Moses struck the rock
“And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe in me to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I…
Category 2 Samuel
Jumping over Jericho’s walls
“As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. … He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus.” (Luke 18:35, 19:1). I was preaching on Luke 18:35-19:10 recently.…
Flame of Fire
The Hebrew language can have some curious links which are obscured in English bible translations. The burning bush is one example with the word ‘flame – labba‘, which seems to have a cognate link with the word for ‘heart’. “And the…
Man of Blood (2 Samuel 16:7-8)
Man of Blood (2 Samuel 16:7-8) The last post about ‘the blood of Jesus’ brought to mind the time when David was accused of being a ‘man of blood’. The setting is David’s escape from Jerusalem due to the Absalom…
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa!
“And he [Joab] took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. …Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them.” (2 Samuel…
Friendship
“So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 15:37). 2 Samuel 15 describes the enormous grief for David when the news of the Absalom rebellion reaches the ear of the king. David…
Flesh and Spirit
“The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together.” (Isaiah…
Leithart on the heart
I’ve been preparing a sermon on Romans 6 this week. The baptism language of Paul (6:1-4) drew me to read Peter Leithart’s book on ‘Baptism – A Guide to Life from Death‘ (2021). It’s a great little read on the…
Wisdom in 2 Samuel 13
I find that 2 Samuel 13 raises quite a few interpretation questions for me as I read it. In some ways the broad themes are very clear but there are all these small details and words and phrases which connect…
Interpreting 2 Samuel 13:1-22
“But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.” (2 Samuel 13:22 ESV). I was a little surprised to come across a reference to a Cotterell and Turner’s book…