Caught

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Samuel 18:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair while the mule he was riding kept on going." 2 Samuel 18:9


David was on the run from his son Absalom. David thought of all the things Absalom had on his side – the army, many of the people, even the wisest counselor Ahithophel. “God, please spoil Ahithophel’s advice,” David prayed.

Down the road David met his friend Hushai. He was also known as a wise man. “I’m coming with you,” Hushai told David.

But seeing Hushai gave David an idea. “Why don’t you help me another way?” he said. “I’d really like it if you went to Absalom and pretended you were going to be on his side. Then when Ahithophel tells Absalom what to do, you can suggest something that isn’t as wise.”

Hushai did as David asked. When Ahithophel told Absalom he should go after David right away, Hushai said, “No, that’s not a good idea.” Then he suggested they wait till his army gathered.

When Absalom decided to follow Hushai’s advice, Hushai sent spies to David to tell him what was going on.

The delay helped David and his men get organized. Even so, Absalom’s army was soon nearby. The two sides met in a thick forest. Did they have any chance against Absalom’s army, David wondered.

Absalom rode his kingly mule into battle. When he met David’s men, his mule took off with him on it. As they passed under a tree, Absalom’s long hair got caught in the branches of an oak, while the mule ran away.


There he was, hanging from the tree by his hair!

Soon someone found him. They recognized him as Absalom and called Captain Joab, who put him to death.

Absalom’s plan to become king seemed foolproof. He had plotted and schemed to make it happen. He had won people over to his side and had an army with wise advisors. But his plan was not God’s plan. God wasn’t with him and in the end, everything fell apart.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to keep trusting You even when things look impossible Amen.

MORE: Wise Man Who Am I?
In Bible times kings relied on the advice of wise men like Ahithophel and Hushai. The Bible has stories of other wise men. Can you guess the name of each wise man by his clue? Use the Bible references if you like.

1.I was a believer in Jesus who won debates against the religious teachers of my time because I was wise. Who am I? (Acts 6:8-10)

2. I and my friends were the wisest of all the king’s servants-in-training after living on only vegetables and water. Who am I? (Daniel 1:19-20)

3. The Bible called me the wisest man who ever lived. Who am I? (1 Kings 4:29-31)

4. After I told the king the meaning of his dream, he put me in charge of the land of Egypt. Who am I? (Genesis 41:39-40)





Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

David's Secret

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Samuel 12:1-10

TO CHEW ON: “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His sight?” 2 Samuel 12:9

David was now a successful and loved king. One day when he was relaxing on the palace roof, he caught sight of a beautiful woman taking a bath. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. So he told his servant to bring her to the palace.


She came and David found out her name was Bathsheba. She was married to Uriah, one of David’s soldiers. But that didn’t stop David from taking her to his room and making love to her. Then he sent her back home. A short time later, Bathsheba sent word to David that she was pregnant.

Now this was a problem, because her husband wasn’t home. He was on the battlefield. People would ask, “Who is the father of this baby?” Maybe David would be found out. So David sent for Uriah to come back from the war. David thought Uriah would welcome the chance to be with his wife. Then he would think the baby was his.

But when Uriah came home, he refused to go home to Bathsheba. “Why should I enjoy my wife when my fellow soldiers are dying?” he asked. Then he spent the night with David’s servants.

So David went to Plan B. He sent Uriah back to the war with a note for his captain. The note said to make sure Uriah was sent to the most dangerous place on the battlefield. No one should defend him when he was attacked. This way he would be killed by the enemy.

A few days later Uriah was killed in battle. Soon after that, David married Bathsheba. He thought that no one knew what had happened and everything would be just fine.

But God knew. One day God sent Nathan the prophet to see David. He told David a story about a rich man who stole the only pet lamb of a poor man, in order to feed his guests.

Illustrations by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible
© American Bible Society 1976, 1992, used with permission.

When David heard Nathan’s story he was angry. “That rich man should pay four times for the lamb he stole,” he exclaimed.

“You are that man,” Nathan replied. “You had all the women you wanted. Yet you weren’t satisfied. You stole Bathsheba from Uriah and had him killed. There are consequences for your sin. Now there will always be killing in your family.”

PRAYER: Dear God, am I hiding any sin like David was? Please help me remember, face up to it and make things right. Amen.

MORE: Snowball Sin
Have you ever made a snowball with sticky snow? Though you start with a ball of snow so small you can hold it in your hands, as you roll it in the snow and more and more snow sticks to it, it’s soon so big and heavy you can hardly push it.

Sin is like that. David’s look at Bathsheba led to thinking about her and wanting her. That led to adultery (having sex with someone who is married to someone else), and deceit and eventually murder.

- Can you think of a time sin was like a snowball in your life?

- Remember how easily sin grows next time you’re tempted to let your thoughts go where they shouldn’t, tell a ‘white lie,’ take something that isn’t yours.

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

A Kept Promise

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Samuel 9:1-12

TO CHEW ON: “'Don’t be afraid,' David said to him, 'for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.'” 2 Samuel 9:7

One day after David had been king for some years, he remembered a promise he had made. Years earlier he had promised his friend Jonathan that he would save and protect his family. Now he wanted to keep that promise – but how?

He asked around and discovered that Ziba, a former servant of Saul, was still alive. David called Ziba to the palace. “Do you know if any of Saul’s family is still alive?” David asked.

“There is Mephibosheth,” Ziba replied. “He is the son of Jonathan and is crippled in both feet.”

Immediately David called Mephibosheth to the palace.

Mephibosheth was frightened when he heard King David wanted to see him. It was the custom in those times that a new king would kill the whole family and all the servants loyal to the old king. In fact it was the day that Saul’s family ran from the palace after hearing Saul and Jonathan had been killed, that Mephibosheth, who was then only five, had fallen from his nurse's arms and hurt his feet.

Illustration by Annie Vallotton from the Good News Bible
© American Bible Society 1976, 1992, used with permission.


Now he came to David shaking with fear. What did David want? Was he going to finish the job of doing away with Saul’s family by killing him?

But David’s voice was kind. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Long ago I promised your father I would be kind to his family. Now that I’ve found you, I can keep my promise.”



Then David gave Mephibosheth all the land that had formerly belonged to Saul. Since Mephibosheth was crippled, David asked Ziba to look after it for him. David also invited Mephibosheth and his family to live in the palace and eat meals at the king’s table.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to keep the promises I make. Amen

MORE: Light promises
Do you keep all your promises? It’s easy to make promises lightly. We promise things for many reasons.

- Sometimes we promise things to stop people from bugging us.

- Sometimes we make promises because we pity people and feel sorry for them. When our strong feelings grow cool, we forget all about the promises we made.

- Sometimes we promise to do something because we know it’s what the person asking wants to hear – even though we have no intention of doing what we said.

In Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus told a story about a boy who made a promise he had no intention of keeping. It is not our promises that please God, Jesus told the people, but our actions.

1. What promises have you made and kept?

2. What promises have you made and not kept?

3. How could you turn those unkept promises into kept ones?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.