Reading With the People of God #10 Kingdomنموونە

Focus of the month: (Kingdom)

7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’ ”.

- 1 Chronicles 17:7-14

David and Ziba

Today’s reading describes a chaotic chapter in the days of King David. We find David’s son Absalom on the throne of Israel and David running for his life from his own family. On top of that, Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth, son of Ishbosheth, thinks he should be king. So along comes Ziba, who was a servant of Mephibosheth, supplying provisions to David and his people in an act of treason to his master. David, in turn, is grateful and tells Ziba that whatever belongs to Mephibosheth is now his. It’s good to be king.

Then, we hear about the curses of Shimei. A distant relative of Saul, Shimei was no admirer of David. As David passed his town, he engaged in political activism and threw rocks and epithets at the entourage, greatly concerning David’s security team. Shimei appears to be very well-versed in all of David’s faults and failures and eloquently and loudly reminds everyone of them. In an act of supreme diplomatic grace, David rebuked his officers and mighty warriors, saying, “If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

Then, we get an update on how the Absalom administration is faring. Upon entry to Jerusalem and under the advice of counsel, he immediately had relations with his father’s concubines. Things did not go well after that.

Misdirected zeal

In Romans 10 today, Paul was contending with factions in the Roman church along cultural lines that were not conducive to spreading the gospel of Jesus. The infighting was beginning to take a toll on the unity of the body. Paul establishes faith as the great equalizer between Jews and Gentiles in the sight of God. The good news is that salvation is for everyone. The definitive statement of salvation is in verse 9;

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 NLT

The urgency of spreading the gospel and the message of salvation through Christ is perfectly captured in these verses of great insight into the sanctifying journey of faith we are all called to, Jews and Gentiles alike, as believers in Christ. Paul’s academic background in the Scriptures is evident here as he brings forward into his unifying message passages from the prophet Joel, The Psalms, and the prophet Isaiah. All are used to energize and unify the body of Christ.

* Primer contributed by Matt Harry, Elder Emeritus, Cornerstone