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David and Abigail

1 Samuel 25-27

August 28, 2022 • 1 Samuel 25, 1 Samuel 26, 1 Samuel 27

ABIGAIL IS a wonderful example of wisdom and diplomacy, who acted contrary to her husband’s wishes—but in his best interests.

Nabal—certainly not his name, since it means “fool”—insulted the messengers sent by David to ask for some supplies after protecting Nabal’s flocks and shepherds in the wilderness. Abigail wisely put together a caravan of gifts for David and his men, which stopped David from slaughtering everyone in Nabal’s household.

When Abigail told her husband what had happened, Nabal suffered a heart attack (or a stroke) and died ten days later. David sent to Abigail and made her his third wife (after Saul’s daughter Michal and Ahinoam of Jezreel).

Meanwhile, Saul continued to hunt for David, who spares the king’s life a second time. Not being stupid, David decided to take his followers and his new wives to the Philistines. This time, Achish, the king of Gath, took David in. This put David in an awkward position: On the one hand, Saul wouldn’t chase him into Philistine territory. On the other, David had to show loyalty to Achish without raiding and killing his fellow Israelites.

Together in the Garden of Love

March 10, 2024 • Song of Songs 6, Song of Songs 7, Song of Songs 8, Proverbs 1

IT’S APPARENT why the Song of Solomon is not often preached in church.  It is a beautiful and poetic description of the love and desire felt by a husband and wife, but the euphemisms that describe physical intimacy between Solomon can raise awkward questions from children in the congregation! But if you have been blessed with a loving marital relationship, you know. We also begin the proverbs of Solomon this week. Chapter 1 emphasizes the importance of wisdom, which begins with the fear of (or reverence toward) God. We also explain why the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs 1, and later in Proverbs 8, does not mean that there is a feminine aspect to the godhead, nor does it mean that God has a “wife.”

As a Lily Among Brambles

March 3, 2024 • Song of Songs 5, Song of Songs 1, Song of Songs 2, Song of Songs 3, Song of Songs 4

THE SONG OF SOLOMON has layers of meaning. On the surface, it’s a beautiful depiction of the intimate relationship between a husband and wife. At a deeper level, it’s a picture of the mutual love between Christ and his church. We discuss the first five chapters and note the bride’s description of herself as “very dark, but lovely,” which is not based on racial characteristics but implies one whose skin is darkened by the sun—a laborer, one of lower social status than her husband. Nonetheless, the husband, who may be Solomon, is clearly in love with his bride.

The Prayer of Solomon

February 25, 2024 • 2 Chronicles 1, Psalm 72

SOLOMON’S PRAYER for wisdom pleased God, who honored Solomon’s wish and granted him more besides. 2 Chronicles picks up the story of Solomon from the beginning of his reign around 971 BC. At this time, the tabernacle of Moses was still at Gibeon, a city in the territory of Benjamin just north of Jerusalem, although the ark of the covenant was in Jerusalem. The wealth of Solomon is legendary. It’s possible that the political situation in the eastern Mediterranean after the Bronze Age Collapse around 1200–1175 BC left a power vacuum that was filled by the kingdom of David and Solomon, but the hand of God was in all of the events. We detour briefly into the history of the era and how such seemingly unconnected events like the Trojan War (c. 1200 BC) may have created some of the political entities, like Kue (probably Mycenaean Greeks) mentioned in 2 Chr. 1:16, with which David and Solomon had dealings. We also discuss Psalm 72, a prayer for the new king, and note the interesting connection made by the Jewish scholars who translated the Septuagint between “oppression” and usury (Ps. 72:14), the practice of lending money with an unreasonably high rate of interest. It sounds like present day credit cards!