Day #106 | "Promise Keepers"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read 2 Samuel 21 and 13-14, 1 Chronicles 20:4-8, and Psalm 35

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

1. God wants us to keep our promises (2 Samuel 21).

If you think about it for any length of time, 2 Samuel 21 gets more and more complicated the more that you look at it. For starters, the Gibeonites that we encounter in this chapter were descendants of the Amorites, who God had commanded Israel to destroy when they first entered the land. But now, God declares guilt on the house of Saul because he had attempted to destroy them. What changed? Well, what changed was that Israel had made a promise to them: "the people of Israel had sworn to spare them" (2 Samuel 21:2). Even though this promise was made by deceitful means back in Joshua 9, God looked on the Gibeonites and saw a people of the land who recognized the power of God and who sought peace with his people. He loved them. And he recognized the promise made between them and Israel as binding. Though Saul sought to look impressive and God-fearing by attempting to wipe them out, he was actually doing something incredibly unjust by betraying his duty to protect these people. That rings true for what we know of Saul's character defects in general: that he was always trying to look good, that he was lazy and was always looking for an easy victory to celebrate, and that he was impulsive and unreflective. The truth is that when we have made a commitment to another person, God himself expects us to keep that commitment to the best of our ability. Duty and promise-keeping are incredibly important to God: for the sake of his promises to Adam, Noah, and Abraham, he has remained faithful to his commitment to restore humanity to Paradise, even at the cost of the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the cross. That's how seriously God takes promises. That's worth remembering the next time that we consider making a promise, or the next time we think about breaking one.

2. The many kinds of promises or duties for us to fulfill (all passages).

Throughout today's reading we see many different kinds of promises and duties that we are supposed to keep in mind as we go about our lives. (1) There are formal promises, like the agreements between in Israelites and Gibeonites in 2 Samuel 21:1-2, or between David and Jonathan's family in 2 Samuel 21:7. (2) There are general commitments to honor our family's memory/reputation which causes Rizpah to protect the bodies of her loved ones in 2 Samuel 21:10-11. (3) There is the commitment to honor the work of those who came before us as David did in 2 Samuel 21:12-14 when he collected the remains of King Saul's family and returned them to their family tomb (only after this did God "respond to the plea for the land"--i.e. he ended the famine that we read about in 2 Samuel 21:1). This is especially significant since Saul had tried repeatedly to murder David. Yet, David was still responsible to honor Saul's memory for the good that he had done. (4) There is the commitment to honor and care for those in positions of leadership, as David's men did when they cared for a now-aged King David in 2 Samuel 21:15-17 by protecting him and pleading with him not to endanger his life by going out into battle again. (5) There is the commitment of leaders to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of those who they lead, as David undoubtedly did for Abishai, Sibbecai, Elhanan, and Jonathan--which is why we know their names and the feats that they accomplished (2 Samuel 21:18-22). (6) There is also the responsibility to care for family members who are in need as Absalom did when he took his sister Tamar into his house after she had been humiliated by Amnon (2 Samuel 13:20). (7) There is the duty to advocate for one's friends when it is appropriate, as Joab did for Absalom in 2 Samuel 14. (8) And finally (for now) there is the duty to work for unity within our family, friends, and society, as Joab's efforts caused David and his son Absalom to be finally reunited and reconciled (though, stay tuned) in 2 Samuel 14.

3. We also see some betrayals of these duties (2 Samuel 13-14).

The core reading for today is one that is mostly about deep, significant betrayals of duty and trust. Jonadab plans, and Amnon acts on, an intention to horrifically abuse and "humiliate" their relative (and Absalom's full sister) Tamar. Absalom uses a feast of peace to execute his brother Amnon. David abandons relationship with his son Absalom. Joab "ghosts" Absalom for a long time leaving him secluded and alone on his property with no answer about whether a meeting with King David might be forthcoming. Absalom, for his part, burns down his friend Joab's field to get attention--which, though he was stuck in a difficult situation, seems at least a little bit extreme. 

4. God demonstrates the ultimate commitment.

Like I mentioned above, duty and promise keeping are incredibly important to God. He keeps his commitments and he sees them as something that is binding--even for himself. God committed to save humanity and to restore us, and he is doing so, even though that involved the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh. He cleans us up unilaterally. He chases after us, even when we are not chasing after him, and even though he needs nothing from us. This is true for all the peoples of the earth. And for Israel specifically, though they are not (as a people) following God in modern times, it is still clear today that God has taken seriously and kept his commitment to preserve Israel's name and to bless them regardless of their response to him--though specifically in an earthly sense, as Jewish people along with everyone else must still come to trust in Jesus the Messiah for salvation. God is the ultimate promise keeper. That is who he is.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? IN OUR ACTIONS we should imitate God by keeping our own promises and commitments to others, many of which are listed in point #2 above. IN OUR WORSHIP we can glorify and praise God, who has not abandoned his promises to us. And IN OUR ATTITUDES we should resolve to be people of character who do not make commitments lightly, and who are wholeheartedly set to do what we say.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean