It was a very busy weekend, with us going first to a wedding reception and then a church evangelistic outreach put on by the Lexington Chinese Christian Church. Then yesterday we had the usual church stuff and then a get-together with some other mixed race couples in the evening.
From II Samuel 4-6:
1. How did Ish-Bosheth show that he had lost courage in such a way as to cause Israel to become alarmed?
2. I like how David treated those who murdered Ish-Bosheth. They committed murder to try and gain David's favor, but David was a righteous man and would not stand for that type of action.
3. Again we see in Chapter 5:13-14 that David continues to do things that were displeasing to God by taking more concubines and wives. Although the story has not yet been told at this point, Solomon is mentioned in the sons born to him. So these two verses are referring to events that occurred over time.
4. It is interesting that in Chapter 5:21 it states that the Philistines abandoned their idols and "David and his men carried them off." I wonder why it does not say that David and his men destroyed them.
5. It says that David went down to the stronghold. Where was this "stronghold", and what was it for? Was this a safe place to retreat to, or a secret hiding place, or what? It reminds me of when I was a kid and me and my friends would go out to the hideout.
6. Chapter 6:2 has a very interesting sentence structure. It says "...the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty..." I wonder why they did not just translate this as "called by the Name of the Lord Almighty"? I am sure there is a reason, I just don't know exactly what it is.
7. I have read in other places that the reason that Uzzah was killed was because the method that was used to transport the ark was not the way God had prescribed, and thus Uzzah was placed into harm's way when the oxen stumbled. I had also heard that for the second portion of the ark's trip (from Obed-Edom's house to Jerusalem) that it was transported properly as God ascribed. (It does say in verse 13 of chapter 6 that there were those who were carrying it, not oxen.)
8. I wonder what happened to the tabernacle. It appears that the tabernacle is already gone, as it says that the ark was placed in the tent that David pitched for it. It must have been destroyed during the times of the judges - at least that is my guess.
7. It is interesting to see how Michal despised David because he danced before the Lord. The bible says he was wearing a linen ephod, yet Michal says he disrobed "in the sight of the slave girls". I am guessing that she was unhappy because he was acting in what she felt to be an undignified manner. She seems to have been all about appearances. I wonder if she was child-less because she continued to despise David, or because he didn't give her the time of day after this point in time.
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