2 Samuel 2 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: We Can Depend on God - August 2, 2022

From the first chapter of Scripture, the Bible makes a case for the dependability of God. Without exception, when God spoke something wonderful happened. By divine fiat there was light, land, beaches, and creatures. God consulted no advisers. He needed no assistance. “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:9 NIV).

The same power is seen in Jesus. He is unchanging. He’s never caught off guard by the unexpected. “God never changes or casts a shifting shadow” (James 1:17 NLT). God is strong. He does not overpromise and under deliver. “God is able to do whatever he promises” (Romans 4:21 NLT). “It is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18 NLT).

God will keep his promises. It must happen because of who God is. And because God’s promises are unbreakable, our hope is unshakable.

2 Samuel 2

After all this, David prayed. He asked God, “Shall I move to one of the cities of Judah?”

God said, “Yes, move.”

“And to which city?”

“To Hebron.”

2-3 So David moved to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David’s men, along with their families, also went with him and made their home in and around Hebron.

4-7 The citizens of Judah came to Hebron, and then and there made David king over the clans of Judah.

A report was brought to David that the men of Jabesh Gilead had given Saul a decent burial. David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead: “God bless you for this—for honoring your master, Saul, with a funeral. God honor you and be true to you—and I’ll do the same, matching your generous act of goodness. Strengthen your resolve and do what must be done. Your master, Saul, is dead. The citizens of Judah have made me their king.”

* * *

8-11 In the meantime, Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim and made him king over Gilead, over Asher, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin—king, as it turns out, over all Israel. Ish-Bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he was made king over Israel. He lasted only two years. But the people of Judah stuck with David. David ruled the people of Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years.

12-13 One day Abner son of Ner set out from Mahanaim with the soldiers of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, headed for Gibeon. Joab son of Zeruiah, with David’s soldiers, also set out. They met at the Pool of Gibeon, Abner’s group on one side, Joab’s on the other.

14 Abner challenged Joab, “Put up your best fighters. Let’s see them do their stuff.”

Joab said, “Good! Let them go at it!”

15-16 So they lined up for the fight, twelve Benjaminites from the side of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve soldiers from David’s side. The men from each side grabbed their opponents’ heads and stabbed them with their daggers. They all fell dead—the whole bunch together. So, they called the place Slaughter Park. It’s right there at Gibeon.

17-19 The fighting went from bad to worse throughout the day. Abner and the men of Israel were beaten to a pulp by David’s men. The three sons of Zeruiah were present: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel, as fast as a wild antelope on the open plain, chased Abner, staying hard on his heels.

20 Abner turned and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“It surely is,” he said.

21 Abner said, “Let up on me. Pick on someone you have a chance of beating and be content with those spoils!” But Asahel wouldn’t let up.

22 Abner tried again, “Turn back. Don’t force me to kill you. How would I face your brother Joab?”

23-25 When he refused to quit, Abner struck him in the belly with the blunt end of his spear so hard that it came out his back. Asahel fell to the ground and died at once. Everyone who arrived at the spot where Asahel fell and died stood and gaped—Asahel dead! But Joab and Abishai kept up the chase after Abner. As the sun began to set, they came to the hill of Ammah that faced Giah on the road to the backcountry of Gibeon. The Benjaminites had taken their stand with Abner there, deployed strategically on a hill.

26 Abner called out to Joab, “Are we going to keep killing each other till doomsday? Don’t you know that nothing but bitterness will come from this? How long before you call off your men from chasing their brothers?”

27-28 “As God lives,” said Joab, “if you hadn’t spoken up, we’d have kept up the chase until morning!” Then he blew the ram’s horn trumpet and the whole army of Judah stopped in its tracks. They quit chasing Israel and called off the fighting.

29 Abner and his soldiers marched all that night up the Arabah Valley. They crossed the Jordan and, after a long morning’s march, arrived at Mahanaim.

30-32 After Joab returned from chasing Abner, he took a head count of the army. Nineteen of David’s men (besides Asahel) were missing. David’s men had cut down 360 of Abner’s men, all Benjaminites—all dead. They brought Asahel and buried him in the family tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men then marched all night, arriving in Hebron as the dawn broke.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, August 02, 2022
Today's Scripture
Proverbs 15:31–33

Listen to good advice if you want to live well,

an honored guest among wise men and women.

32     An undisciplined, self-willed life is puny;

an obedient, God-willed life is spacious.

33     Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living—

first you learn humility, then you experience glory.

