Jun 5

Reference links:

2 Samuel 23:24-24:25 Acts 3:1-26 Psalm 123:1-4 Proverbs 16:21-23

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Weird story today!

Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him.

[David has his men take the census] 

But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.”

The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

So for no reason that we know of, God is mad at Israel. Because of this, he tells David to take a census so that he can later get mad at David and punish Israel. Once again, God is proving himself to be a jerk.

David chooses a plague (actually, his answer could be interpreted as choosing plague or famine, but God decides on plague).

So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.

70,000 people? That's a major tragedy right there. But ignoring that, if God wanted to punish the Israelites, why did he cause David to do something that would give God an excuse to punish him. Was God afraid his reputation would suffer or something?

New Testament

Peter heals a lame man and then preaches at the Jews in the Temple, and I do mean preaches at them:

For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

Someone might want to let Peter know that even if what he was saying was true, it was not going to make anyone more open to hearing his message. There's a time and a place to discuss blame, and the opening words of your "please convert" speech probably is not the place.

Psalms and Proverbs

In fact, Peter could probably learn from this proverb:

The wise are known for their understanding,
and pleasant words are persuasive.

Jun 4

Reference links:

2 Samuel 22:21-23:23 Acts 2:1-47 Psalm 122:1-9 Proverbs 16:19-20

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Oh, we were in the middle of David's song of praise. So... more poetry today. David's exaggerating his virtues a bit though,

I am blameless before God;
I have kept myself from sin.

Ummm, Bathsheba (not to mention mass exterminations, but God seems okay with those)? I mean, okay, there's some poetic license allowed, but this is a bit much.

Also, this bit

Foreign nations cringe before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they submit.

Yeah, maybe before David ran away as soon as his son declared rebellion. As soon as they hear about that, they're going to think David's a wimp.

I also think that David seems to have a lot of faith in God's "everlasting" covenant with him given how picky God ended up being about his covenant with Saul (and the threat or two God has already made to David).

After the poetry, we get to read a description of David's most awesome warriors.

New Testament

During Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down upon a bunch of believers in the form of a flame and gave them the ability to speak other languages. Some people who hear them think it's amazing, others, amusingly, think the speakers are drunk. Peter replies to this criticism by claiming (a) 9am is way too early for people to be drunk and (b) Jesus and stuff.

Peter also claims that David was a prophet. Now, maybe that comes latter in the OT readings, but so far, David has not shown much qualification for being a prophet. A warrior and a leader and a politician, yes, but not a prophet. I guess, though, that if Peter doesn't call him a prophet, he cannot claim words attributed to David as prophecies, and if he cannot pretend the psalms are prophecies, a significant portion of the so called fulfilled prophecies become irrelevant.

The early community of believers would, I believe, be called communistic or socialistic by the modern religious right:

And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

Psalms and Proverbs

A psalm of praise for Jerusalem. I do not remember having had a psalm like this before. Variety!

Jun 3

Reference links:

2 Samuel 20:14-22:20 Acts 1:1-26 Psalm 121:1-8 Proverbs 16:18

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Not a super interesting day. Sheba of Bicri's rebellion is put down because he holes himself up in a town where the people are willing to give him (or, rather, his head) over to David. David gets involved in more battles, and he and his men kill more Philistine giants. David sings a song of praise that bears great resemblance to the psalms (probably why the psalms are generally attributed to David).

The most interesting part of today's reading comes in the description of a famine and cure. God sent a three year famine on the land because of the injustices Saul had done to the Gibeonites (hey God, did you wait long enough there?). David asks the Gibeonites what they can do to make amends. They say that the only thing that will satisfy them is to be given seven of Saul's descendants to kill. David obliges and they kill the descendants.

Now, depending on whether or not Saul's sons and grandsons were involved in the injustices inflicted upon the Gibeonites, this may be comparable to punishing people for war crimes or it may be more like murder and/or human sacrifice. Either way, it's unsettling.

New Testament

Today we start the Acts of the Apostles. The obvious thing to notice about this book is that it is not a gospel. We are done with them!

According to the Wikipedia article. The author of acts was most likely the same as the author of the Gospel of Luke. As with that book, it is unclear whether or not this person was actually Luke. However the author is more likely to be the person traditionally credited than in the rest of the gospels.

"Acts" are a particular genre of writing from this time period which generally describe the activities of people and cities. The various acts of Christianity, including this and various apocryphal books, cover the acts of Christian miracles and conversions.

Although Acts talks about the Apostle Paul, his letters are never quoted, leading scholars to conclude that the author of Acts did not have access to Paul's letters at the time of composition. The time of composition itself is disputed, with some traditional scholars putting it as early as around 60 AD and others putting it nearer to 100 AD.

Today's reading starts with a reiteration of the promise that the holy spirit will come to guide the apostles.  It also describes the ascension of Jesus into heaven, from which point, it seems, he will no longer make bodily appearances until his return (a useful excuse for why contemporaries of the author no longer interacted with a risen Jesus).

We also read about how Matthias is chosen to replace Judas. This story contains two interesting elements. Once again, the New Testament is treating random lines from the Old Testament as if they were prophecy. In this case, random lines from two psalms are used to justify the replacement of Judas:

Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

21 “So now we must choose a replacement for Judas from among the men who were with us the entire time we were traveling with the Lord Jesus

I continue to think that this is a stupid way of justifying decisions.

I also find it interesting the the apostles choose the new apostle by lot. I thought that using selection by lot and attributing the result to God was mostly a feature of the Old Testament writings.

So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.

According to Wikipedia, the Eastern Orthodox Church still considers casting lots to sometimes be a valid form of decision making (or at least did less than 100 years ago):

In the Eastern Orthodox Church this method of selection is still occasionally used. In 1917 MetropolitanTikhon was elected Patriarch of Moscow by the drawing of lots.

I personally would not consider lot casting decisive unless I came up with the same answer multiple times (at least 10).

Psalms and Proverbs

Both the psalm and the proverb from today's reading are rather well known. The most interesting thing is this line from today's psalm:

The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

I never realized the moon was particularly harmful.

Jun 2

Reference links:

2 Samuel 19:11-20:13 John 21:1-25 Psalm 120:1-7 Proverbs 16:16-17

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Today's reading is very confusing, mostly because it deals with a lot of people that I only half remember and never bothered to become familiar enough with to keep straight. So let's review who they are and their roles in today's readings:

• Zadok and Abiathar: priest. David sent them back to Jerusalem with the ark with Absalom rebelled. They act as go betweens for David and the eldars of Judah.
• Amasa: Absalom's commander over the army. David bribed him with leadership over his army if Amasa could get Judah to recognize David as king again. He is later killed by Joab.
• Joab: David's commander over the army. David replaced him with Amasa to win back the people of Judah. He later kills Amasa with an underhanded dagger to the stomach (presumably because of jealousy).
• Shimei: The man who cursed David as he fled from Jerusalem. David shows him mercy.
• Abishai: One of David's warriors and Joab's brother. Loyal to David, but has a murderous streak. This shows in today's reading when he declares that Shimei should be killed for having cursed David.
• Ziba: A former servant of Saul and a servant of Mephibosheth. He told David that Mephibosheth was trying to take over Jerusalem in the king's absence. 
• Mephibosheth: Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson. He claims that Ziba deceived him and David and that he had wanted to flee to David. It is unclear which of them, if either, is telling the truth. David decides to split Mephibosheth's land between the two showing that he is also uncertain about who is trustworthy.
• Barzillai: Brought David food and supplies while he was fleeing from Absalom. David rewards him, but since Barzillai is an old man, he asks the the reward go to his son, Kimham.
• Sheba: A new character. Stirs up yet another rebellion against David.

I think the main point of this reading is to remind us that politics are messy and confusing and often involves unsatisfactory compromises.

We also read this interesting and rather sad tidbit:

When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.

New Testament

We finish the Gospel of John today, and with that we finish the gospels! Hurrah! Onto something new. But first we must finish today's reading.

Jesus appears again to a number of the disciples. As they fish unsuccessfully, he blesses them with fish. One of the disciples recognizes Jesus and Peter swims to him. Jesus charges Peter with taking care of his sheep (three times). Then the author of the gospel claims to have really been there and that, therefore, his testimony is reliable. Remember, however, that the gospel of John is unlikely to have been written by an eye witness.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today's psalm seems to be a full one, but ends rather abruptly. The last two verses are:

I am tired of living
among people who hate peace.
I search for peace;
but when I speak of peace, they want war! 

