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Day by Day - 2 Samuel
When Justice Goes Rogue
Absalom let his anger fester for two years while he plotted revenge on Amnon.
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~~~
In verse 28, the plot that has been cooking in Absalom’s mind comes out. He tells his servants, “When Amnon gets a little tipsy, kill him. He will never see it coming. And boys, don’t worry about a thing. I have commanded you to do this. I am taking responsibility. Be courageous and obey me.”
Absalom’s speech makes it seem like his servants were a little hesitant. And we can certainly understand why. After all, Amnon is King David’s oldest son, the presumed heir to throne. To raise your hand against him would bring upon you a certain death sentence. So Absalom has to talk them into this. He has to assure them that he is the one taking full responsibility for this.
And then we read verse 29—“So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom commanded.
This whole scene gives us some more insight into the very first phrase we read in verse 23, doesn’t it. It wasn’t just two full years after the events of Amnon and Tamar.
It was two full years of Amnon thinking he had gotten away with something.
It was two full years of Absalom not letting on his anger and hatred of Amnon.
It was two full years of a controlled hatred seething and growing.
It was two full years of plotting and scheming on Absalom’s part.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 20, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:16 min.
00:03:16 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
After Two Full Years…
Sometimes there are long periods of silence between sin and consequence.
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~~~
So then we come to our passage for study this morning, and it begins this way:
“After two full years…” That is our setting of the scene for the next events about to transpire. It may not seem like much information, but let it sink in. There is something being communicated in that statement. The author doesn’t want us to think that the next events took place just a few days later. It was “two FULL years.”
Two years after Amnon listened to Jonadab’s wicked, crafty scheme.
Two years after David foolishly sent Tamar to Amnon’s house.
Two years after Amnon lied in wait, feigning sickness.
Two years after Tamar tended to Amnon.
Two years after Amnon laid hold of Tamar’s arm and jerked her to his side.
Two years after Tamar pleaded with him to stop.
Two years after Tamar was kicked out of Amnon’s house like a piece of trash.
Two years after Tamar ran away weeping and wailing
Two years after Absalom took her in and told her to be quiet.
But it wasn’t just two years after these events.
It was two full years of Jonadab taking mental notes of the family dynamics.
This is the setting as it is given to us.
The Conflict, vss. 23-27
And then we are introduced to the conflict of this story. The time has come for a little sheep-shearing on Absalom’s farm and it is taking place near Ephraim, about 15 miles away from the capitol city of Jerusalem. So Absalom goes to his father, King David, wanting to make this a family affair. But we quickly discover that Absalom is really only interested in having Amnon there. After King David protests and says that it would be too costly for Absalom to host all the family, Absalom presses David to send Amnon. King David doesn’t really know why Amnon’s attendance is so important to this sheep-shearing party, but he finally concedes.
But us readers, we have pick up on something, don’t we? We see the tension. Absalom has not been exactly friendly to Amnon, not overly harsh, but not exactly buddy-buddy either. We know something is cooking.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 19, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:48 min.
00:03:48 min.
Day By Day Expressions
Day By Day Expressions
Christians can use music to recognize God’s beauty and share it with others.
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By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 23, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:05:18 min.
00:05:18 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Where Is God?
When it seems God is silent, that is when He is shouting the loudest.
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~~~
SIAS: When it seems like God is silent, that is when He is shouting the loudest.
What does any of that have to do with what we are studying in 2 Samuel? Let’s take a look.
We are in chapter 13, and it is a most devastating chapter. It begins with David’s oldest son, Amnon, letting his lust run out of control to where he violates his own half sister, Tamar. And afterwards, being so full of his own lust, he completely his lust turns to hatred of Tamar, and he casts her out in such a way as to make everyone else think that he is the victim and she is the culprit, leaving her to live in shame.
At the end of the story we read that Tamar’s brother takes her in, provides for her, and tells her to stay silent about the issue, causing her to live a desolate life in Absalom’s house.
The story ends by saying that King David heard about all of this and it angered him, and that Absalom refused to speak to Amnon, his half-brother, neither good nor evil, letting Amnon believe that Absalom didn’t know about the events, or didn’t care about them.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 18, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:51 min.
