Ezek 4—Ezekiel is to portray the history of Israel’s wickedness, and the destruction of Jerusalem
The Lord has Ezekiel portray the siege of Jerusalem on a tile. He’s to build a fort and a mound against it, and a camp against it with battering rams. He’s to set an iron pan between him and the city to separate himself from the city, and the plight of its destruction.
Ezekiel is to lay on his left side for 390 days, symbolizing the years of the iniquity of the House of Israel, then he’s to lay on his right side 40 days, symbolizing suffering for the iniquity of the House of Judah. These appear to refer to the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. From the days of Jeroboam, I don’t recall a righteous king of the northern kingdom. The kings of Judah seemed to alternate between good and evil. The kingdom of Judah lasted another 125 years after the northern kingdom was destroyed and carried away by the Assyrians, more or less. King David reigned 40 years, and Solomon reigned 40 years. If we subtract the 80 years of David & Solomon from the 464 of the kingdom of Judah, we have 384 years. But Solomon built temples for the idols of his foreign wives when he was old, so that might account for the discrepancy of about 6 years.
https://bible-history.com/old-testament/kings-israel Kings of Israel reigned 208 years, all evil
https://www.jewishhistory.org/review-of-the-judean-kings/ Judean Kings, abt 464 yrs, both good & evil
About the 40 years: Josiah reigned in righteousness 30 years, and righteous Hezekiah reigned 6 years before Assyria captured the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 18) . . . one might say they suffered for the wickedness of the unrighteous kings of both Israel & Judah. The other 4 years could refer to when wicked Manasseh returned repentant to his kingship in Judah. All this is speculation.
Through the 390 days Ezekiel is to eat 20 shekels’ weight (perhaps abt 10 oz) of bread made with wheat/barley/beans/lentils/millet/fitches (another type of grain). His water allowance was perhaps between 1-2 cups a day. His bread is to be prepared like a barley cake, baked over a fire made with human waste. This would be considered as defiled, and Ezekiel recoils from the idea, as he has kept the Law of Moses strictly all his life. The Lord relents and allows him to use cow “patties” as his fuel. All this is representative of the famine that the people of Jerusalem would suffer while besieged by Babylon for 30 months.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ezekiel/4-10.htm
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ezekiel/4-11.htm
https://bible-history.com/map-babylonian-captivity/timeline-of-events from 612 to 516 BC (in years)
https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/antiquities-of-jews/babylon-destroys-jerusalem-temple.html re: Josephus’ account, and notes on the Babylonian attacks on the kingdom of Judah
Ezek 5—the Israelites will suffer for their sins: 1/3 die of famine & pestilence, 1/3 by the sword, 1/3 will be scattered
The Lord tells Ezekiel to shave his head and beard, an extreme cultural taboo for an Israelite. One third of the hair is to be burned, another third is to be cut to bits with a knife, and the last third is to be scattered in the wind. All this is to symbolize the burning of Jerusalem (at the end of the siege), death by the sword of many of the inhabitants, and the scattering/captivity of the rest.
The Lord accuses the inhabitants of Jerusalem of being worse than their neighboring countries, in that while their population has grown more than their neighbors, they have refused to keep the commandments and laws given through Moses. In fact, they have changed the Lord’s laws into wickedness worse than the other nations. In consequence, the Lord will treat them as never before or in future: fathers will eat their sons and sons will eat their fathers (no doubt because of the famine caused by war), those left after the war will be scattered in every direction. Because they have defiled the temple with abominations (idol worship), the Lord will show no pity. A third will die from pestilence and famine, another third will fall by the sword (in battle), and a third will be scattered to the winds and chased by the sword. Thus will they know that the Lord is in charge, and He will find comfort in executing Justice for their misdeeds. The Lord will see their nation wasted, and they will be seen as a reproach/taunt/instruction/astonishment to all their neighboring countries and those who see them.
Ezek 6—a prophecy of the destruction of the idols & worshippers, and the land of Israel; yet a remnant will be saved, captive among the nations, where they will come to know the Lord and be disgusted with themselves for their abominations.
Ezekiel prophecies to the mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys of Israel, that is, to the land of Israel, the destruction of the idols and those who worship them (generally in “high places”). “Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the Lord.” (This is the only mention of Diblath in the Bible, an unknown place).
The House of Israel will be slain by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. “He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.” Yet the Lord will save a remnant of Israel, scattered captives among the nations, who will remember Him and loathe themselves for their sins and abominations.
Ezek 7—a reiteration of God’s recompense to the Israelites for their wickedness/abominations
This chapter is seems a poetic one; it doesn’t say anything new, but uses imagery to make the predictions more memorable. An end is come to the 4 corners/quarters of the land of Israel (all the land of the 2 kingdoms, Israel & Judah), the Lord will not have pity on the people, and they will know that it is the Lord that is doing this to them.
Ezekiel uses the image of dawn turning to day, and of a budding tree branch, describing wicked developments and violence in the land. None will express mourning (by wailing) for them. The buyer won’t rejoice in the bargains he finds, the seller won’t bemoan losing money on the deal (as in ordinary commerce): all will feel the wrath of God, and none of them will be able to return to, nor strengthen their financial position through their wickedness.
A trumpet is blown to call the soldiers to battle, but none are able to go (because God has wreaked havoc on them). Warfare is outside the city (any out there are killed by the sword) and famine & pestilence inside. Any who do manage to escape to the mountains will sound like Mourning Doves for their iniquities.
All will have feeble hands and be weak in the knees (see Heb 12:12, and the link below that speaks of paralysis: people will be paralyzed with fear). People will dress in sackcloth (as for mourning), and be in shame (baldness would be considered a state of shame for the people at that time & place).
https://biblehub.com/hebrews/12-12.htm
Gold and silver will be useless to save the people from starvation (because their riches were their stumbling blocks in iniquity, keeping them from turning to God). Their beautiful ornaments they used for idolatry/abominations, so God has taken them away from them and given them to their enemies as spoil (which enemies will pollute them with their own abominations). The conquering enemies will enter the inner recesses of the Temple (which were kept sacred, separate from other nations) and rob them and defile them.
In response to the bloody crimes and violence of the city(ies) of Jerusalem (Judah & Israel), the people will be taken in chains by the worst of the heathen, who will take possession of the Israelites’ houses. The pomp/pride of the powerful will cease, and their holy places will be defiled. Destruction will come, and despite their efforts to find peace/allies, there will be none. One mischief, one rumor (of bad news) will follow another. They’ll seek for help/vision/counsel from prophets, priests, and elders, but none will be able to give them good news. The king and his retinue will mourn and be de-solate (incapable of solace). People will be too troubled to know what to do. The Lord will give them what they deserve, and they will know that He is God.
Ezek 13—vs false prophets, both male & female
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
3 Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! . . .
6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word . . .
10 ¶ Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace . . .
17 ¶ Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them . . .
22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel reproves the false prophets of Israel for not protecting the nation with Truth, like a hedge or a wall without gaps/holes. The false prophets will be excommunicated from Israel and deleted from their records. When this comes to pass all will recognize the supremacy of God. He likens them to wall builders whose work will be destroyed before it sets up. Whether the storm, winds, and hailstones are figurative or literal, I’m not sure, but the image is what is important: what false prophets build will be destroyed.
Likewise, I’m not sure what the pillows sewn to the armholes of women prophesying falsely, or how the kerchiefs figure, but the important message is that they will be punished for seducing Israel away from the true God. God will at last save His people from the wiles of these cons.
Ezek 14—when people ask for counsel or help from the Lord, He will answer them as they deserve
A group of elders comes to Ezekiel for counsel from the Lord. But the Lord accuses them of setting up idols in their hearts and iniquity before their faces, blocking them from communion with the Lord. The Lord asks, Why should I listen to their inquiries? The Lord will answer them as they deserve:
“Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations . . . [all those who separate themselves from God by setting up idols in his heart, and block themselves from seeing/believing/living for God] . . . I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord says He will destroy false prophets from among His people. “That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.”
When a nation sins against God, He will send famine upon them, and noisy carnivores (making people afraid to even pass through the land), or warfare, or pestilence/pandemic. Then though 3 of the greatest prophets were among them (Noah, Daniel, and Job), those 3 would only save their own souls, by their own righteousness. Such is a warning to Jerusalem.
And yet, there will be a remnant that will return, and they will be comforted after all the afflictions the Lord has caused them to suffer. They “shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.” In other words, they will come to recognize that God had reason for sending/allowing all these troubles.
Ezek 15—Jerusalem is likened to a woody vine that is useless but for burning as a fuel
The wood of a woody vine is worthless for building useful things. It is tossed in the fire for fuel and is burned. Before it was burned it was useless, and afterward even moreso. The Lord will give Jerusalem to be burned, because its people were just as useless as the woody vine. They will escape one fire to be devoured by another. He will make the land desolate because of their sins, “and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.”
Perhaps these words seem harsh, but how often have we seen people who do nothing worthwhile with their potential, but waste their lives and end up destroying themselves and sometimes they take others down with them. How frustrating it must be to God! It’s no use pretending that God doesn’t have emotions, as the scriptures speak of them often.
We have already seen how the Lord judges every individual for the choices s/he makes, and in the end, all will be made right. He offers His mercy to all, as all are given the chance to change/repent/be forgiven. Justice demands consequences for choices: good consequences for good choices (obedience and repentance—both implying humility), and dreadful consequences for disobedience and refusal to repent (both implying self-conceit, egotism, arrogance, insolence and a host of like traits).
Ezek 16—the Lord through Ezekiel likens Jerusalem’s history in terms of a child the Lord rescued and cared for, but she became an adulterous wife, even a whore
Jerusalem was a Jebusite/Amorite city in the land of Canaan. It would appear from the text that it allied itself with the ancient Hittites. Thus, Jerusalem is spoken of as having an Amorite father and a Hittite mother. See Judges 1:21, Deut 7:1, and 1 Chron 1:13-14, Gen 10:16 which list the various peoples living in Canaan before the Israelites.
https://biblehub.com/genesis/10-16.htm
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jerusalem-from-canaanite-city-to-israelite-capital
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/who-were-the-hittites/ note that not all academic or scientific theories turn out to be true
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hittites
Ezekiel writes that Jerusalem was not given the ordinary care that a newborn would get. The Lord saw her, took pity on her, raised her, and took her in a marriage covenant (note the reference to spreading His skirt over her, as Boaz did Ruth, a sign of taking a woman under his protection). He clothed and fed her richly (prospered Jerusalem). But then she/Jerusalem was enamored with her own beauty (prosperity), and played the harlot with anyone passing by (such as neighboring gods). She used her riches for idolatry. She even sacrificed her children to idols. “Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?” She has forgotten where she came from and who rescued her.
An alternate understanding is that Jerusalem here is used as a symbol of the Israelites or Jews, whom God rescued from Egyptian neglect & abuse.
Now Jerusalem has idols in every street. She prostitutes herself to all, including the Egyptians and/or their gods. The Lord has allowed the Philistines, who hate her, to take out their despite on Jerusalem. Jerusalem played the whore with the Assyrians and the Chaldeans, and still wasn’t satisfied. (Note that Israelite & Jewish kings had sought alliances with the Assyrians & Babylonians, and no doubt brought their gods back to their people).
And yet, the Lord says, Jerusalem was not like a harlot who takes money for her services, but like an adulterous wife, who gives her husband’s gifts to her lovers. Because of this, the Lord will gather all her lovers and bare/shame her before them all. He will treat her as a woman who breaks her wedding vows. Her lovers will break her down, strip her of her goods, leave her destitute. They will stone her and thrust her through with swords. They will burn her houses with fire. “Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God . . .” Only then will the Lord be quiet and no more angry.
The proverb “As is the mother, so is her daughter” will be used to describe Jerusalem. That is, Jerusalem is like her Hittite mother. She and her sisters, Samaria and Sodom are alike. Since Sodom was destroyed in Abraham’s era, this seems to be calling a city of Ezekiel’s time by that name (probably one that was known for the same indecent behavior as Sodom). Their daughters are probably reference to nearby suburban cities or villages that were settled by, or subject to, them. But Jerusalem is even worse than those cities. Samaria wasn’t guilty of half Jerusalem’s sins. Those cities felt justified in their behavior because of Jerusalem, and that merits even more the condemnation of Jerusalem.
This Sodom and her daughters were guilty of pride/haughtiness, abundance of food, idleness (remember the “Idle hands” proverb), and not caring for their poor, beside their abominable behavior. So the Lord had them carried away captive.
Yet one day, the Lord will bring back Jerusalem and her two sisters. He will make an everlasting covenant with Jerusalem and make her sister cities her daughters, though not of the covenant. That is, Jerusalem will reign over those other cities. Jerusalem will be properly humble, and the Lord will be pacified toward her.
Ezek 17—a riddle/parable: the eagles & the cedars
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs…
Then a 2nd similar eagle comes along. The vine [we might call it a low shrub] shot branches up toward him, hoping the eagle would water her. She was planted in good soil, with good access to water. Then the Lord asks a startling question: will He not pull up the shrub, cut off the fruit [did the branches become a grape vine? Another well-known product of Lebanese hills. He speaks of furrows and agricultural workers.] and let the leaves wither when the hot east wind off the desert comes?
What does the parable mean? Ezekiel is to tell the rebellious House of Israel: the King of Babylon is come to Jerusalem and takes the king and princes back with him to Babylon [represented by the eagle taking the top branches to his city, a city of trade]. The Babylonian king made a covenant, took an oath, of the heir (seed) and the powerful he had taken captive. The Babylonian king would keep these captives low, like vines or shrubbery, but he would allow them to live. However, the Jewish king sent ambassadors to Egypt to ally with him in rebelling against Babylon, breaking his oath.
The Lord declares that the king will die in Babylon, and Pharoah will not come with his armies to rescue the Israelites. The Lord takes the breaking of this oath personally, perhaps because the Jewish king made the oath using God’s name (taking the name of the Lord in vain). Again, the king is to be recompensed for his sins. The Lord uses the metaphors of a net and a snare, which are used in hunting, for capturing the king/kingdom of Judah. In Babylon the Lord will make His case against the Jewish king for his trespass against Him (probably by violating the oath he made in God’s name). And all those who flee against captivity will be killed by the sword, and scattered to the winds. The Lord has spoken it, so it will come to pass.
The Lord seems to be the 2nd eagle, who takes the highest branches from the cedar and plants it in a high/eminent mountain of the land of Israel. There it will bring forth more branches and bear fruit. It will be a goodly cedar, tall enough for all kinds of birds to live in its shadow. All the other trees of the orchard will know that it was the Lord that brought down (humbled) the high tree, and exalted (raised up) the low tree or shrub. He is the One that dried up the greeItn/living tree, and made the dry/dead tree to flourish. “I the Lord have spoken and have done it.” That is, the Lord does what He says.
About the Cedars of Lebanon (a species of pine, which would bear pine cones & nuts)
https://www.greenactitude.com/en/characteristics-and-properties-of-the-cedar-of-lebanon-a-legendary-tree
https://cedarscamps.org/inspiration/article/cedars-of-lebanon/
http://pnwplants.wsu.edu/PlantDisplay.aspx?PlantID=254
Ezek 21—prophecies against Jerusalem/Israel
Ezekiel is to prophesy against Jerusalem (seat of the kingdom of Judah, and at this point, Israel, since the loss of the northern kingdom, “the 10 tribes”). The Lord says He will draw His sword and cut off both the righteous and the wicked. Now after many times saying that each person is judged by his own behavior, and receives the consequences for it, this may seem unreconcilable. Yet in life we know that good people sometimes suffer because of or along with the wicked. We know that children do at times suffer for the mistakes of their parents (remember the Lord warning the wicked that He would punish [or allow the consequences] down to the 3rd & 4th generation). God knows His own mind and purposes, of course, but I have two thoughts on the matter: 1) in the final Judgment, all will be put right, and each person will receive the recompense of their attitudes and behaviors, and 2) though we suffer from the mistakes, even ill treatment of others in this life, when we continue to trust in the Lord, He will help us through them, as he did David who became king of Israel after years of afflictions.
The Lord says He has drawn His sword from its sheath and it will not return any more. We know from other times the Lord has promised that He will quit His anger and deal with Israel in kindness. So this can’t be taken literally. It’s obviously meant to last until He decides enough is enough.
Ezekiel’s sighs in dismay at the things to come will cause people to inquire why he is sighing. His reply is to be that the coming disaster will cause “every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.”
Next, the metaphor of a sword being sharpened & polished is to signify the coming conquerors. This sword holds posterity (rods/branches in the family tree) in contempt. There’s no reason to make merry. A picture of the opposite is in the words: crying out, howling, terrified people. The sword will even enter the private rooms of the powerful. When the Lord claps His hands together (as one sees rulers in the movies giving emphasis/immediacy to their orders), either His fury will rest/calm itself, or His fury will rest upon whom He will.
Ezekiel prophesies (at the Lord’s behest) that the Babylonians will come in two routes to attack Jerusalem, beside the Ammonites. The Lord shows the Babylonian king using soothsayers/fortune tellers (who employ animal livers) to decide which way to go. On the one hand (choice) Babylonian armies would use battering rams against Jerusalem, and earthworks, and a fort. But they will consider that a false sign.
The day is come for the contemptuous wicked ruler in Jerusalem. He will lose his crown and diadem (symbols of his authority). He’ll lose his high place, and people considered of low birth will rule instead, until the Messiah, whose right it is to the throne of Israel.
Re: son of man/Son of Man (one could also research and compare when the scriptures speak of a son of a specific person)
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/21-19.htm uses the word ben for son, scroll down to the Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/28-2.htm uses the word ben, scroll down to the Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/33-12.htm uses the word ben, similarly Ezek 33:2, 44:5, 8:12, 37:16
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/43-7.htm uses the word ben, scroll down to the Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/matthew/24-30.htm uses the word Huiou, scroll down to the Greek
https://biblehub.com/mark/14-21.htm uses the word Huios, similarly Mark 8:38
https://biblehub.com/luke/9-26.htm uses the word Huios, scroll down to the Greek
https://biblehub.com/john/12-34.htm uses the word Huion, scroll down to the Greek
It is unclear to me in verses 28-32 whether the Lord is talking about the Ammonites in a similar vein as He has just spoken of the Babylonians as the wielders of the burnished/polished sword, or whether He is speaking of them eventually getting their own taste of Babylon’s sword. I think it’s ok to just let it rest, and perhaps at a future time it will become clear. The Lord has enjoined us to study the scriptures essentially on a daily basis all our lives, and that could become either boring or overwhelming if we understood everything all at once. I think it a sign of His genius that He has given us scriptures that require a lifelong study. We must have patience.
Ezek 22—Jerusalem has earned the mocking of herself by nations near and far through her sins, as listed
Jerusalem is called a bloody city for the abominations committed therein:
--idols are made and worshipped
--the princes/elite abuse their position to shed blood, disrespect parents, oppress foreigners (probably people of other nations who live/work in the city), vex the fatherless & widows (probably those who have lost their fathers/husbands in war)
--the people of the city despise what is holy and dishonor the Sabbaths
--people give information to those that shed blood (no doubt similar to snitches/informers to the Mafia), eating upon the mountains refers to idol worship, within the city are those that commit lewdness (could be in worship of idols, or through prostitution, which sometimes are the same)
--there is disregard for the laws of incest in the Law of Moses (the Law of God), such as having sexual relations with a father’s wife or his daughter (not necessarily one’s own mother or her daughter), pressing upon a menstruous woman to have sex (which would be a humiliation to her), committing adultery
--bribes are taken so that the innocent are killed
--interest is charged on debts (forbidden in the Law of Moses)
--ill-gotten gains come by extortion
--in all these things the people have forgotten the Lord and His laws
The Lord requires redress/reparations for these dishonest gains and the bloodshed. The Lord asks poignantly, “Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.” The people will be scattered among the heathen nations, and Jerusalem will burn like a refiner’s fire.
Rain is given as an image of washing a land clean, but that will not be the case with Jerusalem when the Lord shows His indignation for her (her people’s) sins. Her prophets conspire to devour souls like lions, taking the wealth as their prey and making widows through their policies (possibly referring to corrupting justice and warfare). They pretend to speak for the Lord when He has not spoken through them. Jerusalem’s priests have violated the Law of Moses and disrespected the holy things (of the Temple). In this they have used God’s name in vain. The princes/elites behave like wolves coming in for the kill in order to prosper dishonestly. The people oppress and rob, vex the poor and needy, and mistreat foreigners that live/work among them (probably as low-income labor).
The Lord looked for someone who would turn away His indignation (recall when He said He would spare Sodom from destruction if there were only 10 good people living there). So similarly, the Lord will rain down His wrath upon Jerusalem in requital for the sins her people.
Ezek 23—the 2 Israelite kingdoms are likened to 2 promiscuous, whorish sisters
Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, the “10 tribes”) and Jerusalem (capital of the kingdom of Judah, which included the tribe of Benjamin) are likened to 2 sisters that committed whoredoms even in their youth in Egypt.
Samaria played the harlot with her neighbor Assyria (made alliance with Assyria until it was too late). She was so impressed with the finery of Assyria, when Assyria was rising in power, and sought to benefit thereby (Assyria grew rich through trade and then it became a military power, plundering and causing others to pay tribute). Samaria took up the Assyrian gods, who seemed so beneficent, beside the gods of Egypt. So the Lord left her to her lovers, the gods/power of the Assyrians, who exposed and exploited her in conquest and despoil. They took her children captive and destroyed her in warfare. Her fall became famous.
Jerusalem saw all this, and yet became even more corrupt. She also was bedazzled with the wealth and power of Assyria’s neighbor, Babylon/Chaldea. She saw (or heard of) the walls of Babylon on which were depicted all the glories of their empire. She sent embassies to profit from an alliance. She adopted Babylonian gods, which God saw as committing whoredoms with idol worship. Her mind was alienated from God by them, so God alienated Himself from her. Jerusalem, like her sister Samaria, went right back to her behavior in Egypt, going after the idols of that land. It was like breeding donkeys to horses, producing either mules or hinnies (a more horse-like crossbreed).
https://www.helpfulhorsehints.com/hinny-vs-mule-facts/
As Samaria was conquered by Assyria, Jerusalem will likewise be taken by her “lovers”, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and Assyrians (meaning the nations of Mesopotamia). The engines/weapons of war were chariots, wagons, wheels, armies, and armor. The conquerors will cut off noses and ears, killing others. The sons & daughters will be taken captive, and the rest will be consumed when the cities are burned. They will take away their clothes and jewelry as booty. The memory of their sufferings in Egypt will be swallowed up in the afflictions of the Babylonian conquest. The admiration for the empires/kingdoms of Mesopotamia will change to hatred. The Lord will turn the people over to their enemies because Jerusalem/the kingdom of Judah behaved just as foolishly, as abominably as Samaria/the northern kingdom of Israel. It is likened to drinking of the same cup. As her sister was, so Jerusalem will be “laughed to scorn and had in derision . . .” The picture of a depressed drunk is conjured.
The 2 sister kingdoms committed adultery (vs their true husband, the Lord) with their idols, even sacrificing their children to their idols (for which any true husband/father would become incensed). And then in the same day people would come to God’s temple to worship, showing utter contempt/sacrilege toward the Lord’s Sabbaths. The Lord paints a vivid picture of a whore preparing for her lovers. But the righteous will judge her (the whorish wife) for what she is, and she will be dealt with as spoken in the Law (stoning, like when catapults are used in a siege, and other enactments of death). Thus will idolatries be cleansed/cleared away from the land.
All this will cause the people to know/acknowledge that the Lord God is in charge.
Ezek 24—9th year of Zedekiah Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem, parable of the pot, Ezekiel can’t mourn
Near the end of the 9th year (of Zedekiah’s reign in Jerusalem), the Lord tells Ezekiel to note the day as the one in which the king of Babylon decides to come against Jerusalem.
Here’s the parable: a pot of water is set over a fire, and meat & bones are added to it, as if making a stew. Bones are also added to the fire, to get it burning hot and boil the meat. Jerusalem is likened to such a pot wherein the cooked blood rises as scum to the top. The blood should have been poured out on the ground and covered with dirt. Instead, the blood is set on a rock out in plain sight for all to see, to their disgust. After the scummy water is poured out, the pot is to be set on the fire empty in order to burn it out (as one would burn out a Dutch oven over the fire to clean it). But the Lord will not purge the filthiness of Jerusalem until He causes His fury to come upon the city (in full). He affirms in the strongest terms that He will do it.
The Lord tells Ezekiel of the impending death of his wife, the desire of his eyes (that is, the love of his life). But he is not to mourn for her. This would have been truly counter to his culture as well as his feelings. He is not even to shed any tears for her, let alone any of the usual signs of mourning.
People question Ezekiel about not mourning his wife. He explains that the Lord has told him to tell them that the things they hold most dear (the Temple and their children) will be destroyed but they, like Ezekiel, will not be able to mourn them. Instead, they will be mourning their sins (and the sins of the nation). And when it comes to pass, they will know that the Lord knew/caused it to happen. When it happens and a person escapes to tell Ezekiel, then Ezekiel will be able to speak once again.
With what pathos we read, “in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters . . .”
Category: mourning
Lamentations, Habakkuk, Obadiah
2 Kings 23:39-25:30 History recap/outline
--On the death of king Josiah, his 23 yr old son Jehoahaz is made king
After 3 mos Pharaoh-nechoh took him captive to Egypt, made Jerusalem tributary
--Pharaoh makes 25 yr old Jehoiakim, brother of Jehoahaz king in Jerusalem
11 yr reign; Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes him tributary
After 3 years he rebels, Chaldees/Syrians/Moabites/Ammonites sent vs Judah
--at the death of Jehoiakim, his 18 yr old son Jehoiachin made king
(Babylon has taken all Egypt’s holdings from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates)
Reigned 3 mos, Nebuchadnezzar’s servants besiege Jerusalem
8th year of Nebuchadnezzar, Jehoiakim, the elites, the Temple & king’s treasures, & craftsmen:
10K carried away to Babylon.
https://biblehub.com/2_kings/24-12.htm
--21 yr old Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s uncle) is made king by Nebuchadnezzar
11 yr reign; rebels vs Nebuchadnezzar, 9th yr Jerusalem besieged by Babylonians
11th year no bread/famine, city broken up, Chaldees are surrounding the city
Zedekiah & soldiers flee, but he is captured, his army scattered
Zedekiah’s sons killed in front of him, then his eyes are put out; he is taken to Babylon
--The Temple, the king’s house, and all the great houses in Jerusalem are burned, the walls broken
The rest of the people in Jerusalem, and the fugitives that joined the Babylonians are carried
to Babylon. The poor are left to work the vineyards. Gedaliah is made governor.
A conspiracy kills Gedaliah, the people flee in fear to Egypt.
--37th year of captivity, Jehoiachin is released from prison & lives on the king of Babylon’s allowance
the rest of his life.
2 Chron 36 History recap/outline (there are a few differences to that above)
--the people make 23 yr old Jehoahaz king after Josiah’s death
Reigned 3 mos, king of Egypt takes him captive to Egypt; makes Jerusalem tributary
--king of Egypt makes Jehoahaz’ 25 yr old brother Jehoiakim king of Judah/Jerusalem
Reigned 11 yrs; Nebuchadnezzar carries him & the Temple treasures to Babylon
--8 yr old Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, reigns 3 mos; carried captive to Babylon
--Nebuchadnezzar makes 21 yr old Zedekiah (Jehoiachin’s brother) king of Judah/Jerusalem
Reigned 11 years, wouldn’t humble himself before Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord
Rebelled vs his oath & vs Nebuchadnezzar
14 ¶ Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.
15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Temple & king’s treasures, the king & princes taken captive to Babylon
The Temple & palaces in Jerusalem are burned, the walls broken down
--Those who weren’t killed were taken captive to Babylon & served there until Persia arose
Jeremiah’s prophecies fulfilled, the land enjoyed sabbaths, for 70 years
--1st year of Cyrus, king of Persia Jeremiah’s prophecies accomplished:
The Lord inspired Cyrus to proclaim that God had given him the kingdoms of the earth
And charged him to build God’s house in Jerusalem. Whoever of the Jews wish to, can go.
(it is most probable that someone presented Cyrus with God’s word/Jeremiah’s prophecies).
Lamentations, 5 chapters mourning the suffering of Judah & Jerusalem in the Babylonian conquest
Lam 1 The kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem as the capital, is likened to a bereft woman
1 How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!
2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers [allies and idols] she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.
4 The ways [streets/roads] of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. [Priests & virgins would be employed in celebrations/holy days.]
5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts [deer] that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.
In such a way the Lamentations continue, personifying Judah/Jerusalem as a woman remembering what life was like for her before her desolation, which the Lord allowed to come upon her for her wickedness. “The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things . . .”, that is, her enemies have grabbed/looted all her treasures. “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.”
17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them. [There was just about nothing that was considered as disgusting to the ancients as a menstruous woman or her clothing.]
18 ¶ The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
19 I called for my lovers [allies & idols], but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. [They died in the famine associated with siege warfare.]
Judah/Jerusalem is put to shame and laments that there is no one to comfort her. All her enemies laugh at her troubles, and are glad for them. She retorts that they will be just like her, punished for their sins/transgressions.
Lam 2 The Lord has finally had enough, and brings the curses He promised via Moses in The Law
“How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool [Jerusalem] in the day of his anger!”
In grief/mourning the elders have put dust on their heads and dressed in sackcloth. Their innards are full of grief. Children cry for hunger in their mothers’ embrace. Instead of teaching the people to repent and avoid calamity, the prophets pretended to vain and foolish visions, that would cause the people to be banished from their homeland.
“The Lord hath done that which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn [that calls people to battle] of thine adversaries.” Each night was divided into “watches” (shifts) for the soldiers—and now they are full of prayers/petitions/pleadings with the Lord for the sake of starving children in the streets. Starving women become willing to eat their own infants (the unit of measure called a “span” is the widest that a hand can stretch out from tip of thumb to pinky, perhaps about 9”).