Jun 1

Reference links:

2 Samuel 18:1-19:10 John 20:1-31 Psalm 119:153-176 Proverbs 16:14-15

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Absalom is defeated and dies and then David is very sad. Joab rebukes him for being so depressed over the death of someone who was trying to kill him.

The beginning of Absalom's death scene is kind of entertaining:

During the battle, Absalom happened to come upon some of David’s men. He tried to escape on his mule, but as he rode beneath the thick branches of a great tree, his hair got caught in the tree. His mule kept going and left him dangling in the air. One of David’s men saw what had happened and told Joab, “I saw Absalom dangling from a great tree.”

It is especially entertaining because when Absalom was first introduced, his wonderful hair was described. That same wonderful hair became his downfall.

New Testament

Another resurrection account. Not particularly consistent with the rest of them, of course.

Psalms and Proverbs

We finish up the super long psalm with ר (resh), ש (shin), and ת (taw).

May 31

Reference links:

2 Samuel 17:1-29 John 19:23-42 Psalm 119:129-152 Proverbs 16:12-13

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Ahithophel and Hushai (David's spy) give Absalom conflicting advice. Absalom decides to take Hushai's advice. This is because,

the Lord had determined to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which really was the better plan, so that he could bring disaster on Absalom!

So the Lord could make Absalom take advice that would lead to his defeat but could not jigger things to prevent the situation from getting to this point in the first place (e.g., by giving David the strength to stick around and nip this situation in the bud)?

Hushai also sends a warning to David. As part of that, we get to hear about folks hiding in a well. Always amusing.

New Testament

Today we read something rather interesting:

Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene.

So Jesus' mother's sister was named Mary? Umm, wasn't his mother named Mary? So are they both named Mary? Or is John just pulling from a different tradition where Jesus' mother is not named Mary?

Then Jesus dies and is put in a tomb. Hmmm, I wonder what will happen next.

Psalms and Proverbs

פ (pe), צ (tsadhe), and ק (qoph).

The current proverbs are about kingly behavior. It is not particularly interesting in and of itself, but it is an interesting contrast to the behavior David is showing in the OT readings.

May 30

Reference links:

2 Samuel 15:23-16:23 John 18:25-19:22 Psalm 119:113-128 Proverbs 16:10-11

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

David continues to flee like an upstart instead of standing his ground like the established king that he is. Mephibosheth repays David's kindness by trying to take over the throne as soon as David flees. Absalom shows he has no clue what he has gotten himself in for by blindly taking advice from Ahithophel.

New Testament

Does anyone like Jesus from the Gospel of John? I know people like what he has to say, but does anyone like Jesus as he is presented as an individual in this gospel? (And yes, I realize that to some people this question is meaningless because they only see one Jesus across the gospels.)

In any case, Jesus is tried before Pilate. Pilate tries and tries to save him, but the Jews will not have it, so Pilate eventually orders Jesus crucified. Jesus is humiliated and beat and then hung up on the cross.

Psalms and Proverbs

ס (samekh) and ע (ayin).

May 29

Reference links:

2 Samuel 14:1-15:22 John 18:1-24 Psalm 119:97-112 Proverbs 16:8-9

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

I have internet. Hurrah!

Fake reconciliation! Fake reconciliation going the other way! Rebellion! Flight! Very exciting.

David seems to be the type who does not engage in much self reflection, but can see himself in a story when it is made obvious. We first saw this a couple days ago, when David sees that his behavior with Bathsheba and her husband is wrong only after the prophet Nathan gets a visceral reaction out of David with a story.

Today, we see something similar as Joab tries to reconcile David and Absalom. Joab gets a woman to tell a tale of murder between brothers to the king. David says that he would protect the woman's living son even though he had committed murder. The woman asks the king why he would do that for her but not his own son. David has an, "ah hah!" moment and lets Absalom return to Jerusalem.

However, David's reaction when Absalom returns is confusing. Today's reading opened with the line,

Joab realized how much the king longed to see Absalom.

 But then we read that after Absalom returned,

Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. But the king gave this order: “Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.” So Absalom did not see the king.