00:02:51 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
God Shouts In Silence
When God remains silent in the face of sin, we should take notice.
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~~~
Ronan Keiting wrote a song, made popular by Keith Whitley who sang it, called, “When You Say Nothing At All.”
“It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark
Try as I may, I can never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall”
That really is a beautiful song in a lot of ways. And I think that we could all identify with that. Actions speak louder than words, right?
And we could say that God’s glory and goodness and power and holiness is communicated that way. In fact, that is what God himself tells us.
Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God…there is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their measuring line goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” That means that all the earth hears the declaration of the stars and the moon and the galaxies. That is pretty loud, wouldn’t you say.
But the truth of it is not just one-way. In other words, a person’s silence doesn’t always communicate love and tenderness and care. Sometimes silence communicates other feelings and emotions, like anger or wrath.
When my wife gets silent, I know something is up. I know something needs to be addressed. Her silence is deafening.
And God actually tells us this in His word as well—Romans 1:18 says, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” And the unrighteous have chosen to turn down the volume of God’s voice, and turn up the volume of their own truth, to which, it says in Romans 1 over and over again, “God gave them up…” In other words, He allowed them to keep their fingers in their ears, and dance to the music that was rattling around in their own head. He remained silent in one sense, allowing them to live in the consequences. But what we will learn is that in the silence, God is actually shouting. Come back in the days ahead to understand fully what I mean.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 17, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:18 min.
00:03:18 min.
Day By Day Expressions
Day By Day Expressions
Clif and Johnny discuss Johnny’s music and inspiration.
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Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 16, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:08:13 min.
00:08:13 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Grace Is Greater
God holds out an offer for forgiveness and reconciliation even to the most wicked.
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~~~
What is going on here? Why are we being fed this story? Remember, these are the ripple effects of David’s sin. And as we read, we throw up our hands…again…and say, Adam failed, Abraham failed, Jacob failed, Moses failed, Saul failed. And now David, the man after God’s own heart, is the next domino to fall.
The kingdom of God, the people of God are not safe under the David’s rule, not even the King’s daughter is safe. Her own father chooses to remain passive, he takes no action against his oldest son. Perhaps he thinks he has no business doing so, since he himself committed adultery. Whatever the case, he fails.
But there is a promise given in God’s word that the Lord’s anointed one would
“bring good news to the afflicted,
bind up the brokenhearted,
comfort all who mourn,
give a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.
Everlasting joy instead of shame.”
And as we have already seen, God is faithful to His word. Jesus comes and bears our guilt, and shame, brings to us new life, free of shame. He holds out the offer of wholeness to a shattered heart, joy instead of sorrow, praise instead of distress. He holds out that promise to those as broken as Tamar, that sin will be paid for, either by His cross, or each man will bear himself the penalty and guilt of his own sin.
Are you a Tamar this morning? You have felt the sting and destruction of abuse? You feel like your life has nothing more to offer? You feel like you are the outcast, been thrown out like trash? Know this—He gives beauty for ashes. He restores life. He can make your heart whole, because he offers not to clean up your life, but to give you new life in His eternal kingdom, where there will be no sin or humiliation or shame.
And as much as we may not like it now, he holds out that offer to people as wicked as Amnon. For grace is greater than all our sin.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 13, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:10 min.
00:03:10 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
The Desolation Caused By Sin
We should respond with indignation and action to sin, not by sweeping it under the rug.
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~~~
In those days the daughters of the king would wear certain garb designating them as unmarried, as virgins. And now that that status has been robbed of Tamar, she tears her clothes, signifying that virginity is no longer the case, and also signifying her state of grief. She puts ash on her head, and leaves the chambers of Amnon with her hands on her head, a symbol that incredible trouble has come upon her, and she is weeping, wailing as she leaves.
She can no longer be offered a royal wedding. Her life has been upended.
Her brother Absalom comes along, figures out what is going on, and asks her to keep silent about it, because, most likely, he is hatching a plan himself to kill Amnon so he can have the throne. He does what he can for her, giving her a home and protection. But the rest of her days are lived out in desolation, the joy in her life gone.
And this is made only worse by the inactivity of her father. Angry he was, but did nothing about it.
