Beyond the biblical story, we explore the significance of daily Bible reading and the transformative power of seeking God’s word regularly. The episode also touches on practical ways to engage with scripture for spiritual growth and how you can share your faith effectively without confrontation. Whether you’re a seasoned Bible reader or new to the scriptures, this episode provides valuable insights and encouragement.
00:00:09 Introduction to Add Bible and Scripture Reading
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today brings us to chapter 21 of 2 Samuel. Let’s listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of the 22 verses of 2 Samuel chapter 21. 2 Samuel 21
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Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, There is blood guilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death. So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.
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And David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you, and how shall I make atonement that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?
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The Gibeonites said to him, It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house. Neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.
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And he said, What do you say that I shall do for you?
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They said to the king, The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, let seven of his sons be given to us. so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.
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And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son, Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul. The king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Merab, the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel, the son of Barzillai, the Maholothite. And he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest. Then Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day or the beasts of the field by night. When David was told what Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan. And they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zillah, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land. There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. And Ishbi-binob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibachai, the Hushethite, struck down Sapph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. And Elhanan, the son of Jeori-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath, the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number. And he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
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As we look at 2 Samuel chapter 21, it may appear to be out of order. It doesn’t seem to follow the events that we’ve just been reading about in the last few chapters. So let me turn to my ESV study Bible and share one of the footnotes. These last four chapters form an epilogue. That means chapters 21 through 24 we’re going to get to in the next few days. There are six sections arranged concentrically. The first section deals with drought. The last with a plague, the second and fifth talk about David’s heroes, and the middle two are Psalms of David. They are not placed in chronological order with the rest of the book. So that footnote helps me understand that this chapter doesn’t necessarily follow the events that we’ve just been reading about. We’re actually going back to some of the things that were left over from Saul’s kingdom. We go back to the very first verse of this chapter. It says, Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David sought the face of the Lord. Well, we haven’t seen that in the last few chapters, have we? And the Lord said there is blood guilt on Saul and on his house because he put the Gibeonites to death. After David hears from the Lord, he reaches out to the Gibeonites. And they asked for seven of Saul’s sons in payment for what Saul had done to them earlier. David agrees to the terms, but in verse 7 it says, But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul. So David spares the son of Jonathan because of that love bond that the two of them had way back when. Another thing in this chapter is the throwback to the constant war with the Philistines. We haven’t really been reading about that in the last few chapters. And I bet you took note of verse 20, didn’t you? It says, and there was war at Gath where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, 24 in number. I wonder if he had to pay more for a manicure or a pedicure. Well, as we finish out chapter 21, let’s focus on a thought coming out of verse 14. It says, “…and they did all that the king commanded, and after that God responded to the plea for the land.” In other words, God was moved by prayer for the land. The question maybe for us today is, if we pray, will God be moved again for our land? Three years of famine caused David to seek the presence of the Lord. God revealed to David the cause of the famine, sin in Saul’s life. Do we equate natural disasters to sin in our nation or world? Back in chapter 21, God responded to the plea for the land. Maybe in our day, God would also respond if we pray for our land. Father, surely our forefathers have not done everything right. There may be sins, sins of days of yesterday, that are causing some problems in our country today. If so, Lord, grant us spiritual leaders, people like David, who could see that and remedy it. But for our part, maybe we could take some time today to pray for our land, to pray for our country, pray for forgiveness of sins of yesterday and pray for wisdom for the leaders of our day today, that they and we will follow you. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. If you’ve never visited EzraProject.net, I encourage you to do so, so you can learn more about AdBible and Club 365, a way to support these podcasts. Thank you. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. You know, sometimes we need a plumb line, a true north, a solid basis of truth to live life. We’re not going to find it in the media or in social media or Google or your friends, but it is available right at your fingertips. Pilate asked Jesus in John 18, 38, what is truth? The chapter before, Jesus had answered the question in his prayer to God for his disciples. In the 17th verse, Jesus pleads with the Father, Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. So what would it be like if everyone, everywhere, read the Bible every day? Wow, it might be heaven on earth. What would it be like if every Christian read the Bible every day? Would we be better ambassadors for Christ? What would it be like if everyone in your community read the Bible every day? Would we have greater impact in our communities? And what would it be like if you personally read the Bible every day? Could you use a closer walk with Jesus? Could you use a light unto your path and a lamp unto your feet to walk through this life? Could you use a spiritual power surge in your life? Matthew 22, 29, Jesus speaking to the Sadducees said, You are mistaken not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God. Yes, the Scriptures can give us power to live this life. So I’m going to give you three easy action steps to make the Bible worth your time each and every day. Number one, commit to daily Bible readings. Commit to seek God and His Word daily, every day. And if you miss a day, start again the next day. Change your belief about God’s Word to behavior in God’s Word. Use any of our Ezra Project resources to help you. Visit EzraProject.net to get an Ezra Project Bible reading journal or one of our day-by-day through the Bible books. Commit today and visit EzraProject.net for easy-to-use resources for your daily time in God’s Word. Number two, be intentional. Decide what you want out of your Bible readings. I got to visit the headquarters of Back to the Bible once in Lincoln, Nebraska. And in one hallway down one side, they had scribbled all the reasons people say they don’t read the Bible. On the other side were all the reasons people do read the Bible. And I want to give you some of those to encourage you. On that wall, it said, God wants me to. Yes, God wants you to read the Bible. Do you want to meet with him daily? Because he’ll meet with you every day through his word. Number two, it changes me. Where could you be in one year with more Bible reading in your life? Number three, it improves my outlook on life. Yeah, turn out the bad news and saturate yourself with good news from the Word of God. Number four, it keeps me grounded. Yes, when the storms of life come, and they will, can you stand? Yes, you’ll stand better and more solid because you’re in the Word of God. Next, it keeps my heart soft. Yeah, Nehemiah 8, when people heard the word, they wept and they worshipped. You will do the same as the word softens your heart. Lastly, on the wall it said, it keeps my daily focus on God. Yeah, that’s a great reason to read the Bible. You’ll gain the spiritual power to live life in our secular world. And then thirdly and lastly, feed your soul. Let God minister to your soul. Hebrews 4.12 says the Word of God pierces between your soul and your spirit, between joints and marrow, and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of your heart. Nothing else goes that deep. I don’t know where the place is between my soul and my spirit, but I want to put the Word of God there each and every day of my life. I hope you do too. God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word. After listening to AdBible, you may wish members of your family or friends would find a personal relationship with Jesus like you have. But we know most Christians have never shared their faith with anyone else. In fact, it’s about 95% of us. Maybe you want to, but you just don’t know how. I was not very good at it either, but I had a desire to get better at it. Maybe you do too. Check out our teaching on how to share your faith without a fight at EzraProject.net. Sharing our faith is not a gift some have and some don’t. It’s a command to go and make disciples. Learn how to do it, or at least give it a try. Visit EzraProject.net. Find how to share your faith without a fight. I know you’re going to enjoy it and want to share it with others.
