Today, we hear about the downfall of Absalom, and how David reacts to the news of his death. In Chronicles, we read about David changing some of the rules of worship, as he prepares for Temple worship. The readings are 2 Samuel 18, 1 Chronicles 23, and Psalm 37. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 1: What is the significance of Absalom's defeat?
We are reading from 2 Samuel chapter 18, 1 Chronicles 23, and we are praying Psalm 37. The second book of Samuel, chapter 18, the defeat and death of Absalom. Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
And David sent forth the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of Ittai, the Gittite. And the king said to the men, I myself will also go out with you. But the men said, you shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us.
But you are worth 10,000 of us. Therefore, it is better that you send us help from the city. The king said to them, whatever seems best to you, I will do. So the king stood at the side of the gate while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.
And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom. So the army went out into the field against Israel and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David. And the slaughter there was great on that day, 20,000 men.
The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword. And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth while the mule that was under him went on.
And a certain man saw it and told Joab, behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. Joab said to the man who told him, what, you saw him? Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you 10 pieces of silver and a belt.
But the man said to Joab, even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not put forth my hand against the king's son. For in our hearing, the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, for my sake, protect the young man Absalom.
On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life and there was nothing hidden from the king, then you yourself would have stood aloof. Joab said, I will not waste time like this with you. And he took three darts in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak.
And 10 young men, Joab's armor bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him. Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. And they took Absalom, and threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. In all Israel fled every one to his own home.
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Chapter 2: How did David react to Absalom's death?
And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king. And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was. And the king said, Turn aside and stand here.
So he turned aside and stood still. And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, Good tidings for my lord the king. For the Lord has delivered you this day from the power of all who rose up against you. The king said to the Cushite, Is it well with the young man Absalom?
And the Cushite answered, May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man. And the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son.
The first book of Chronicles, chapter 23, families of the Levites and their duties.
When David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son, king over Israel. David assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. The Levites, 30 years old and upward, were numbered and the total was 38,000 men.
twenty four thousand of these david said shall have charge of the work in the house of the lord six thousand shall be officers and judges four thousand gatekeepers and four thousand shall offer praises to the lord with the instruments which i have made for praise and david organized them in divisions corresponding to the sons of levi gershom
and marari the sons of gersham were ladan and shimei the sons of laden jehiel the chief and zetham and joel three the sons of shimei shelamoth haziel and haran three these were the heads of the fathers houses of ladan And the sons of Shimei, Jehath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. Jehath was the chief, and Ziza the second.
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Chapter 3: What changes did David make for Temple worship?
But Jeush and Beriah had not many sons, therefore they became a father's house in one reckoning. The sons of Kohath, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uziel, four. the sons of Amram, Aaron, and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate the most holy things that he and his sons forever should burn incense before the Lord and minister to him and pronounce blessings in his name forever.
But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were named among the tribe of Levi, the sons of Moses, Gershom, and Eleazar. The sons of Gershom, Shebuel, the chief, the sons of Eleazar, Rehobiah, the chief. Eleazar had no other sons, but the sons of Rehobiah were very many.
the sons of Izhar, Shalemith the chief, the sons of Hebron, Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jehaziel the third, Jechamiam the fourth, the sons of Uziel, Micah the chief, and Ishaiah the second, the sons of Merari, Mali and Mushi, the sons of Mali, Eleazar and Kish, Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters. Their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them.
The sons of Mushi, Mali, Eder, and Jeremoth, three. These were the sons of Levi by their father's houses, the heads of father's houses, as they were registered according to the number of the names of the individuals from 20 years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord.
For David said, the Lord, the God of Israel, has given peace to his people and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. And so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service. For by the last words of David, these were the number of the Levites from 20 years old and upward.
But their duty shall be to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God. To assist also with the showbread, the flour for the cereal offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the baked offering,
the offering mixed with oil, and all measures of quantity or size. And they shall stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, and wherever burnt offerings are offered to the Lord on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days, according to the number required of them, continually before the Lord.
Thus they shall keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and shall attend the sons of Aaron, their brethren, for the service of the house of the Lord.
Psalm 37, exhortation to patience and trust, a Psalm of David.
