Tag: Jerusalem

The Bible in a Year – 11 April

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

11 April. 2 Samuel 22-24

The first two chapters of today’s reading appear to bring David’s life nearly to a close, following his retirement from active military command.  First, in chapter 22, there is what is best described as a psalm, in the same tradition as many others in that book attributed to David.  This one, which we might term “Psalm Zero”, has been a fertile source of imagery for prayer, hymn and song writers down the centuries.  “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies”; “his chariots of wrath the deep thunder clouds form, and dark is his path on the wings of the storm”; “lighten our darkness, Lord, we pray”; “the Lord liveth, blessed be my rock, and may the God of my salvation be exalted” – these lines and many others owe their inspiration to this song of praise to a God whose presence David had always recognised, in good times and bad.

 

After that are what are described as David’s last words (23:1-7), again in poetic form and praising God’s inspiration and help.  After that comes a tribute to the three military leaders who had formed his immediate ‘cabinet’ and thirty others who had achieved renown – we could think of them as the “Knights of the Garter”. The list must date back to earlier in David’s reign, though, as it includes Uriah the Hittite whom David had arranged to be killed.

 

But David’s life is not yet over, and he receives what he takes to be God’s instruction to take a census of fighting men.  Yet he is then told that this displeases God (presumably as it represents putting one’s trust in military force and not God’s help) and is given an unwelcome choice of three punishments, from which he chooses a pestilence in the land.  At the close of chapter 24 he sees the destroying angel on the threshing floor of the Jebusite (i.e. in Jerusalem), where the plaque stops before reaching the capital, and he erects an altar there in thanksgiving.  Tradition has it that this is the same site as where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac before God intervened by providing a ram; and the same site on which the holiest place of the Jerusalem Temple, and later the Al-Aqsa mosque, would eventually be sited.  It has therefore become a sacred site both to Jews and Muslims; less so to Christians for whom Jerusalem was the centre of a mission outwards to the world rather than a focus for inward pilgrimage.

The Bible in a Year – 5 April

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

5 April. 2 Samuel chapters 4-6

The point I made yesterday about David refusing to countenance the killing of a leader is seen here again as he orders the killing of the men who killed Ishbaal (Saul’s son) in revenge for the murder of Abner. But there still seems to be something of a double standard –  punishing people for taking revenge by killing them just seems to perpetuate the cycle of violence.

 

In chapter 5 things take a brighter turn, as the leaders of all the tribes agree to David being crowned king as successor to Saul.  All his adventures so far have taken place over probably no more than 12 to 15 years, as he is said to be 30 at the time of his coronation.  We are told at the start of his reign that he would reign for forty years (a good Biblical period!).

 

Initially David’s royal base was at Hebron, but after six years he achieved what had proved impossible in Joshua’s time, the capture of the hill fort at Jerusalem which had remained an enclave of the indigenous Jebusites within the territory of Benjamin for maybe 400 years.  It must have been a wonderful moment for David when he marched into Jerusalem for the first time, not only for the victory in itself, but because he came from Bethlehem only a few miles away, as we are reminded when we sing at Christmas “Once in Royal David’s city”. As a boy he must often have looked up at the gentile city on the hill; maybe he had felt called all along to take it for God’s people.

 

In the following chapter, the ark – the symbol of God’s presence – is brought into the city with much rejoicing – no wonder David put on the priestly vestment (ephod) and danced for joy!  There is a modern worship song – “When the spirit of the Lord moves within my heart, I will dance as David danced”.  Not too literally one hopes, as his wife Michal criticised him for being indecently dressed before female onlookers (presumably the ephod was the equivalent of kilt). Nonetheless, Jerusalem would remain the capital of Judah for a similar length of time (400 years or so) before the Babylonians eventually captured it, and the spiritual home of the Jews to the present day.