Blogging Bible Study: Digging in the Desert -- A Word from the Peanut Gallery

Posted to Beer Lahai Roi by Lisa Laree

Our next mention of 'desert' is in 2 Chronicles 8: 4 -- and it, like 1 Kings 9:18, is purely geographical...

He [Solomon] also built up Tadmore in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.  So, like I did w/ the verse in 1 Kings, we'll just point out that it indicates that Solomon was a builder and move on.

The next time we encounter the word 'desert' is in chapter 20...and there is a kind of interesting thing that happened here.

First, a little scene-setting.  Jehoshaphat had fought alongside Ahab in the battle in which Ahab died.  After he returned home,  an alliance of Moab, Ammon and apparently also some men from Mt. Seir took up arms to attack Judah; marching through Edom (20: 1- 2). The invading army was at En Gedi, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, before Jehoshaphat got word of them. 

Jehoshaphat immediately called a national fast and prayer service (20: 3-4).  He stood up before the people and prayed, concluding, "O our God, will you not judge them?  For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." (v.12).

After the prayer, the whole assembly...men, women and children...stood silently, waiting for a word from the Lord.

And...here's the interesting thing...as they all stood there, someone standing amongst the people, in the midst of the assembly, began to speak.  Verse 14 tells us

'Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.'

This guy was just one of the choir members (a Levite who was descended from Asaph).  He wasn't a worship leader, he wasn't on the platform with the leaders, he wasn't anyone of note.  He didn't have a lot of clout.  But the Spirit of God came on him...not someone who had a recognized position of authority. 

"Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem!  This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.  Tomorrow march down against them.  They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.  You will not have to fight this battle.  Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you."  (vs. 15-17) .

And here's the amazing thing...no one shushed him, no one pulled him aside so he could deliver his word more privately...they let him make his declaration in front of the entire assembly.  They all listened to this guy. 

Not only did they let him speak, they all believed that God had spoken through him.  The whole assembly bowed down in worship, and then entered into a praise service.   And then, they actually did what he said.

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa.  As they set out,  Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and the people of Jerusalem!  Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful."  (v. 20).

Jehoshaphat then appointed men to sing praise to God as they went.  And, as they praised God, something happened over on the enemy's side.  'The LORD set ambushes' is what v. 22 relates; whatever it was, it caused a rift in the alliance.  The men of Ammon and Moab turned against the men of Mount Seir and destroyed them, and when they'd done that, then they began fighting each other.

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they only saw dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. (v. 24)

Not only had God protected them from the attacking army, but he left all the weapons and supplies and equipment there for the men to collect and take back.

It took them three days to haul all of the plunder away. When they got it all back to Jerusalem, they had a praise service to thank God for what he'd done for them...and the story went around the nations in the area,putting them all in fear of Judah's God so that Jehoshaphat reigned in peace.

There are several things that hit me from this story.  Firstly....look at what they did when they needed to know what to do.  They fasted...they prayed...and they waited on a word from God.  They didn't  fast and pray for God to bless their action, or make them successful, or destroy their enemies...they declared their helplessness before God and humbly asked for his guidance.  Then they waited.  They didn't assume that He would aid them as they did what made sense to them...they waited for HIS instructions.

They didn't pre-determine who would have the answer; they received it through a minor temple servant.  They didn't second guess him or try to reason his answer away.  They did what had been revealed to him...the minor temple servant.  Whoa.  Finally, God didn't require them to do ANYTHING that removed the threat.  HE DID IT ALL.  Because they had enough faith to wait...receive...and obey.   He just sent them into the desert so they could see their enemy destroyed and collect the plunder..

Do we have the humility now, in our exceedingly confusing and hazardous season, to declare that we really don't know what to do, and we don't have the ability to fix anything...and fast and pray and wait for God to release his strategy?  Would we be willing to receive that word from some unexpected and unproven source?  Could we discipline ourselves to be completely obedient and just praise God for what he would do?  Do we really believe God will deliver his people?  Are we willing to go to the desert, if it means we will see God work and give us a blessing there?

Just some things that struck me reading this little passage...

Blogging Bible Study: Digging in the Desert - Solomon's Request

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our consideration of the word 'desert' now brings us to 2 Chronicles 1...and we have a reference to the tabernacle of Moses.  If I'm not mistaken, this is the last time, chronologically, that we see the actual Tent of Meeting....

and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God's Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the LORD's servant had made in the desert. (2 Chron. 1:3)

The altar that Bezalel made, that the Israelites had carried through the desert, was also at that location (v. 5), and Solomon went up there and offered 1,000 burnt offerings (v.6).  He apparently spent the night up there, because v. 13 records 'Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, and before the Tent of Meeting.'   And in between...well, it wasn't called the 'Tent of Meeting' for nothing.

Verse 7 tells us that 'That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

I am assuming that this was a dream, although it's just implied.  Solomon's answer is famous..."Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?" ( v. 10).

Solomon asked for a good thing, and God was pleased and gave him blessings he did not ask for as well (v. 12).

Now I'm going to wax a bit philosophical.  Solomon did ask for a good thing...wisdom and knowledge.  But we all know what happened.  With all his wisdom, and all his knowledge, he failed to take to heart the commandments of God....one of which was specifically directed at the king:

     'When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll

      a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.  It is to be

      with him and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to

      revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and

      these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from

      the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long

      time over his kingdom in Israel.' (Deut. 17: 18-20)

How do I know Solomon didn't do this?  Well, the first thing mentioned after his return to Jerusalem is that he accumulated chariots (1,400) and horses (12,000) (2 Chron. 1:14).  The horses were imported from Egypt (v. 16)...and the law, which the king was to copy out for himself and read daily , specified:

'The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them.' (Deut. 17: 16a).  Deuteronomy goes on to say the king must not acquire great personal wealth or marry many wives 'or his heart will be led astray.'....which is exactly what happened to Solomon. His wisdom and knowledge were renowned in his day, which is something for a world without any kind of mass communication.  Yet, in is later years,  he fell into worshiping the gods of his many foreign wives...and it turned his heart from following God.  He didn't mentor his son well...and shortly after his death the kingdom was divided.  Because...if he had all the wisdom and knowledge he needed to govern the people, then...he wouldn't need to inquire of God.  He was sufficient for his task. He could succeed at anything, because he was just that smart.Why would he need to write down the law and study it daily? He could remember it...right?

Maybe having talent sufficient for the task isn't always the best thing.

Contrast Solomon's request with the 'one thing' his father David requested:

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple."  (Ps. 27:4). 

God met Solomon at the Tent of Meeting, which was made in the desert where Israel learned that they had to depend on God for all things....and that God would provide all things.  But Solomon didn't perceive that he had to depend on God for anything...he had it all.  And he forgot where it all came from.

There's no record that Solomon ever went back to the Tent of Meeting...or of what happened to the tent or the altar Bezalel crafted after Solomon built the Temple with a new altar. 

Blogging Bible Study:Digging in the Desert: 1 Chronicles

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

For those who are joining us mid-study, back in August of last year I grabbed a concordance and wrote down every occurrence of the word 'desert' in the Bible and embarked on what looks to be a VERY long word study, one post per week.  Now, ten months later, we've made it all the way to the book of 1 Chronicles. At this pace, I may finish sometime in 2022, but that's ok...

For anyone who wants to do a 'read the Bible through', I've got a bit of warning...you'll start in Genesis and follow the history of the descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob all the way through to deportation of Judah at the end of 2 Kings, then hit 1 Chronicles, which goes back to the beginning and commences to tell the whole story all over again, with a genealogy that starts with Adam.  So it can be a bit of a bog down.  The first NINE CHAPTERS of 1 Chronicles are genealogies, with the teeniest bits of narrative here and there.  There are two mentions of the word 'desert' in those lists, both are concerning the geography of the land assigned to the tribe of Reuben on the east side of the Jordan.

To the east they [the Reubenites] occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in Gilead. (5:9) and , in the descriptions of the towns allotted to the tribe of Levi scattered throughout the land, we find from the tribe of Reuben across the Jordan east of Jericho they received Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands; (6:78-79)

The historical narrative kicks in at chapter 10, with the death of Saul, then we have two chapters dedicated to the lists of the men who came to David before he became king, including the roll of his 'mighty men'.  It's an interesting read...the men that came to David were not just his kinfolk from the tribe of Judah; there were even some from the tribe of Benjamin, Saul's kin, among others.  Of particular note were the Gadites...

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert.  They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear.  Their faces were the faces of lions and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains...These Gadites were army commanders; the least was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand.  It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it overflowed its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west. (12:8, 14 - 15).

In other words, these guys came to David while he was hanging out in the Judean Desert, before he took shelter in Ziklag.  Amazing to think, now, about them getting the word of David's...issues...with Saul, and actually finding him, when Saul himself couldn't seem to locate him. But such were the caliber of fighting men that David attracted.

There is only one more mention of the word 'desert' in 1 Chronicles, in chapter 21.  David displeased the Lord by counting his fighting men and a plague had hit the nation as a result.  He purchased the threshing floor of Araunah, built an altar and made a sacrifice and the plague stopped. There follows an interesting tidbit of information...

The tabernacle of the LORD,  which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. (21:29)

Whoa.  I had assumed that David pitched a tent in Jerusalem for the Ark because the Tabernacle had been destroyed somehow (Pauses to do a little research).  It would have been something like 430 years old...give or take a few...at that point.  Do you suppose the reason David pitched a tent for the Ark in Jerusalem instead of moving the Tabernacle was that it was getting too old and fragile to be moved?  It was located at Shiloh when Eli and his sons served as priests, at the beginning of 1 Samuel.  I can't find any record of it being moved to Gibeon...although I did find a reference in 1 Chron 16:29 that indicates that David left priests with the tabernacle at Gibeon to minister to the Lord there, even though the Ark was in Jerusalem.  Earlier, when David fled from Saul in 1 Sam 21, he went to Nob, where he was given the consecrated bread used in the Tabernacle.  There is no mention of the Tabernacle in that passage, but the priest was there and the shewbread was there, which kind of implies the Tabernacle was there; even my NIV Atlas says 'apparently the Tabernacle was there at that time.'  There is some evidence that Saul may have been from Gibeon, and I suppose it's possible that, after Doeg slaughtered the people of Nob (1 Sam 22:19), the Tabernacle and its remaining furnishings were moved to Gibeon, which is as likely a place as any for Saul to have used as his capital.  It is interesting...why didn't he bring the Ark home from the house of Abinidab, if he moved the Tabernacle?  It would have made sense to put it back in its place...but apparently he didn't consider that.  And, for some reason, David didn't move the Tabernacle to Jerusalem to receive the Ark, which would seem to have been appropriate.  I can only guess that it was getting too fragile to move...and, in any case, David intended to build a temple, so perhaps he thought it wasn't worth moving, having left priests and Levites there to serve God.

I actually think this is a significant thing...that the Ark was in Jerusalem, signifying the presence of God, and the Tabernacle was at Gibeon.  David could have reassembled the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, but instead he pitched a new tent...and built a new altar...and God accepted his sacrifices, indicating His pleasure.  What we have is a time of transition... the last remnants of their nomadic existence were slowly being replaced, something like 400 years later.  God was about to establish another level to His covenant.  He was designating the city in which He would put his Name (Deut 14:23,  16:5, etc), and was soon to make the covenant w/ David regarding his royal offspring.  The system instituted in the desert is about to get replaced by one centered on Jerusalem. Practically and prophetically, they are moving towards the coming of the Messiah. 

But I had one other thought also...the Ark was where God's presence dwelt; the Tabernacle was just the  structure that contained it.  Could we also be seeing a lesson that the structure is not the important thing, but what is housed within? We do tend to confuse the two from time to time. A good reminder not to put more emphasis on the structure than on the Presence...

Blogging Bible Study: Digging in the Desert - Water in the Trenches

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

There is only one verse in 2 Kings that mentions 'desert'...it's in chapter 3, verse 8.  I'll be honest; I almost just called it a geographic reference (which it is) and moved on.  But it is in an...interesting..story of God's intervention in a pretty unusual way,  marking the entrance of Elisha as a national prophet, so I decided to have a closer look.

A little context...Ahab's son Joram had become king of Israel.   Moab had been sending a tribute of sheep and wool to Israel; when Ahab died, the king of Moab decided he was done with that and rebelled.  Joram sent out a call for the men of Israel to join him to subdue the rebellion.  Picking up in verse 7 for context:

He also sent this message to Jeshoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me.  Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"

"I will go with you, " he replied.  "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as you horses."

"By what route shall we attack?" he asked.

"Through the Desert of Edom," he answered.

There is some pronoun trouble in verse 8...I am guessing the quotes indicate a change in speaker, so it likely was young Joram who asked the experienced king Jehoshaphat what the best attack route might be.  It may be that Jehoshaphat had an alliance w/ the King of Edom, because he joined with their cause as well (v. 9), so that may have been the reasoning behind attacking Moab that way; Edom is on the southern border of Moab.

Now, why the wool and the sheep were an issue worth going to war over I cannot begin to say.  There was probably more at stake here than is recorded...a political situation that I don't recognize.  But it was a big enough deal that three kings and their armies banded together to handle it.

To attack through the Desert of Edom, the armies of Israel and Judah had to march around the Dead Sea to join up with the Edomites in the Desert of Edom.    The last half of verse 9 tells us that they made a 'roundabout march of seven days' and they ran out of water...nothing for their soldiers or their animals.

I think what they say at that point is rather typical of human nature. "What!" exclaimed the king of Israel, "Has the LORD called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?" (v. 9).  See, there's no record WHATSOEVER that any of them inquired of the Lord how to proceed until that moment...but God has suddenly gotten the blame for their predicament.  It appears to me that they all just assumed they were doing what God wanted them to do in this case.  Unless Jehoshaphat actually did inquire of God before responding to Joram...but I don't think that would have been unrecorded.  So they are now in a pickle...and Jehoshaphat suddenly wants to seek God.  "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?" (v. 11).

Well, it just so happens that one of Joram's officers knew of someone who had apparently marched along with the men of Israel. "Elisha son of Shaphat is here.  He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah." (still v. 11).

In other words, 'We have a guy here who was a servant to the last great prophet.'  At that point, Elisha really hadn't done anything regarding the king.  He had split the Jordan river to return to Jericho after Elijah's translation (2:14), miraculously cured Jericho's well (2: 21-22) then cursed a group of rowdy teens, who were making fun of his bald headedness, for their disrespect...and they all got attacked and mauled (not sure how many, if any, actually died) by a couple of bears.  Then he went to Samaria  (2:25), and, apparently when Joram sent the word for all the fighting men to join his campaign against Moab, Elisha joined up.    I rather expect he had a nudge from God telling him to go, so that he would be at hand when he was needed.  Sure enough, Jehoshaphat jumped on that news. 'The word of the LORD is with him."

Now, here's the interesting bit.  They didn't send the officer to bring Elisha to them.  The kings themselves went to Elisha (3:12).  Elisha was not particularly impressed. "What do we have to do with each other?  Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."

Joram protested, "No, because it was the LORD who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab." (v 13)

Again, was it God?  There's no record indicating such.  But Joram was either convinced it was...or he had convinced himself that it was God's idea, in order to blame-shift. 

Elisha was still disgruntled, and he replied, "As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you.  But now bring me a harpist."

So they got someone from the camp who could play the harp.

I think this is an important little detail to have included in the narrative.  Elisha had to get rid of his irritation in order to hear God...and he called for music to help him. We don't have the harpist's set list, but I have to believe he was playing some of David's psalms; that was, after all, the hymn book of the Hebrews.  Which meant that...Elisha used worship to get his attention off of his personal opinion of the pagan kings and onto whatever God might be saying in the midst of it all.  And, in his worship, he heard from God. (3:16).

And, as was typical for a word from God, the instructions made no sense.  They were told to...dig trenches. 'Make this valley full of ditches'  Elisha told them in v16.  "For this is what the LORD says:  You will see neither wind nor rain,  yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you.  You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town.  You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs and ruin every good field with stone." (vs. 17 - 18) .  Truth be told, this sounds like judgment passed against Moab.  As I said, I think there's more to this story than we have recorded here....but it didn't directly apply to the Israelites.  They had something to do.

Dig ditches in the desert.  So, they dug ditches.

And the next morning,  around the time of the morning sacrifice, water came pouring down into the ditches from Edom.  It was a flash flood...and, since the ditches had been dug, the water ran in the ditches.  This is not an uncommon thing, really, for rain to fall miles away from one spot in the desert, in the mountains, and then water to flow down into the dry area. We heard about it several times in last year's Israel trip...it's the reason there are so many cisterns in Israel and the surrounding area; to hold the runoff from flash flooding coming from a mountainous area that had a sudden deluge. It was an easy thing for the Lord to send rain in an area that drained into the valley where they were.  In fact, it may even have been raining in the mountains of Edom when Elisha was delivering the prophecy; it would take a little bit for the water to travel the distance.

In any case, the morning saw the ditches fill with water...and all the men and animals were able to drink.

Meantime, across the border in Moab, the king had mustered up all of his fighting men to resist Joram and his allies.  The morning sun glinted across the water in the ditches, making it look like the valley was full of blood.    The Moabites immediately assumed the three armies had had a falling out and slaughtered each other, and took off running to the allies' camp to plunder it.  Imagine their surprise when they found there were not corpses lying about, but soldiers ready for battle.

They were beaten...all the way back to a single surviving town in Moab, before the allied army left them and returned to their own countries, having stopped up springs,  thrown rocks in the fields, and cut down trees.  Moab paid a price for their rebellion.

Here's what I got out of this little story...it's never too late to ask God what to do.  It may be that your deliverance is set in motion when you turn your heart to ask, so that by the time you are actually at the place of inquiry, the answer is already on its way.  God may require something really odd..but what he's doing is setting you up to receive the blessing.  This is another account of God instructing someone to prepare capacity for a blessing before the blessing arrives  (think also of the widow with her oil..that story is the very next one recorded in 2 Kings).  You can only receive the blessing in proportion to the preparation done before it gets there. If the allied armies had not dug the valley full of trenches, the flash flood would have all run off; possibly even carrying their campsites away.  At the very least, there would have been nothing remaining to satisfy the thirst in the camp.  And, finally,  when you are having trouble getting past distractions...even if those distractions are in your own heart and mind...just turn your heart to worship, which will turn your ear to God's voice.

All things I needed to be reminded of.  So glad I didn't just skip over this verse.

Blogging Bible Study - Digging in the Desert: Elijah's Desert Retreat

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Ok, this week is kinda dicey.  There are exactly three verses that mention 'desert' in the rest of 1 Kings.

The first, 1 Kings 9:1, is strictly a geographical reference. For context, I'm including verses 17-19:

And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.  He built up Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmore in the desert, within his land,  as well as  all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses -- whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and through out all the territory he ruled.

I pondered discussing Solomon's building program and his reign, but, you know, that really has very little to do with 'desert' at all.  So I think I will leave that reference right there, just as it is, indicating that Solomon was a builder, and move on to the next mention of  'desert', which is totally unrelated, in 1 Kings 19.

This follows the dramatic showdown between Elijah and the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel; Elijah got wind of Jezebel's intention to kill him and

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.  When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert.  He came to a broom tree, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said.  "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."  Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. (1 Kings 19:3 - 5a)

I have always thought it rather ironic that Elijah ran for his life from Jezebel, then asked God to kill him.  I mean, really?  Maybe he thought he would suffer less if God killed him?  I don't know.  But I do see in this a predecessor to the events that happen when Elijah actually does depart the earth...after trying repeatedly to leave his servant at that time behind.  Of course, at this point Elijah's tasks weren't finished and he is twice awakened and fed a baked cake and water by an angel. Then, strengthened by the food and refreshed by the rest, he set off on foot for Mount Horeb.  It took him 40 days to get there.  I have heard it said that he fasted the entire trip...that the strength of those angelic meals miraculously kept him alive until he reached Horeb.  Now, I am not going to say that isn't so...but I will say that I don't read this that way.  If you go back and read through 18: 20 - 48 you'll find that Elijah had already been fasting...and he spent himself both physically and spiritually before he got to the broom tree (the mileage he had to have covered to get from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel to Beersheba, then another day's walk into the desert is pretty staggering).  I don't think those meals and that rest were what got him through the next 40 days; I think they were what gave him enough recovery to even begin the journey, because I believe he was at the absolute end of his resources when he fell asleep.  We don't know how long the angel let him sleep before rousing him...and we don't know how long he slept between meals...but once he'd had that second cake he was able to get up and get moving.

The scene that played out on the mountain 40 days later is also very familiar (aside...do you suppose this cave is the same cleft in the rock that protected Moses when God passed by?);  there is ferocious wind, then an earthquake,  then a fire...then a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard the whisper, he knew the presence of the LORD was near so he covered his face and stood at the entrance to the cave.  For the second time, God asked him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" and Elijah repeated his earlier answer (cp 19:9-10 and 13-14),  complaining that the Israelites had abandoned God, killed all the prophets and now he was the only one left, "...and now they are trying to kill me, too."

At first, God did not respond at all to Elijah's complaint.  He just gave him instructions.

The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus.  When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.  Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet."  (1 Kings 19: 15-18)

Then...God dropped the little fact that there were still 7,000 in Israel who had not turned aside to follow Baal.  Elijah was hardly alone.

Elijah's tasks began a shift once he returned from his desert retreat...the end of the rule of the house of Ahab  in Israel, a new dynasty in Aram, and a new protege' who would become THE prophet after he was gone.

I wonder how long his previous servant waited on him in Beersheba?

Seriously, though,  Elijah's sojourn in the desert  was a shifting point, not only in his life, but in the kingdoms around him.  He went into the desert exhausted and discouraged; he came out with a purpose. 

Blogging Bible Study: Digging in the Desert -- Who was Joab?

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

1 Kings has very few references to 'desert', and they are fairly disconnected from one another.  But the first reference is in chapter 2, verse 34 -

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried on his own land in the desert.

What had brought this mighty warrior to the point where he was simply struck down and killed? 

To understand that, we need to look at his history. 

2 Chronicles 2:16 tells us that David had two sisters --  Zeruiah, who had three sons,  Abishai, Joab and Asahel; and Abigail, who had one son named Amasa.

But the first reference we have to Joab is when David crept into Saul's camp with Abishai, who is identified in 1 Samuel 26:6 as Joab's brother, with the author confident that anyone reading later would know who Joab was.  In the  2 Samuel 23 list of David's 'Mighty Men', both Abishai and Asahel are mentioned, with both of them identified as 'Joab's brother', but Joab himself is not mentioned in any of the lists.  Which I found rather interesting. I had just kind of taken it for granted that Joab was one of the standout supporters of David's refugee years but...not so much.  Unless he was already counted as the leader of them all and therefore not included in the lists.  But other leaders, not included, were named so...I dunno.  Draw your own conclusions.

Joab himself enters the story in 2 Samuel 2:13.  It was a time of civil war in Israel; David had been crowned king of Judah in Hebron, but Saul's military commander, Abner, had had Saul's son Ish-bosheth anointed king over Israel.  On this occasion, Abner and the army of Israel met up with 'Joab son of Zeruiah and David's men' at the pool of Gibeon, Abner proposed a solution to the standoff -- twelve men from each side would battle in hand-to-hand combat and the winner would, well, be the winner,  Joab, who seems to be in the position of authority at that time, agreed.  But the 24 men each slew their opponent on the first stroke...a truly remarkable thing...so there was no resolution there and the battle raged.  David's men defeated them and Abner was pursued by Asahel, the youngest of the sons of Zeruiah.  Abner tried to dissuade Asahel from chasing him, but Asahel, who was a very fast runner, didn't swerve.  Finally, Abner jabbed at him with the butt of his spear.  Now, I do not for one minute think Abner meant to seriously harm Asahel.  If you want to hurt someone, you use the pointy end of the weapon, not the blunt end.  But Asahel apparently had  a ridiculous amount of momentum going and he ended up impaled on the butt end of Abner's spear and died. A death in battle...not a murder.  Over the course of the next couple of years,  Ish-Bosheth  offended Abner so badly that Abner declared his intention to bring all of Israel over to David...and he defected to David.  At David's request, he brought  Saul's daughter Michal back to him.  David welcomed him and then sent him in peace to drum up the support of the rest of the nation.

Joab, however, wasn't having it.  He was sure that Abner was up to no good and would betray them all.  He left David angry, and, without David's knowledge or blessing, summoned Abner to himself.  When Abner arrived, Joab took him aside as if to share some confidence, but instead stabbed him and he died, purportedly to avenge the death of his younger brother.

David was beyond furious.  He actually spoke a curse over Joab and his descendants:

"I and my kingdom are forever innocent  before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.  May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and  upon all his father's house!  May Joab's house never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food."  (2 Sam 3:28-29).  The rest of the chapter is David's lament for Abner, whom he called 'a prince and a great man'.  It's also significant that Joab, right from the beginning of David's kingship,  demonstrated his ability for subterfuge, violence and betrayal.

Yet, 2 Sam 8:16 indicates that Joab was officially the head of the army. Joab had some good qualities.  He was a great military strategist (see 2 Sam 10:9 - 12; also 2 Sam 20:20 - 22); he summoned David to come and lead the final attack of a long battle so that David would get the credit for the victory.  He worked to facilitate a reconciliation between David and his son Absalom ( 14: 1-21, 32-33).  He tried hard to dissuade David from foolishly counting the fighting men (24:3)...and, after Absalom's death,  reproved David for mourning him so publicly and damaging the morale of his army (19: 5 - 8).  But those 'good' qualities were overshadowed by his violence.   He abetted David in the murder of Bathsheba's husband Uriah, which also caused the death of a number of other Israeli soldiers; he himself was the one who killed Absalom in cold blood as he hung, entrapped and defenseless, from a tree.  After Absalom's uprising, David sent word to Amasa, his sister Abigail's son, who had led Absalom's army, that he wanted him to come and be the head of his army.  Joab got wind of that  and rather gruesomely and very coldly murdered Amasa...his cousin...leaving him 'wallowing in his blood in the road' in full view of the army as they went after Sheba, son of Bicri. (20:9-13)

Throughout the book of 2 Samuel, it could be argued that Joab's actions were those of a man who honestly wanted what was best for the kingdom...and believed that he knew better than the king what that would be.  It's possible that he honestly believed he was removing a threat by killing Abner, and then Amasa, as they had each led the armies opposing the king.  But in 1 Kings, we see something different.  In chapter 1, David is old, likely suffering from hypothyroidism,  nearing the end of his days.    His next son after Absalom, Adonijah, decided he would be king at once.  He sought out and actually won the support of two individuals who had stood by David in Absalom's rebellion: Abiathar the priest, which is its own mystery, and...Joab.  Joab, who had so violently protected  David and the kingdom in years past...now put his support behind Adonijah's coup attempt.  Why would he do that?  David did not have much longer  to reign; if he died, Adonijah was the next in line.  Why didn't Joab simply counsel Adonijah to bide his time?  It appears that Joab must've known of David's plan to make Solomon king.  And, for whatever reason, he didn't like his chances to stay in power under Solomon.  If he cut a deal with Adonijah and saw to it that Adonijah succeeded where Absalom failed, then he could still maintain his position.  Joab didn't seek to be king himself; but as general of all the king's armies he pretty much did as he pleased and there wasn't much David could do about it when he murdered anyone David called upon to take his place. It was a place he meant to keep under the next king.

Of course, they were a bit short and a bit late; Nathan and Bathsheba laid the situation out before David, who moved immediately to abdicate his throne in favor of his son Solomon.  Solomon was anointed by Zadok and proclaimed king in Jerusalem, which completely unraveled Adonijah's  plans.  Before David died, he charged Solomon with a number of tasks...one of which was, 'Deal with [Joab] according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.' (see 1 Kings 2:5 - 6).

After David's death, Solomon took no immediate action against Joab, or his half brother Adonijah .  In fact, he had promised Adonijah, 'If he shows himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him he will die." (1 Kings 1:52).

But, when Solomon was firmly established as king, Adonijah made a request through Bathsheba.  To our modern morality, it sounds perfectly innocent...He wanted to marry one of David's concubines, who had served him at the end of his life without being sexually intimate with him.  A virgin girl.  That doesn't sound so awful, does it?  Ah, but this is now and that was then.  And then...well,  it was a sign of conquering a king, to sleep with his wives/ concubines (Absalom had so violated the 10 concubines David had left behind to tend the palace when he fled the city ...see 2 Sam 16:21 - 22).  There was more to this request than appeared on the surface.  Bathseba either didn't catch on, or she knew what the result would be, so she passed the request on to Solomon.  Solomon at once saw it for what it was...another coup attempt...and his wrath didn't fall only on Adonijah, but on those who conspired with him, Abiathar and Joab.  Benaiah, captain of the bodyguard,  was dispatched to kill Adonijah and Joab but Abiathar, as he was a priest who had carried the Ark, was stripped from his position and banished to his land.  Adonijah was dispatched without  ceremony, but Joab ran to the tabernacle and grabbed the horns of the altar; traditionally a place of sanctuary.  Benaiah ordered him to come out in the king's name, but Joab refused saying, 'No, I will die here.'  (1 Kings 2:30).  Benaiah reported back to Solomon, asking what he should do. Solomon replied, 'Do as he says.  Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my father's house of the guilt of the innocent blood he shed...may the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever.' (2:31, 33).

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried on his own land in the desert.

Brings to mind Matthew's record of Jesus' chastisement of Peter, when he had cut off Malchus' ear, "...all who draw the sword will die by the sword."  (Matt 26:52).  Joab was a violent man, who died a violent death.  Was his insistence on dying by the altar a last ditch effort to try and absolve himself of the blood guilt he had carried for years?  Or, ever the manipulator, maybe it was an attempt to put blood guilt on Benaiah, for killing an unarmed man clinging to God's altar?   Joab's motives in his death were no less puzzling than his motives for actions he took in his life.    Were you to talk to him, I am convinced he would maintain he did what he did for the good of the nation. 

It's easy to shake our heads in judgment of that kind of self deception...but I have to ask myself, what am I deceiving myself about?  What reprehensible actions do I defend from a self-interested position?

Joab certainly doesn't have the corner on the rationalization market...