How do you respond to the unrighteousness around you? Do you attempt to silence it? Ignore it? Sweep it under the rug? Pretend it’s no big deal? As a man are you a source of refuge, justice, care, compassion, nobility for those who have had justice denied them?
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 12, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:29 min.
00:02:29 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Cutting Off Your Ears
When we give in to sin, we deafen our ears to God’s calls for repentance.
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~~~
Upon Tamar’s pleading with Amnon not to do this vile act of abandoning his sister and leaving her destitute, we once again read, “But he, (Amnon,) would not listen to her.” And in further action, by calling in his servant and demanding that Tamar be kicked out and the door be bolted, Amnon was actually blaming Tamar for the incident.
Some of you are deaf this morning, and will not listen to the calls laid upon you to repent of your sin. You blame everyone else for your sin. You hate everyone else for the guilt you know is yours.
This is the main point of this passage—when you buy the lie of sin, when you give in, over and over to the deceitfulness of sin, you very well may be sacrificing the ability to hear the voice of God. You refuse to hear the voice of righteousness.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 11, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:45 min.
00:02:45 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
A Wise Word From An Incredible Woman
The church has the responsibility to protect its women and treat them with respect.
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~~~
After Amnon’s act of violation, the text tells us that he began to hate Tamar. Listen to the repetition in verse 15—“Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.”
How much did he hate her? He sought to blame her for the whole affair. He called in a servant and demanded that he kick Tamar out and lock the door so that she could not enter again. He was trying to arrange the scenario so that it looked like she was the guilty one of the reprehensible conduct, where in reality she had only acted in innocence and love. He calls upon his servant and literally says, “Put this out of my presence.” He has full blown objectified Tamar. She is no longer a woman, no longer a human. Just a piece of flesh for his own personal use to be disposed of.
Tamar knew this was what he was attempting to do, and she pleads with him, “If you go through with this, this would be a greater pain against me than what you just did. You cannot do this!”
Not a man, one, in this passage so far, has had one bit of care. We will see later that David is angered, but he does nothing.
The man who was once skillful and a warrior, is turning into the shadow of the man he once was. He sends his daughter into the wolf's den, and does nothing to slay the wolf and protect the sheep.
“There is so much, unseen or brushed under the rug when it comes to mistreating women. The world wants to say that they handle it, but then they abuse and objectify women in the worst of ways. There are so many hurting women who do not know where to turn for truth and healing because they have been overlooked, or sin against them has refused to be handled. Just another reason why men, especially men of the church, should understand the vulnerability of women and the role God has called them to. They need protectors. Defenders, from this type of nonsense.” (Kristi Johnson)
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 10, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:24 min.
00:03:24 min.
Day By Day Expressions
Day By Day Expressions
When artists create a work, they are attempting to evoke a response or feeling.
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By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 09, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:06:08 min.
00:06:08 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Death-Inducing Actions
If we do not stop ourselves from sinning, it will grow out of control.
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~~~
Ecclesiastes 7:5 “It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.”
And this is exactly what we have before us in 2 Samuel 13:3-6…a song of a fool, albeit a crafty, wise, skillful fool.
And so the wise fool named Jonadab suggested to Amnon to pretend to be sick, and when your dad, King David, comes to your house to check on you, request that Tamar, that most righteous and virtuous of women, come and tend to you. Then you will have her all to yourself.
So this is exactly what Amnon did.
And notice how Tamar is described. She shows up and immediately gets to work. “She took dough, she kneaded it, made cakes, baked the cakes, emptied the pan.” Why describe all the actions of Tamar? Because the author is showing us how obedient, how quick to serve, how righteous Tamar is. She is simply trusting the word of her father, who should protect her. She is believing that her half-brother really needs to be tended to. And she jumps into action, wanting to care for her family.
And then, Amnon seizing upon his opportunity, sends everyone out but Tamar. He is feigning to be so sick that he can’t even bring his hand to his mouth, but requires someone else to do that for him. And only Tamar can fulfill that in his mind.
So he clears the room except for her. And this is where Amnon sinful desires lead him to sinful actions. James tells us 1:15 “Desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” This is exactly what we are witnessing…the bringing forth of death by means of Amnon’s wicked desire.