Lam 3 Lamenting all the Lord has done in consequence of wickedness, the prophet remembers that God is merciful and compassionate.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 ¶ It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
A man will put his face in the dust (in prayer), with the hope of God’s mercy. He puts up with physical abuse from those who accuse him, trusting that “the Lord will not cast [him] off for ever . . .”
32 But though he [God] cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
Like a good parent, God doesn’t delight in punishing the bad deeds of His children, yet He knows He must hold them accountable, for their own sakes.
Jeremiah asks rhetorically of God’s all-powerfulness. Whatever He says, good or bad, will happen. And why should a man complain at being punished for his own sins. In suffering, God’s people ought to do some soul-searching and turn to the Lord, praying for His mercy/pardon/forgiveness. Jeremiah recalls his experience in prison, and how he called on the Lord for help. God listened to him then, so he calls on Him again to recompense his enemies.
Lam 4 A lament for the horrors of a besieged city.
“The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!” Gold lasts, pottery is temporary. Gold is precious, pottery is not.
Even mother whales give milk to their babies, yet women of God’s people have become as careless of their young as ostriches. Young children go hungry and thirsty in the besieged city. Those who used to eat all sorts of delicacies are now desolate. Those who used to dress so fine sit in poop. Sinful Sodom didn’t suffer this much, because it was destroyed quickly. The people of Jerusalem, who used to have every sign of health are now skin and bones. Those that were killed by the sword were better off than those dying of hunger, and women cook their own children to eat. No one would have believed that Jerusalem would be overrun so by its enemies.
The prophets and priests (who should be the epitome of Justice) shed the blood of just/good/righteous people. Thus the Lord caused that the conquering army gave the prophets and priests no special treatment (as they would be used to). People waited for help from another nation (Egypt) in vain. The conquerors hunt out and pursue those that flee to the mountains or wilderness, including the king (the Lord’s anointed), whom they thought would still be over them even in captivity.
Speaking ironically, Jeremiah invites Edom to be glad at Jerusalem’s destruction, because Edom will drink from the same cup and offer all she has to the conquerors. There will at last come an end to Zion’s punishment, and it will be Edom’s turn to be punished for her sins.
Lam 5 Jeremiah lists the things his people have suffered, and his belief in God, but ends on a sad note
Jeremiah tells the things his people have suffered, asking “Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach . . .” Strangers have taken their inheritances, the people are orphaned/fatherless (left without protectors/providers), their mothers widowed. Instead of gathering wood and bringing water from the well, they have to pay for both. They no longer have the benefits employees would, rather, they work like slaves. They’ve paid the Egyptians & Assyrians for help with the money that could have bought them food.
The people of Judah suffer for the wickedness of their fathers. Instead of being governed by people with the right to rule, they are ruled over by servants (of Nebuchadnezzar). No one is delivering them from their fate. They’ve suffered terrible famine. Their women, even young women, were raped. Princes were hanged by their hands. The elders/elderly were given no respect. Young men and children were set to work grinding grains and gathering wood (chores they would have thought beneath them). The elders no longer sit at the gates of the city (a sign of wealth/leisure and honor/importance), and the young men no longer party or dance to the music. All joy is ceased and turned to mourning. Instead of living like kings, they are full of woes, suffering because of their sins. Their hearts are faint, their eyes dim (vs bright with hope/energy/anticipation . . .) Their precious Zion is become a wilderness where foxes live. Jeremiah pleads,
19 Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?
21 Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
But then he laments, “thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth [angry] against us.”
Thus ends this set of Jeremiah's writing. It doesn't mean that it's the last he thought or wrote.
The Book of Habakkuk
“He spoke often of an imminent Babylonian invasion (Habakkuk 1:6; 2:1; 3:16), an event that occurred on a smaller scale in 605 BC before the total destruction of Judah’s capital city, Jerusalem, in 586 BC. The way Habakkuk described Judah indicates a low time in its history. If the dating is to remain close to the Babylonian invasion, Habakkuk likely prophesied in the first five years of Jehoiakim’s reign (609–598 BC) to a king who led his people into evil.” https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-minor-prophets/habakkuk
The book of Habakkuk has only 3 chapters. He bemoans the wickedness of his time, “Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” He speaks of the rise of the Chaldeans (Babylonians). While their king thinks his god has given him his power, Habakkuk says that God is using him as a form of correction for His people. He uses fishing metaphors to capture the attention of his hearers/readers. As far as God’s character/nature, he says, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?” In other words, though God is too pure to countenance evil, yet He postpones judgment/punishment (until the time is right). Habakkuk describes himself as a watchman on the tower. God tells him to write his vision, and when it is time, it’s truth will be revealed. The conqueror is greedy to expand his empire, but “Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!”
Highlights: “the just shall live by his faith,” and “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
The third chapter is a prayer/psalm, which some have thought indicates he could have been a Temple priest. (see reference cited above). In his psalm of praise Habakkuk refers to God’s hand in Israel’s history, especially in the Exodus. No matter what disasters occur, Habakkuk says, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”
The Book of Obadiah
The book of Obadiah is the shortest in the Old Testament, only 1 chapter. “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom . . .” The time is unreferenced, except that the Edomites thought to profit by the calamities befallen the Jewish nation. The Lord through Obadiah promises that Zion/the House of Jacob will one day be delivered and re-possess their lands, and the kingdom of Esau/Edom will be destroyed. The rule of the enemies of the Jews will be overturned. Holiness will return to the Jewish nation.
The Books of Micah & Joel
Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah. Joel’s lifetime is uncertain, and there are various opinions about when he lived, but his message sounds very much like Isaiah to me, and his mention of the scattering and gathering of Israel & Judah makes it seem likely that he lived in that time period. Joel’s name means “Yahweh/the Lord is God”. It is said that Joel was an accomplished writer, which indicates that he was an educated man, like Isaiah. (The Twelve Minor Prophets translated from Hebrew with commentary by Ebenezer Henderson, pp 90-91 https://archive.org/details/bookoftwelvemino1845hend )
Micah 1
The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
Micah directs his prophecy to everyone, all the world. The Lord God has His eye on what’s going on. When He comes to the earth the mountains will melt like wax and flow down like water. Though this chapter speaks about the sins of Israel & Judah, it’s a caution to everyone everywhere that God is powerful and knows what’s happening, implying that you can’t get away with wickedness.
Micah accuses the 2 capitals of Israel and Judah, Samaria & Jerusalem, for being idolatrous, and in the Lord’s name, prophesies the consequences: the destruction of them and their idols, people & places of idolatrous worship. Micah speaks of his mourning for the two nations, making wailing and mournful sounds like dragons & owls (literally jackals and ostriches, because their vocalizations sound sorrowful). The kingdom of Judah will be injured incurably as Assyria comes even to the gate of Jerusalem. About the mournful noise, see https://biblehub.com/commentaries/micah/1-8.htm
Micah names cities/towns in the Philistine plain, making wordplay of their names. Assyria would conquer towns all around Jerusalem, including these.
Gath—well-known Philistine city (from which Goliath came)
Aphrah—unknown city, meaning of the name is “house of dust”, symbol of destruction
Saphir—“fair”, a village in a mountainous area
Zaanan—“to go forth”, verbal word play on an unknown place
Beth-ezel—“adjoining house”, unknown place; see https://bibleatlas.org/beth-ezel.htm
Maroth—“bitterness”, or “grief”, not far from Jerusalem “mentioned in connection with the invasion of the Assyrian army” https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/maroth/
Lachish—an ancient Canaanite, then Israelite, city in the lowlands of Judea
Zion—can refer to the city of Jerusalem, or the land of Judah, or the whole nation of Israel. https://www.gotquestions.org/Zion.html
Moresheth-gath—“possession of Gath”, Micah’s home https://bibleatlas.org/moresheth-gath.htm
Achzib—“falsehood” or “disappointment”, one of 2 places see https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/achzib.html
Mareshah—“crest of a hill”, city of lowland Judah, fortified by Rehoboam to protect Jerusalem https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Mareshah
Adullam—“justice of the people”, https://www.biblestudy.org/meaning-names/adullam.html
Cutting of the hair would be another symbol of mourning.
Micah 2
1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
The picture is of a wealthy, powerful person making plans, even before getting up in the morning, finding ways to defraud others of their fields and homes, their inherited properties. Remember that in the Law of Moses (the Law of God given through Moses) family & tribal land inheritances were carefully protected and honored. The Lord promises to recompense them for their attitude & behavior. They will lament their situation when the Lord takes away what they have taken. They tell people (like Micah) not to prophesy against them, but how will that change what the Lord does? (In Amos we are told that the Lord always warns of what He will do ahead of time, yet people don’t want to hear that.)
An interesting, perhaps more understandable, reworking of this chapter is https://biblehub.com/bsb/micah/2.htm
Micah 3
Micah rhetorically asks the leaders of the House of Israel if they shouldn’t recognize what is right, then he uses some really graphic metaphors for those who “hate the good, and love the evil”—that is, they oppress the people. As a result, he says, the Lord will not hear their cries in their time of trouble.
He decries the (false) prophets that lead the people astray, calling for Peace, while warring against God. Those prophets will lose their vision, and their minds will be darkened. They will be embarrassed because God will not answer them.
Meanwhile, Micah says the Lord has empowered him to tell the transgressions of the House of Israel. He speaks to the leaders of that House “that abhor judgment, and pervert all [justice]”. The leaders, priests, teachers, and prophets work for bribes. Yet they then ironically boast that nothing bad can happen to them because the Lord is with them. Consequently, Zion/Jerusalem will be plowed under, heaped upon with disaster.
Micah 4—a positive promise for the future of the House of Israel
1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. [Jerusalem is built on hills, Judah is a hill country.]
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob [the Temple]; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 ¶ And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
6 In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth [stops or walks haltingly], and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted [that is, Zion/the House of Israel];
7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.
In that future time Israel will be ruled again from the strengthened Jerusalem. Right now Israel is in pain, but out of that pain (in Mesopotamia), Israel will be born again, redeemed/bought from her enemies. Right now Israel is being defiled by many nations. But they don’t know God’s plan: they will be like harvested grains threshed/thrashed in preparation for the mill/grinding. He continues that metaphor, comparing Israel/Jerusalem to an ox that would be used to trample the grain in order to separate the grain from the stalks (many people/nations of the earth).
Micah 5—promised future of the remnant of the House of Israel
Don’t be discouraged if this chapter is hard to understand. We aren’t living in those times, so some references will be obscure. It’s not always clear in this chapter who is the subject, who is the object of the prophecy. Ponder, pray for inspiration, get what you can from this chapter, and trust at some point it will all become clear—either in this life or the next. The following might be helpful:
https://biblehub.com/micah/5-1.htm
Though the then present Jerusalem must gather its troops for the siege, in future a ruler would come forth from Bethlehem (the birthplace of King David, thus this would be a descendant of his, a rightful heir of the kingdom). It seems as though God has given up on Israel until that time. As a woman suffers in birth, yet this rule will be the birth of the redeemed, the return of the children of Israel.
The timeframe of this prophecy was when Assyria was the great foe. Israel is promised that one day they will conquer invading Assyrians (now Iraq, and parts of Iran, Kuwait, Syria & Turkey), and other Gentile nations. These nations to this day wish to destroy/wipe out Israel. Though the children of Israel will be scattered among many nations, the Lord promises that one day their enemies’ instruments of and resources for war, as well as the soothsayers, idols, and groves (places where idols were worshipped) will be destroyed from those nations.
My favorite verses:
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. [NT reference to Jesus Christ]
4 ¶ And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Micah 6
The Lord calls for the earth to hear his complaint against Israel. He invites Israel to answer how He has mistreated them. He reminds them of His hand in the Exodus . . . Micah says, What good are sacrifices and burnt offerings, no matter how impressive? Here’s what the Lord wants:
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
The Lord speaks as the rod (punishment), and those that are wise will recognize His voice. The wicked still have abominations in their houses. No matter how small, they can’t be considered pure unless they are measured with corrupted scales. The rich get their riches through violence, and lies, and deceit.
So the Lord (the rod of punishment) will make you pay with being smitten, and the consequences of your sins will be desolation. You’ll find no satisfaction in your efforts, which the Lord will overthrow. You follow the follies of Omri and Ahab (two well-known wicked, idolatrous kings of Israel), and for that you will be destroyed and despised.
Micah 7—although Israel will suffer for its wickedness, yet someday God will pardon and bless
1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.
2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
You can hear the depths of Micah’s mourning! He feels like a man looking forward to the grape harvest and there is nothing there. There’s nobody good left. Everyone is watching for the chance to profit from the losses of even their own kin. They are into it with both hands. The Leaders and the Judges all expect bribes. The powerful says what he wants and it’s handed to him in gift-wrapping. Even the best of them is like a thorny-bush. But the day will come when they’ll have to pay the piper.
You can’t trust a friend or a mentor, nor your own wife. Sons defraud their fathers, daughters are against their mothers . . . “a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.”
Micah says the only one he can trust is God: “Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” Don’t gloat over me when I fall, because I’ll rise again: “when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.” I’ve made mistakes, and will bear God’s displeasure, until He comes to my help like a righteous judge. Then those who said, “Where is the Lord thy God?” (that is, Why isn’t this God you have so much faith in helping you?) will have their faces covered in mud. (Micah puts this in terms of a woman, so that one could wonder if his wife said such words to him. And the consequences are not merely to have mud in the face, but to be trampled into it). In the day of judgment, building plans will be vacated. The Assyrians will come and make the land desolate as a result of the wickedness of the people.
Despite the punishments, one day the Lord will miraculously save Israel as He did when He brought them out of bondage in Egypt. Nations will be amazed, left speechless and afraid. They will crawl like worms, slither away like snakes.
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
Joel 1—a vivid picture of the destruction of the land
Listen, old men. Neither you nor your fathers have seen anything like this. You’ll be telling it to your children, who will tell their children, and the story will be passed down another generation. Joel then describes the destruction of the land in vivid word pictures:
Like insects, what one destroyer leaves, another comes along to destroy. Partiers are left to weep for the loss of their wine. A nation like a fiercely toothed lion is come. The vineyards are made bare, the bark stripped from the fig tree. Mourn like a young widow. The priests mourn for the loss of their job (offering sacrifices in the Temple). The land mourns for the fields laid waste, the grain gone, the wine stores dried up, the [olive] oil gone. The farmers are ashamed of their poor wheat and barley harvest, the workers in the vineyards howl [for lack or work]. The grape vines are dried up, the fig trees weakened (or neglected), the pomegranate, the palm, the apple, and the rest are withered, “because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” It seems none have enthusiasm for their work/agriculture—perhaps it seems hopeless/worthless.
“Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord . . .” because the day of judgment has come. There’s no joy in Temple worship. Seeds rot in the fields, barns are empty and broken down because the grain is withered. The farm animals groan and are confused, the sheep are desolate [perhaps uncared for]. Fire has consumed the cultivated fields, all the orchards, and the unfenced pasturelands. The rivers are dried up.
Compare:
Joel 1:15 to Isa 13:6—the day of the Lord is at hand
Joel 2—three parts: utter destruction from an invading army; plea for repentance; God’s merciful deliverance and blessings if the people repent
Joel describes the terror of the imminent invasion: trumpets sound the alarm, everyone is trembling in fear. It’s a dark day when the powerful army comes, such as never was nor ever will be for generations. A place that was like the Garden of Eden will be scorched earth, a desolate wilderness. None will escape. Like the noise of an all-consuming fire, like horses and chariots on the mountain tops will they come. They’ll run like mighty warriors, climb the walls of the cities, march forward without breaking ranks. Like an army of tanks and trucks, the ground will quake at the coming of their armies. Smoke from the fires will darken the sun, moon, and stars. The Lord brings this army in judgment on the House of Israel for their sins.
But (the Lord through Micah pleads), turn to the Lord “with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your [clothes, as in a sign of distress or mourning], and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil [that is, will change your fate]. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; [bring] a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?” Blow a trumpet [poetic parallel, for the trumpet now is not in sounding the alarm for war, but . . . ] calling everyone to a fast, a solemn gathering, a sanctifying. Gather everyone, even the nursing baby and the bride & bridegroom (from their wedding or honeymoon). Let the priests weep and plead for the people: (Oh, God,) don’t give excuse for their enemies to reproach them with “Where is your God?”
Then the Lord will take pity on His people. He will prosper you. He will take away your embarrassments among the non-believers. He will drive away the invader/destroyer (in this case Assyria). You won’t have to fear, you’ll rejoice and be glad “for the Lord will do great things” for you. Domesticated animals and plants won’t have to fear destruction and neglect either. The Lord will send rain in season and moderation. The stores of food will be full and overflowing. The Lord will make up for the years of pestilence.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
28 ¶ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
Compare:
Joel 2:28 to Isa 32:15 & Isa 44:3—outpouring of God’s Spirit
Joel 2:28-32 is quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:17-21
Joel 3—promises for the return of the Jews, and their conquest of their enemies
When the Lord brings the Jews back from captivity there is to be a showdown in the valley of Jehoshaphat (next to Jerusalem; see https://bibleatlas.org/valley_of_jehoshaphat.htm ). They had scattered the House of Israel among the nations. They had sold the boys into prostitution (note verse 6 mention of Grecians), and sold the girls for the price of wine. The Lord calls out Tyre & Sidon, and all the neighbors of Palestine for pillaging the gold & silver from Judah to adorn the temples of their idols. The Lord promises to return their actions upon their own heads. The Jews will sell their children to the Sabeans afar off. They are called to war, such that they remake their tools of agriculture into tools of warfare. They must prepare their psyches for war. Poetically, war is likened to a harvest. The valley becomes the valley of decision (who will come off victorious). It appears the fires of war will darken the skies, blotting out the sun, moon, and stars. The Lord will roar from Zion/Jerusalem, shake the heavens & earth, and give hope and strength to His people, the children of Israel. Then Israel will know the Lord dwells/abides with them in Zion, His holy mountain. Jerusalem will then be holy, without foreigners.
About the Sabeans, see
https://biblehub.com/topical/s/sabeans.htm
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12969-sabeans
The mountains are spoken of as dropping down new wine, indicating vineyards, and the hills flowing with milk, indicating lactating herds. A fountain/stream will water a dry wadi from the Temple mount. Egypt and Edom will be desolate for their “violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.” Judah & Jerusalem will abide from generation to generation, and the Lord will cleanse them [possibly cleansing their blood means they will become pure-blooded, vs mixed race . . . as Moses had commanded the people not to marry with non-believers, idol worshippers of the time, who would turn their hearts away from God].
Various ideas about “the valley of Shittim”:
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/joel/3-18.htm
https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13593-shittim
Compare:
Joel 3:10 to Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3—plowshares to swords vs swords to plowshares
Joel 3:15 to Amos 5:18, 20 and Isa 13:10—the day of the Lord will be dark (also Joel 2:2, 10, 31)
Joel 3:16 to Amos 1:2—the Lord will roar
Joel 3:18 to Amos 9:13—mountains dripping with wine
Hezekiah–king of Judah
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The story of Hezekiah is told in
2 Kings 18-20
2 Chron 29-32
Isa 36-39
Hosea 1:1 served God as prophet during the reigns of Uzziah/Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah
Isaiah 1:1 served God as prophet during the reigns of Uzziah/Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah
Micah 1:1 served God as prophet during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, & Hezekiah
2 Kings 18—Hezekiah becomes king of Judah
1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did. [That is, he was faithful to God, didn’t fall for or bow to other gods.]
4 ¶ He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. [1 Chron 31:1 says the people cut down the groves etc; it may be that they did so under the direction of Hezekiah, for surely he didn’t personally do it all.]
5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
6 For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.
7 And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.
8 He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
2 Chron 29—right away Hezekiah begins to turn his people back to God
Hezekiah began in the 1st year of his reign to repair the Temple and to reinstitute Temple worship, the consecration & duties of the Temple priests and Levites, and to get his people back on track following the Law of Moses. He organized the priesthood as set up by King David (see 2 Chron 31). Remember that the Assyrian Empire is threatening to conquer the entire Middle East. Hezekiah’s own father, as well as the Israelite king, had invited Assyria’s meddling in their disputes.
2 Chron 29:11 Hezekiah to the priests & Levites
“My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him . . .”
2 Kings 18:9-12—Shalmaneser king of Assyria conquers & takes Israel captive
In the 4th year of Hezekiah’s reign, the 7th year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria comes and besieges Samaria, and after 3 years conquers it. He carries the 10 Tribes of Israel from the northern kingdom of Israel away captive.
2 Chron 30--Hezekiah sends out an invitation to all the Israelites that are left to come celebrate Passover in Jerusalem
6 So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.
7 And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see.
8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.
9 For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.
Many of the Israelites just laugh at Hezekiah, but then many others come from among Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun. “Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord. And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. And they arose and took away the altars [to other gods] that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense [for other gods] took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron.”
Many of the Israelites were not ritually clean for the Passover, “But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one [that] prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the Lord [a God of Mercy] hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord.” Hezekiah praises the Levites for teaching “the good knowledge of the Lord.”
This Passover celebration comes at no small cost to king Hezekiah and his princes: Hezekiah donates 1000 bulls & 7000 sheep, and his princes donate 1000 bulls & 10,000 sheep. It’s such a great event that the people keep the feast for another 7 days “with gladness.” “So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem.” The priests pronounce a blessing on the people, “and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.”
2 Chron 31—the people are turned to God, Hezekiah is blessed
The people are so inspired by this amazing Passover, and probably with the encouragement of Hezekiah, that “all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.” The people abundantly support the priests with their offerings, as set forth in the Law of Moses. The priestly genealogies are updated and they sanctify themselves.
20 ¶ And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God.
21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
2 Kings 18, 2 Chron 32, Isaiah 36—Sennacherib King of Assyria attacks Judah, even to the walls of Jerusalem
2 Kings 18—14th year of Hezekiah Sennacherib king of Assyria conquers much of Judah (Isa 36:1)
13 ¶ Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
14 And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
15 And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house.
16 At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
2 Chron 32—Hezekiah decides, with his princes & mighty men, to put up a defense vs Assyria
(see also 2 Kings 18 and Isaiah 36)
Sennacherib has camped against the fenced cities of Judah, “and thought to win them for himself.” Apparently he is successful. But when Hezekiah sees he proposes to take Jerusalem as well, Hezekiah consults with his princes and military, and they decide to put up a fight. The princes & military throw their support behind Hezekiah as he stops the fountains/brooks outside the city so that the opposing army would have no water (mention of bringing the water into the city via a conduit 2 Kings 20:20). He repairs and strengthens the city walls and towers. He builds up his arsenal of darts and shields. He gathers the people inside the city walls and organizes them under captains. He encourages his people:
7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:
8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
The Assyrian king is busy fighting against Lachish, and sends two top military leaders with a huge army against Jerusalem. An ambassage come out to meet the Assyrian leaders. The Assyrians say, What does Hezekiah think he’s doing, to rebel against Assyria? Does he think he can rely on an alliance with Egypt? Egypt is like a broken reed. Does he try to convince you to trust in your God? He’s destroyed all the places of worship but in Jerusalem (obviously the Assyrians don’t recognize any difference between the idolatrous gods and the God of Israel). Have any of the other nations’ gods saved them?
“Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews’ language in the ears of the people that are on the wall” 2 Kings 18:26. But that's exactly the Assyrian plan, “they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city” 2 Chron 32:18. And the Assyrians continue insulting God and telling the people not to trust that Hezekiah can deliver them from defeat, nor the depths of starvation, being reduce to eating their own dung and drinking their own piss. They offer the people a deal: if they’ll agree to Assyrian terms they can go to their own properties, eat their own grapes & figs, drink from their own cisterns of water—that is, until they are carried away captive to another land, not unlike their own, with plenty of bread and wine, olives and honey. The people make no answer to the Assyrians, as Hezekiah has commanded, but the ambassage comes back to report to Hezekiah, their clothes rent/torn with extremely troubled hearts.
2 Kings 19:1 & Isa 37:1 “And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.”
Hezekiah sends his ambassage in sackcloth & ashes to the prophet Isaiah. Maybe God will hear the reproaches of the Assyrian king and come to our aid, he hopes.
2 Chron 32:20 “And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.”
2 Kings 19 (Isa 37:6-7)
6 ¶ And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
With others wars going on, the Assyrian military or leaders go to help their ruler. It seems like they return after that, and in a letter they reaffirm that no other gods have saved their people from Assyrian might. Hezekiah spreads the letter before the Lord in the Temple, praying for help. “O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.” Isaiah sends a reply from the Lord to Hezekiah, answering the king of Assyria, “The virgin the daughter of Zion [that is, the kingdom of Judah—under which, once again, all that’s left of the House of Israel are ruled] hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee . . . Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel . . . Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, [images of cattle and horses, subservient to others] and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.”
A sign is given that the people would eat of volunteer crops 2 years, and the third they would plant and reap their own foods. God makes a promise, “Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.” That night God sends an angel to destroy the Assyrian army—185,000 die. Sennacherib returns to Ninevah. As he’s worshipping in the temple of his god, 2 of his sons kill him and flee, his other son inherits the Empire.
2 Chron 32
22 Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.
23 And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. [People love a winner, and it appears that Hezekiah has saved them all from Assyria's rule.]
2 Kings 20 (2 Chron 32:24, Isa 38:1-6)—Hezekiah’s sickness, promised 15 more years
Assyria assails the kingdom of Judah in Hezekiah’s 14th year. Hezekiah’s reign is 29 years. So if he’s promised to live 15 more years, apparently this critical illness (a horrible boil) occurs during the Assyrian siege.
1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,
3 I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.
6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
Hezekiah’s mourning in his sickness is written in Isa 38:9-20.
Hezekiah asks for a sign, and Isaiah asks, Do you want the shadow of the sun to go forward 10 degrees, or backward? Hezekiah chooses the latter, Isaiah prays that it be so, and it was so. (Interesting note, it was shown on the sundial of the previous king, Hezekiah’s father, Ahaz). The king of Babylon sends letters and a gift to Hezekiah, on hearing that he is returned to health (2 Kings 20:12, Isaiah 39:1), which will become a snare to him.
2 Chron 32 (2 Kings 20:12-19, Isaiah 39:1-8)—Hezekiah foolishly shows off
27 ¶ And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels;
28 Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.
29 Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much.
30 This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. [Remember, he lived 15 years after his sickness, he's been plied with gifts from other nations, and possibly it was after the Assyrian war that he was victorious over Philistine cities, 2 Kings 18:8]
Ambassadors from Babylon come to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery, and he gets carried away with showing off all he has. He shows them everything. Isaiah asks Hezekiah who the men were and what they had to say. Hezekiah answers him, to which Isaiah asks what he showed them. Hezekiah says, Everything! Isaiah rebukes him for his foolishness and tells him that as a consequence all he has, including what he has inherited from his fathers/ancestors, will be carried away to Babylon. His heirs will be taken away to serve as eunuchs in the palace of Babylon, cutting off his lineage as successors to his crown. Since he can’t do anything about it now, Hezekiah seems to take the pronouncement rather philosophically. “Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.” Isa 39:8
2 Chron 32:32-33, Kings 20:20-21—death of Hezekiah
(2 Kings 20:20 mentions the conduit & pool to bring water into the city)
32 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes—surely the words of Solomon when he was a disillusioned old man, and yet there is still wisdom and realism in his teachings. And in the end, we can profit from his final conclusion (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
Eccl 1:1 “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.”
All is Vanity
What does anything we do matter? Humans come and go, but the earth endures forever. The Sun rises & sets, the wind blows in its course, the rivers run into the sea which is never full.
Everything requires work, and the senses are never satisfied.
Everything’s been done before, there’s nothing new. Nothing you do is ever remembered.
I was King over Israel and I set myself to learn everything through Wisdom. God has given that work to us. But I have seen all that’s done, and everything is useless and vexing. You can’t really solve any problems. I’ve become a great man, more wise and knowledgeable than any before me. I set myself to know what’s wise and what’s foolish, and it’s all vexing and full of grief. The more you know, the more sorrow it brings.
Eccl 2
So I set myself to just enjoy pleasure. But that’s also meaningless. I thought I could learn what pursuits are worthwhile for mankind. I built great buildings and gardens. I had great possessions, more than any before me in Jerusalem. I was wealthy. I could have whatever I wanted. But it was all meaningless.
I turned to discern wisdom from folly & madness. I saw that wisdom was better as light is better than darkness. A wise man is enlightened, while a fool walks in the dark. And yet the same things happen to them both. No one remembers a wise man any more than a fool. I hated life, because it was all vexing and worthless. Whatever I could accomplish would be left to those after me, and who knows whether they’ll be wise or fools. I despaired of all I had done. God gives us our lot in life, and He knows best. What can a person do? “God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Eccl 3 " To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven . . . “ one of the great solaces of life: that you don’t have to take everything on at once, and when times are tough, remember ‘this too shall pass’.
Eccl 4
Then I set myself to understand the oppressions and sorrows of life. It seemed like it was better to be dead for all the evils of life. Whatever a person accomplishes, just brings the envy of others.
Those who are alone, without family, work for no purpose. Two can work as a team and support one another, keep one another warm at night [a reason for marriage and family].
But in life, people of the lowest estate rise, and those of the highest fall. The earth is full of people, and they die unremembered. It’s all meaningless.
A gem from Eccl 4:
“Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.”
Eccl 5
When you go to the house of God, be ready to listen.
Don’t speak or judge rashly. Use few words.
When you promise something to God, be sure to carry through with it.
If you see injustice and oppression don’t be surprised. God is above all, and knows. Everyone, even the king, is dependent on agriculture [implying all depend on God for the conditions suitable for life]. No one is ever satisfied with their wealth, it’s never enough. And the more wealth, the more people to feed. For a laborer, sleep is sweet. A rich man never sleeps in peace. His heirs squander it. We come into life with nothing, and leave it with nothing. Better to use one’s wealth for the good of others, and to enjoy the wealth God has given.
Eccl 6
It’s common that though God give a person riches, another ends up enjoying them. A person may have lots of children, and live a long life, yet in the end “What hath the wise more than the fool?” Who knows what comes next?
Eccl 7
Gem: “A good name is better than precious ointment”
It’s better to be sorrowful than full of laughter, for we all end up in mourning. We learn wisdom from what we suffer. Patience is better than pride. It’s foolish to be quick to anger. Both wisdom and money are defenses, but whatever God causes, no one can make it different. Enjoy prosperity, but when adversity comes, consider that it is also from God. I have seen a good man in troubles, and a wicked man living long in wickedness. Don’t be extreme in your own righteousness and wisdom, nor in wickedness and foolishness [be moderate]. Be wise, none of us are perfect. Be careful what you say, your servants know what you really are.
I said I would be wise, but found that I was far from it. I set myself to know wisdom and foolishness. I found that a conniving woman can cause more bitterness than death. God is pleased with those that escaper her wiles.
Eccl 8
A wise man’s face shines (his wisdom/goodness shows in in countenance). He keeps the king’s commandment, as he has vowed before God to do. Don’t be quick to work wickedness behind the king's back. There’s no questioning the king. Obedience to the king protects you from evil. A wise man understands both timing and judgment.
Mankind is miserable because he doesn’t know the future. None have power over death. Wickedness can’t cheat death.
I have sought to understand everything done under the sun, and I’ve seen that sometimes a person can hurt himself by ruling another. I’ve seen wicked men buried and their wickedness forgotten. I’ve seen that the consequences of wickedness are not always quickly recompensed, so people think they can get away with whatever. Yet no matter how long a person gets away with evil, God knows and respects those that fear Him.
Good people suffer as if they were wicked, and wicked people seem to be blessed as if they were good. I said, That’s meaningless! So I figured you might as well eat, drink, and be merry and enjoy whatever life God gives you. When I tried to understand it all, I found that nobody can understand God’s decisions and doings.
Eccl 9
I came to believe, and to speak this: the Righteous and the Wise are in the hands of God. Everyone is subject to the same things in life, no matter their choices. (Jesus said that God makes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust.) The hearts of mankind are full of evil all their lives.
As long as you are living, there is hope. Even a living dog is better than a dead lion. Once dead, a person and his passions are forgotten. So go and enjoy life, for God accepts what you do. Live a clean life. “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life . . .” Whatever you do in life, put real effort into it. And yet I saw “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” Just like fish caught in the net, birds caught in a snare, people can be caught in bad times/situations.
14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Eccl 10
Verses 1-3 contrast the wise and the foolish.
If a ruler turns against you, don’t walk out of your position, yield & make peace with him. Rulers can promulgate errors, may give dignity to the foolish, elevate the low and humiliate princes. But those who dig a pit for others will fall into it. Wisdom is like using a sharp tool to get things done, instead of a dull one.
Verses 11-15 continue to contrast the wise and the foolish.
“Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child . . . Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!”
Through laziness a building decays.
A feast and drinking brings laughter and merriment, but having money takes care of everything. [Don’t neglect your business.]
Don’t curse the king or the rich, because word gets to them eventually.
Eccl 11
“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” In other words, put what you have out there, and it will come back to you increased.
Share what you have, because you don’t know what the future holds. If you are too afraid of conditions, you won’t accomplish anything [won’t reap because you haven’t sown]. You don’t know any more about God’s works [intents & purposes], than the mystery of life beginning in the womb. Do the best you can to succeed. Though you live many years in the pleasant light of the sun, eventually there will be dark days. Enjoy your youth, yet know that God will judge you. Childhood and youth are full of vanity [worthless foibles and pursuits].
Eccl 12
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth . . . [before dark days come] . . . Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it [then life is over]. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.“ Though life seems meaningless, because the preacher, King Solomon, was wise, he still taught the people. He sought and gathered and organized many proverbs. He sought for words of truth. The words of the wise can goad people into doing what’s right.
My son, learn this: there’s no end to the writing of books, and constant study can make you weary. “ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” It might not happen in this life, but all will put right in the end.
Proverbs
The introduction, Proverbs 1:1, says that these are the Proverbs of Solomon. Yet my latest reaction was that they sound more like David (having learned something of life, some perhaps through sad experience, some perhaps through seeing the follies of others) teaching his son Solomon . . . the instruction about relationships with women, in particular. David, of course, also had several wives, at least some were political marriages. But Solomon had a lot of wives, many of them no doubt political, and they became his downfall in respect to God, at the end. Of course these Proverbs may have been written early in his reign when he was more wise than at the end. Ecclesiastes sounds more like the older man/King Solomon.
Intro to the Proverb--their Purpose: Proverbs 1:1-6
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
Interesting to note:
Prov 25:1 "These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out."
Prov 30 (verse 1) "The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal"
Prov 31 (verse 1) "The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him."
Commentaries about Lemuel at https://biblehub.com/commentaries/proverbs/31-1.htm
Jesus obviously knew the Proverbs well, and referenced them, such as Prov 25:7 "For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen."
Following is an incomplete categorization of the Proverbs.
Proverbs about wisdom/knowledge
Proverbs 1:7-9, 20-33
Proverbs 2:1-11
Proverbs 3:13-24, 35
Proverbs 4:5-13
Proverbs 5:1-2
Proverbs 7:4-5
Proverbs 9:1-12
Proverbs 10:1, 5, 8, 13-14, 19, 23, 31
Proverbs 11:2, 9, 12, 14-15, 29-30
Proverbs 12:1, 8, 15-16, 23
Proverbs 13:1, 7-8, 10, 15-16, 18, 20, 23
Proverbs 14:1, 3, 6-9, 15-18, 24, 33, 35
Proverbs 15:2, 5, 7, 12, 14, 20-22, 24, 31-33
Proverbs 16:14, 16, 20-23
Proverbs 17:2, 10, 24, 27-28
Proverbs 18:1, 4, 15
Proverbs 19:2, 8, 20-21, 25, 27
Proverbs 20:5, 15, 18, 26
Proverbs 21:11-12, 20, 22, 30
Proverbs 22:3, 17-21
Proverbs 23:12, 15, 19, 23-24
Proverbs 24:3-7, 13-14, 23
Proverbs 27:11-12
Proverbs 28:2, 5, 7, 26
Proverbs 29:3, 8
Proverbs 30:2-4, 18-19, 24-28
Proverbs about sin/corruption
Proverbs 1:10-19
Proverbs 2:12-19, 22 (both men & women will lead one astray)
Proverbs 4:14-17, 19
Proverbs 5:3-14, 20-23 be wary of a wicked woman
Proverbs 6:6-19, 24-35 laziness, frowardness, 7 abominations, whorish woman, adultery
Proverbs 7:6-27 dangers of a wanton woman
Proverbs 9:13-18 foolish wanton woman
Proverbs 10:1-32 contrasting righteous/wicked, wise/foolish
Proverbs 11:7, 22
Proverbs 11 (much of the chapter contrasting the consequences of the righteous & unrighteous)
Proverbs 12 (contrasting the righteous/wise to the wicked/foolish)
Proverbs 13 continues as above
Proverbs 14 continues the same
Proverbs 15 ditto
Proverbs 16 similarly...
Proverbs 16:27-30 froward, violent, divisive
Proverbs 17:4-5, 11, 13, 15, 20, 23, 26
Proverbs 18:3, 5, 12
Proverbs 19:2, 5, 9, 28-29
Proverbs 20:10, 21, 23, 25
Proverbs 21:4, 6-8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 24, 26-29
Proverbs 22:5, 8, 10, 14, 16, 22-25
Proverbs 23:6-8, 17, 26-28, 33
Proverbs 24:1-2, 8-9, 15, 24
Proverbs 25:18
Proverbs 26:23-28
Proverbs 28:1, 17-19
Proverbs 29:5-7, 10, 16
Proverbs 30:20
Proverbs about human nature
Prov 17:16-17
Prov 18:23
Prov 19:4, 6-7
Prov 20:6, 9, 11, 14, 17, 19, 24, 29
Prov 21:2
Prov 27:1-8, 20-21
Prov 28:11-14
Prov 29:1, 19-27
Prov 30:10-16, 21-23
Prov 30:32-33
Proverbs about fools, being lazy, pleasure seeking, drunkenness, greed, materialism
Prov 17:7, 10, 12, 16, 18, 21, 24-25, 28 fools
Prov 18:2, 6-7, 13 fools
Prov 18:9 laziness
Prov 19:1, 3, 10, 29 fools
Prov 19:15, 24 laziness
Prov 20:1 drunkenness
Prov 20:3 fools
Prov 20:4, 13 laziness
Prov 21:17, 20, 25 laziness, pleasure seeking, fools
Prov 22:13 laziness
Prov 23:1-5 pleasure/riches seeking
Prov 23:9 fools
Prov 23:20-21, 29-35 pleasure seeking, drunkenness
Prov 24:30-34
Prov 26:1-12 fools, 13-16 slothful
Prov 27:3, 22
Prov 28:20, 22
Prov 29:9, 11
Proverbs about Righteousness
Proverbs 2:20-21Walk in good & righteous paths
Proverbs 3:1-12 Keep commandments, Trust in the Lord and honor Him (even with substance)
Proverbs 3:25-34 Treat others right; benefits to those who do right
Proverbs 4:1-4, 20-27 Don't forget the instruction of a wise/caring parent
Proverbs 5:15-19 be faithful to the wife of your youth (Perhaps Solomon had a wife of his youth before the Egyptian princess &
further entanglements with women; perhaps he had learned some of his wisdom the hard way)
Proverbs 6:1-5, 20-23 be careful of financial entanglements, remember parents' teachings
Proverbs 7:1-3 remember parent's instructions/warnings
Proverbs 10:1-32 contrasting righteous/wicked, wise/foolish
Proverbs 11 (much of the chapter contrasting the consequences of the righteous & unrighteous)
Proverbs 12 (contrasting the righteous/wise to the wicked/foolish)
Proverbs 13 continues as above
Proverbs 14 continues the same
Proverbs 15 ditto
Proverbs 16 similarly...
Proverbs 17:7 honesty
Proverbs 18:10, 12, 20, 22
Proverbs 19:1, 16-17, 23
Proverbs 20:7, 22
Proverbs 20:30 Justice
Proverbs 21:3, 5, 8, 15, 21, 26
Proverbs 22:1 reputation
Proverbs 22:4, 9, 11, 19, 28-29
Proverbs 23:10-11, 16-18
Proverbs 24:16-22, 27-29
Proverbs 25:16, 26-28
Proverbs 27:23-27
Proverbs 28:1, 17-19
Proverbs 29:5-7, 10
Proverbs 30:5-9
Prov 31:10-31 a virtuous woman
Proverbs about home/family/parenting
Prov 17:1-2, 6, 21, 25
Prov 19:13-14, 18, 26
Prov 20:20
Prov 21:9, 19
Prov 22:6, 15
Prov 23:13-14, 22-26
Prov 25:24
Prov 28:7, 24
Prov 29:3, 15, 17
Prov 30:11, 17, 23
Prov 31:10-31 a virtuous woman
Proverbs about social interactions
Prov 17:1, 8, 9, 14, 17, 19, 22, 27, 28
Prov 18:8, 16-19, 21, 23-24
Prov 19:4, 6-7, 11-12, 19, 22
Prov 20:2-3, 16, 19
Prov 21:14, 23
Prov 24:24-26
Prov 25:8-25
Prov 26:17-22
Prov 27:5-10, 14-19
Prov 28:3-10, 21-28
Prov 30:32-33
Proverbs about the nature of God
Prov 17:3, 15
Prov 20:12, 24, 27
Prov 21:2, 12, 31
Prov 22:2, 12, 22-23
Prov 23:10-11
Prov 24:11-12, 17-18
Prov 25:2, 21-22
Prov 29:13
Prov 30:5
Proverbs referencing rulers
Prov 17:7
Prov 19:6, 12
Prov 20:2, 8, 26, 28
Prov 21:1
Prov 22:11
Prov 25:2-7, 15
Prov 28:2, 15-16
Prov 29:2, 4, 12, 14
Prov 30:29-
Prov 31:3-9
Misc Proverbs
Prov 18:11, 14 strength
Prov 24:10 strength
Prov 22:7, 26-27 finances
What are the main themes of Proverbs?
Wisdom vs Foolishness
Righteousness: obeys commandments/heeds parents, does good to others, is honest/truthful, works hard, speaks wisely/kindly, a virtuous woman, humility, merciful, compassionate, prudent, uplifts others, faithful/loyal, a peacemaker
Wickedness: tempts others to evil, deceitful/lying, takes advantage or ill treats others, angry/quick-tempered, an adulterous/enticing/seductive woman, seeks the fall/riches of others by entrapment/corruption/misuse of power, pride, cruel, premeditated evil, lazy/pleasure seeking/drunken, a scorner, envious, oppressive, causes shame on self/parents/nation, stirs up trouble, greedy
Consequences of choices
God takes care of the righteous, the poor & the oppressed
Some additional highlights:
Prov 13:12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Prov 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Prov 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Prov 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
Prov 15:8-9 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
Prov 15:11 Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men? (God knows all)
Prov 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Prov 15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
Prov 15:23 A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
Prov 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
Prov 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Prov 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. (luck/chance happen, by God's will)
Prov 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
Prov 17:5 Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
Prov 17:10 A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
Prov 17:15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.
Prov 17:17 A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Prov 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Prov 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue
Prov 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Prov 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Prov 20:3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
Prov 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Prov 21:30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.
Prov 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches
Prov 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.
Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Prov 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he
Prov 24:1 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
Prov 24:3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established
Prov 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth
Prov 24:28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
Prov 24:29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The Book of Psalms
An excellent choice for daily devotionals, the Book of Psalms has nearly enough for a half a year (note that Psalm 119 has 22 parts), and one could read them over and over. Rather than comment about each one by one, I have organized them below, with some helpful explanations. Not all the psalms were written by King David: some were written by others and some have no specified author.
Psalms specific to events in David's life:
59 Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.
52 A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite told Saul, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.
56 Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.
34 A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed
"The title says Abimelech rather than Achish because Abimelech was the traditional dynastic name title for Philistine
kings (see Genesis 20, 21:22-34 and 26)."
see https://jaymack.net/ay-david-pretended-to-be-insane-before-abimelech-psalm-34-1-22/
54 A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?
57 Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
142 Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.