Either the king had very mixed feelings toward Absalom (understandable) or Joab was wrong in his reading of the king's feelings.

Absalom resents this false reconciliation and expresses his displeasure to Joab (by way of burning a barley field). Joab then arranges for Absalom  to appear before the king, and the two seem to really reconcile.

But it seems that Absalom only cared about the appearance of reconciliation. As soon as he had the king's favor again, Absalom starts scheming behind David's back to win the hearts the people and start a rebellion.

In response to this threat, David flees. It makes one wonder how strong a king he actually was that he had to flee at even the thread of a rebellion.

New Testament

Today we read about Jesus' betrayal and arrest. You may notice that in the Gospel of John, Jesus never prays to have this torture taken from him. That scene is part of what humanized Jesus. Leaving it out was clearly an intentional decision by the author of this gospel. That author did not want Jesus to be a suffering human who prays for God to change his mind. Such a Jesus is not consistent with the Jesus who is perfectly at one with God.

Psalms and Proverbs

מ (mem) and נ (nun).

May 28

Reference links:

2 Samuel 13:1-39 John 17:1-26 Psalm 119:81-96 Proverbs 16:6-7

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Heads up! I'm out of town for the weekend, probably without internet, so I will be posting the posts for this weekend on Monday.

Onward to today's untopic, an extremely unpleasant one. Rape and murder. David's son Ammon rapes his sister Tamar. Tamar's full brother Absalom hides his anger for two years and then murders Ammon. I'm going to punt on this one. This whole story is so distasteful that I do not feel like getting into further commentary. I'll just say this, why was Ammon not punished? (I am sorely tempted to add some profanity to the phrasing of that question.)

New Testament

John's Jesus does not seem that emotionally involved with humanity, or even with his own fate.

Psalms and Proverbs

כ (kaph) and ל (lamedh).

May 27

Reference links:

2 Samuel 12:1-31 John 16:1-33 Psalm 119:65-80 Proverbs 16:4-5

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

David is punished for sleeping with Bathsheba and having her husband killed. The punishment: God kills their newborn son.

After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife. David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused.

Then on the seventh day the child died.

Of course, I think it rather terrible that God killed a baby for the sins of its parents, but I am also reminded of opinions I have heard on abortion. Some people say that abortion should be illegal, even for women who were raped. They say the child does not deserve to be punished for the sins of its father. Compare and contrast that view with this story.

New Testament

I realized today the point of all of Jesus' blabbing in this gospel. Here's what I think: The gospel of John was written something like 50 years after Jesus was crucified. By this point, it was probably pretty clear to Jesus' followers that the "the end is near" tone taken in the other gospels was no longer holding water.

Jesus' followers needed to start transitioning their religion from an end times religion to one that could last for an arbitrarily long period into the future. To handle this, the emerging church needed some way of being able to claim authoritative revelations and now and in the future. Thus, the author of John really stresses the importance and authority of the Holy Spirit.

Psalms and Proverbs

ט (teth) and י (yodh). 


Also, today's first proverb proves that I, the evil atheist, am useful!

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
even the wicked for a day of disaster.

May 26

Reference links:

2 Samuel 9:1-11:27 John 15:1-27 Psalm 119:49-64 Proverbs 16:1-3

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

David offers to restore land and wealth to Jonathan's crippled son, Mephibosheth. That's nice of him. There's always the possibility that David did this to keep Saul's only known living descendant under his eyes, but given that Mephibosheth was never presented as much of a threat, I'll take this story at face value.

David and his armies also kill a lot more people, but all that killing is just to set the stage for what happens next: the Bathesheba incident. One spring, David did not go out to war with his men. Instead, he stayed home.

Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”

I wonder what Bathesheba thought of being propositioned by the king.  I can only assume that saying "no" was not really an option, regardless of what she thought of the king. Thus, I wonder, was what happened between David and Bathsheba closer to rape or adultery?

In any case, once Bathsheba reveals that she is pregnant, David tries his hardest to get her husband to go home and sleep with her. After that fails, he has Bathsheba's husband sent to the front lines of battle where he is killed. Now this is pretty terrible, but, at least, we will read later that this whole affair was the one time David sinned (now, I don't buy that it's the only time, but it shows how terrible this situation was).