Do not shun the word of God here. Hear it clearly. Take note of it. And deal with sinful desires before they birth death-inducing actions.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 06, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:49 min.
00:03:49 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
The Song Of Fools
If we do not catch our wicked desires early, they will lead to sin.
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Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org.
~~~
Ecclesiastes 7:5 “It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.”
And this is exactly what we have before us in 2 Samuel 13:3-6…a song of a fool, albeit a crafty, wise, skillful fool.
And so the wise fool named Jonadab suggested to Amnon to pretend to be sick, and when your dad, King David, comes to your house to check on you, request that Tamar, that most righteous and virtuous of women, come and tend to you. Then you will have her all to yourself.
So this is exactly what Amnon did.
And notice how Tamar is described. She shows up and immediately gets to work. “She took dough, she kneaded it, made cakes, baked the cakes, emptied the pan.” Why describe all the actions of Tamar? Because the author is showing us how obedient, how quick to serve, how righteous Tamar is. She is simply trusting the word of her father, who should protect her. She is believing that her half-brother really needs to be tended to. And she jumps into action, wanting to care for her family.
And then, Amnon seizing upon his opportunity, sends everyone out but Tamar. He is feigning to be so sick that he can’t even bring his hand to his mouth, but requires someone else to do that for him. And only Tamar can fulfill that in his mind.
So he clears the room except for her. And this is where Amnon sinful desires lead him to sinful actions. James tells us 1:15 “Desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” This is exactly what we are witnessing…the bringing forth of death by means of Amnon’s wicked desire.
Do not shun the word of God here. Hear it clearly. Take note of it. And deal with sinful desires before they birth death-inducing actions.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 05, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:46 min.
00:02:46 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Sin Wears A False Nametag
We easily mislabel sin because we do not want to admit that what we are doing is wrong.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org.
~~~
Sin doesn’t come to us with the name tag of sin, but wearing some other name. We see it for what it is right now on this page of scripture, but how easily do we excuse sin in our own lives, and others’ sin by using false labels. How often do we excuse young men of their laxness by calling it adolescence? How often do we excuse a young man’s mischievousness by saying, “Boys will be boys,”? How often do we excuse someone’s greed and stinginess by calling it prudent and thrifty? How often do we try to lessen adultery by saying, “I fell in love,”?
You see what I mean? We easily mislabel sin because we do not want to see what we are doing as sin, and therein lies the lie, the treachery, the deceitfulness.
This is why it is important the counsel we keep, and we guard from whom we take advice. Jonadab noticed Amnon’s misery, and lept at the chance to get some type of advantage, some leverage, some favor in his pocket to cash in at a later point in time. Be careful of the ones who tell you what you already want to hear, who mislabel sin for you, who are unwilling to lay before the full effects that your sin will cause.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 04, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:10 min.
00:02:10 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
The Promise Of Sin
Sin bears the promise of some gift to benefit us, but it can never deliver.
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~~~
Not only does sin come to us in degrees, but also bearing some promise of a gift. Sin comes to our minds offering some sort of prize, or reward, and we help it along with our own justifications, convincing ourselves that this slight action will actually work out for us and those around us for the better. I would be a better man, a more congenial women, a better student, a happier mom or dad, a more productive worker if I only did ___________________, and after all who wouldn’t want me to be a better husband, wife, mom, dad, student, or worker? We commit the sin thinking that the end justifies the means; we walk into sin for the sake of the good we believe it will bring with it, when in reality, all of those justifications are convenient cloaks of our own selfishness.
The Bible is so relevant to us today because we struggle with the same issues that these men and women struggled with. But we are to learn from them, avoid the traps, and run to the true King for help and deliverance. That is why we have the Bible!
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 03, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:01:48 min.
00:01:48 min.
Day By Day Expressions
Day By Day Expressions
Music is a universal language that can often convey what words cannot.
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Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Dec 02, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:06:02 min.
00:06:02 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Sin Doesn’t Wave The Jolly Roger
Sin comes to us in degrees, never revealing its full scope until it is too late.
