed?  Often, what it boils down to is opinion.  The application of justice can seem very subjective, with judges and juries having significant leeway to make changes when it comes to rulings and sentencing.  

During the War on Drugs in the 1980s, for example, people with drug offenses received longer sentences than some murderers and rapists.  Parole is another conflicted part of our justice system.  A person can be out on parole, but if they fail a lie detector test, they can be sent right back to prison.  What if the lie detector test was faulty?  

My conclusion is that justice is complex, complicated and fraught with inconsistency.  That should not be surprising, however.  Why?  Because we are humans trying to navigate very emotional, convoluted situations that are not consistent.  So if human approaches to justice are so confusing, what about God’s approach to justice? Surely God is perfectly objective, and we can trust his approach to justice to be perfect.  Right?

As we continue our study through the Life of David, we’re going to be talking about justice, through the lens of 2 Samuel chapters 8, 10 and 21.  I’m going to attempt to stitch these three chapters together into a narrative that features the horror of war, but also justice.  I think we will learn something important about God’s heart, something that has loads of practical application to our society today, especially considering that USA 2024 presidential election is coming up in a few weeks.

Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash

The important difference between contract and covenant in our relationship with God – 2 Samuel 7, Part 5

When David gets the news from God that God is covenanting with David to turn David’s monarchy into a dynasty, David responds to God in prayer.  In 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 18, we learn that David went in and sat before the Lord.  Went where?  Probably to the new special tent where the Ark of the Covenant was temporarily located in Jerusalem.  That was where the presence of God resided. 

I encourage you to pause reading this post and turn to 2 Samuel chapter 7, verses 18–29 and read David’s prayer.

How about that prayer!

David erupts with thankful joy to the Lord.  God has been faithful.  God has kept his promises.  God has now entered covenant with David.  We, too, can rejoice because we have the vantage point of God entering a new covenant with us through Jesus.  We truly can be in relationship with God, both now and forever. 

I encourage you to look back across the decades of your life, whether few or many, and consider how God has been faithful.  Maybe you can point to a story long ago, or maybe it was this past week.  How has God shown his faithfulness to his promises? 

That faithfulness is evidence of the covenant relationship that we have with God. 

In our society we are much more accustomed to contracts than we are to covenants.  A contract says that one party pays another party to do something.  There is very little, if any relationship.  There are only contractual obligations.  Covenant, however, involves relationship between the two parties, promises of their commitment to one another. 

God views himself as in relationship with us through the terms of covenant.  That means his faithfulness and promise back it up. The ramification: there is always hope with God. We see this very clearly in the life of David, after his sinned so horribly in the story of Bathsheba.  He faced consequences, and yet God didn’t cancel him.  God forgave David.  We are never beyond hope when it comes to God. 

Furthermore, it was not only in asking his people to make him a two-car garage that we see God’s humility.  In the concept of covenant, we see God’s humility again.  God, the Almighty creator of the universe, desires to be in close relationship with us.  Amazing how loving, gracious and merciful he is. 

No matter how you are feeling about God, or about yourself today, know that he is humble and kind and strongly desires to be close to you.  He most often will not force himself on you, but he sure will reach out.  Run to him.

Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash

How David’s dynasty actually did last forever – 2 Samuel 7, Part 4

But what about a king?  As we learned in the previous post, God promised David that his dynasty would last forever. But 400 years later, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, and there were no more Davidic kings.  It sure seemed that God didn’t keep his promise. 

Except that God did keep his promise.  This is why the Gospels of Matthew and Luke include their genealogies of Jesus, to show that Jesus is of the line of David.  Two ways.  First in Matthew we learn that Jesus is of the legal line of David because Jesus’ adopted father Joseph was a descendant of David.   Second in Luke we learn that Jesus is also of the biological line of David because Jesus’ mother Mary was also a descendant of David. 

Though Jesus never sat on a throne in Jerusalem, he is king! With Jesus we see a vivid connection to the word “forever.”  No human king or throne or nation is truly forever.  But Jesus is.  He is the forever king. 

There is a new covenant that God makes through Jesus to those who will be believe in him, confessing Jesus as their King and living their lives to serve him.

The writer of Hebrews mentions the two covenants, the old and new.  In Hebrews chapter eight, here is how the writer talks about them:

“The ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.”

The writer of Hebrews says quite a bit more than that, and I encourage you to study Hebrews chapters 8 and 9 to learn more.  What I am getting at is the idea that we are the beneficiaries of the new covenant that God has with his people. 

This is why at the Last Supper Jesus said to his disciples, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

God’s new covenant is no longer with a biological ethnicity or geographical nation.  God’s new covenant is with all those who are in Christ.  God’s covenant, therefore, is with the church, the true disciples of Jesus from all nations, all tribes, all ethnicities, men and women, young and old, across the centuries. 

This new covenant is how God can promise David that his throne will be forever.  Through David’s descendant, Jesus, who came so that all people might be able to experience abundant life on earth and eternal life after death.  That is very, very Good News.

When David gets this news, he responds to God in prayer. A beautiful prayer that we will study in the next post!

Photo by Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash