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

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

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

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

How can David be a man after God’s own heart and have so many wives? – 2 Samuel 4—5, Part 3

Now that the civil war in Israel is over and David is king of all Israel, will he take up the completion of the conquest of the Promised Land? It was a conquest that laid dormant for centuries. We get an answer in the very next passage, 2 Samuel 5, verses 6 through 12.  DavidContinue reading “How can David be a man after God’s own heart and have so many wives? – 2 Samuel 4—5, Part 3”

How could David slaughter men and women…and lie about it? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 4

In the previous post, we read something very dark about David, who was supposed to be a man after God’s own heart. In 1st Samuel 27, we learned that David and his men go out on raids, slaughtering people.  Men and women.  Also, David clearly didn’t want his new king, the Philistine, Achish, to knowContinue reading “How could David slaughter men and women…and lie about it? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 4”

The biblical background to 1st Samuel – 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11, Part 1

Today we start a new blog series on the life of the great warrior poet king David of ancient Israel.  We read about David’s life in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings briefly, and in the parallel account in most of 1st Chronicles chapters 11-29.  This blog series will primarily follow theContinue reading “The biblical background to 1st Samuel – 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11, Part 1”