Questions & Answers for a New Year

Posted on January 3, 2025 by The Editor

Job 28:12; Proverbs 1:20-22; Proverbs 2:10;11; 4:7; 3:13; Exodus 14:15

Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee…Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding…Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): “Go forward!” Is not this a timely word for each of us as we enter a new year?

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): Consistency in religion is by no means an easy attainment. Certain duties may be performed with zeal, whilst others of a more difficult and self-denying nature are shamefully neglected…However the past year may have been spent, bethink yourselves now what work you have to do for Him, and how you may perfect it with expedition and care.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Let us pause here a minute and let each of us, as we begin a new year, ask this question—How far has Christ’s purpose of sanctifying me been answered in my own case? I know that in one sense I am completely sanctified, but, in another sense, I still feel my imperfections and infirmities. How far have I progressed in sanctification during the past year? How much has my faith increased during the year? How many of my corruptions have I overcome? Have I more power in prayer? Am I more careful in my life? Is my spirit more loving than it used to be? Am I more decisive for that which is right? At the same time, am I more meek in standing up for it?

A. W. PINK: We need to clearly realize there is no such thing as remaining stationary in the spiritual life: if we do not progress—we inevitably retrograde.

HENRY SMITH (1560-1591?): When a man begins to apply his heart unto wisdom, he learneth more in a month after than he did in a year before, nay, more than ever he did in his life. Even as you see the wicked, because they apply their hearts to wickedness, how fast they proceed, how easily and how quickly they become perfect swearers, expert drunkards, cunning deceivers, so if ye could apply your hearts as thoroughly to knowledge and goodness, you might become like He which teacheth you.

WILLIAM BROWN KEER: (1827-1898): “Our hearts.” In both the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, the term “heart” is applied alike to the mind that thinks, to the spirit that feels, and the will that acts. And it here stands for the whole mental and moral nature of man, and implies that the whole soul and spirit, with all their might, are to be applied in the service of wisdom.

HENRY SMITH: Therefore, when Solomon shews men how to come by wisdom, he speaks often of the heart, as “Give thine heart to wisdom, let wisdom enter into thine heart.” “Get wisdom, keep wisdom, embrace wisdom,” Proverbs 2:10; Proverbs 4:5—as though a man went a wooing for wisdom. Wisdom is like God’s daughter, that he gives to the man that loves her, and sues for her, and means to set her at his heart. Thus we have learned how to apply knowledge that it may do us good; not to our ears, like them which hear sermons only, nor to our tongues like them which make table-talk of religion, but to our hearts, that we may say with the virgin, “My heart doth magnify the Lord,” Luke 1:46—and the heart will apply it to the ear and to the tongue, as Christ saith, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” Matthew 12:34.

CHARLES BRIDGES (1794-1869): Valuable, however, as were Solomon’s maxims for their own wisdom, they claim our reverence upon infinitely higher ground. “Behold! A greater than Solomon is here,” Matthew 12:42. Often does Solomon speak in the personification of wisdom, Proverbs 8:1-36—and always under the inspiration of “the wisdom of God,” 2 Timothy 3:16; so that his sayings are truly “Divine sentences in the lips of the King,” Proverbs 16:10. Wisdom—the Son of God Himself—now invites us, in all the plenitude of His Divine authority and grace.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Observe, in 1 Corinthians 1:30, how blessedly Christ is spoken of by the Holy Ghost, as made all these things to His people, and that by God Himself. It is not only said, that Christ is the “wisdom,” and the “righteousness,” and the “sanctification,” and the “redemption” of His Church, but that God hath made Him so. Here, indeed, is the blessedness of the whole.

THE EDITOR: Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King—our complete Saviour.

PHILIP DODDRIDGE (1702-1751): Amidst our ignorance and folly, He is a source of wisdom; and through Him, guilty as we are, we receive righteousness or justification; polluted as we are, we obtain sanctification, and, enslaved as we naturally are to the power of lusts and the dominion of Satan, the faithful obtain by Him complete redemption.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Thus the Lord leads awakened and inquiring souls to the right way of salvation; to Christ, who is “the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6; and directs and enables them to believe in Him, to walk by faith, and to continue to walk in Him, as they have received Him.

CHARLES BRIDGES: The dark question long before asked, “Where shall wisdom be found?” is now answered. In the Son of God Himself “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” Colossians 2:3; all these treasures in Him are laid up for the righteous. Oh let us draw upon this infinite treasure daily, hourly, for light to direct an upright walk.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): When a new year begins, we should think of serving God more—and better than we did the year before.

C. H. SPURGEON: How much nearer am I living to Christ now, than on the first Sabbath of last year? How much closer do I approach in my likeness to Him? Am I, in all respects, more like my Master than I was a year ago? Or, on the other hand, have I been going backward? Stand still, I cannot—I must either go forward in Grace or go backward!

A. W. PINK: How that solemn fact should search our hearts! Christian, your history this year will be either one of going forward—or backsliding. This new year will mark either an increased fruitfulness in your soul and life—to the glory of Him whose name you bear; or increased leanness and barrenness—to His reproach! It will witness either a growing in grace—or a decline in your spirituality. It will record an increased love for the Word, use of the Throne of Grace, strictness of walk and closer communion with Christ—or a growing coldness and a following of Him afar off.

ROBERT MURRAY M’CHEYNE (1813-1843): What the coming year is to bring forth, who can tell?

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): It will probably be the last on earth for some of us. It will probably contain great sorrows for some of us, and great joys for others. It will probably be comparatively uneventful for others. It may make great outward changes for us, or it may leave us much as it found us. But, at all events, God will be in it, and work for Him should be in it. “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord.” Romans 14:8. So let us front this New Year, with all its hidden possibilities, with quiet, brave hearts, resolved on present duty.

 

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Thoughts At the End of Another Year

Posted on December 27, 2024 by The Editor

Deuteronomy 31:14,19,22-26,30; Deuteronomy 32:48-50

And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge.

Now therefore write ye this song and teach it to the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel…Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: thou salt bring the children of Israel into the land which I saware unto them: and I will be with thee. And it came to pass, when Mose had made an end of the writing the words of this law, until they were finished, that Moses command the Levites, saying Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the convenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee…And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): “To man there is an appointed time upon earth,” Job 7:1. But the precise measure of our days is in mercy hid from us. On some occasions, however, God has been pleased to make it known, and to declare with precision the near approach of death, that so the persons whose fate was made known might employ their remaining hours in perfecting the work which he had given them to do.

THE EDITOR: As commanded, Moses taught the children of Israel the song written in Deuteronomy 32:1-43, which is much too long for us to quote here. Then, in verses 46-47, Moses said, “Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.”

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945): It is very beautiful to see Moses in his last days on earth attempting in every way in his power to impress on the people the fact that only one thing mattered—that they should remember God and obey Him.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): When Moses had finished his song, which he delivered not only in the hearing of the people, but particularly of Joshua, his successor, that he might be a witness both for the LORD and for himself, he makes a short observation upon the whole: and as a dying pastor, again and again, affectionately entreats them to be wise unto salvation after his departure. See a beautiful example of this kind in Paul, Acts 20:28-37. Reader! it is a blessed thing, to be as the Apostle, who died daily, 1 Corinthians 15:31. Is it your case? How stands your heart affected to death! If in Jesus, surely you know somewhat of this spirit.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): Wherefore, though our carnal sense may be averse from death, let our faith prevail to overcome all its terrors: even as Paul teaches that God’s children, although they desire not “to be unclothed,” still long to be “clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life,” 2 Corinthians 5:4. This, however, was remarkable obedience, to prepare himself no less willingly for death, than as if Moses had been invited to some joyful banquet. Thus it is plain that these holy men had so consecrated themselves to God, that they were ready to live or to die, according to His pleasure.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): The very day on which his work is completed, Moses is ordered up to mount Nebo. Note: when God has accomplished all His will in us on earth, He will not fail that same hour to take us to Himself.

CHARLES SIMEON: The intimation here given to Moses, we shall consider as applicable to every child of man. What if God were now to issue the command to any one of us, “Go up to thy bed, and die?” How would it be received amongst us? Should we welcome such an order? Should we rejoice that the period was arrived for our dismission from the body, and for our entrance into the presence of our God? Such an order will assuredly be soon given to every one of us: the old and the young, the rich and the poor, those who have travelled all through the wilderness, and those who have but just entered into it, may have it said to them within a few hours, “This night is thy soul required of thee.”

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Even those that are most ready and willing to die have need to be often reminded of the approach of death.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Psalm 90 was penned by Moses, as appears by the title. We have upon record a praising song of his Exodus 15:1-19, which is alluded to Revelation 15:3; and an instructing song of his in Deuteronomy 32. But Psalm 90 is of a different nature from both, for it is called “a prayer.”

EDMUND BARKER (1621-1688): Mark what Moses prays for in Psalm 90:12—only to be taught “to number his days.” But did Moses not do this already? Was not his daily work this constantly and continual employment? Yes, doubtless it was; and he did it carefully and conscientiously too. But yet he thought he did it not well enough, and therefore prays here to be taught to do better. See a good man, how little he pleaseth himself in any action of his life, in any performance of duty that he does. He can never think that he does well enough whatever he does, but still desires to do better. There is an affection of modesty and humility which accompanies real piety; every pious man is an humble, modest man, and never reckons himself a perfect proficient, or to be advanced above a teaching, but is content and covetous to be a continual learner; to know more than he knows and to do better than he does; yea, and thinks it no disparagement to his graces at all to take advice, and to seek instruction where it is to be had.

AUGUSTINE (354-430): “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” We can never do that, except we number every day as our last day.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Men are led by reflections upon the brevity of time to give their earnest attention to eternal things; they become humble as they look into the grave which is so soon to be their bed, their passions cool in the presence of mortality, and they yield themselves up to the dictates of unerring wisdom; but this is only the case when the Lord Himself is the teacher; He alone can teach to real and lasting profit. Thus Moses prayed that the dispensations of justice might be sanctified in mercy, Psalm 90:14,15.

THE EDITOR: In Psalm 90:16,17, Moses was considering his own mortality, and all God’s work yet to be done in the strength of the Lord, not only by himself, but also by future generations—“Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): So, brethren, let us set our faces to a New Year with thankful remembrance of the God who has shaped the past, and will mould the future. Let us remember our failures, learn wisdom and humility from our sins, and trust in Christ. Let us set our ‘hope on God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.’

CHARLES SIMEON: That “the day of death approaches” we are sure: at what precise distance it is, we know not. It is true respecting every child of man: for we no sooner begin to breathe than we begin to die: and the life, even of the longest liver, is “but as a span long.” “Our time passeth away like a shadow,” Psalm 102:11. But should not this thought stimulate us to improve our every remaining hour? Yes, verily.

 

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The Angelic Christmas Carol

Posted on December 20, 2024 by The Editor

Luke 2:13,14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714):  An exhibition of divine splendor had been already made in the person of a single angel. But God determined to adorn His Son in a still more illustrious manner, This was done to confirm our faith as truly as that of the shepherds. Among men, the testimony of “two or three witnesses” is sufficient to remove all doubt, Matthew 18:16. The message was no sooner delivered by one angel than suddenly there was with that angel “a multitude of the heavenly hosts;” sufficient, we may be sure, to make a chorus, heard by the shepherds, “praising God;” and certainly their song was not like that which “no man could learn,” Revelation 14:13—for it was designed that we should all learn it.

THOMAS GOODWIN (1600-1679): There was never such joy on earth, and never such joy in heaven as upon Christ’s nativity, when the angels sang. The angels sang but one song before, which is recorded, but the matter of it seems to be the wisdom of God chiefly in creation.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): They were present at the creation: “The morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy,” Job 38:7. They had sung solemn songs over many a world which the Great One had created. We doubt not, they had often chanted, “Blessing and honour and glory and majesty and power and dominion and might be unto Him that sits on the Throne,” manifesting Himself in the work of creation, Jude 1:25; Revelation 5:11-13. I doubt not, too, that their songs had gathered force through ages. As when first created, their first breath was song, so when they saw God create new worlds then their song received another note. They rose a little higher in the gamut of adoration.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): Creation glorified God, but not so much as redemption—Now is come the time when God’s kindness and good will towards guilty man is to be fully made known. His power was seen in creation. His justice was seen in the flood. But His mercy remained to be fully revealed by the appearing and atonement of Jesus Christ.

C. H. SPURGEON: They sang the story out, for they could not stay to tell it in heavy prose. They sang, “Glory to God on high and on earth peace, good will towards men.” Methinks they sang it with gladness in their eyes—with their hearts burning with love and as full of joy as if the good news to man had been good news to themselves.

J. C. RYLE: These famous words are variously interpreted. Man is by nature so dull in spiritual things, that it seems as if he cannot understand a sentence of heavenly language when he hears it. Yet a meaning may be drawn from the words which is free from any objection, and is not only good sense, but excellent theology, “Glory to God in the highest!” the song begins. Now is come the highest degree of glory to God, by the appearing of His Son Jesus Christ in the world. He, by His life and death on the cross, will glorify God’s attributes—justice, holiness, mercy, and wisdom—as they never were glorified before.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” It seems strange, doesn’t it?—to hear those words ringing down through the ages, when you think of the awful condition which prevails in the earth today. Look where you will; there is no peace. Look at the lands abroad; there is war. Look out over our own land; it is strife between different groups. There is misery and wretchedness everywhere, unrest on every hand; and yet the angel said, “Peace, goodwill toward men.”

J. C. RYLE: Now is come to earth the peace of God “which passeth all understanding”—the perfect peace between a holy God and sinful man, which Christ was to purchase with His own blood—the peace which is offered freely to all mankind—the peace which, once admitted into the heart, makes men live at peace one with another, and will one day overspread the whole world.

H. A. IRONSIDE: Ah, but that peace was dependent upon receiving the Saviour whom God had sent into the world. Alas, men rejected Him. They refused Him, and that is why the world remains in its unhappy condition.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): The strongest possible evidence of God’s love to men was, the gift of His only dear Son, to die for them. The whole race of man had fallen, and were subjected to God’s heavy displeasure. Nor was there on man’s part any possibility of restoring himself to Divine favour. But God devised a mode for reconciling the world unto Himself through the intervention of His only Son. On His co-equal, co-eternal Son, who was “the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person,” “He laid our iniquities,” that so, His justice being satisfied by an atonement in our behalf, reconciliation might be effected for us in perfect consistency with all the Divine perfections, Hebrews 1:1-3; Isaiah 53:6. Hence peace was brought down from heaven to earth, through the sufferings of our incarnate God, who is therefore emphatically called “the Prince of Peace,” Isaiah 9:6. Now every sinner in the universe may have peace with God, and in his own conscience, if only he welcome this Saviour into his heart, and believe in Him as God’s appointed instrument for the salvation of the world.

J. C. RYLE: Such was the purpose of the angels’ song. Happy are they that can enter into its meaning, and with their hearts subscribe to its contents.

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): The glory died off the hillside quickly, and the music of the song scarcely lingered longer in the ears of its first hearers; but its notes echo still in all lands, and every generation turns to them with wonder and hope.

C. H. SPURGEON: I wish everybody that keeps Christmas this year would keep it as the angels kept it. Many persons who, when they talk about keeping Christmas, mean cutting the bands of their religion for one day in the year, as if Christ were the Lord of misrule, as if the birth of Christ should be celebrated like the orgies of Bacchus. There are some very religious people that would never forget to go to Church on Christmas morning. They believe Christmas to be nearly as holy as Sunday, for they reverence the tradition of the elders. Yet their way of spending the rest of the day is remarkable—they would not consider they had kept Christmas in a proper manner if they did not verge on gluttony and drunkenness—many think Christmas cannot possibly be kept except with a great shout of merriment and mirth in the house and added to that, the boisterousness of sin.

MATTHEW HENRY: But here is a heavenly host, with one consent and one voice bearing testimony to the Son of God. What then would be our obstinacy, if we refused to join with the choir of angels, in singing the praises of our salvation, which is in Christ?

C. H. SPURGEON: The angels gave glory to God. Let us do the same.

 

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The Angelic Gospel Sermon

Posted on December 13, 2024 by The Editor

Luke 2:8-14

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): “The glory of the Lord” shone around the shepherds, by which they perceived him to be an angel. For it would have been of little avail to be told by an angel what is related by Luke, if God had not testified, by some outward sign, that what they heard proceeded from Him. The angel appeared, not in an ordinary form, or without majesty, but surrounded with the brightness of heavenly glory, to affect powerfully the minds of the shepherds, that they might receive the discourse which was addressed to them, as coming from the mouth of God himself. Hence the “fear,” of which Luke shortly afterwards speaks, by which God usually humbles the hearts of men, and disposes them to receive His word with reverence.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): “They were sore afraid,” at the sight of such a personage, and such unusual light and glory about them: they were awed with the majesty of God, of which these were symbols, and were conscious to themselves of their own sinfulness and frailty.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): The first preacher of the Gospel was an angel.

THE EDITOR: What a tremendous weight of doctrine is presented in this first Gospel sermon of only 58 words!

ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): The central portion of this passage is, of course, the angels’ message and song, the former of which proclaims the transcendent fact of the Incarnation, and the latter hymns its blessed results.

JOHN GILL: “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy”—tidings, that were both wonderful and amazing, and therefore a “behold” is prefixed to them, as well as to excite to attention; and which were good news, and glad tidings, for such the birth of Christ of a virgin is: in which the good will and amazing love of God to man are displayed, and the promises, and prophecies relating to Him fulfilled; and the work of man’s salvation, his peace, pardon, righteousness, are about to be accomplished, and so matter of great joy: not carnal, but spiritual; not feigned, but real; not temporary, but lasting; even such as cannot be taken away, nor intermeddled with; and not small, but great, even joy unspeakable, and full of glory.

J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): We need not wonder at these words. The spiritual darkness which had covered the earth for four thousand years, was about to be rolled away. The way to pardon and peace with God was about to be thrown open to all mankind. The head of Satan was about to be bruised. Liberty was about to be proclaimed to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. The mighty truth was about to be proclaimed that God could be just, and yet, for Christ’s sake, justify the ungodly. Salvation was no longer to be seen through types and figures, but openly, and face to face. The knowledge of God was no longer to be confined to the Jews, but to be offered to the whole Gentile world. The days of heathenism were numbered. The first stone of God’s kingdom was about to be set up. If this was not “good tidings,” there never were tidings that deserved the name.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): “Which shall be to all people.”—This plainly refers to the promise made to the patriarch, that “in his seed all nations should be blessed,” Genesis 12:3.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): To “all people,”—to the inhabitants of the whole earth.

JOHN GILL: “Unto you is born.” He was born, not unto, or for the good of angels; for the good angels stand in no need of His incarnation, sufferings, and death, having never fell; as for the evil angels, a Saviour was never designed or provided for them; nor did Christ take on their nature, nor suffer in their stead: wherefore the angel does not say, “unto us,” but “unto you,”—unto you men; for he means not only the shepherds, or the Jews only, but the Gentiles also; all the children, all the spiritual seed of Abraham, all elect men; for their sakes, and for their good, He assumed human nature.

CHARLES WESLEY (1707-1788): Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,

Hail the incarnate Deity!

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The Saviour “is born this day.”

JOHN GILL: The particular day, and it may be, month and year, in which Christ was born, cannot be certainly known; but we may be sure that it was in the fulness of time, and at the exact, season fixed upon between God and Christ in the council and covenant of peace. A Saviour, Whom God had provided and appointed from all eternity; and had been long promised and much expected, even from the beginning of the world; and a great one—being God as well as man, and so able to work out a great salvation for great sinners, which He has done; and He is as willing to save as He is able, and is a complete Saviour, and the only, and everlasting one: hence His name is called Jesus, because He saves from sin, from Satan, from the law, from the world, from death, and hell, and wrath to come, and from every enemy.

MATTHEW HENRY: He is a Saviour, and He will be a Saviour to those only that accept Him for their Lord. Jesus is the Christ—the Messiah, the Anointed; He is the Lord of all; He is a sovereign prince; nay, He is God, for the LORD, in the Old Testament, answers to Jehovah.

JOHN GILL: “Christ the Lord.” The Messiah spoken of by the prophets; the anointed of the Lord, with the Holy Ghost without measure, to be a prophet, priest, and king in His church; and Who is the true Jehovah, the Lord our righteousness, the Lord of all creatures, the Lord of angels, good and bad, the Lord of all men, as Creator, the Prince of the kings of the earth, the Lord of lords, and King of kings; and Who is particularly the Lord of saints by His Father’s gift, His own purchase, the espousal of them to Himself, and by the power of His grace upon them: and the birth of such a Person must needs be joyful, and is to be accounted good news, and glad tidings.

JAMES DURHAM (1622-1658): When the Son of God became incarnate, He came here in “the form of a servant,” Philippians 2:7; nevertheless, in the manger He was “Christ the Lord.”

JOHN CALVIN: The Son of God became the Son of Man that the sons of men might become the sons of God.

ADAM CLARKE: Pride is the character of all the children of Adam; and humility the mark of the Son of God. Christ came in the way of humility to destroy that pride which is the root of evil in the souls of men.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Reader! mark the burden of this message: “Glory to God; peace and good will to men.” Yes! the whole glory is God’s; because it is all founded in God; carried on in God; completed in God; and man is but the receiver of the mercies. Oh! that this was well understood by men! What an end would it put to all the pharisaical righteousness, and pride of men!

 

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David and His Nephew Joab – Part 20: Gibeon, Guidance, and Grace

Posted on December 6, 2024 by The Editor

2 Samuel 21:1-9,15-22

Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you. And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel, Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose.

And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel. And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant. And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The date of the events of this chapter is uncertain. I think they happened as they are placed, after Absalom’s and Sheba’s rebellion, towards the end of David’s reign. That the battles with the Philistines here, were long after they were subdued, appears by comparing 1 Chronicles 18:1 with 1 Chronicles 20:4. The numbering of the people was just before fixing the place of the temple, 1 Chronicles 22:1—towards the close of David’s life; and it seems the people were numbered just after the three years’ famine for the Gibeonites, for that which is threatened as “three” years’ famine, 1 Chronicles 21:12, is called “seven” years, 2 Samuel 24:12-13, meaning three more, with the year current, added to those three.

THE EDITOR: That’s excellent evidence on the sequence of events—also, see here an horizontal line of parallel details running through the Bible concerning Gibeon, where Joab had murdered Amasa. Without consulting God, David had sworn a hasty oath before God when he appointed Amasa, 2 Samuel 19:13; so also, the princes of Israel had “asked not counsel at the mouth of Lord,” when they swore a hasty oath to the Gibeonites, and Joshua made a league with them, Joshua 9:14-20. At Gibeon, God had caused the sun to stand still, and gave Joshua a victory over five Amorite kings, Joshua 10:6-13. During the events recorded in this chapter, God caused David to stand still, to consider the folly of trusting his own wisdom, and gave him a victory over it.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): David here appears once more in his proper character; inquiring of the LORD.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): “Oh!” says someone, “that is merely a coincidence.”

THE EDITOR: Really? Notice these battles with four Philistines, “born to the giant in Gath.”—father and sons, that’s five giants altogether. And why use that definite article—“the giant?” Symbolically, it’s the giant Goliath that all men fear—death; trusting in the Lord, David had cut off Goliath’s head with the giant’s own lethal sword, 1 Samuel 17:45,51; just as Jesus, by “His death, destroyed death,” breaking Satan’s dominion, who had “the power of death” over us, Hebrews 2:14-15; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:14. But though we are crucified with Christ, that giant has sons, remnants of that crucified old man remaining in this “body of death,” that we struggle against all our lives, as did David, Romans 7:23,24. Why else record that seemingly unnecessary detail that Ishbibenob—which means “his dwelling is in Nob”—was girded with a “new sword?” At Nob, which means “fruit,” David had chosen the “sword of Goliath,” an arm of the flesh, instead of choosing the “ephod,” the means by which the priests inquired of God, 1 Samuel 21:9. In unbelief of God’s protection against Saul, David was acting on his own wisdom—with Goliath’s sword, he fled to Gath, the city of “Goliath.” But when they would not receive him, David was “sore afraid” of the Philistine king Achish, and “changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbed on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard,” 1 Samuel 21:9-15. See the fruit of trusting in carnal wisdom?

WILLIAM PRINGLE (1790-1858): This is, at least, a curious coincidence.

THE EDITOR: Note David’s first recorded inquiry of the Lord, when he received God’s guidance to fight the Philistines  attacking Keilah. However, the plausible human reasoning of his men caused him to doubt God’s Word, so he asked God for confirmation, and received God’s promise of victory. Afterwards, in Keilah, David inquired of the Lord again, but only up to a point; when God told him what Saul and the men of Keilah would do, instead of asking God for further counsel, he regressed into his own thinking again, 1 Samuel 23:1-13—and from that moment, he drifted spiritually downward. Later, by God’s restraining grace, David didn’t heed his men’s counsel to smite Saul in the cave, yet he cut off the skirt of Saul’s garment—and instantly, “his heart smote him” for it; and once again, without consulting God, David hastily swore by the LORD that he would “not cut off Saul’s seed after him, and nor destroy Saul’s name out of his father’s house,” 1 Samuel 24:21,22. David had already sworn another hasty oath previously to Jonathan, Saul’s son, concerning Jonathan’s posterity, 1 Samuel 20:11-17. Despite those presumptuous oaths, God honoured them, graciously preserving Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth from assassination through a childhood injury; nevertheless, to secure the kingdom to David, God slew Saul’s sons—Jonathan in battle with the Philistines, and Ishbosheth by assassins; and now, in justice to the Gibeonites, Saul’s other sons and grandchildren.

C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): Whether this coincidence is to be regarded as of divine origin, may raise a question in the minds of some; but it must at least be regarded as not a little remarkable.

THE EDITOR: There’s more. David erupted in murderous rage over Nabal’s arrogant ingratitude, and made another hasty oath, “So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him the morning light any that pisseth against the wall,” 1 Samuel 25:22. But God’s unchanging grace used Abigail’s intercession to prevent David from committing that slaughter. Then came another temptation: Abishai wanted to slay Saul for him, but David would not allow it—compare David’s statement of faith that day, to his unbelief immediately afterwards: “David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by hand of Saul; and there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of Philistines,” 1 Samuel 26:8-11; 27:1. And such is our instability whenever we are operating on our own wisdom, James 1:5-7. Again, David fled to Gath and persuaded Achish to give him Ziklag. During his sojourn in Ziglag, after lying deceitfully to Achish about his raid on the Amalekites, David slid so far spiritually that he tried to accompany the Philistines in battle against Saul, 1 Samuel 27:1-12; 28:1,2; 29:1-11. But God, ever faithful, made the Philistines refuse David’s participation, which prevented him from breaking this vow—“the LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed,” 1 Samuel 26:11. Meanwhile, as David tried to join the Philistines, the Amalekites raided Ziklag in revenge, carrying away captives. David’s men wanted to stone him for it; but God used David’s distress to restore him to seeking His counsel, 1 Samuel 30:1-8.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): There is a sort of coincidence, or association here.

THE EDITOR: It’s all connected. No longer going out to battle, this was a time for David “to stand still, and consider the works of God,” in all God’s dealings with him during his life, as old men will do, Job 37:14. These new victories over these Philistine giants, surely turned David’s mind back to the “sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, in the valley of Rephaim,” which means “the valley of giants,”—when David had inquired of God, and God delivered them into his hands, 2 Samuel 5:17-25. Now restored to communion with God, with his faith strengthened, ponder the sweet fruit of David’s reflections in 2 Samuel 22:1-51 and 2 Samuel 23:1-7.

 

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David and His Nephew Joab – Part 19: Amasa’s Murder

Posted on November 29, 2024 by The Editor

2 Samuel 20:1,2,4-13

And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.

And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died.

So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

And one of Joab’s men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): This happened immediately upon the crushing of Absalom’s rebellion—the occasion of it was that foolish quarrel, between the elders of Israel and the elders of Judah, about bringing the king back. It was a point of honour that was disputed between them, which had most interest in David. “We are more numerous,” say the elders of Israel. “We are nearer akin to him,” say the elders of Judah.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Foolish quarrels have dangerous consequences. When men’s spirits are exasperated in popular tumults, some crafty and ambitious head fails not to improve the circumstances for his own advancement.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): “Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite.” He probably belonged to the family of Saul; and he seems to have had considerable influence in Israel to raise such an insurrection.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Perhaps he had been in the rebellion of Absalom, and had a grudge against David for the removal of the kingdom out of that tribe. Sheba “blew a trumpet.” He said, “we have no part in David;” so he interpreted what the men of Judah said, because they claimed kindred to David, the rest of the Israelites had no interest in him; thus they, who just before said they had ten parts in him, now had none at all: “neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse,”—so he calls David by way of contempt, as if he was no king, but a private person, and a descendant from a mean family.

MATTHEW HENRY: The men of Israel had complained to David of the slight which the men of Judah had put upon them. If he had countenanced their complaint, commended their zeal, and returned them thanks for it, he might have confirmed them in his interest; but he seemed partial to his own tribe: Their words prevailed above the words of the men of Israel; as some read the last words of the foregoing chapter. David inclined to justify them, and when the men of Israel perceived this, they flew off with indignation…It is as impolitic for princes to be partial in their attentions to their subjects, as it is for parents to be so to their children; both should carry it with an even hand.

MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): “Then said the king to Amasa, assemble me the men of Judah,” and march in the head of them as their general, as I promised thee, 2 Samuel 19:13. The business required haste. “Within three days, be thou here present,” to receive orders and instructions from me.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): “But Amasa tarried longer,”—either through his own remissiveness, or the people’s unwillingness to be commanded by this new general.

MATTHEW HENRY: It seems the men of Judah, though forward to attend the king’s triumphs, were backward enough to fight his battles.

THE EDITOR: Why would the men of Judah want to fight under Amasa? As the general of Absalom’s forces, Amasa had led them into defeat against Joab. Losing battles was never one of Joab’s deficiencies—another reason why Joab’s garment and girdle of command literally did not fit Amasa properly, 2 Samuel 20:8. War is all about killing or being killed, and soldiers hate following an unsuccessful general, because his ineptitude endangers their lives. However, an experienced perceptive commander like Joab understood soldiers, and certainly recognized their hesitancy to serve under Amasa. And undoubtedly, with his eye on regaining his position as captain of the host, Joab assessed his own personal support among them. Whether David thought Amasa’s delay was caused by Judah’s reluctance, or Amasa’s incompetence is not known, but he knew the danger of delay, and turned to a harder, more efficient warrior—Abishai, Joab’s brother. “Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom,” he told Abishai, “take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.”—“Thy lord’s servants?” Who was in command here? Was David referring to himself? Or Joab, as Abishai’s immediate superior officer? It’s unclear, but the listed order of those who pursued Sheba is absolutely clear: Joab and his men took the lead.

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945): Joab appears once more in all the rugged and terrible strength of his nature.

MATTHEW HENRY: The great stone in Gibeon was the place appointed for the general rendezvous. There the rivals met; and Amasa, relying upon his commission, went before, as general both of the new-raised forces which he had got together, and of the veteran troops which Abishai had brought in.

THE EDITOR: Gibeon—what a blood-soaked place! Here Abner and Joab had set their men to “play” that deadly game of mutual destruction, “by the pool of Gibeon.”

MATTHEW HENRY: Joab here took an opportunity to kill Amasa with his own hand; thus he slew Abner, and went unpunished for it, which encouraged him to do the like again. He did it impudently, at the head of his troops, and in their sight, as one that was neither ashamed nor afraid to do it, that was so hardened in blood and murders that he could neither blush nor tremble. He did it at one blow, so he needed not strike him again—he did it in contempt and defiance of David and the commission he had given to Amasa; for that commission was the only ground of Joab’s quarrel with him, so that David was struck at through the side of Amasa, and was, in effect, told to his face that Joab would be general, in spite of him.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Why was Joab allowed to slay Amasa? A holy God permitted it, for most certainly He could have prevented it had He so pleased. Why, then, did He suffer David’s purpose to be so rudely thwarted?

THE EDITOR: I think it was to show David the complete folly of his own carnal wisdom, and to restore him to seeking God’s counsel.

JOHN GILL: One of Joab’s men stood by the body of Amasa—no doubt by Joab’s order, to satisfy the people as they came up, and reconcile them to this fact, and to exhort them not to stop; for though Amasa was dead, Joab had taken the command of the army, and the pursuit was carried on with as much rigour as ever; “he that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab,”—he that likes Joab should be general, and is in the interest of David, let him follow after Joab; Joab and David are put together, as if their interests were the same; though there seems to be an indecency in placing Joab first.

THOMAS COKE: Joab, having successfully put an end to Sheba’s rebellion, returned to Jerusalem with such a weight of popularity, as effectually to shield his murder of Amasa from all attempts of inquiry or chastisement—reinstated likewise in supreme command over the army, 2 Samuel 20:14-23. Thus it seemed good to God’s wisdom to permit Joab’s unruly and impetuous ambition, at one time separate from all sense of duty, and at another joined to it, to punish the guilt of four notorious rebels in succession: Abner, Absalom, Amasa, and Sheba; two of them, indeed, treacherous and sudden; but all, in the retributions of Providence, judicial and just.

 

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David and His Nephew Joab – Part 18: Political Expediency

Posted on November 22, 2024 by The Editor

2 Samuel 19:16-30

And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan; and said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’S anointed? And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.

And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth? And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame. And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes. For all of my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king?

And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land. And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): David’s soldiers furnished themselves with accommodations for their passage over this river, but, for David’s own family, a ferry-boat was sent on purpose.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): David did not suffer himself to be conducted home by a deputation from the tribe of Judah; for it appears “that there were a thousand men of the tribe of Benjamin under Shimei,” and also “half the people of Israel,” 2 Samuel 19:17,40.

THE EDITOR: Abishai, Joab’s brother, wanted Shimei slain as just he had wanted to behead him before, 2 Samuel 16:9. But to slay Shimei now, though he deserved it, when he brought a thousand men of Benjamin, the first of the tribes of Israel to come to David, would have been dangerous political folly.

MATTHEW HENRY: David rejected Abishai’s motion with displeasure: “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?” The less we have to do with those who are of an angry revengeful spirit, and who put us upon doing what is harsh and rigorous, the better. They were adversaries to his interest. If he should put to death Shimei, who cursed him, those would expect the same fate who had taken up arms and actually levied war against him, which would drive them from him, while he was endeavouring to draw them to him. Acts of severity are seldom acts of policy. The throne is established by mercy, Proverbs 20:28. Those that are forgiven must forgive. David had severely revenged the abuses done to his ambassadors by the Ammonites, 2 Samuel 12:31—that was an affront to Israel in general, and touched the honour of his crown and kingdom; but he easily passes by the abuse done to himself by an Israelite—this was purely personal, and therefore—according to the usual disposition of good men, he could more easily forgive it.

THE EDITOR: Ziba and his family also came with Shimei. But at Jerusalem, Mephibosheth truthfully informed him about Ziba’s deception when David fled Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 16:1-4. David had accepted Ziba as a righteous, loyal man at that time, accepting his word as truth, and he had awarded him all of Mephibosheth’s property. But now, without any further investigation, David restored half of Mephibosheth’s land, and would hear no more about it.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): David did not choose to punish Ziba for slandering his master, being inclined to clemency and mercy, and determined to show no severity at that time; and he might be in some fear of Ziba, being a considerable man, lest he should raise a new insurrection, if he bore hard upon him.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): David’s indulgence to this man is a blot in his character.

THE EDITOR: Those two incidents demonstrate David’s mindset at the time: he was hungry for peace, almost at any price. Mephibosheth had made a serious accusation: he claimed that Ziba had deceived him, and slandered him, and had lied to the king’s face. Perhaps David considered it a “Ziba said—Mephibosheth said” thing, without any credible corroborative evidence on either side. But Mephibosheth’s personal appearance suggested otherwise. So was David wise in rendering an instant judgment without diligently investigating the truth of it? It is the “honour of kings to search out a matter,” Proverbs 25:2; “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him,” Proverbs 18:13. Mephibosheth graciously accepted David’s verdict; but was it really a just resolution? David rescinded his earlier decision, but he rewarded Ziba’s deceit by letting it pass without demanding any repentance, or even an apology, and thus penalized Mephibosheth’s devoted loyalty by allowing Ziba’s slander to stand as a stain on his reputation. And why? For political peace.

JOHN GILL: “It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment,” Proverbs 18:5. Justice ought to be done without any respect to persons; to do otherwise is not only not good, but very bad, very sinful and criminal; it is contrary to law and justice; it is doing injury to men, and is repugnant to the will of God, and offensive to Him, Leviticus 19:15.

THE EDITOR: It is more evidence proving that David’s uneven administration of justice had been the main political grievance behind the widespread popular support for Absalom’s rebellion, and David’s earlier pardon of Amasa had done nothing to lay that to rest; it was one rule for the royal family, but a different rule for everyone else. Have we not seen a similar partiality, and justice tainted by political considerations in our own political leaders? “Moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there,” wrote Solomon, Ecclesiastes 3:16. But if David had sought God’s counsel, and had been guided by God’s Word, would he have made those mistakes? And the result of David’s carnal thinking was not peace; that immediately became clear when David went to Gilgal: “And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan?” 2 Samuel 19:41.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): By the time that David had crossed the Jordan many of the elders and people of Israel came to bring back the king, only to discover they had been anticipated. The officers of Judah had taken the lead in this, and had failed to notify the ten tribes of their intentions. This omission was strongly resented, for those of Israel felt they had been slighted—yea, that a serious reflection was cast upon their loyalty to the king.

THE EDITOR: What was their real grievance in this accusation? Partiality. In this case, that charge was unwarranted, but entirely understandable, given their perception of past injustices. “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger,” Proverbs 15:1. However, the men of Judah’s angry offended tone did nothing to reassure the men of Israel that they would be treated fairly. “Because the king is near of kin to us, wherefore then be ye angry for this matter?” they said, “have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?” 2 Samuel 19:42.

A. W. PINK: How quick many are to take umbrage at the least seeming slight.

THOMAS COKE: It was a natural contest between greater power and nearer relationship; both claim a preference which both cannot have; which those of nearer relationship in this case should have yielded, both in point of prudence and affection—which the men of Judah did not. “And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king?” 2 Samuel 19:43.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): “All David’s men were with him”—and this made the men of Judah so bold and fierce. “The words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.”

THE EDITOR: These were definitely not words of peace, nor the sounds of unity—thus, the carnal wisdom of political expediency failed miserably.

 

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David and His Nephew Joab – Part 17: Restoration

Posted on November 15, 2024 by The Editor

2 Samuel 19:9-15

And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent. And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom. And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?

And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house. Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants. So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): “The victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son,” 2 Samuel 19:2. What a damp disappointment it was to them to find the king in tears for Absalom’s death, which they construed as a token of displeasure against them for what they had done, whereas they expected him to have met them with joy and thanks for their good services. The report of it ran through the army. The people will take particular notice what their princes say and do. The more eyes we have upon us, and the greater our influence is, the more need we have to speak and act wisely and to govern our passions strictly. When they came to the city they found the king in close mourning. He covered his face, and would not so much as look up, nor take any notice of the generals when they attended him. It could not but surprise them to find how the king proclaimed his passion.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): David does not appear to have asked, “How have we won the victory?” but, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Not, “Is Joab, the captain of my host, alive, for upon him so much depends?” but, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Not, “How many of our noble troops have fallen in the battle?” but, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” It has been said that he showed here more of the father than of the king—more of affection than of wisdom—that is, doubtless, a correct criticism upon the old man’s absorbing fondness. David was no doubt, in this case, weak in his excessive tenderness.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): David’s conduct displeased the Lord, and He used an unwelcome instrument to bestir the king to a renewed sense of his responsibility…He could have easily softened the heart of Joab toward David; that He did not do so, intimates He was displeased with him for his inordinate grief.

ALEXANDER WHYTE (1836-1921): When David broke out in that terrible sorrow which sounds in our hearts to this day, Joab would not have it.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Joab, vexed at the king’s indiscreet behaviour, with an unbecoming disrespect goes in to expostulate with him on the error and danger of his conduct; he remonstrates how ungrateful it was to shew such neglect of those who, at the hazard of their own, had saved his life and the lives of all his family, whom Absalom would have murdered; that it appeared as if he had so loved the traitor, as to hate his best friends for his sake. He therefore urges him to appear in public instantly, and speak comfortably to the people, thanking them for their fidelity, and congratulating their victory; with a solemn oath declaring, that if he did not, every soldier would desert him, himself included, and a worse rebellion would arise than had just been suppressed.

MATTHEW HENRY: He speaks a great deal of reason, but not with the respect and deference which he owed to his prince. “Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked?” A plain case may be fairly pleaded with those that are above us, and they may be reproved for what they do amiss, but it must not be done with rudeness and insolence. David did indeed need to be roused and alarmed; and Joab thought it no time to dally with him.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Joab’s speech to David on his immoderate grief for the death of his rebellious son is not only remarkable for the insolence of office, but also for good sense and firmness.

THOMAS COKE: Good counsel, though bluntly given, should be thankfully received. David is convinced of the necessity of submitting to the advice, and, restraining his anguish, washes, anoints, and sits in public, to the great joy of his army, “and all the people came before the king.”

THE EDITOR: Nevertheless, although David accepted Joab’s rebuke, he was weary of his nephew’s arrogance.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Joab had got David’s ill will by many instances, as by the murder of Abner, and now by slaying Absalom against his orders; and by his rude and insolent behaviour to him when lamenting the death of his son; he wanted to be rid of him, and now, having an opportunity of putting a valiant man into his place, and thereby attaching him to his interest, he was determined to make use of it. “Say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.”

THOMAS COKE: All the tribes in general, except that of Judah, were in motion to bring the king back to his capital: but Judah had not yet declared in his favour, and they were in possession of Jerusalem; and as Amasa himself was present there, and had a great interest in the people’s affections, it became absolutely necessary to David’s restoration to gain over that city, and secure Amasa’s friendship.

JOHN GILL: It signified that David would not only pardon the treason Amasa had been guilty of, but raise him to the highest post in the army; and to assure him of it, of which he might be doubtful, considering what he had done to merit his displeasure, he makes this oath: “God do so to me, and more also”—more than he had done to Absalom; or he imprecates the greatest evil upon himself that could be thought of or named.

THE EDITOR: But was it wisdom to bind himself to God’s wrath by such hasty words? “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” Ecclesiates 5:2. Without consulting God about appointing Amasa, David acted on his own carnal reasoning, as his hasty vow clearly demonstrates. On a human level, David saw this not only as his own opportunity to rid himself of Joab, but also as a magnanimous political gesture to unite Judah behind him. But although something seems plausible, and politically expedient, and personally advantageous—it does not make it right.

CHARLES BRIDGES (1794-1869): A vow cannot make right that which is morally wrong.

THE EDITOR: As a man after God’s own heart, pardoning Amasa suited David’s inclination to mercy and a gracious willingness to forgive, and his sovereign right to pardon whomsoever he pleased; such is our God, Who does not deal with His family members according to what our iniquities deserve, but in grace and mercy, and to our good, never forsaking us. However, our human “hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. As king of Israel, David was responsible to God for an impartial administration of justice according to God’s law. Amasa was David’s nephew, the son of another sister, 2 Samuel 17:25; and David had failed to punish yet another nephew for a treasonous crime against the nation. Was this another malignant sprout from that same old deceitful stump—his heart idol of natural family affection?

 

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David and His Nephew Joab – Part 16: Spiritual Surgery

Posted on November 8, 2024 by The Editor

2 Samuel 18:32,33; 2 Samuel 19:1-8

And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!

And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; in that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now. Then the king arose, and sat in the gate.

MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546): Ah! How sorrowful and perplexed a man was David. The very words denote that his grief of heart was excessive.

PATRICK DELANY (1686-1768): I confess, it is to me utterly unaccountable, from any other principle than the sad and shocking reflection of Absalom having died with all his sins upon his head, and gone down quick to perdition.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): There is something astonishing in this excess of grief for such a reprobate. The affection of parents is, doubtless, extremely strong. The sins, nay, the ingratitude of children cannot root it from their hearts; and they who fear God, are then most reasonably inconsolable, when their children are engaged in a course of sin, and they see them die in a state of condemnation.

EDWARD PAYSON (1783-1827): It is probable also, that the anguish occasioned by this heartrending thought, was aggravated by the reflection, that in consequence of having neglected to restrain and correct his son in early life, he had been indirectly the cause of his ruin. Hence his bitter cries; hence especially his wish that he had died in his son’s stead. He was himself prepared for death; therefore, it would have been to him a comparatively trifling evil, and he hoped that, had Absalom lived, he might have repented of his sins, and become prepared for death.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): I wish I could see reason to think that this arose from a concern about Absalom’s everlasting state, and that the reason why he wished he had died for him was because he had good hopes of his own salvation, and of Absalom’s repentance if he had lived. It rather seems to have been spoken inconsiderately, in a passion, and it was his infirmity.

THOMAS MANTON (1620-1677): Absalom was the greater curse to David because he loved him too much. Inordinate longings make the affections miscarry.

MATTHEW HENRY: David is to be blamed for showing so great a fondness for a graceless son only because he was handsome and witty, while he was justly abandoned both of God and man. And for quarrelling, not only with divine providence, in the disposals of which he ought silently to have acquiesced, but with divine justice, judgments of which he ought to have adored and subscribed to—see how Bildad argues “If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away in their transgression,” thou shouldst submit, “for doth God pervert judgment?” Job 8:3,4.

THE EDITOR: When fire went out from the LORD in judgment, to consume Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, “Aaron held his peace,” Leviticus 10:1-3. But David’s inordinate affection was similar to Jacob’s love for Benjamin: “His life is bound up in the lad’s life,” Judah said about Jacob, when Joseph insisted that Benjamin remain in Egypt, “and it shall come to pass, that when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die,” Genesis 44:30,31. Now Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment,” Mark 12:30. Then He quoted Leviticus 19:18—“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,” Mark 12:31. The danger is in reversing that order, to put the love of our neighbour before our love of God. Remember what God told David? “I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour”—it’s the same Hebrew word that is used in Leviticus 19:18—and that “neighbour,” was David’s son.

CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): We are to admit no rival into our bosom. The creature indeed may be loved by us, in subserviency to Him; but He must possess our supreme regards, and be served on all occasions with the utmost energies of our souls. Nothing is for a moment, or in the slightest possible degree, to alienate our affections from Him, or in any respect to divide them with Him—He will not receive a divided heart: whatever we have of understanding, will, or affections, they must all be employed for Him without cessation, and without abatement.

MATTHEW HENRY: What we have over-loved we are apt to over-grieve for—in each affection, therefore, it is wisdom to have rule over our own spirits and to keep a strict guard upon ourselves when that is removed from us which was very dear to us. The penitent patient sufferer “sitteth alone and keepeth silence,” Lamentations 3:28; or rather, with Job, says, “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taketh away; Blessed be the name of the LORD,” Job 1:21.

WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679): Remember what Joab said to David, taking on heavily for Absalom’s death? “I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.”

MATTHEW HENRY: David is to be blamed for opposing the justice of the nation, which administration as king he was entrusted with, and which, with other public interests, he ought to have preferred before any natural affection; and for despising the mercy of his deliverance, and the deliverance of his family and kingdom, from Absalom’s wicked designs, as if this were no mercy, nor worth giving thanks for, because it cost the life of Absalom.

THE EDITOR: God knew the precise nature of David’s deep spiritual cancer, and exactly how He would deal with it in His own proper time. Family was David’s heart idol, which explains his habitual reluctance to punish any family member for their crimes, including Amnon and Joab; but Absalom was the most cherished focus of David’s heart idol. See there another purpose why God visited David’s sins upon his own family: Heart idols are extremely hard to root out; if the smallest stump of it remains, it springs up again like a weed. Jacob had the same problem. His inordinate love for Rachel caused him to tolerate idolatry in his family, and God removed her because she was a spiritual snare to him, Genesis 31:32-34; Genesis 35:1-4,18,19; after Rachel’s death, Jacob transferred his inordinate affection for Rachel to Joseph, Rachel’s first child—and God took him away also, Genesis 37:3,24-28; but again, Jacob transferred that same affection to Benjamin, Rachel’s second child. So what did God do? He removed Benjamin in a manner that made Jacob willing to part with him, despite the reluctance and sorrow he felt, Genesis 42:38 to 43:14. Only then did God restore the children that Jacob had lost, as He did with Job, Genesis 45:26-28; Job 42:10. However, David was never willing to give up Absalom, no matter what. So, for David’s own good, God removed David’s cherished idol forever, by a far more painful surgery; and Joab was the sharp scalpel that God used to cut out that cancerous spiritual tumor.

MATTHEW HENRY: How plainly and vehemently Joab reproved David.

A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Sometimes God makes use of a rough hand to arouse us from our lethargy, and we should be thankful that He cares sufficiently for us to do so.

C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Might we not also say to many a mother and father concerning their children, keep yourselves from idols?

 

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David and His Nephew Joab – Part 15: Retribution and Revenge

Posted on November 1, 2024 by The Editor

2 Samuel 17:24-26; 2 Samuel 18:1-7, 9-11

Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother. So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.

And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.

So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men…And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.

ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): By this time David’s small company was greatly recruited; but what its number was we cannot tell. Josephus says it amounted to four thousand men.

JOHN GILL (1697-1771): But one would think there should be more: David “set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them;” he divided his army into companies which consisted some of a thousand and others of a hundred.

THE EDITOR: Certainly David’s forces increased substantially during the time Hushai’s counsel had bought for him. They joined David’s cause for various motives. Some came from personal loyalty, or because they viewed Absalom’s rebellion as contrary to God’s law, Exodus 20:12; others abhorred Absalom’s public defilement of David’s wives as a disgusting perverse crime—that also was a bitter fruit of Ahithophel’s foolish counsel. David also received supplies from Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, 2 Samuel 17:27, in whose house Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was living, when Ish-bosheth was murdered. When Saul and Jonathan perished in battle, Mephibosheth was five years old, and as his nurse fled with him, he was dropped, and was lame ever afterwards, 2 Samuel 4:4; see there the providential hand of God’s mercy—Mephibosheth’s injury had made him unfit to lead the house of Saul, though heir to Saul’s throne; thus he was no threat to the unification of Israel under David, and escaped being murdered by Ish-bosheth’s captains. And David’s later kindness to Mephibosheth for his friend Jonathan’s sake, demonstrated that he nursed no ill will towards the house of Saul, and was innocent of their blood, 2 Samuel 9:1-13.

JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): David was confident of the victory, and gave charge that Absalom’s life should be spared. “I will surely go forth with you myself also.” If he had done so when Joab went against Rabbah of the Ammonites, he had done well. Nero and other cowardly voluptuous princes are blamed for idling and rioting at home, when their armies were against the enemy. But it may well be thought, that this motion of David’s to go in person, was in favour of Absalom, and to see that he were not cut off by any of the army.

ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): Everyone knew the personal courage of David; but beside the reasons given here for David staying at home, there was in David’s breast, a secret cause to keep him back. How unnatural soever Absalom’s conduct was towards his father, yet David’s heart loved this child too well to fight against him. Reader! pause over this, and notice the astonishing love of David to this most worthless child. Of all the base, ungrateful sons we read of in history, perhaps none, taken altogether, exceeds the character of Absalom. We find, very frequently, in the feelings of nature, parents unaccountably passing by the worth, tenderness, and affection of many dear children, to bestow their partiality and favours on the most undeserving one. Certain it is, that Abraham preferred Ishmael to Isaac, in that he begged the LORD that Ishmael might have the blessing, Genesis 17:18. And Isaac evidently preferred Esau to Jacob, in that, contrary to the divine command, he would have conferred the blessing of the covenant upon him, Genesis 27:4. There is no explaining this upon any other principle than that, in these matters, nature and grace are everlastingly opposite to each other. Thus in the case of David—what an infatuation David was under concerning Absalom!

THOMAS WATSON (1620-1686): If we love a child more than God, we make a god of it. How many are guilty of this? They think more of their children and delight more in them than in God.

THE EDITOR: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” Exodus 20:3. God will not tolerate idolatry in His children, nor will His purposes be thwarted. So it was with Abraham and Isaac: God told Abraham that Ishmael must be cast out; and by means of Rebekah and Jacob’s instrumental deceit, God providentially prevented Isaac’s intent.

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863-1945): It is here that Joab appears in the terrible sternness of his character. He had no pity for Absalom. He knew that Absalom was the center of all the trouble—and he had seen David’s action toward his sons characterized by a lack of discipline. In the highest interests of the kingdom, his hand was raised to slay Absalom.

THE EDITOR: While Joab certainly acted as God’s unwitting instrument for the good of David’s kingdom, his motives were entirely personal. Joab knew that his position was more secure with David than Absalom. And Joab’s implacable nature never forgot nor forgave a slight. For years, Joab had nursed his resentment against Absalom; and despite David’s orders, when the opportune time came, Joab actually rushed to execute his revenge, 2 Samuel 18:14.

ALEXANDER WHYTE (1836-1921): Joab was a stern, haughty, imperious, revengeful man—pride, jealousy, malignity, revenge, assassination, with now and then a gleam of satanic loyalty lighting up his terrible heart. He ran Absalom three times through the heart right in the teeth of David’s command to spare and save Absalom alive.

JOHN GILL: Joab disobeyed the king’s order, but provided for the good of the nation, and the safety of the king. The Jews observe that measure for measure was given to Absalom; he was proud of his hair, 2 Samuel 14:25, and therefore was hanged by it; he lay with ten concubines of his father, 2 Samuel 16:21, and therefore was smitten with ten spears by ten young men, 2 Samuel 18:15; and he stole three hearts, the heart of his father, the heart of the sanhedrim, and the heart of the men of Israel—therefore three darts were fixed in him, 2 Samuel 18:14.

MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Joab throws three darts into his body, which put him, no doubt, to exquisite torment.

THE EDITOR: Joab had killed Abner with a single sword thrust. Such a judicial execution of Absalom would have been a far more merciful and gentle retribution. But Joab wanted Absalom to suffer an agony for every slight he had ever received from him; Joab executed a very personal revenge—there was one dart for Abasalom’s base ingratitude to him after Joab had engineered his return from exile; a second dart for Absalom’s disrespect of Joab’s position when he summoned Joab as if the captain of the host was merely a household servant; and the third dart was for burning Joab’s wheat field, 2 Samuel 14:28-33. After those three mortal wounds, Absalom hung there in helpless pain, yet alive—then Joab’s men slew him, 2 Samuel 18:14,15.

H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Joab was a man of cruelty.

THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): Joab’s killing Absalom was a direct, deliberate, cowardly murder—and a treasonable murder against the express orders of the king, in open defiance and contempt of him.

MATTHEW HENRY: I know not whether Joab can be justified in this direct disobedience to the command of his sovereign; was this to “deal gently with the young man”?  Yet, this may be said for Joab, that while he broke the order of a too indulgent father, he did real service to his king and country, and it would have endangered welfare of both if he had not done it.

ADAM CLARKE: Joab was a cool-blooded, finished murderer. “Treason and murder ever keep together.”

 

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