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~~~
In 2 Samuel 13, we read “Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her. Initially we may be struck with sympathy by Amnon’s having been struck, perhaps, by Cupid’s arrow. But this is not love. This is sexual appetite. The word used for “love” in this verse is a flexible word. It can mean all types of different types of love—the love of family, the love of foods etc—and one of them is the desire/love for another sexually. This is not some-one who is love-sick, as we will soon find out. This is someone who lust-sick, set on hunting down Tamar like she is some type of prey.
And what Amnon is facing and wrestling with is the deceitfulness of this lust. The lust that is consuming Amnon’s mind is promising him that to have Tamar would cure him, relieve him, satisfy him, heal him, bring joy into his life like never before, IF only he could have her in HIS way.
Sin can be easy to identify and easy to avoid when it comes waving the flag of its true colors, like the crossed swords and skull of the of the Black Pearl. But sin does not come to us in that way, does it? It comes dressed in different clothes, waving a different flag.
One of the reasons sin is so treacherous lies in the fact that sin comes to us in degrees, not ever revealing the full scope it seeks to take us, or of the destruction it will cause. No doubt Amnon’s sin did not start out in full blown lust that caused him to be bound up in a sort of dire straits. Rather, it started small, with improper thoughts, and fed the fire that does not need to be easily stoked in young men. This is why the text says, “And after a time…”
That’s an interesting phrase isn’t it. It should make us think, “What seemingly insignificant sin or sinful frame of mind am I allowing to linger on?” Don’t let it be said of you, “And after a time sin was full blown.”
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 29, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:53 min.
00:02:53 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
God’s Word Is Faithful, Both Ways
God is faithful to forgive us, but He is also faithful to judge sin accordingly.
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~~~
When it comes to the faithfulness of God to His word, we normally only think of it in terms that directly benefit us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
We rarely apply the truth of God’s faithfulness to His word to when God’s word is a pronouncement against us. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption.”
Somehow we have missed, or downplayed, that God is faithful to His word in this aspect. Perhaps it is because we do not have the right understanding of grace. We have been told that God has storehouses of grace ready to heap upon His children, but just because God is a God of generous grace does not mean He will not be faithful to His word. When you presume upon grace, you taint grace.
So that is what is before—the faithfulness of God to his word to discipline David. Do not treat lightly the warnings of God, for he will be just as faithful to them as the promises of blessings.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 28, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:01:45 min.
00:01:45 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
The Ripple Effects
Recognizing the consequences of sin should lead us to put it to death in our own lives.
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~~~
As Alistair Begg has said, “Once you throw a stone into water, you can retrieve the stone, but you cannot stop the ripple effect of the stone.” So it is with consequences. Those ripple effects began in chapter 12 and carry on all the way to chapter 20.
When Nathan confronted David, and spoke the words of God, Nathan told David, “Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house.”
This is one of the ripples. What we are seeing in the next 7 chapters of 2 Samuel is the fulfillment of that word. God is faithful to His word.
I don’t think any of us are shocked that turmoil, lack of trust, conflict arises because of David’s particular sin. But we need to recognize at this point what God has said. He doesn’t say tough times will come. He doesn’t say it will be slightly more difficult, but you can make it. He says the “sword shall never depart from your house.” The sword represents war, immense, sharp pain, conflict and betrayal. This is what awaits David and his house, and it will come from within his own house.
These are the severe consequences that David must face due to his sin, and it should serve as a warning to us to put our own sin to death by means of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 27, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:07 min.
00:02:07 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Real People, Real Tragedy
The Bible provides us a look at both the grim reality of life and the hope provided in Jesus.
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Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
This morning we turn the page from 2 Samuel 12 to chapter 13, and we might hope that we are also turning the page from a miserable time in the life of David, Bathsheba, and the nation of Israel, to a time of rejoicing, but we are not. As hard as it may be to imagine, the situation in the life of David and Israel gets even worse.
And this is the benefit and the struggle of preaching through books of the Bible. We are forced to deal with the text of scripture as it comes to us, week after week, just like the author designed. We must not cherry pick the Bible, only looking at and studying the parts of history, or the poetry, or the instructions that bring smiles to our faces. Our life is not made up that way. And you may think, “You are right Clif, and that is why we need to get relief when we come here. So give feed us something that is a bit more tolerable and palatable, something warm and super encouraging. Our lives are difficult enough. No sense in coming in here to hear about more misery.”
But that is just it, you see?! This is what makes the Bible the best of all books. God, as He speaks through this word, does not hide the misery. He does not hide the ugly parts of life, the difficult, the dirty. Instead, our God wants our joy to be so full, and so rock-solid landed on Him, that he gives us the truth of living life in this world of sin, BUT also the hope we can have in His redeeming grace. So it’s not just ugly and hard realities of life that we see here, but also the ultimate Hope in life that He provides.
So yes, this morning we deal with the ugly. And I need to warn you, it is ugly, and cruel, and brutal. I get no enjoyment from this, and neither should you. This is not a passage that we should look at and from which get some strange sense of entertainment, but rather, our eyes are being forced to the page, to see through our tears, the harshness of sin, and that sin cares for nothing else than your destruction. Let me remind you once again, these were real people, real emotions, real events, real heartbreak. This is not like Grimm’s fairy tales, an exaggerated story to teach us a moral lesson. This was real. And in the midst of this episode of tragedy, we are to see triumph in the whole of the story through Jesus’ victory and atonement of the believer’s sin.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 26, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:13 min.
00:03:13 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Day By Day Expressions
Creativity is an opportunity to express the identity that God has impressed upon us.Creativity is an opportunity to express the identity that God has impressed upon us.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 25, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:04:14 min.
00:04:14 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
O My Soul, Put Your Hope In God
When God disciplines us, He continues His sanctifying work upon us.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
Sometimes we have to preach to ourselves. The message sounds too good to be true—that the God of all the universe would look upon worms like us, redeem us, wash us, cleanse, and then when we continually sully ourselves, he still lovingly disciplines us, and continues his sanctifying work upon us. We wouldn’t do that for others. And yet he does it for us. And it is so foreign to us, that we have to preach it to ourselves to remind our souls of this reality.
And sometimes the best way to remember a great sermon is to sing it. So I want to put you on to a new song taken from Psalm 42.
For so long I've pled and prayed
God, come to my rescue
Even so the thorn remains
Still my heart will praise You
Storms within my troubled soul
Questions without answers
On my faith these billows roll
God, be now my shelter
Why are you cast down, my soul?
Hope in Him who saves you
When the fires have all grown cold
Cause this heart to praise You (oh, my soul)
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 22, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:20 min.
00:02:20 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
A NEW SON IS BORN!
We can be free of the weight of guilt and recognize that our future is bright thanks to Jesus.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
The message David is receiving is that forgiveness is a reality as demonstrated by the new son of David being loved by God. And that message rings true for us today! Not because Solomon was born, but because a greater Son of David, a greater Solomon was born, and died, and brought back to life. Put your hope in Him.
An overwhelming feature of the love of God is that His love for His chosen does not shift, does not waver, does not fluctuate. Even though God may discipline his children, it doesn’t mean His love for them has diminished. David reaps what he sows in discipline from the Lord, but He also reaps the promise of God.
My friends, those of you struggling with the misery of sin from the past, of which you have repented, you need to know this—The LORD’s love for you never lessened; and neither did His love for you intensify. It has always been full, complete, immutable. His love for His own does not change. And the reason He can place His gracious love on you and keep it there is wholly due to the His Son, who stood in your place to take on the wrath of God you deserve. His life for your life. And His resurrection is the new life, the complete righteousness, the new account laid before God that you get credit for.
No, your future is far from over. Your future is far from hopeless. Your future is far from misery if you would believe and walk in these truths.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 21, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:42 min.
00:02:42 min.
Day by Day Video
Preaching Lab
Clif discusses the preaching lab he will be leading in January.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
Hey, guys. Welcome to Lifeword's Day By Day, where typically we run through a book of the Bible, digging for all that it's worth. But today, I want to take a break from our study, from 2 Samuel 12, and talk to you about an event that's coming up in January. I have the great privilege to be able to run a ministry called The Preaching Lab, where we seek to help train pastors to be healthy, not only in regards to their preaching ministry, but also in regards to their own soul, their own personal life. And we are hosting a conference, The Preaching Lab Conference, on January the 10th and 11th, and we're calling it Press On: Preaching in a Hostile Culture.