As soon as Bathsheba finishes mourning for her husband, David sends for her and marries her. Again, I wonder what she thought about this. Tradition has that they loved each other, and maybe later readings would show that, but, as far as we have seen, Bathsheba has no reason to love David.

New Testament

Blah blah blah, obey my commands and great things will happen. Blah blah the Father blah blah. The command itself is a pretty good one, "Love each other."

We also get a passage today about how the world will hate and persecute Jesus' followers.

Psalms and Proverbs

ז (zayin) and ח (heth).

May 25

Reference links:

2 Samuel 7:1-8:18 John 14:15-31 Psalm 119:33-48 Proverbs 15:33

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

God tells David through the prophet Nathan (new character?) that he should not build a temple for God. Instead, God will establish a dynasty that lasts "forever" (yes, I know the Christian interpretation. No I don't buy it.) and David's son will build the temple. David then thanks God.

We then read about more of David's military victories. Now, I consider David's habit of killing whole cities of people to be quite terrible, but today we read about something that is, in some ways, worse.

After this, David defeated and subdued the Philistines by conquering Gath, their largest town. David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money.

David is using a pseudorandom method to save one third of the people and executing the rest. Imagine the scene. Lying on the ground, soldiers standing guard next to you. The rope is measuring people off. Some people could tell which group they were in before they were measured off. Others were nearer the boundaries. The boundary divides father from son, friend from friend, husband from wife, sending one to be executed and the other to live. It's cruel and sickening.

Also, David's armies crippled a bunch of chariot horses. Also cruel.

New Testament

Jesus continues blabbing. Currently, he is going on about the holy spirit. I am sure that all of this is very inspiring to those who believe, but to me, it's like hearing someone go on and on and on about the importance of having the right belief about pink unicorns. It is pointless and boring.

Psalms and Proverbs

ה (he) and ו (waw) today.

May 24

Reference links:

2 Samuel 4:1-6:23 John 13:31-14:14 Psalm 119:17-32 Proverbs 15:31-32

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Ishbosheth is murdered in his bed. David proves to still dislike those who kill royalty and has the murderers killed. The text reads very oddly. In addition to there being redundant information in two of the paragraphs (the lineage of the murderers), there is also a random, completely out of place feeling, insert about Jonathan's crippled son Mephibosheth. This paragraph says that he was crippled and then he is not mentioned for the rest of today's reading. Very odd.

Now that Ishbosheth is dead, David is able to become king of all of Israel. He wins the city of Jerusalem, which was controlled by Jebusites. This passage has more awkward bits.

On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, “I hate those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites. Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel.” That is the origin of the saying, “The blind and the lame may not enter the house.”

Buh wah? That doesn't even make sense. I am starting to wonder if this section of this book underwent some major corruption at some point. The foot notes do not indicate this, but there are so many parts that are just bizarrely awkward to read.

David has the ark moved to Jerusalem, and God has a temper tantrum. Reminds us of the old days of the Torah!

But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God.

Come on God, the dude was just trying to help.

This incident kind of pissed off David, so he left the Ark at someone's house for a few months before brining it back to Jerusalem. This leads to some marital strife.

But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.

...

When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”

David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished!” So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life.

The easy reading of this passage is that Michal, Saul's daughter, is proud and haughty and resents David's behavior. God, however, approves of David's behavior and so strikes Michal barren for criticizing her husband.

However, there are at least two ways of reading this passage that are more interesting. Michal was Saul's daughter and David's first wife. If she had had a son with David, he would have had a super legitimate claim to the throne despite all the other children he has had by this point. This would have gotten in the way of the story which will build on a narrative of Solomon becoming king. Hence, the story needs to make it clear that Michal did not have children.

Another way of reading this passage is that Michal's comments were not about David's behavior at all. Consider this passage from earlier,

After moving from Hebron to Jerusalem, David married more concubines and wives, and they had more sons and daughters.

Michal is David's first wife. She was given to another man whom she seem fairly happy with and then David forced her back to him. By the time we get to today's reading, David had the six additional wives named in yesterday's reading plus "more concubines and wives".

Thus, this exchange could really be about David's licentious ways. Notice that the mention of servant girls (young, nubile servant girls) is nearly as much a focus of Michal and David's conversation as the dancing itself. In particular.

Michal: How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls [Why were you flirting with those servant girls? It made you look like an idiot!]

David: But those servant girls you mentioned will indeed think I am distinguished! [They didn't think so. Watch as I go seduce one of them into my harem.]

New Testament

Jesus predicts Peter's denial. This is another of those few stories that overlap between the Gospel of John and the synoptic gospels. This is followed by more blabling.

Psalms and Proverbs

ג [gimel] and ד [daleth] today! This psalm is a good review of the alphabet.

Also, a fine proverb today,

If you listen to constructive criticism,
you will be at home among the wise.

May 23

Reference links:

2 Samuel 2:12-3:39 John 13:1-30 Psalm 119:1-16 Proverbs 15:29-30

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Today we read about the trouble between Israel, ruled by Ishbosheth son of Saul, and Judah, ruled by David. It starts as follows:

Then Abner [leader of Ishboshet's troops] suggested to Joab [leader of David's troops], “Let’s have a few of our warriors fight hand to hand here in front of us.”

“All right,” Joab agreed. So twelve men were chosen to fight from each side—twelve men of Benjamin representing Ishbosheth son of Saul, and twelve representing David. Each one grabbed his opponent by the hair and thrust his sword into the other’s side so that all of them died. So this place at Gibeon has been known ever since as the Field of Swords.

A fierce battle followed that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the forces of David.

Either Abner and Joab were looking to start a war or they were stupid. I mean really, who thinks it is a good idea to engage your enemy just for fun? Who can't see that such a thing will lead to trouble.

The fighting continues, and it becomes quite personal. However, that's all boring. Much more interesting is the comment, almost a side comment, on David's family at this point:

These are the sons who were born to David in Hebron:
The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel.
The second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel.
The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur.
The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith.
The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital.
The sixth was Ithream, whose mother was Eglah, David’s wife.

When did David have time to pick up four more wives? And why did he feel the need for so many. In addition to all these wives, he demands the return of Michal, Saul's daughter. I feel kind of sorry for her. Although her emotions on being returned to David are never mentioned, the emotions of the husband she is taken away from seem sincerely sad,

So Ishbosheth took Michal away from her husband, Palti son of Laish. Palti followed along behind her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he went. Then Abner told him, “Go back home!” So Palti returned.

It seems unlikely that most of these women could have been much more than spoils of war and raiding (David only ruled from Hebron for seven and a half years). It is not even clear that he considers all of them wives. I must say that I am not completely fond of this situation.

New Testament

Wow, the Jesus in John is actually taking some action! He washes his disciples feet.

So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

Given that Jesus took off his robe, I wonder what was traditionally worn under one.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today we start what is a psalm made up of many smaller psalms. Today's reading has psalms for aleph and beth, and the note says we get one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That should be fun! I feel like I am missing a lot by reading it in English though. In Hebrew, according to my footnote, each of the verses within each stanza starts with the letter for that stanza. In English, it just starts with whatever.

May 22

Reference links:

2 Samuel 1:1-2:11 John 12:20-50 Psalm 118:19-29 Proverbs 15:27-28

Overview of the Books of Samuel Overview of the Gospel of John Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

We start 2 Samuel today, but it's not really any different than 1 Samuel, so no new overview.

David learns of Saul's death from a lying Amalekite, or, at least, he seems like he is lying compared to the previous account of Saul's death. This may be another case of different narratives smooshing together.

“How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David demanded of the young man.

The man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him. When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. ‘How can I help?’ I asked him.

“He responded, ‘Who are you?’

“‘I am an Amalekite,’ I told him.

“Then he begged me, ‘Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.’

“So I killed him,” the Amalekite told David, “for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and his armband, and I have brought them here to you, my lord.”

David has the Amalekite killed for killing Saul and mourns Saul's death.

The rest of today's reading sets up what I am sure are going to be exciting times ahead. David is recognized as king by some folks, but other folks recognize Saul's son, Ishbosheth, as king.

New Testament

I think I may have just about given up on commenting on the Gospel of John. How can John's Jesus say so little in so many words? I will be happy when we are done with this gospel.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today's psalm (actually, a continuation of yesterday's psalm) apparently is the source of some familiar lines that I never knew were from the same place:

The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.

This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.