Insight

In the book of Proverbs, the wise are the righteous who obey God and live according to the Scriptures (15:31; see 2:20; 9:9; 10:8). The fool, on the other hand, despises His instructions (1:7; 2:12–15; 10:23; see Psalm 14:1). Solomon contrasted the attitudes, actions, and words of the wise and the foolish (primarily in Proverbs 10:1–15:33). Proverbs 15 describes a godly person as one who is discerning (v. 21), seeks godly counsel (v. 22), speaks graciously (v. 23), lives cautiously (v. 24), and shows humility (v. 25). The righteous are pure in heart (v. 26), honest (v. 27), self-controlled (v. 28), prayerful (v. 29), joyful (v. 30), teachable (vv. 31–32), and fear God (v. 33). The imperative for such a God-honoring life is stated in Proverbs 1:7 and again in 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

To learn more about the book of Proverbs, visit https://odbu.org/courses/ot021/?utm_source=August+2+ODB+Insight+&utm_medium=email%2C+app%2C+web&utm_campaign=Reading+the+Proverbs+ODBU-ODB+. By: K. T. Sim

Life-Giving Correction

Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.
Proverbs 15:31

“Unfortunately, we had a pretty hard conversation recently,” said Shellie. “I don’t think either of us enjoyed it, but I really felt her attitude and actions needed to be addressed in order to keep from hurting those around her.” Shellie was talking about the young woman she mentors. Although uncomfortable, their conversation was fruitful and actually strengthened their relationship. Just a few weeks later, the two women led a church-wide prayer time with the theme of humility.

Even outside of a formal mentoring relationship, we’ll face a tough conversation or two with a brother or sister in Christ. In Proverbs, a book full of timeless wisdom, the importance of humility in giving and receiving correction is a repeated theme. In fact, constructive criticism is called “life-giving” and leads to true wisdom (Proverbs 15:31). Proverbs 15:5 says a fool spurns discipline, while those who heed correction show good judgment. Put plainly, “the one who hates correction will die” (v. 10). As Shellie witnessed, truth spoken in love can bring new life to a relationship.

Is there someone in your life to whom a word of loving, life-giving correction should be spoken? Or perhaps you have recently received wise admonition and been tempted to respond with anger or indifference. To disregard discipline is to despise oneself, but to heed correction is to gain understanding (v. 32). Let’s ask God to help us give and receive correction with humility today. By:  Karen Pimpo

Reflect & Pray

How do you handle constructive criticism? What does humility look like?

Dear God, I seek Your wisdom. Please give me a humble heart, ready to receive life-giving correction.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, August 02, 2022
  
The Teaching of Adversity

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. —John 16:33

The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” (Psalm 91:1,10)— the place where you are at one with God.

If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.” The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it means to live the life of a saint.

God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment— “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life…” (Revelation 2:7). If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Bible in a Year: Psalms 60-62; Romans 5

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, August 02, 2022

The Real You And The Wannabe You - #9277

I thought "catfishing" sounded like a Friday night feast in Mississippi. Until the absolutely weird news story came out about Notre Dame's All-American football star, reportedly falling in love with a girl who wasn't there. To be sure, his moving story of the death of the woman he loved on the eve of a critical late-season game raised tons of questions. He claimed that she turned out to be only an Internet invention. And that's why "catfishing" was suddenly in the news.

I found out that "catfishing" is defined as "building a fake online person and trapping others." And apparently, I guess it's happening more and more. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Convincingly portraying a "person" that isn't really there at all. That's actually not all that new. Humans have been doing that for a long time.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Real You And The Wannabe You."

We date and sell ourselves as someone we're not - which is why so many people are shocked to discover they unknowingly married a stranger. We write, shall we say, "creative" resumes to get a job. We put on a great "church me," concealing the truth that it's more like "Sunday saint, Monday ain't." Happy-go-lucky on the outside, bleeding on the inside. All friendly to their face; all backstabbing when they're not around. Claiming to love the person you married while your eyes and your passions are on roam. Or acting like you've got it all together when inside you are falling apart.

Most of us are pretty good at giving folks the person they want us to be. Teenagers fool their parents, employees fool their boss, students con their teacher, husbands deceive their wife and wives their husband, guys and gals scam each other with lies to land a catch. Yeah, there are a lot of people out there who don't really exist. Like the sets for Hollywood movies; you know, impressive on the outside, but really only a front. There's nothing on the inside.

And then there are the people with integrity. They're rare. Therefore, they're really valuable. In math class, we learned that an "integer" is one whole number. Right? Well integrity means you are one whole person. There's only one you. You're the same person at home, at work, at the gym, at the store, in the classroom, in public, and when you're all alone. Real all the way through. A light in a sea of fake.

Unfortunately, we get so used to being great pretenders that we're prone to a truly deadly mistake; thinking we'll make it with God if we look good on the outside. But none of our spiritual masks fool God for a second. The Bible says, "Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man sows what he reaps" (Galatians 6:7).

Our word for today from the Word of God in Hebrews 4:13 tells us that the Judge we will all stand before says (listen to this), "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).

In preparation for that day, God tells church folks in the Bible, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5). That's because it's possible to have tons of Christianity and somehow miss Christ, which sets the stage for this chilling Judgment Day verdict from Jesus in Matthew 7:23, "I never knew you."

Jesus on the outside won't cut it with God; only Jesus on the inside, in your heart, for real. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, and you want to be sure, would you say, "Jesus, I'm yours today."

Join me at our website and let me help you be sure you belong to Him. We'll walk you through very simply how to make sure. Because it's time to find the road that will finally get you all the way home.