Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 23 and Psalm 99 In 2 Samuel 23, David lets us in on a little secret. At some point during his reign, the LORD Himself had imparted a word of great wisdom to David. God had shown David that the secret to a kingdom blessed by God was to rule with…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 98 2 Samuel 22 contains a Psalm of David which is also published in the Book of Psalms as Psalm 18. As David’s reign was easing towards a peaceful end, he looked back on all the ways God had delivered, rescued and saved him out of countless life-threatening…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 21 and Psalm 97 2 Samuel 21 starts with an account of the consequences of a broken covenant. Israel had entered a covenant of peace with the Gibeonites (see Joshua 9), but at some stage during his reign (not recorded in Scripture), Saul had started a systematic campaign to “annihilate” them.…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 20 and Psalm 96 In 2 Samuel 19 we saw how the elders of Israel took offence at not being given the opportunity to cross the Jordan with David to honour him. But these same elders happily supported Sheba’s rebellion against David. Thereby they revealed that they were never out to…

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Daily Readings for Ascension Day: Acts 1:1-11 and Psalm 47 In John 16:7 Jesus said: “Unless I go away, the Advocate (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” This is why, as Jesus was about to ascend in Acts 1, He again spoke about…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 19 and Psalm 95 After Absalom’s death the battle was won, but the kingdom had not yet been restored to David. In a triumph of diplomacy, David sent a message to the elders of Judah to assure them that he would appoint Amasa as the commander of his army. Amasa was…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 18 and Psalm 94 What catches your attention in today’s chapter of 2 Samuel? David’s continued love for the son who is trying his best to kill him is heart-rending. Many of us know all too well the pain caused by schisms between parents and their children, whom they never stop…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 17 and Psalm 93 Absalom had successfully seduced the hearts of the men of Israel. He had turned them against the king who had made their nation great, his own father, David. And now, on the sound military advice of Ahithophel, he was ready to set out in pursuit of David…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 16 and Psalm 92 Psalm 92:6-7 declares with defiant faith, “Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand,that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed for ever.” In this brief season, Absalom’s evil plan seemed to have been successful. He had managed to sway the…

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Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 15 and Psalm 91 Psalm 91 is a well-known, dearly loved, and much mis-construed Psalm. The danger is that if we read it and “claim” its promises for ourselves, we might end up believing that nothing bad can happen to us because, as the bumper sticker says, we are “protected by…

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