And so if you're a pastor or a preacher who is watching Day By Day, please register and join us in Little Rock, Arkansas for this conference. If you're not a pastor or a preacher, you're a church member, would you do me the favor of letting your pastor know about this conference that is coming up? We'll have preachers Doug Brewer, David McMurray, and Gary O'Neil bringing the Word of God to us, but also talking to us about getting through burnout. And so I just want to invite you to be with us on January the 10th and 11th for this Preaching Lab Conference.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 20, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:01:41 min.
00:01:41 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
We Repent Because God Is Righteous
Although we will reap the consequences of our sin, we can know God is still righteous.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
This was not the end of David’s statement. Once the child dies, David resigns himself to the will of God, with no blame, with no finger-pointing, with no defiant fist-shaking, with no “but God would never do that, God can’t do that.”
David shows his submission to the will of God.
This is a fruit of true, biblical repentance. Repentance is a turning from sin in head, heart, and hand, and turning to God in trust—head, heart, and hand.
Take heed that with sin, you reap what you sow. But you can trust God because He is gracious and righteous.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 19, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:02:03 min.
00:02:03 min.
Day By Day Expressions
Day By Day Expressions
As beautiful as creativity can be, it should be filled with love and personality.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 18, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:05:51 min.
00:05:51 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
Plead For Grace
When we do not receive the answer we want to our prayers, we should still recognize that God is good.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
David has been told by God through Nathan that one of the consequences of his sin is that his child will die. And yet, when the child becomes sick, David sought the LORD on behalf of the child. The reason David did this was because he believed God to be a God of grace. David did this because he had experienced the grace of God previous in his life. David did this because he knew that the nature of God was one that included grace and mercy and forgiveness.
My friends, there is nothing wrong with pleading for grace in your life. Who knows when the LORD may decide to be overwhelmingly gracious to you?! This does not mean that God is spurious, spasmodic. It means that God, at any time, according to His will and goodness, can be gracious to His children for countless and unknown reasons to us. Sometimes it is to simply bless us and smile upon us, sometimes it is so that a future providence will occur.
But David knew God to be a God of grace, and made his pleas accordingly.
Is there an area, is there a burden, where you desire to see God’s grace, his unwarranted favor, be poured out over your life, even though you know you are a mess? Even though you know you deserve, not just nothing from him, but eternal punishment?
Friends, fellow believers and followers Christ, we not only know that God does what is just and righteous, but included within that justice and righteousness is His goodness.
Even when we do not receive the answer to our prayers in accordance with how we pray them, we can still move forward with hope and faith and confidence because we know that His every move towards us, for us, behind us, in front of us, above us, and beneath us is for HIS GLORY AND OUR GOOD!
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 15, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:03 min.
00:03:03 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
In Repentance There Is Worship
As we repent, we should be worshipful that God would choose to forgive us.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
We note that David immediately begins to pray and plead with God to spare the baby’s life. He fasted and laid on the ground before the LORD all night. The elders would try and encourage David to take a break, come eat something, get some rest, but David would not. He would not leave the presence of the LORD, he would not stop begging and pleading on behalf of his son.
This behavior worried the servants of David to the point that when the child actually did die, they were afraid of telling David the news, in fear of what he might do. To them, his behavior was so erratic and out of character, that they had no idea what to predict when the child actually died.
Take notice that in repentance, there is worship.
But what is even stranger, perhaps to us, is what happened when David discovered that the child had died. David lifted his face out of the dirt. He took a shower, washing all the dirt and ash, all the signs of mourning, off of him. He anointed himself with oil, the sign of joy, and went into the temple and worshiped the Lord. After a worship service, he went to eat.
That seems strange to us, right? It seems to us that now is the time for weeping.
So what exactly was going through David’s mind? Read 2 Sam. 12:21-23
“While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
These words from David speak volumes about his theology, about what he thought about God’s nature, and give us direction as we repent of our own sin, and deal with the fallout of the consequences.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 14, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:04 min.
