You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast

The reading today is broken into two distinct segments.  The first, which occupies most of chapter 13, is entirely teaching and explanation, sometimes with the crowds, and sometimes privately with Jesus’ disciples.  The next unit is introduced when Jesus had finished these sayings… and it focuses on action: in Nazareth, in the wilderness, and on the sea.

In chapter 13, Jesus tells at least seven distinct parables having to do with the Kingdom of Heaven: the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl, and the net.  In the first, Jesus illustrates the responses people have to hearing the word of the Kingdom of Heaven.  In the next six, Jesus paints a picture of this Kingdom that He’s been talking about from the very beginning. 

Listen carefully and you will find that these six parables fall into three categories.  There are two which speak of the Kingdom’s inevitable bounty.  Another two highlight its immense value.  And bookending these are two in which people themselves are divided – between those who receive the Kingdom and those who do not: either wheat or weeds, either good fish or bad fish.  While little is said about those who receive the Kingdom, Jesus presents a harrowing vision for those who are rejected.

At the end of chapter 13 Jesus returns to His hometown, only to find that there is little willingness to accept Him and therefore, in Matthew’s words, He did not do many mighty works there.  After learning of Herod’s interest in Him (brought on by the death of John the Baptist), Jesus attempts twice to withdraw.  The first time the crowds find Him, and His compassion moves Him not only heal, but also to feed.  The second time He actually does escape, then tracks down the disciples during a storm, at night, out on the sea. 

The first time Jesus astounded them on the water, the men asked, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"  Today they answer their own question: “Truly You are the Son of God.” 

Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Matthew 13 and 14.  Now let’s read it!

Sheba’s revolt in chapter 20 marks the end of what can be considered the sequential chronology of 2 Samuel.  The remaining chapters recount events that fit the author’s thematic purposes for the end of the book, but don’t tie to a strict timeline. 

This is evident from at least three factors.  First, the author in chapter 21 tells us that this story happened “in the days of David,” which would be a peculiar thing to say since we’ve been reading about David all along.  Second, the song of deliverance in chapter 22 is a poem spoken by David on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.  And third, the events of chapters 21 and 24 show a younger, more virile David than was reflected in the last few chapters.

As with the flashback stories at the end of Judges, let’s approach these chapters as though the authors knew what they were doing, and try to better understand the purpose they serve here at the end of the Books of Samuel. 

Our first story is launched against the backdrop of a three-year famine, which David discovers is the LORD’s judgment for a crime perpetrated by Saul.  The event referenced doesn’t appear in scripture, but the author reveals it as a breach of the promise Gibeon had exacted – albeit under false pretenses – from Joshua.  David’s solution, though perhaps disturbing to us, appears to satisfy the LORD’s call for justice. 

After recounting a few earlier battles with the Philistines, the author’s recounts a song David spoke to the LORD in thanks for His deliverance.  Before we dive in, I’m reminded of Nathan’s rebuke in chapter 12: “I gave you…the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.  Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight?”

Consider what might have been when the younger, more innocent David who authored this song celebrates that “The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness… For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.” 

Pay attention also to how David envisions the LORD in action.  “Smoke went out from His nostrils… He rode on a cherub and flew… He sent arrows and scattered them…  The foundations of the world were laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD.” 

Our verse for this week is Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

2 Samuel 21 and 22.  Now let’s read it!

In the middle of chapter 12, Matthew foreshadows the trajectory of the rest of the story: But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, to destroy Him.  Now “destroy” can mean a few things.  It can mean to literally kill Jesus.  It can also mean to discredit Him, or to distract Him, to somehow neutralize Him so that He would be ineffective. 

This is a bit of a watershed for the Gospel: our reading before this helps us see the Pharisees’ motivation; our reading afterwards exposes their intended result, at least initially.  Put yourself in the mind of the original reader who probably knows the basics of the Jesus story: they’d heard of some miraculous birth, they knew He died, and they knew – at least it had been reported – that He’d risen.   But this shell of a story leaves more questions than answers, and Matthew has set about reporting on what He has investigated and personally seen.

There was the moment when John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus from prison: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” and Jesus answered, “Go tell John what you see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk…”  How He then condemned the cities where most of His mighty works had been done… “Chorazin!..Bethsaida…if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.”

Then there was that Sabbath when Jesus and His disciples were picking grain to eat, and Pharisees tried to lecture Him on the law.  Then Jesus went into the synagogue and they practically dared Him to heal a man with a withered hand.  It’s hard to tell whether the Pharisees are more angry that Jesus called Himself “The Lord of the Sabbath” or that He actually proved it.  Either way, that was the day Matthew first reported their conspiracy against Jesus.  

Jesus got wind of this and withdrew but kept healing – funny how the prophets predicted this as well – but the Pharisees kept turning up.  When Jesus cast out a demon, they just redirected the people: “It is only by…the Prince of Demons that this man casts out demons.”  Then when they asked Him for a sign, like they wanted to believe just like John the Baptist had, Jesus communicated the only sign they would receive – the one that would finally condemn them.  

Our verse for this week is Psalm 19:4: Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

Matthew 11 and 12.  Now let’s read it!

The primary character in today’s stories, as much as David, is Joab, the commander of his army. Joab is furious as David’s grief forces the victors to return as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle.  Chapter 19 opens with Joab fiercely rebuking David for his grief: “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants… for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.” 

It’s interesting to look back on Joab’s story.  Remember that Joab had taken revenge on Abner for his brother’s death, and that the king lamented for Abner – the commander of Saul’s army – but did not lament for Joab’s brother – one of David’s soldiers.  Joab was faithful to David in the Uriah affair, but also knew he was ending an innocent man’s life on David’s behalf.  And again, out of loyalty to David’s throne but not obedience to his command, Joab would not “waste time” debating whether to kill Absalom. 

Today Joab unleashes his fury at the king in a public and humiliating way – if others could hear David mourning, you can be sure they heard Joab’s rebuke.  While it initially seems that he gets away with treating the king this way, David soon replaces him with Amasa – who later suffers the same fate as others who have stood in Joab’s way. 

David could not, or would not, see what Absalom was about.  Then he exerts greater effort to mourn his son than to thank the thousands who defended him.  But this is only symptomatic of something bigger going on with him.  Remember that he chose to abandon the capital, rather than defend it.  Today he is unable to discern when there might be another side to the Mephibosheth story.  He still steadfastly refuses to take any action against Joab, who has thoroughly revealed his character and even killed the king’s son in known violation of a direct order.  And today he will face a second civil conflict from one “who will do more harm than Absalom.”

There is one other literary detail to note.  At the end of chapter 19 the author notes discord between “the men of Judah” and “the men of Israel.”  You’ll hear in this a condition that has been hinted at for some time – a division between the Judahite loyalty to David’s throne and the other tribes – consolidated as “Israel,” challenging David’s authority.  This is the first glimpse of a cleft that will threaten the nation’s existence in years to come.  

Our verse for this week is Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

2 Samuel 19 and 20.  Now let’s read it!