Naboth the martyr

S: 1 Kings 21

O: When we list martyrs, we tend not to think of Naboth. In fact, when many of us, lacking the original context, may not even realise Naboth was a martyr. We might think, “Ah, he was a man who didn’t want to sell his land to King Ahab, and so Queen Jezebel had him framed and executed.”

But Naboth refused not because he was merely attached to his land, but because he was obeying the Law of Moses: Leviticus 25:23 says, “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and live as foreigners with me.”

He might well have allowed King Ahab to lease the land – that was permitted under the Law of Moses – but then it would revert to his family in the Year of Jubilee. But Ahab didn’t ask for that – he wanted to buy the land in perpetuity.

So, Naboth was killed because he obeyed Yahweh.

A: Obeying God can carry a real cost. He does not always spare His people from death in this world. Naboth was killed for obeying Yahweh. In the same way, Christians in our own time have been killed for belonging to Christ, such as the 21 Egyptian Christians, along with one Christian from Ghana, whom Daesh executed publicly on video on a beach near Sirte in Libya in 2015. They called on Jesus even as Daesh filmed them being executed. They became an incredible testimony to the world in their martyrdom, so Daesh inadvertently ended up spreading the Gospel!

As Jesus said in Matthew 10: 28, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”

Most of us are not called to martyrdom. But this Good Friday, as we remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, let us resolve that we will always stand for Christ and follow Yahweh in both small and big ways.

P: Father, help me to follow you in the little things as well as the big things. Help me to flee temptation and run to you. Strengthen me to obey you whatever the cost. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Only one hero

S: 1 Kings 5:3 "You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars which were around him on every side, until Yahweh put his enemies under the soles of his feet."

O: 1 Chronicles 22: 8-10 provides the background to this: But Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, ‘You have shed blood abundantly and have made great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name; and he will be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

As I have observed in earlier blog posts, David committed a lot what would be considered war crimes today – he killed prisoners of war, he exterminated entire tribes, including women and children, etc. But God did not reprimand him for killing so many people – instead, God reprimanded him for killing one man – Uriah – in trying to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba.

One lesson I had drawn from that earlier was that God distinguishes between sins David committed knowing he was wrong, and sins he committed in ignorance, and in God’s mercy, he deals graciously with human blindness.

Today’s SOAP illustrates that, while God gives us grace for those things, they still do have consequences. The people David unjustly killed are still dead. And God could not permit him to build his temple because of the blood on his hands. God can ordain a kingdom purpose through David’s reign while still marking killing people as unfitting for the temple.

So we distinguish between God’s sovereign use of war in history and God’s delight in peace, holiness, and covenant obedience. Even when violence occurs within redemptive history, Scripture does not let us become casual about bloodshed.

God truly established David’s kingdom, but He did not allow David to build the temple because David’s reign was marked by warfare and bloodshed. This means Scripture neither denies God’s historical purposes in war nor treats violence as morally light. The temple pointed to God’s dwelling in peace, so a man of war was not the fitting builder. David was useful in God’s plan, but not morally ultimate. The kingdom needed a greater Son than David.

A: We must not assume that just because God used someone effectively that God endorses everything he or she does. God does not glorify violence, even though he may have used it for good – God works all things for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). The acts are not necessarily good in themselves, but God still uses them for good.

So, being used by God does not mean all one does is equally fitting or ideal. We must not glorify force, and must not idolise a powerful man like David, but look to Christ, the true King of peace.

P: Lord, make me humble, truthful, and peace-loving. Teach me to trust Christ, not flawed human strength. Amen

Outsiders inside

S: 2 Samuel 23-24

O: Back in Deuteronomy 7:1-2, it says “When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you—the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—seven nations greater and mightier than you; ² and when Yahweh your God delivers them up before you, and you strike them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them.”

And back in Deuteronomy 23:3, it says “An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly; even to the tenth generation shall no one belonging to them enter into Yahweh’s assembly forever”.  

Yet, here in 2 Samuel 23-24 we see, as part of the people of God, Uriah the Hittite, Zelek the Ammonite, and Araunah the Jebusite!

And don’t forget, the whole book of Ruth – Ruth being a Moabite!

How? Did God contradict himself?

Nope. The Book of Jonah is a huge example of this. “In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” No ifs, buts or exceptions. Yet, when they repent, God “went back against His word!”

Except that everyone knew that there was that implicit “unless you repent” – Jonah knew, that’s why he refused to go warn them in the first place, and the Ninevites knew, which is why they repented and were saved.

So when we see these seemingly “blanket condemnations”, we must remember, there is always an implicit “unless they repent”.

As Ezekiel 33:11 says, “As I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways!”

A: As Ruth the Moabite declared, “Your people will be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

When we sin, we need to confess our sins, for God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.  Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Isn’t God wonderful? Let’s repent and turn back to Him!

P: Father, thank You for your wonderful grace and for Jesus’ sacrifice to save us.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Hatchet Man

S: 2 Samuel 20:8–13 — Joab murders Amasa through deception, greeting him like a brother and then striking him. Afterwards, he calmly resumes command as if nothing has happened.

O: David had given Amasa Joab’s position as commander of the army of Israel. He likely did this to consolidate the two sides after the civil war with Absalom, and perhaps because he was angry with Joab for killing Absalom when he had expressly commanded him not to.

When Sheba ben Bichri launched a new rebellion and David sent Amasa to deal with it, Joab seized the opportunity to murder him, thereby securing his return as head of the army.

Joab functioned as David’s hatchet man, rather like Chuck Colson was for Richard Nixon. David relied on Joab to do his dirty work time and again — for example, in the matter of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband. Joab also confronted David when his behaviour threatened the stability of the kingdom, such as during his excessive mourning for Absalom.

David may have felt unable to deal with Joab’s murders (yes, murders, in plural — he had earlier murdered another rival whom David had promoted for similar reasons: Abner, Saul’s commander) because Joab seemed too indispensable. David’s own moral failures may have weakened his ability to confront Joab decisively.

He was fiercely loyal in public, ruthlessly self-serving in practice, maintaining the kingdom’s “efficiency” by eliminating rivals. Yet that efficiency was built on murder and deceit. The frightening reality is how quickly a community can be conditioned to move on once the evidence is removed (the body is taken off the road, and everyone carries on). God is not deceived by managed appearances; bloodguilt cries out to Him, and in time He brings true judgement — Joab eventually meets justice under Solomon. This is the moral shape of reality: sin’s consequences may be delayed, but they are never erased by usefulness.

Chuck Colson’s story shows that Joab’s path was not inevitable. Colson genuinely repented and was redeemed, later doing much good through Prison Fellowship. The difference is not “good PR” versus “bad PR”, but repentance versus self-protection. Justice fell on Joab; mercy is available to the repentant like Colson.

So I must ask: Where am I tempted to justify sinful methods because they seem necessary? Where am I hiding behind competence, loyalty, or “the cause”? God requires truth in the inward parts, and He will not allow bloodguilt, abuse, or manipulation to have the final word.

A: The end does not justify the means. I must remain faithful to God’s good way, even when the wrong way seems more “efficient”. When I am tempted to justify sinful methods, I must remember the lesson of Joab, David’s hatchet man. God requires truth in the inward parts, and He will not allow bloodguilt, abuse, or manipulation to prevail.

P: Father, guard my heart from the hatchet man’s ways — willing to harm others for personal gain. Help me always to treat people with Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Notes:

I came up with this SOAP in a conversation with Kairos AI after reading 2 Samuel 20, as I struggled with what lesson could I draw from this horrible incident. The picture was based on an illustration from the 1862 Illustrirte Pracht-Bibel, updated by ChatGPT.

Consequences

S: 2 Samuel 12

₇Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. ₈I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things. ₉Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. ₁₀Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’

₁₁“This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. ₁₂For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’”

₁₃David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.”

Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die. ₁₄However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.” ¹⁵Then Nathan departed to his house.

O: David repented so “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh’s enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you will surely die.” Also, “the sword will never depart from your house” and “I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.”

New Testament believers, we know that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) The temptation, then, is to be too nonchalant about sin. But 2 Samuel 11-19 reminds us that sin has consequences, even when God forgives us when we repent.

A: I must remind myself daily that sin has terrible consequences:

• It dishonours God.
• It harms others.
• It damages my witness.
• It invites discipline.
• It promises pleasure but produces death.

I must submit myself to God resist the devil (James 4:7) and take the way of escape when faced with temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). Though the sin looks attractive (that’s why it’s tempting) in reality, it’s deadly! (James 1:14-15)

P: Father, let me always submit myself to You and resist the devil. Let me always take the way of escape when temptation comes. Let me remember that the wages of sin is death.  Keep me from sin. Let me fear dishonouring Your name and hurting the people around me more than I fear losing the pleasure. Give me a tender heart that repents quickly and takes the way of escape. Guard me from the death that sin brings. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Lie, a Loaf, and a Lesson

S: 1 Samuel 21

O:
David lied to Ahimelek, and that lie ultimately led to the slaughter of Ahimelek and the entire priestly household—though Saul alone bore guilt for the murders themselves. David’s sin was the lie, not the violence.

Later, Jesus appeals to this episode in Matthew 12:1–8, Mark 2:23–28, and Luke 6:1–5 when His disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath and are accused by the Pharisees of breaking the Law. Jesus did not condone David’s lie. Rather, He pointed out that Ahimelek, a trained priest who knew the Law, permitted David and his men, in a moment of urgent human need, to eat the consecrated bread normally reserved for priests.

Jesus’ argument was that Scripture itself shows it can be legitimate to override rigid, technical interpretations of ritual law for higher purposes. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). There are biblical precedents where a strict, wooden reading of ceremonial rules would condemn actions that God did not condemn. David eating the bread in a crisis is one example; priests working in the temple on the Sabbath is another (Matthew 12:5).

In effect, Jesus was telling the religious leaders: when ceremonial regulation comes into conflict with urgent human need, God does not treat merciful action as true lawbreaking. Their interpretation of the Sabbath was therefore wrong, because it crushed mercy instead of serving people. Jesus upheld the spirit of the law, not mere legalism.

It is also worth noting that David later felt the weight of his sin. In the following chapter, he confessed to Abiathar son of Ahimelek that his actions had contributed to the death of Ahimelek’s household.

A:
We need wisdom to discern where the balance lies. Some things are clear-cut: the ends do not justify the means, and lying to secure our own benefit is wrong. Yet there are extreme situations that force moral complexity—for example, when Corrie ten Boom and her family lied to Nazis to protect Jews they were hiding.

Appealing to “the spirit, not the letter” does not loosen God’s moral standards. Rather, it prioritises God’s ultimate good over legalism. Love God; love our neighbour. We must protect the innocent and refuse to aid evil, which is precisely what the ten Boom family did.

P:
Father, give us wisdom when we face difficult situations. Help us to obey Your Spirit and to act with truth, mercy, and courage. In Jesus’ name, amen.

How terrible is terrible?

S: 1 Samuel 13-15; 2 Samuel 11-12, Psalm 51

O: Saul got scared that Samuel didn’t show up in time to sacrifice to Yahweh before they  and some of his army were starting to scatter. So he usurped the priestly role of making the offering himself – his role was king, not priest. When Samuel confronted him with it, he made excuses instead of repenting.

Then, later, he got greedy with the plunder from Amalek – kept the best stuff instead of destroying it all as God commanded. And when Samuel confronted him with it, he tried to weasel his way to justify it instead of repenting.

2 Samuel 11-12 David saw someone else’s wife bathing naked and sent for her, then committed adultery with her (or rape, depending on your view – she had no choice, really, since he had all the power) then tried to cover it up, and when that failed murdered her husband. But when Nathan confronted him, he confessed and repented, and wrote Psalm 51 as his repentance psalm, proclaiming his guilt and repentance publicly.

God deposed Saul but kept David on the throne, and even later called him a man after God’s own heart. Though David did suffer several terrible temporal consequences of his sins, he did not lose his relationship with God.

Objectively, one might think that Saul’s sins were more minor – taking unauthorised spiritual authority and being greedy – and David’s more major – adultery and murder. And yet… God accepted David back but did not accept Saul back. The difference? True repentance.

A: When we sin, we must repent. For real, not for show. Not to make us look good, like Saul’s first “repentance”. Only then are we appropriating the blood of Christ to cover our sin, and the grace of God receives us back into fellowship with Him.

P: Father, forgive me for I have sinned. I do not deny my sin; I repent of my sin. I turn 180° to walk towards you again. May I always do this whenever I sin and not allow fake repentance or no repentance in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.