63 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
18 A Psalm of David . . . that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul
30 A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David
51 A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
60 After battles with Mesopotamians & their allies, when Joab returned, and smote 12,000 of Edom in the valley of salt
3 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son
72, 127 For Solomon, David's successor as King of Israel
General Psalms
17, 86 Prayers of David
145 David’s Psalm of praise.
38, 70 Psalms of David, to bring to remembrance
15, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 35, 37, 101, 103, 108, 110, 138, 141, 143, 144 simply labeled "A Psalm of David"
11, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 31, 36, 40, 41, 64, 65, 68, 109, 139 "to the Chief Musician", no doubt for setting to music
Author not specified
1, 2, 10, 33, 43, 66, 71, 91, 93-99, 104-107, 111-118, 135-137, 146-150
92 (for the Sabbath), 100 (of praise), 102 (prayer of the afflicted)
Labeled as "Songs of Degrees", perhaps sung while traveling
see https://biblehub.com/topical/s/songs_of_degrees.htm
120-134 (attributed to David: 122, 124, 131, 133; for Solomon 127)
Psalm 119--verses written by the Hebrew alphabet
for more info, scroll to the bottom of https://biblehub.com/psalms/119.htm
Other people mentioned in the labels
--Jeduthun: music master under King David, Psalms 39, 62, 77
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/jeduthun/
--Korah was a Levite, cousin of Moses, the "sons of Korah" would be his descendants;
Psalms 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87, 88
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korahites
--Asaph was a Levite, leader of King David's choir; Psalms 50, 73-83
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/asaph/
--Heman the Ezrahite, a sage of the time, https://jewish_bio.en-academic.com/1303/Heman_the_Ezrahite Psalm 88
--Ethan the Ezrahite, a wise man https://bibleportal.com/articles/who-was-ethan-the-ezrahite-in-the-bible Psalm 89
--Moses the man of God wrote a prayer, Psalm 90 . . . someone must have kept it over all those years, as well as other songs of Moses & his sister Miriam recorded in Exodus 15 & Deuteronomy 32 (Deut 31:30 labels it)
Other terms in the labels of the Psalms have to do with the instruments, purposes, and tunes
--Neginoth: Psalms 4, 6, 54, 55, 61 (Neginah singular), 67, 76 Neginoth=songs accompanied by stringed instruments;
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/neginoth/
-- Nehiloth: Psalm 5 songs accompanied by flutes/wind instruments;
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/nehiloth/
--Higgaion: Psalm 7 Shiggaion, an ode; https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/shiggaion/
only mention of Cush the Benjaminite;
see https://ebible.com/questions/20306-who-was-cush-and-what-had-he-done-to-david-psalm-7-title
--Gittith: Psalms 8, 81, 84 a stringed instrument, perhaps a harp;
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/gittith/
--Muth-labben: Psalm 9 unknown reference;
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/muth-labben/
-- Sheminith: Psalm 12 possibly a certain type of air;
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sheminith/
--Michtam: Psalms 16, 56, 57, 60 possibly "precious",
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/michtam/
--Aijeleth Shahar: Psalm 22 alluding to the dawn, perhaps referring to the style, a particular instrument, or other
allusion; see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/aijeleth-shahar/
--Maschil: Psalms 32, 42, 44, 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 74, 78, 88, 89, 142 a wisdom/instructive song
--Mahalath: Psalm 53 perhaps to be played on a lute or lyre;
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/mahalath/
--Jonath-elem-rechokim: Psalm 56, perhaps a well known tune;
see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/jonath-elem-rechokim/
--Al-taschith: Psalms 57-59, 75 see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/al-tas
--Shoshannim: Psalms 45, 69, 80 see https://biblehub.com/topical/s/shoshannim.htm
and https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7802.htm title of a popular song
--Alamoth: Psalm 46 to be sung by sopranos; see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/alamoth/
--Mahalath Leannoth: Psalm 88 see https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/mahalath-leannoth-maschil/
David–part 4, King of the nation of Israel
David—part 4, Kingship
2 Sam 9-19
2 Sam 9—David honors Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth
David asks if there isn’t a descendant of the deceased King Saul, “that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” A servant of Saul’s household, Ziba, is found brought to King David. He affirms that Jonathan had a son Mephibosheth, who was lame. “He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.” 2 Sam 4:4 Mephobosheth also has a young son, Micha.
David sends for Mephibosheth, restores all Saul’s lands to him, and invites him to eat at the king’s table continually, like a son of the king. David gives Ziba (who has 15 sons and 20 servants, so he is no slouch) stewardship over Mephibosheth’s lands.
2 Sam 10—the heir to an Ammonite king disrespects David’s kindly meant messengers, and rues it; see also 1 Chron 19
The king of the Ammonites dies, who had shown kindness to David, so David sends ambassadors of good will. But the princes to the new king convince him that the ambassadors are spies David has sent with the intention of overthrowing the city. The new king has their beards half shaved off and their clothes cut as high as their buttocks.
David sends General Joab against the city, and their Syrian allies. Joab splits his force between the Ammonites and the Syrians, with his brother over the choice men of Israel against the Syrians, while he leads the rest against the Ammonites. If either is having a hard go of it, the other is to come to the aid. He encourages his brother thus, “Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.” First the Syrians flee, then the Ammonites. Joab returns to Jerusalem.
But the Syrians gather more forces from the other side of the Jordan River to menace Israel. So King David gathers the men of all Israel and goes against them. David’s forces kill 700 charioteers, 40,000 horsemen (cavalry?), and the captain of their forces. The Syrians sue for peace, agree to be tributaries, and are dissuaded from helping the Ammonites anymore.
2 Sam 11—David & Bathsheba, death of Uriah by order of the King
The battle season has begun, and King David sends General Joab against an Ammonite city. David’s still hanging about in Jerusalem “at the time when kings go forth to battle.” One evening/night David gets up from bed, is walking along his roof, and sees a beautiful woman washing herself after her monthly “uncleanness”.
Now what she is doing washing herself in sight of the king’s house is a curiosity. Did he see her through her window? It seems like she would have covered the window. But surely she wouldn’t know that David would be wandering about on the roof at that time (or was it a habit he had?). It’s hard to say if she had any culpability.
David asks about her and sends for her. It’s not like he doesn’t have plenty of wives and concubines so he ought to have resisted temptation. Or maybe it’s because he has been used to having plenty of women at his disposal that makes him susceptible to temptation. Yet I think it unlikely he would have forced her against her will. He impregnates her and she goes back home. Later she sends word to David that she is pregnant. David tries to hide his fault, and sends for her husband, Uriah the Hittite. This must be at least 2-3 months later (or did she know/pretend to know sooner?), and David is still in town while General Joab is leading the siege at the front lines of the war.
David asks Uriah, “How goes the war?” Then he tells him to spend the night with his wife before going back. Not many would refuse such an offer, one would think especially if married to a beauty like Bathsheba. The whole story makes one wonder about the relationship between Bathsheba and her husband. Uriah leaves King David, and the king sends a pile of food after him. But Uriah sleeps at the king’s door with David’s other servants. Is he, being a Hittite, extra anxious to show his loyalty?
When David hears that Uriah didn’t go home, he asks him, “Why not?” Uriah says, “The Ark [of the Covenant], and all the army are camped in tents in the field. How can I go home and eat, drink, and lie with my wife? I won’t do it.” David says, “Well, stay here today, too, and you can leave tomorrow.” David feasts him and makes sure he gets drunk (if the king proposes a toast, how can anyone fail to drink to it?) But again, Uriah doesn’t go home.
Now David is really embarrassed/concerned about the scandal. He sends a sealed letter by way of Uriah to General Joab, “Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.” He knows Uriah would not dare break the seal. How outrageous to send such a letter by the very man it condemns! David has had his head turned by the politics of power, and what kings could and did get away with.
General Joab accommodates King David’s request, and Uriah is killed. Joab sends word about the war, and tells the messengers that if the king gets angry about the loss of life from the near approach to the city, mention that Uriah the Hittite also died. (Mention is made of the previous example of Abimelech being killed when a woman threw a millstone down on him from the city wall).
David replies to Joab (via the messengers) not to worry about it, “Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.”
Bathsheba mourns appropriately for her husband’s death, then David marries her, and a son is born. But God is not happy with such behavior.
2 Sam 12—Nathan the prophet confronts King David, Bathsheba’s son dies, but Solomon is born to her
God sends Nathan the prophet to King David (note David named one of his sons Nathan, perhaps in honor of this man). Nathan tells David a story about 2 men, one rich, one poor. The rich guy has a lot of animals, but the poor man only one little ewe (female) lamb, “which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own [food], and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.” This also makes one wonder about the relationship between Bathsheba and her husband. Could he have “bought” her for a wife/concubine (to rescue her?), and was she young enough to be his daughter? What was her attitude toward him?
As the story continues, a traveler stops over with the rich man (possibly this wayfarer was not known to him, but he would be expected by the social rules of hospitality to give the person room & board). The rich guy doesn’t want to diminish his own flock for the sake of the “wayfaring man”, so he takes the poor guy’s one little lamb and prepares it for the traveler.
David’s sense of justice is incensed, and he immediately passes the sentence of death on the rich guy, after he’s paid 4x the price of the lamb (or given 4 lambs for the one).
Then Nathan reveals, “Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.”
Furthermore, “Thus saith the Lord, Behold, 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, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”
This would be an appropriate time to read some of David’s psalms, pleading for forgiveness, Psalm 51 in particular.
David is brought low. He admits his sins. Nathan says God accepts his confession, and he won’t die for his sins. Nevertheless “by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”
When Bathsheba’s son becomes sick, David pleads with God, fasting and laying all night on the ground. The “elders of his house” try to get him to rise and eat, but he refuses. On the 7th day the child dies. David’s servants are afraid to tell him. David notices them whispering and realizes the child has died. After they affirm it, he gets up, cleans up, and worships in the house of the Lord [the Tabernacle tent]. He returns home and eats. His servants are amazed. They ask why he wept and fasted so sorely when the child was sick, but when the child dies, he gets up and gets back to life. He explains that before the child died there was a chance God would save the child after all. Once the child's dead, there's no chance that would happen. No reason to keep trying to get God to relent.
David comforts Bathsheba, and she bares Solomon, “and the Lord loved him.” It appears that Nathan the prophet called him Jedidiah, “because of the Lord.” The name means “Beloved of Jehovah” see https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Jedidiah.html
At the end of this chapter Joab sends messengers to King David that he has taken the source of water for the royal Ammonite city, and tells David he’d better come with the rest of the Israelite armies to take the whole city, or if he/Joab takes it, it will be called by his name. That gets David moving. The Israelites conquer the city, the king’s crown is put on David’s head, and they gain “great abundance” of spoil.
This is a case where it’s hard to tell if the text is recounting things chronologically or by topic. If chronologically, the siege of that city has lasted at least a year and a half (2 pregnancies plus time between).
Then King David behaves like other rulers of the Middle East of the time, the most brutal of them: “And he brought forth the people that were therein [the Ammonite cities], and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon.” This was not the way all vanquished cities were treated, so perhaps these Ammonites were so brutal that he treated them likewise. It was a way, anciently, to put such excessive fear and dread in the hearts of enemies that they dare not rise in opposition. See also 1 Chron 20:1-3
2 Sam 13—David’s family troubles: Absalom’s sister Tamar
Absalom’s one sister is the one daughter of King David mentioned. No doubt there were others.
Tamar’s half brother Amnon “loves” (lusts after) her. Maybe he’s not that much older than her, but it’s inappropriate. He lets his mind dwell on her so much that he is “vexed” and falls sick for her. He wants her, but figures it’s out of his reach “to do any thing to her.” He’s not thinking marriage. Unfortunately, he has a shrewd friend (a cousin) who comes up with a plan for him to get what he wants: take your sickbed and when your father, the king, comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and take care of you. This story is another clue to the palace politics and machinations that David had been wary of before he became son-in-law to King Saul.
One would think David would have recognized the danger in this request (especially after his entanglement with Bathsheba), but apparently he’s in the habit of spoiling his sons—giving them what they want (as we will see with Absalom). David obliges the request, and Tamar is sent to make a meal for him at his house: meat and bread (perhaps with all the trimmings).
When the food is ready, Amnon won’t eat. He sends all the men out. Tamar must be feeling nervous at this turn of events. Amnon asks her to bring the food to him herself and hand feed him. Tamar brings them into his room. He grabs her and says, “Come lie with me, my sister.” She says, “No, don’t force me, my brother. This is wrong! I won’t be able to escape my shame and you will get a reputation as a fool. If you want me as a wife, ask the king and “’he will not withhold me from thee’.” But he overpowers and rapes her.
Now Amnon hates her (projects his self-loathing onto her). He hates her worse than he “loved” her before, and sends her out. She tells him he has no reason to treat her this way, and this is even worse than what he’s already done to her. He won’t listen to her, calls his servant to put her out and bolt the door.
Tamar tears her pretty clothes, puts ashes on her head in deep mourning, and bewails her situation. Side note: the virgin princesses were clothed in multi-colored dress. Her brother Absalom comes to her. He seems already to know what Amnon has done (probably gossip has traveled). He tells her to stay with him and not to worry about it. She listens to him, but her reputation is ruined. No one will want to marry her now.
King David hears about it all. He’s very angry, but what does he do? We don’t read of anything. Absalom says nothing about it, either good or bad. But he hates Amnon, and 2 years later he finds opportunity to get revenge. He invites his father the king, all his servants, and all his brothers to a sheepshearing feast. King David says, “No, it’s too many for you to host—it will cost you too much.” Absalom presses him, but King David steadfastly declines. Nevertheless, he gives his blessing to the event. Absalom insists that Amnon attend, and David is wary, but finally allows it. In this culture, people don’t just do whatever they want, permission from the head man is requisite to come and go (remember Moses & his father-in-law Jethro, Jacob and his father & father-in-law, and others).
Absalom tells his servants that when Amnon is drunk he will give the signal for them to kill him. He tells them, “fear not; have not I commanded you? [in other words, you are acting on my instructions and will not be charged for it], be courageous, and be valiant.” So it happens, and all the rest of David’s sons rush to their mules to get away.
While they are fleeing, word gets to David that Absalom has killed all his sons. David is so upset he tears his clothes and lays in the dirt on the ground. All his servants stand there watching over him, with their clothes torn. But Jonadab, the same shrewd “friend” who advised Amnon how to get his sister, tells David not to think Absalom has killed all his sons, only Amnon—because he raped his sister Tamar. This is soon apparent, as the rest return. They all weep for Amnon. Absalom has fled, and stays away for 3 years. Eventually King David accepts the death of Amnon, and longs for his son Absalom.
2 Sam 14—Absalom is finally reconciled with his father David
(This summary is terribly inferior to the poetic rendering of the story in the Bible.)
General Joab sees King David’s longing for Absalom, and devises a solution. He sends for a woman and gives her a story to tell the king about being a widow with 2 sons, one who has killed the other. The whole family want the killer to be punished for his crime, but she doesn’t want to lose her only remaining son (and in that day, the only one to carry on the name/lineage). King David tells her he will give orders to protect the remaining son from any that seek vengeance.
The woman uses the story to bring up Absalom’s banishment for killing his brother, “For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect [exempt] any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.” She exudes all sorts of flattery, saying that she knew David would do justice in the matter.
David recognizes that Joab is behind this effort to bring Absalom back from exile. He gives Joab permission to bring Absalom home, but not to see himself, the king. Joab is effuse in his relief that the king has not taken offense at his contrivance and brings Absalom back to Jerusalem. But after 2 years not being able to see the king, Absalom has sent twice for Joab to speak to the king on his behalf, and Joab has not come. Absalom has his servants set Joab’s nearby field afire, and that brings Joab to his door. Joab wants to know why Absalom has done this, and Absalom tells him why. Then he says, “I might as well have stayed in exile! Let me see the king face to face, and if he finds fault in me, let him put me to death.” Thus, Joab speaks to the king for Absalom, and he is reconciled to his father.
It is noted in this chapter that Absalom is an extremely handsome guy, famously so, from head to foot not a blemish. His hair is so thick he has to have it cut once a year, and the cuttings are prodigious. He has 3 sons and a beautiful daughter, whom he has named after his sister Tamar.
2 Sam 15—Absalom foments a coup
Absalom thinks well of himself, and is ambitious. He has chariots & horses, and 50 men who run before him. He gets up early, sits at the gate and calls to those waiting to be heard by the king in matters of controversy. He tells them, “See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed (authorized) of the king to hear thee. Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!” Thus, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”
After 40 years (not far from the end of King David’s reign), Absalom requests permission to go to Hebron, ostensibly to fulfill a vow to God. But Absalom has set up a conspiracy to be declared king, there in Hebron. Messengers arrive to tell David “The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.” (The text doesn't say why David apparently has not chosen Absalom as his successor, or Absalom wouldn't figure he had to wrest the kingdom from his father. David knows his sons' character and so does God. Solomon would be chosen David's successor . . . more about that in a later post.) King David decides to flee, not only for his own life, but to spare the city. Yet he leaves 10 concubines to keep his house. He has not only his household, but his own loyal soldiers with him, as well as the priests and the Ark of the Covenant (highly symbolic of God’s authority and presence). But David sends Zadok the chief priest back to the city with the Ark, saying that if God is for him, he will make him victorious.
David travels up Mount Olivet, weeping as he goes, head covered and barefoot: all his followers likewise. At the top of the mount David worships God. David is informed that Ahithophel (one of David’s chief advisors) is one of Absalom’s conspirators, and when a man called Hushai comes with signs of mourning to join David, he tells him that he could be of more help to David if he stays in Jerusalem as a counsellor to Absalom to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. He can work with the priests Zadok and Abiathar as spies to keep David informed.
2 Sam 16—seems like along with Absalom, everyone is against King David
Ziba, steward for Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, meets David on his way, with 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches of raisins, 100 summer fruits, and a bottle (probably a large jar) of wine. David asks who they are for. Ziba says that Mephibosheth figures this is his chance to have the kingdom restored to his household, the lineage of King Saul. Then David says all Mephibosheth’s possessions are now Ziba’s. Ziba continues loyal to David.
Another of the house of Saul curses David on his way, and throws stones at him and his followers. One of David’s followers offers to go take off the man’s head. But David says, “My own son wants to kill me, why shouldn’t Saul’s household? Let him be. Maybe the God ‘will look on mine affliction, and . . . will requite [recompense] me good for his cursing this day.’”
Meanwhile, Absalom in Jerusalem asks counsel of Ahithophel (a powerful counselor under King David, as well as Absalom), and he tells him to publicly take his father’s concubines as a political move to increase the rift between his father and himself. No one will be left sitting on the fence.
2 Sam 17—David flees Absalom’s forces across the Jordan River, see Psalm 3
Ahithophel, counselor to Absalom now, advises taking 12,000 men to pursue David “while he is weary and weak”, all his followers will desert him, and only David will be killed. It’s the most peaceful way of settling the kingdom. This sounds like good advice to Absalom and all the elders of Israel. But Absalom wants a second opinion, and sends for Hushai (David had sent back to court as counterintelligence).
Hushai counsels Absalom rather to gather an army from all Israel, because David is known as a formidable man of war, like a mother bear fighting for her cubs. He says, David won’t camp with the people, but will be in some hiding place awaiting the right time to attack. Then even the brave will melt with fear of David and his valiant men. With an army as numerous as the sand we can defeat them, and any city they flee to we’ll pull down to nothing.
Absalom and the men of Israel like the counsel of Hushai better. “For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel”. Hushai tells the loyal priests Zadok and Abiathar all that was said by both parties. They send a woman to the priests’ 2 sons, who have stayed out of the city so as not to draw attention to their movements, to take word to David and advise him to move camp.
Despite precautions, a young man sees the priests’ sons on their errand and tells Absalom. They hide in a well, and the woman secretly puts a covering over it with ground grain on it. When Absalom’s messengers come and ask about the 2 spies, she sends them on, and when they don’t find them, return to Jerusalem.
So David and his followers cross the Jordan River, and by morning they are all on the other side.
When Ahithophel finds his counsel is not followed, he goes home, sets his house in order, and hangs himself. It’s not just disappointment at losing favor or position, it’s a dangerous game he’s played in the war for the kingdom.
Absalom leads the armies of Israel across the Jordan.
Some Ammonites bring all kinds of supplies (bedding, dishes, food) for David and his followers, “for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.” Perhaps these are some of the Ammonite tributaries of King David who thought it in their best interest to ally themselves with him in this contest, or it could be they had developed an actual friendly relation with him. Maybe these particular Ammonites had previously sided with David when he conquered the Ammonites. In any case, no doubt the supplies are gratefully received.
2 Sam 18—David’s forces win a great battle, his general Joab kills Absalom, David mourns
David counts and organizes his forces. He divides them into 3: under Joab, Abishai (Joab’s brother), and Ittai from Gath (remember David had made certain alliances among some of the Philistines while he was in exile, being pursued by King Saul, and was actually given a Philistine city). David himself says he will lead the people into battle (remember that by now David is in his 70s), but the people refuse. They tell him that if they have to flee, no one will care, nor if half of them die. But David is worth 10,000 (in other words, as long as he is alive Absalom’s army will not stop until he is dead). They tell him it’s better if he is held in reserve in the city in case they need help. David gives orders to his commanders to “deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom”, in the hearing of everyone.
The battle takes place in the wood of Ephraim: 20,000 are killed. “For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.” David’s forces are victorious.
Absalom’s mule had run under a huge oak and his head was caught in the branch, leaving him dangling. A guy seeing it tells Joab, who asks why he didn’t kill him, for which he’d have given him a reward. The man tells Joab that if he’d offered 100 times the reward he wouldn’t kill Absalom, as he’d heard David’s warning about hurting him. He knew he’d be a dead man for killing Absalom, knew Joab wouldn’t stand by him, either. So Joab himself puts 3 darts through Absalom’s heart while he’s hanging from the oak. Joab’s 10 armor bearers then finish him off.
Joab blows the trumpet to stop the rout of the armies of Israel, who return to their tents. Absalom is tossed in a big pit in the woods and covered with a huge pile of stones. Absalom’s 3 sons have apparently died or were killed, because it is noted that during his lifetime he had set up a pillar he named after himself “in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance . . .” For some commentary about the King’s Dale, see https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_samuel/18-18.htm
The priest Zadok’s son Ahimaaz wants to run tell the good news to King David, that God has made his armies victorious. Joab says, “Another day, not today, because the king’s son is dead.” Joab knows that David won’t take kindly to the news, and doesn’t want Ahimaaz’s life in hazard. Joab sends another guy. But Ahimaaz still wants to go, even after the other guy. Joab says, “You’ve got nothing to tell!” Ahimaaz still wants to run after, so Joab says, “Ok, go ahead.”
Ahimaaz runs past the other guy, and the watchman sees him. King David figures a man running alone must be good news. Then the other guy is also spotted, alone, and the king thinks it’s more good news. The watchman recognizes the running style of Ahimaaz, and the king says, “He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.” Ahimaaz tells the king, “All is well. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.” David asks about Absalom. Ahimaaz says, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.” Perhaps Joab has cautioned him to be careful what he tells the king, or perhaps he is smart enough to know without being told. When the other guy comes and David asks about Absalom, he says, “The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.” Thus implying Absalom is dead. David goes up to the room over the gate and weeps, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” Probably in the hearing of all.
2 Sam 19—Joab confronts David turning a victory into mourning, Joab is replaced
Joab is told of David’s lament for his son 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.” David’s followers are left to just sneak back into the city, as if fleeing in shame from a battle lost. Joab confronts David, “You’ve shamed everyone who has hazarded their lives in your behalf, and for the sake of your household. You love your enemies and hate your friends. If Absalom had lived and we had all died, you’d be happy!” One can hear the anger in Joab’s voice. He tells the king he’d better go speak good words to the people, or there won’t be one person to stay with him that night, and nothing David has ever gone through in his life will be as bad. Joab knows King David would lose all loyalty. So David goes and sits in the gate, apparently a sign that he will accept the surrender of the Israelite army.
9 ¶ 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.
10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
11 ¶ And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests [who are back in Jerusalem], 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.
12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh [from the same tribe of Israel]: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
13 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 [in place] of Joab.
14 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.
15 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.
The Benjaminte that had cursed David when he was fleeing Jerusalem comes with the men of Judah, with 1000 men of Benjamin, and Ziba of the house of Saul, and pleads forgiveness of King David. Abishai, Joab’s brother and fellow general, wants to put the curser to death. But David says, “Why should anyone be put to death today? I am securely the King.” He promises not to kill the man.
Mephibosheth, son of Saul [Jonathan], comes to meet the king. He has not cared for himself from the day David left Jerusalem. David asks why he didn’t come with him when he fled. He tells David that Ziba had deceived both him and the king, because Ziba was supposed to saddle the ass for him (because of his disability), and instead slandered him, lied to the king about his loyalty. He puts himself at David’s mercy, with the acknowledgement of David’s kindness to him. Rather than choose between the two men, David tells Mephibosheth that he and Ziba are to divide the land (that was first given to one, then the other). Mephibosheth says, “Let Ziba take it all. I’m just glad you have come home in peace.” We may speculate that this is an indication that he knows his fault, or that it will develop into a huge feud, but just as David had not judged who was the liar, we can only leave the judgment to God.
A man named Barzillai comes to welcome David back. He had provided the king sustenance, being a wealthy man. King David invites him to join his household in Jerusalem, but Barzillai is 80 years old, and says he can’t enjoy life at court—he’s lost his sense of taste, his hearing, and wants to die at home. He says, “Take Chimham instead.” Possibly his son or grandson? King David assents.
The men of Israel and the men of Judah get into a controversy over who has more interest in King David: Israel has 10 parts in the king (10 tribes), Judah is the tribe from which David is descended. One possibility to explain an unnamed tribe (to add up to 12) could be that the Levites were dispersed among the other tribes.
David—part 3, David the King
2 Sam 2-8: David’s kingdom is established
2 Sam 2
Saul and 3 of his sons have been killed, their remains rescued from the Philistines and buried by Saul’s tribe, Benjamin. The elders of Judah make David their king, but Abner (Saul’s general) makes Saul’s other son Ishbosheth, age 40, king of the rest of Israel.
David sends messengers to those Gileadites who had rescued & buried Saul’s remains praising them for doing so. He tells them the house of Judah has anointed him king, implying that as he sends a message of peace, they also ought to join Judah in proclaiming him king.
Abner (Saul’s general) and Joab (David’s general) meet across a pool of water. Abner suggests they let their young men “play” before them—no doubt war games—12 on each side. The battle escalates, and Abner’s army is routed. Joab’s brother steadfastly pursues the fleeing Abner, who tells him he ought to take out someone else, so that Abner won’t have to face Joab having killed his brother. But Joab’s brother won’t be deterred. So Abner kills him. More about that later.
All the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s tribe, gather to Abner. But Abner calls out to Joab from a hill, saying, “Are we going to kill each other forever? Don’t you know it will all end in bitterness? [between the tribes].” Joab acknowledges Abner and blows a trumpet to stop the killing. Abner and his men walk all night and cross over the Jordan River, Joab and his men spend the night returning to Hebron. Joab’s brother is buried in Bethlehem. The armies of Judah had lost 19, the army of Benjamin under Abner had lost 360 dead.
2 Sam 3
“Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.” (1 Sam 2:11, David was king of Judah 7.5 years before being made king over all Israel.)
David’s sons born in Hebron are listed (see also 1 Chron 3:1-4)
1. Amnon, son of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess
2. Chileab, son of Abigail
3. Absalom, son of Maacah (daughter of King Talmai of Geshur—no doubt a political marriage)
4. Adonijah, son of Haggith
5. Shephatiah, son of Abital
6. Ithream, son Eglah
Abner makes a connection with Saul’s concubine, and Saul’s son Ishbosheth confronts him about it. That angers Abner, and he retorts, “After all I’ve done [risked] for the house of Saul, you treat me like a dog’s head over this woman.” Abner vows that he will bring all of Israel over to David’s cause. He sends messengers to David offering just that. David agrees, with one qualifier: that Abner bring Michal, his wife/Saul’s daughter to him. Then David sends messengers to Ishbosheth demanding Michal. Ishbosheth takes Michal from her husband and sends her to David. Her husband follows her all the way to Abner, weeping. Abner sends him home.
Abner contacts the elders of Israel, saying, “Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you: Now then do it: for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.” Abner speaks specifically to the tribe of Benjamin, who were Saul’s people and most likely not to go along. Then Abner with 20 men goes to David to let him know the outcome of the negotiations. David makes a feast for them, and on the good news, sends Abner and his men away in peace.
When Joab (David’s general, returning from a great victory with lots a spoil) finds out, he confronts David, saying Abner is deceiving him and just trying to spy out David’s routines and what he’s up to. Joab secretly sends messengers after Abner saying he wants to speak with him quietly. Under that ruse he kills Abner, for the sake of his brother whom Abner had killed. Ostensibly. I suspect that Joab was also jealous of Abner, who he would see as a rival general.
David proclaims, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner: Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house . . .” and David leaves a curse of troubles on Abner’s house/posterity. Apparently David needed Joab, or Joab was too powerful for him to dismiss, but he will charge his son/successor to exact retribution for what he did to Abner (1 Kings 2:5-6).
David calls on everyone, including Joab, to tear their clothes, wear sackcloth, and mourn Abner. King David himself follows the bier and weeps at the grave in Hebron. While others eat after the funeral, David fasts until sundown. The people are contented with his showing of respect, and in fact they are pleased with all he does. David is doing all he can to heal the nation.
37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner.
38 And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?
39 And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah [Abner & brothers] be too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
2 Sam 4
Saul’s son Ishbosheth hears of Abner’s death, and he and the other Israelites are afraid it portends bad things to happen. Perhaps David will attack and destroy them. Two of Ishbosheth’s military leaders decide to kill him under pretense, and take his head to David as a prize. David is affronted and tells them what happened to the man who came to him claiming to have killed Saul on the battlefield (hoping for a reward), and has them killed as well.
2 Sam 5—David is anointed/affirmed king over all Israel, see also 1 Chron 11:1-9, 1 Chron 12:23-40, & 1 Chron 14:1-17
The elders of Israel come to David in Hebron and anoint him king over all Israel. David is 30 years old, and will reign 40 years: 7.5 years over just Judah, 33 years over all Israel. See Psalm 18.
King David comes with an army to Jerusalem, a Jebusite stronghold. The Jebusites tell him, “Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.” For a comparison of translations, see https://biblehub.com/parallel/2_samuel/5.htm and https://biblehub.com/2_samuel/5-6.htm (be sure to read all the way down for more background, commentary, and the Hebrew translation). King David’s forces conquer Jerusalem, and from then on it is known as “the City of David.” See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_David_(archaeological_site) and https://christiananswers.net/dictionary/davidcityof.html (Note: Bethlehem was called the City of David in Luke 2:4, being the birthplace of King David, and where he grew up. Bethlehem is about 9 mi from Jerusalem.)
Hiram, King of Tyre sends messengers, carpenters, masons, and building materials to David, and they build a house for King David in Jerusalem. Hiram and David become friends and allies. See also 1 Chron 14:1-2, and Psalm 30.
12 And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake. [Not for David’s aggrandizement]
David marries more wives and concubines in Jerusalem, and has more sons and daughters. The sons of the wives are named in 2 Sam 5:14-16, including Solomon. See also 1 Chron 3:5-9 (which says there were 9, but lists more, and some names twice, so perhaps some died as infants/young children, so the name was reused), and 1 Chron 14:3-7.
1. Shimea/Shammua
2. Shobab
3. Nathan, perhaps named after Nathan the Prophet?
4. Solomon, from Bathsheba/Bath-shua, daughter of Ammiel
5. Ibhar
6. Elishama/Elishua
7. Eliphelet/Elpalet
8. Nogah
9. Nepheg
10. Japhia
11. Elishama
12. Beeliada
13. Eliada (Eliphalet?)
The Philistines amass an army against David & Israel. David, as usual, inquires of God [no doubt as before, through the priest] if he should go out against them. “And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.” David is victorious against the Philistines, who flee leaving their idols, and David has them burned. The Philistines come again. This time God tells him to surround or circle behind them next to the [balsam, or weeping] trees, and when they hear the wind in the trees they should attack and God will give them the triumph. And so it happens. For info about the kind of trees, see https://biblehub.com/2_samuel/5-23.htm
2 Sam 6—David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, Uzzah tries to steady it, Michal despises David for dancing for joy in front of all the people (see also 1 Chron 13 & 15-16)
David takes 30,000 chosen men to get the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. They set it on a new cart, and Uzzah is one of the 2 drivers, probably driving the animals rather than the cart. David and all Israel come with musical instruments in celebration: harps, psalteries (harps and psalteries=stringed instruments), timbrels (similar to tambourines), cornets (wind instrument), and cymbals (metal percussion instrument).
On the way, the oxen pulling the cart shake/jostle it a little {perhaps stumbled a bit}, and Uzzah tries to steady it (it is presumed). God smites him in some way for his error, and he dies right there. That scares David. He leaves the Ark at Obed-edom’s place (“’servant of Edom’, an Israelite name . . . from Gath”—possibly an Edomite or of Edomite lineage who had lived in Gath as a servant? Or an Israelite who had been a servant in Edom or of an Edomite, who had lived in Gath?) for 3 months, ‘til he sees that God is blessing the man.
https://biblehub.com/2_samuel/6-6.htm
https://biblehub.com/2_samuel/6-7.htm
Then David dares to bring the Ark the rest of the way into Jerusalem “with gladness”. After only 6 paces he sacrifices oxen and “fatlings” (prob sheep), and “danced before the Lord with all his might”. “So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting [cheering], and with the sound of the trumpet.” Michal, David’s wife, daughter of Saul, sees David’s antics from her window, and later sarcastically says to him, “How glorious was the king of Israel to day.” She thinks he’s made himself look a fool and entirely indecorous/uncouth in his behavior. He defends himself by saying it was in praise of God. He never had a child by Michal.
17 ¶ And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.
19 And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.
2 Sam 7--see also 1 Chron 17
David’s kingdom is settled. “and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies.” He’s got a princely residence. He says to Nathan the prophet that he feels bad that while he lives in luxury, the housing for the Ark of God is just a tent (no doubt revitalized over the years, but still a tent). At first Nathan gives him the go-ahead. But that night God tells Nathan to go back to David and say, “All these years since the Exodus I’ve dwelt in a tent. I’ve never asked any of the tribes for a house of cedar. I took you from being a lowly shepherd to be ruler over my people. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. I will settle Israel in one place, not to have to keep moving. Wicked peoples/nations will no longer afflict them as before. I’ll settle your kingdom upon your lineage. Your successor will build a house for my name. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I’ll punish him, but my mercy will not depart from him (as with Saul).”
As a secular, political policy it was perhaps wiser, after all the cost of wars, that the people not be taxed to build a temple beside.
David humbly praises God for his goodness to him, and His greatness. “Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”
2 Sam 8--see also 1 Chron 18
David subjugates the Philistines, and Moab, a king of Mesopotamia and his ally Syria, and Edom. He sets the vanquished Moabites in 3 lines, 2 lines being put to death. He takes from the Mesopotamian king 1000 chariots, 700 horsemen/charioteers, 20,000 foot soldiers—of which he saves 100 chariots with their drivers and horses, it seems. He hamstrings the rest of the horses so they can’t be used in war. For more clarity, see https://biblehub.com/2_samuel/8-4.htm The King of Hamath sends his son with gifts to David for conquering his enemy, the king from Mesopotamia. King David sets up garrisons in Syria and Edom and makes them tributaries. See Psalm 60.
Another reference to Edom and Israelite General Joab
1 Kings 11:14-23
Joab had killed all the males in Edom over a period of 6 months, but Hadad son of the king, was saved by his father's servants when he was little, and taken to Egypt, where he found favor with Pharaoh, and was married to the Queen's sister. Upon David's death he went back home to Edom.
King David saves up the tribute and spoils from his wars for the House of God that his son Solomon will build: the Temple at Jerusalem. “And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went. And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.”
King David’s government:
Joab—General
Jehoshaphat—recorder (historian?), Seraiah--scribe (writes up official documents & laws?)--or vice versa?
Zadok & Ahimelech (son or grandson of the priest that fed David and his troops who were on the run from Saul, whom Saul killed)—priests
Benaiah—over the Cherethites and Pelethites, “They are interpreted to have been a group of elite mercenaries employed by King David, some of whom acted as his bodyguards, and others as part of his army.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherethites_and_Pelethites
David’s sons—chief rulers/governors
David–part 2
http://test.stainedglassresources.ourgrnbusiness.com/?page_id=90
1 Sam 26 through 2 Sam 1
1 Sam 26—David again spares Saul’s life
The people of Ziph tell Saul that David is in their territory. So Saul again brings an army of 3000 choice men to find him and his followers (600 men plus their families). David sends spies and confirms that Saul has come. David gets Abishai (brother of Joab) to go with him at night and find Saul asleep. Abishai says, “Let me kill him . . . one blow of the spear will kill him quick [without alerting anyone].” David again refuses to be responsible for Saul’s death. He says, “As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster [pillow], and the cruse of water, and let us go.” That’s what they do, “and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.”
See Psalms 54, 63, 57, 142 land of Ziph & Cave (Judean mountains)
https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Ziph-Ziphites
David goes to the hill opposite and calls out to Saul’s general Abner that he has fallen down in his duties to guard his master. He shows the spear and cruse of water that he has nicked from beside King Saul. Saul recognizes David’s voice and says, “Is this thy voice, my son David?”—again, a greeting that ought to have been endearing. And yet his behavior is not endearing.
David replies, “Yes, it’s me. Why are you after me? What have I done wrong? If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let me offer a sacrifice [to appease Him]. But if it’s people [that have stirred you up], curse them for driving me out of God’s country to live in lands of other gods. I’m a nobody! A flea, being hunted like a partridge.”
Saul admits his culpability, and invites David to return. He says he won’t do David any harm, in recompense for David’s restraint when he could have got away with murder. Saul says, “I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.”
David says, “Here’s your spear, send a guy to come get it. 'The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the Lord delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed. And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.'” David knows Saul will not set anything by his life, so he prays that God will do so. David is unwilling to set a precedent of insurrection against whom God has anointed. He has also been anointed.
“Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.”
Again, Saul shows his characteristic irresolution, rash decisions followed by indecisive remorse.
1 Sam 27—David stays with the Philistines 16 months
David, knowing Saul’s character, “said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.”
It’s an audacious move for David, to go to the Philistines he’s been fighting all his career, but he sees no other way to escape Saul’s perverse jealousy. He takes his 600 men, beside their families, and his own 2 wives, and goes to King Achish in Gath. He asks Achish for a city he can occupy, rather than be a strain on the king's resources. Achish gives him the city of Ziklag (which becomes a royal possession of the kings of Israel). David stays with the Philistines 16 months.
David’s officers are listed in 1 Chron 12:1-22 “They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow . . . And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains . . . For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God.”
David takes his men and attacks the Amalekites and others living south of Judah, killing all the men and women, and taking the animals as spoil. When Achish asks what he’s been up to, David obfuscates so that Achish believes he has attacked Israelite lands. David has left none to say any different. Thus Achish feels reassured that David will not side with Israel against the Philistines--the Israelites will see David as their enemy.
1 Sam 28—Saul seeks to hear from Samuel through a woman “with familiar spirits”
The Philistines gather once again for war against Israel. Achish tells David he’s got to fight on the Philistine side. David professes loyalty, and Achish makes him and his men his personal guard.
“And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.” Saul is once again feeling unsure of himself. He inquires of God, but God is not answering him, “neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” He’s wishing for advice from Samuel, who is dead and buried. He decides to try to contact him through a spiritualist. But Saul has outlawed necromancy, so he gets his servants to find a woman, then disguises himself to go see her (at Endor), at night with 2 of his men.
The woman demurs, referring to Saul’s outlawing such an avocation, and calling it a trap. Saul swears that nothing will happen to her. She asks, “Who do you want to conjure?” When he asks for Samuel, she knows he is King Saul, and fears for her life. He reassures her, and asks what she saw. She is able to give enough details to convince Saul that it was Samuel. While the writers of the text also take her word for the efficacy of her craft, I’m more skeptical of the artifices of such cons.
The woman speaks for Samuel, saying, “Why have you disturbed me?” Saul says he’s in great distress, because the Philistines are making for war, and God has abandoned him. He wants Samuel to tell him what to do. Speaking for Samuel, the woman replies, “Then why are you asking me, if God is departed from you and become your enemy? God has done as He said he would, and taken your kingdom to give it to David, because you would not obey Him in the attack on the Amalekites. You and your armies are going to be defeated by the Philistines.”
Saul falls off his chair at this news, and because he has been fasting all day and night. The woman reminds him that she has risked her life for him, and asserts that he should now listen to her and eat something. He refuses, but his servants join the woman in persuading him to sit up and eat. She prepares a fatted calf and some unleavened bread to put before Saul and his servants. (She doesn't seem to be poor!) They eat and go their way.
1 Sam 29—David is saved from having to fight against his own people, Israel
The Philistines are amassed for battle. David is with Achish in the rear. But the other Philistine princes are not about to allow an Israelite to join the battle, figuring he’ll turn-coat and fight for the Israelites. Achish vouches for David, but the other princes are angry and insist that David has to leave.
Achish calls David and says, “I know you have been loyal and true, but the other Philistine lords won’t have you in this battle. Go in peace.” David protests, citing his faithfulness to Achish, and Achish acknowledges such. But David and his men must leave early the next day.
1 Sam 30—David pursues the Amalekites, who have attacked his and other cities
When David and his men return to Ziklag, they find the Amalekites have attacked and burned it. They have taken their women and families captive (while the men were off to war). “Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.” David’s men are talking about stoning him. But David relies on God to help him. He has the priest Abiathar bring the sacred ephod (priestly clothing), and ask God if he should go after the Amalekites and rescue their families. The reply is, “Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.”
David takes 400 men, leaving 200 who are too faint to continue. They come across an Egyptian who hasn’t eaten or had any water for 3 days & nights. They give him bread, fig cake, and 2 clusters of raisins, and he revives. David questions him, and he says he was a servant of an Amalekite, who left him 3 days ago because he was sick. He tells of the exploits of the Amalekites in the region. David asks if he can lead him to the Amalekites. The Egyptian wants David to swear that he won’t kill him or return him to his master, and if so, he’ll lead them to the Amalekites.
When they come upon the Amalekite camp, they are eating, drinking, and dancing for joy at all the plunder they have amassed in their campaign against the Philistines and the people of Judah. “And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.”
David has rescued his 2 wives, and all the Amalekites had taken—nothing was lost. He and his men take all the spoil and return to the 200 they had left behind. The men that went with David don’t want to share the spoil with those that stayed behind, except to return their families. But David tells them, “Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.” He makes a law (which is upheld over the years) that the spoils are to be divided between both those who fight and those that stay behind to guard the stuff.
David returns to Ziklag, and sends some of the plunder to the elders of the several cities of the tribe of Judah where David had located his followers, with the words, “Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.”
1 Sam 31—the Israelites are defeated by the Philistines, Saul and sons are killed
See also 1 Chron 10
With such dire predictions by the woman of Endor, how could wavering Saul have any confidence in conducting the war against the Philistines? The Israelites are defeated, and Saul’s sons are casualties of the battle. Saul is wounded by the archers and tells his armorbearer to kill him with the sword to avoid being killed and abused by the Philistines. His armorbearer fears to do it, so Saul falls on his own sword. Then his armorbearer likewise kills himself.
When the Israelite cities, even those on the other side of the Jordan River, see the defeat, they flee from their own cities, and the Philistines take them over.
The day after the battle, when the Philistines are stripping the bodies of their dead enemies, they find Saul and his 3 sons. They cut off Saul’s head and take his armor to parade among their cities in boasting their victory before the people and their idols. They put Saul’s armor in the house for worshipping Ashtaroth, and put Saul’s body up on the wall of the city of Beth-shan.
When Saul’s people hear of these ignominies, all the courageous men go by night, take the bodies of Saul and his son, and bring them back to be burnt. They bury their bones, and fast for 7 days.
2 Sam 1—David mourns Saul and Jonathan’s deaths
The third day after David and his men return to Ziklag, after defeating the Amalekites, an escapee of the battle with the Philistines comes, “his clothes rent [torn], and earth upon his head [a sign of extreme mourning or distress].” He falls before David in deference.
David asks where he comes from. He responds that he has escaped from the battle with the Philistines. David asks how it all went, and the man answers that the Israelites have fled, Saul and his sons are among the dead. David asks how he knows that for sure. The young man tells a story:
“I saw Saul leaning on his spear, with the Philistine chariots and horsemen in hard pursuit. He looked behind and saw me, and asked who I was. I said I am an Amalekite, and he pleaded that I kill him because of his dire straights and anguish. So I went ahead and killed him, because I could see he wouldn’t live. I took his crown and bracelet and have brought them to you,” hoping to be rewarded.
David and his men then rip their clothes in mourning, and weep and fast for the rest of the day.
David asks the young man his origin, and he tells him he’s the son of an Amalekite. David says, “How is it you weren’t afraid to kill the Lord’s anointed?” David has him killed, and says, “Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed.”
As an aside, the text notes that David saw to it that archery was taught to the Jews.
The rest of the chapter is a psalm of grief and praise, “The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! . . . Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul . . . I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”
Before anyone suggest that the love between Jonathan and David was more intimate than deep friendship, I would assert that there is no evidence of it. It would be erroneous to apply modern meanings to ancient expressions of closeness. David and Jonathan were like devoted brothers, and David would fulfill all his promises to both Jonathan and Saul in any way he could.
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