00:03:04 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
The Scars Of Sin
God calculates the consequence of sin based on His purity, righteousness, and justice.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
We can’t help but notice with what terseness the narrative takes in 2 Samuel 12:15 and 16. “Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child.” It is matter of fact. Almost uncomfortably so, given the nature of what is taking place. After all, what has this child done to receive the destiny that has fallen to him. This seems wrong.
So let’s deal with this head on. First, the child was not innocent. No one is born innocent, or in a positive state or even neutral state, with God. The baby carried the stain of sin. The difference between the baby and someone mature is the ability to discern between the right and the wrong, the mental ability to knowingly rebel or be defiant.
Absolutely this is a tragic event from our perspective. Yet we must also keep in tension that God was absolutely just and righteous in His actions. When something takes place in my life that I am not able to untangle, I have to trust that the Judge of all the earth does what is right. And even in this case, God was just in punishing David by pronouncing death to his child. Since David led the enemy nations to mock God, David will be publicly and personally humiliated with discipline from his sin.
Once again, David’s guilt of sin is removed, but not the consequences.
So we must take heed that we reap what we sow, and what we are to learn from this here is that oftentimes we do not know the severity of what we are sowing. Would David had stopped lust in its tracks if he could have predicted the devastation that was caused by His sin? I don’t know. What more prediction of devastation do we need than “the wages of sin are death,”? But what we must know is that sin and rebellion against God carries consequences, and more times than not those consequences are far more weighty than we ever want to admit.
We calculate the reaping of what we sow based on comparison to others. “Surely it won’t bring that much harm, I mean, after all, I am a pretty good guy. I have done a lot of good for the kingdom of God.” We think that since the seed of sin is so small, then so too will the fruit of sin be small, and we forget the whole idea of sowing and reaping, and that what is put down into the ground may be tiny, but while in the soil it is nurtured and fed, until it grows into something we never imagined.
God calculates the reaping according to His purity and righteousness and justice. He has to or else he would not be righteous.
Take heed, that when you sin you will bear the scars of sin. You can be forgiven, but you cannot undo the consequences.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 13, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:47 min.
00:03:47 min.
Day by Day - 2 Samuel
No New Newspaper Articles
We should be aware that we have the same propensity for sin as anyone else.
#daybydaylw
Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!
~~~
In my family growing up, it was a normal routine for everyone to sit at the dinner table and eat supper together. We all had our assigned seats. We prayed. We ate. You had to ask permission to be excused from the table. And during that time mom and dad talked to one another about what was going in their day, or they talked to us about our schedules or sports or homework, etc. Normal stuff.
One night dad came to the supper table with something in his hand. We went through our normal routine that night. We prayed. We talked. But before my brother or I could ask permission to be excused from the table, dad handed me what he had brought to the table. It was a newspaper clipping from when he was in high school. The article talked about how, as a junior in high school, Uriel Johnson and another of his teammates, were some of the fastest sprinters in the Little Rock area. They were the ones to watch, the ones to beat. My eyes grew wide in amazement. I had heard of my dad talking about running track before for Central High School, and he had told me some of his times running the 100 yard dash and the 400. But I didn’t know he was this fast!
After I read that article, my dad said something to the effect of “They didn’t write any articles about me my senior year. I got cocky. And lazy. And didn’t put in the work. Don’t let that happen to you.”
I don’t know why dad decided to bring that up at that point in my life. I was in high school at the time. I may have even been a junior, like he was at the time that article was written. I don’t know if he saw some complacency or arrogance building up in me in my attitude towards baseball. Regardless, he wanted to warn me. “Don’t let what happened to me happen to you.”
Paul gives us the same type of instruction in the book of Romans when he tells us that what was written in the OT was written for our instruction. It is meant to teach us about the pitfalls that God’s people fell into so that we may avoid those same pitfalls. In essence, Paul is giving us newspaper clippings and saying, “I see the same propensity in you. Be aware!”
And that is what we have been doing over the last several weeks as we have studied David’s fall into sin with Bathsheba. We will continue to do so today. But I also want us to see another feature. The OT is not just a compilation of stories warning us about the sin we need to avoid. The OT is more about the relaying to us of the nature and character of God.
By: Clif Johnson
(Lifeword)
(Lifeword)
Aired on
Nov 12, 2024
Show
Day by Day
Duration
00:03:34 min.
00:03:34 min.
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