BibleScribbler

Half-Beards, Honor, and Retaliation

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4 So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. 5 When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.”

2 Samuel 10:4–5 (ESV)

This half-beard stuff. Men would swear by their beards. The only clean-shaven men were slaves and little girls! Some criminals would also be shaved like being flogged or branded.

They, of course, didn’t just trim their beards to be shorter, they cut off half. So you’d look like this silly lop-sided freak. In your own humiliation, you’d have to shave off the other half of your beard yourself for it all to grow back and look right sooner.

There are several instances in the bible where a new, young king is shown kindness and his old advisors are untrusting and start a war! [[look these up for examples]]

David didn’t use these guys as marketing or propaganda. He helped them hide their shame. Everywhere they ran, their butts were exposed, and the fact that they were circumcised Jews would be shown off too. They would be outcasts among any other foreign people until somebody showed them mercy or they made it home.

Talk about feeling weak and vulnerable! 

These are David’s servants, so he’s going to take care of them wherever they go. Putting them up in a distant town until their beards grow back is a big deal. Let’s just say, they needed 4 weeks to grow a beard. It doesn’t look like David retaliated or went to war over this.

2  It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

Proverbs 25:2 (ESV)

As far as we know, David was going to let it be. Sure, he probably wouldn’t make any peace with the Ammonites, but no aggression comes up until they attack him. 

There are a lot of places where David shows that he really did have a heart after God. This whole thing started with him wanting to honor that old king and become allies with his son. David proves for a lot of his kingship that he is quite sovereign but retaliates hard. 

Romans Chapter 3 Sermon

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Here is my sermon on Romans 3 and Justification. You’ll find my rough notes after the download.

Romans 3 Sermon – Justification (Download Link)

When we last left off, Paul was talking about circumcision or any other outward sign of the law or of being Jewish is worthless toward righteousness if you don’t keep the whole law.

The key issue in this whole section of chapters is the thing that everyone really wants: to be right.

The Pharisees thought that they were right because of the families they were born into. They were kind of like the guy that when you knock on his door and offer to pray for him says “That’s ok, my dad’s a pastor.” And then closes the door in your face.

It might sound like it was pointless to be Jewish at this time, and that the Jews didn’t do any good towards God. That’s not true either. Just like if each one of us is judged by our own faith and not by our families, what good does it do to be raised in a Christian home? It’s still good, but it won’t make you righteous before God.

That is where Paul begins here.

1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar,

This is one of the greatest truths about God. He isn’t whatever we believe Him to be. He is who He is and that’s really who He is. No matter how many people call me Snow White and no matter how many people really think I really am Snow White, I’m still Dan Sullivan. Just because people are confused doesn’t change who I am.

It would be great if that message could go out to all the world. “God isn’t who you think He is! He’s Himself!”

Paraphrase v. 5-8

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

If my being sinful shows off God’s mercy, if my wickedness makes a great story of forgiveness and redemption that makes God looks good, then what right does God have to judge me for being evil? That’s what Paul is asking here. How can God be just in condemning me if my evil looks good? Again, good is good and evil is condemned. Evil that makes God look good isn’t good, it’s still evil.

Paul’s preaching was so free from a law, that people accused him of saying “let’s do evil so that good will come from it” They accused Jesus of drunkenness and gluttony. These guys lived so free in the Father’s love that the law-makers and the law-keepers couldn’t understand it.

We are all Sinners

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11  no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13  “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14  “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15  “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16  in their paths are ruin and misery,
17  and the way of peace they have not known.”
18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Justified: to be proven right. You did the right thing, that means you are justified.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

This

This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

This

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

This

28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Mercy, Focus, Calling

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In 1 Samuel 23, David is on the run, but at the same time, one of the cities to the south is being attacked by Philistines. Instead of worrying about running from Saul or how to organize his men so that he can become king, he rushes to the rescue of the city of Keilah from the Philistine attackers.

Once he rescues the city and defeats the Philistines, he finds out that Saul is coming to get him. Not only that, but the city he is in is a locked up, walled city, and once Saul gets there, David will be trapped. To make matters worse, God reveals to David that when Saul comes, the people of the city that he just rescued will hand him over to Saul and not protect him.

What opportunity for bitterness, revenge, hatred! “I just rescued you and now you are going to turn me over to Saul!?” It wouldn’t have even been out of context w/ the story if David slaughtered them all or stayed and fought against Saul using the walled city as his own fortress.

But that’s not what he did. He came to save that city, not to abuse their resources. He was focused and determined to do what God was calling him to do, not move his own progress forward.

THAT is what made David into a king, not that he sought the kingdom for himself, but that he sought the kingdom of God for God.

One Plague More

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Exodus 11:1

The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. (Exodus 11:1, ESV)

There have been a lot of movies made about the Exodus, and they all like to focus on the 10 plagues brought upon Egypt. As I was reading through here this morning, this verse stuck out.

After everything that happens, I try to read it like I don’t know what is coming next. After each plague I think “Now, surely, Pharaoh will release the Hebrews, right‽” and then Pharaoh double crosses them. For a while you wonder if God is just enabling Pharaoh to continue in his sins, if the mercy is just too much. There is real irony here because God’s mercy brings about more suffering than if He would have just wiped out the Egyptians from the beginning. But that wouldn’t have sent the right message. The Hebrews are going to leave Egypt to follow a god that is merciful, compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love and boy will they see His patience and love as He gives the Egyptians one chance after another after another after another after another after another after another after another!

So after all of that, I think this might be the most terrifying sentence in the whole book.

One plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely.

There is one more plague coming, and it is going to be so severe that Pharaoh won’t let you leave, but he will drive you away completely! This next thing that is going to happen will be so profound, so powerful, so consummate, that Pharaoh will not change his mind like he did 9 times already. You will not be allowed to leave, but driven from this land.

It’s also interesting to note, that after the proclamation of the first nine plagues, Moses tells Pharaoh such and such will happen unless you let my people go. This time it’s done. Here comes the final plague, and we’re not asking anything of you, Pharaoh. The time for entreaty is over. The God of the Hebrews is done negotiating and yielding.