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Chapter 4: What are the duties of the Levites according to 1 Chronicles 23?
He will bring forth your vindication as the light and your right as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret. It only leads to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall possess the land.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Though you look well at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall possess the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those who walk uprightly. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. Better is a little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever. They are not to be put to shame in evil times. In the days of famine, they have abundance. But the wicked perish. The enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures. They vanish. Like smoke, they vanish away. The wicked borrows and cannot pay back. but the righteous is generous and gives.
For those blessed by the Lord shall possess the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. The steps of a man are from the Lord, and he establishes him in whose way he delights. Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord is the stay of his hand. He says, The righteous shall possess the land and dwell upon it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart. His steps do not slip. The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him. The Lord will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. Wait for the Lord and keep to his way and he will exalt you to possess the land.
You will look on the destruction of the wicked. I have seen a wicked man overbearing and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. Again, I passed by and behold, he was no more. Though I sought him, he could not be found. Mark the blameless man and behold the upright. For there is posterity for the man of peace, but transgressors shall be altogether destroyed. The posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him. Father in heaven, we praise you and we do. We take our refuge in you.
We ask that you please number us, count us among those who are righteous, count us among those who trust in you and not in our own strength, but who seek to do your will in all things. Lord God, in any way that we have taken ourselves away from your will in great ways and in small ways, we return to you with our whole heart and ask that you please not only lift us up, but help us to come back
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Chapter 5: How does Psalm 37 guide us in patience and trust?
So one thing you realize that the tribes of Gershon and Kohath and Merari, remember those families, sons of Levi, remember that the priests, the ones offering the sacrifice, those are the family of Aaron. That's the Aaronic priesthood. But the Gershonites, the Kohathites and the Merarites, they are not priests.
priests they are at involved with the service of the temple so remember the gershonites took care of the skins that covered the tabernacle itself like this walls of the tent et cetera et cetera the koathites take took care of the furniture of the tabernacle including the ark the table of showbread the menorah that thing under the direction of eleazar who was the he's a priest that's what the koathites did and the mirror rights they were to take care of the structural aspects of the tabernacle like the pillars and the boards and all those kinds of things
So the Gershonites, Kohathites, Merorites, they had their job when it came to a portable temple, when it came to moving the sacred objects, but they're going to build a not portable temple. They're going to build, it's no longer a tent. It's going to be a permanent structure. And so they have to have a shift in their roles. And so that's what we have beginning here in first Chronicles chapter 23.
We also, there's going to be more work. So David moves the age of service from 30 down to 20, because there's going to be a lot more work going on in this newly to be built temple. So just that's a kind of a little insight into what was happening there. If we return to second Samuel chapter 18, what do we have?
We have the story of Absalom in battle, Absalom being defeated and Absalom being killed. Gosh, a couple of things to note. Absalom is caught by his hair in an oak tree, and he's hanging between heaven and earth. And what happens? Joab comes up, let's kill this guy. And even though he knows David, right?
He knows the heart of David, who says very, very clearly to him and to the other two generals, he tells them, deal gently with Absalom. David wants the young man Absalom to live. And yet Joab in some ways is maybe more insightful in some ways of like what that means.
The man who led the rebellion and brought us all into this place, 20,000 dead on this, in this one battle today, this is a big, big deal. We're going to talk more about that tomorrow, but it's a big deal that there's 20,000 men dead from this battle because Absalom led this rebellion. And so Joab takes matters into his own hands and he kills Absalom and has the other men around him kill Absalom.
Okay, that's a big, big piece. But the biggest piece is what happens at the end of 2 Samuel 18. David gets word. He's waiting at the city. Remember the men say, you have to stay here in the city. You can't go out into battle because they're just trying to kill you. So you're worth 10,000 of us. So he stays in the city. And the Cushite brings word. May all the king's enemies be as that young man.
Now, this is a key moment. So you probably know, you might know Eric Whitaker. Eric Whitaker is a musician and he has a piece called When David Heard. It's maybe a 13 minute song. Maybe it's longer than that. It's often done by choirs in high school and college and all over the world, all over the place.
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