Promises, giants, the deeds of God and man

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Greg Nixon:

What did I like about today’s passage?

We see several gear changes today: from the famine of broken promise, to a psalm of the psalmist, to a roll of honour, and finally to a botched census that ends 2 Samuel rather abruptly.

I like that the passages at 21v15 and 23v8 onwards read like the combination of a showreel in an epic series of battles, and the credits of a film. Our son Benaiah is the namesake of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who “went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion” – all in a day’s work!

David’s song of praise is great. I love the rich imagery, which gives us a taste of God’s majesty and His help in time of need, and also how it reminds us of the blessings Jacob gave to his sons.

Today, almost everything is measured or counted in some way. It may then almost seem careless that David doesn’t know the size of his army – wouldn’t it be responsible to know? But we have seen it’s not about human power: God brings victory with whatever force He likes, whether it is Gideon’s 300 men, or Moses’ lifted arms in the battle at Rephidim against the Amalekites. If we are tempted to rely on our numbers, we don’t need to know them; instead we rely on God to multiply whatever we have.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God cares that promises are kept, even if they were made generations ago. He is faithful and wants us, His people, to be faithful. He can be trusted, and we, who are made in His image, should be trustworthy too.

There is a lot about God in David’s song of praise. The power of God is so far beyond our understanding: at just a rebuke from the Lord, the foundations of the earth are laid bare. And I hadn’t noticed before that God is a rider: “He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind” – whilst in the context of God’s power and might, this also sounds like a lot of fun!

And finally, God brings hope (22v26-29). “To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shewed. You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low. You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”

What am I going to do differently as a result?

As we’ve read through 2 Samuel, we’ve seen a range of human actions and reactions, often repeated, often escalating, often messy. We’ve seen God carrying out His promises, and we’ve seen Him working through every situation. I’m going to talk more with my Father God, brother Jesus and companion Holy Spirit, so that I might change to become more like them.

Who am I going to share this with?

My wife Liz, to help me be accountable for my thoughts, words and actions.