2 Corinthians 7-13 and 2 Samuel 1-15

I’m sorry to say, I kind-of struggled with this week’s passage. We finished up Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians then flipped back to 2 Samuel where we learn more about David- how he dealt with the news of Saul’s death, how he ruled his kingdom, the account of Bathsheba- which introduces us to Solomon, learn about some dirty family drama within the house of David, and end with the coup of David by his own son!

Not sure why I struggled here, we certainly have no shortage of material. And as far as content goes, this is pretty movie worthy stuff!

I am curious about Solomon’s name- if clearly says the Lord said to name him Jedidiah but they clearly named him Solomon. Was this like a nickname, a middle name, or are they choosing to not listen again? It seems like out of all of David’s wives, the one that just lost a baby as punishment for their sins would be the least likely to already be disobeying, especially in regards to the new baby!

The whole account of the brother plotting with his friend to rape his half sister which ends up getting him killed by the half sister’s brother- yep not confusing at all 😬 If that doesn’t have lifetime movie written all over it, I don’t know what does!

But where I really experienced the mind blown explosion is when the “good” brother- the one that is defending his sister’s honor all of a sudden decides he, himself, should be king? After killing his brother, he’s eventually allowed to come back home with what seems like very little to no punishment other than not getting to see the king or Joab- but does that really warrant trying to take the kingdom from your own father?! 🤯

If you’re like me and just hanging out on the struggle bus- it’s ok, I get it! But just remember, we aren’t quitters! We are bound to run into passages that don’t just reach out and make us scream “hallelujah!” But just like we all work together as the body of Christ for the good of His kingdom, all the passages also work together- they may fill in missing pieces, they may lay some groundwork for an upcoming story; they each have their own purpose for being included in the word. They all fit together in one way or another to teach, lead, guide, & direct us. It’s our job to read, study, and know the passages; then rely on God to show us how those passages are to work in our lives. So I turn this over to you dear Lord. Help me to digest this passage and each week’s reading so that I am able to see & comprehend the message but also so I may use my knowledge and my network to spread the word- the pieces that appeal to me AND the other pieces that I feel like just aren’t sinking in.