Blogging Bible Study: Digging in the Desert - Through the Desert to Sanctuary

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The only references to 'desert' in 2 Samuel are clustered up in chapters 15 - 17, which, to my thinking, is one of the great tragedies of the Old Testament.   There is quite a bit of back story to explain Absalom's animosity towards his dad, which I'm not going into here (recorded in chapters 13- 14, if you're interested in reading it).  Of course, the root of all of this is David's sin regarding Bathesheba and Uriah; we don't really have a time frame for that but it's likely that Absalom was old enough to remember it when it happened.  It's quite possible that David's actions there also influenced Absalom's opinion of his father...Nathan had told David that sword would never leave his house because of his actions.  God forgave the sin...but the consequences remained.

Chapter 15 opens up with Absalom moving about the people,  offering them sympathy and generally being a good-looking friend to all.  He did this for four years, so that all the people loved him.  Then he moved...asking David for permission to go to Hebron and worship.  David, no doubt pleased that his son was seeking God, gave his blessing for him to go. 

But treachery was afoot.  Absalom had conspired to get himself proclaimed king in Hebron. (v.10)

David finally got word of what was going on in verse 13...although how he deduced the matter from the message that 'The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom." is beyond me.  But he at once realized the significance of it and told his officials with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom.  We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us  and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword." (v. 14)

I honestly think it was the prompting of the Spirit for him to see the situation as it was...but it may also have been an echo of all the years he spent as a fugitive from the court of Saul. They packed up the court, leaving ten concubines behind to keep house, and headed out, in company of Ittai the Gittite and all his men.

The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by.  The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the desert. (15:23).  They paused for sacrifices, then David told Zadok and Abiathar the priests, who had brought the Ark of the Covenant with them, to take the Ark back to the city but to send word via their sons Ahimeaaz and Jonathan if they could discover Absalom's plans. 

"I will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me." David told them in verse 28.   They traveled up the road that climbed the Mount of Olives (aside...do you suppose that is the same road Jesus traveled when he came into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey?) and he met his friend Hushai at the summit.  David had learned that his counselor Ahithophel had conspired w/ Absalom, so he sent Hushai to Absalom's court to counsel against whatever Ahithophel advised...and also to be his eyes and ears there, communicating with Zadok and Abiathar.

So David's counterespionage plan was set, and Hushai met up with Absalom's entourage just as they entered the city from Hebron.

David met up with Ziba, the servant of Jonathan's crippled son Mephibosheth (see 2 Sam. 9 for his story) on the far side of the Mount of Olives; Ziba had a string of donkeys saddled for use, as well as loads of provisions.

The king asked Ziba, "Why have you brought these?"  Ziba answered, "The donkeys are for the king's household to rode on,  the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the desert."  (16: 2)  Furthermore, Ziba stated that Mephibosheth was hanging back in Jerusalem, hoping to reinstate the household of Saul... himself... as king in the aftermath of a battle in the household of David. Was that true?  Mephibosheth claimed otherwise later (2 Sam 19:26), saying that Ziba betrayed him. Whichever was the case...the food and the donkeys were there for the use of the king and his companions, which no doubt served to encourage them to some degree.

David endured curses and rock throwing from a guy named Shemei  as they finished their journey to the 'fords of the desert'...the Jordan river a bit north of the Dead Sea.   Exhausted, they set up a temporary camp to await word from Jerusalem as to what they should do next.

Meanwhile, back in Absalom's camp, Ahithophel counseled Absalom to set out after David at once, with a relatively small force to catch the fugitives while they were weary and unprepared, to kill only David, and bring all the rest of the people back unharmed.  But Absalom chose to listen to the counsel of Hushai, who suggested they gather all the soldiers they could from around the country, since David was likely hidden somewhere and they would have to fight his battle-experienced guards, who would likely decimate a small tactical force.  Hushai relayed the message to the priests, explaining what had happened and instructing them

"Now send a message immediately and tell David, 'Do not spend the night at the fords in the desert; cross over without fail, or the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up."  (17:16)

The priests sent a servant girl to tell the messengers at En Rogel.  But the young men were spotted and a report went to Absalom, who sent troops after them.  After a dramatic moment reminiscent of the rooftop of Rahab, the troops went off in the wrong direction and the young men got their message through to David.  By daybreak, none of David's people were left on the west side of the Jordan.

Ahithopel returned to his house in his hometown and hung himself since his advice had not been followed.

David's party made it to Mahanaim, where  a trio of wealthy friends (Shobi, Makir, and Barzillai)

brought bedding and bowls and articles of pottery.  They also brought wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds, sheep and cheese from cows' milk for David and his people to eat. For they said, "The people have become hungry and thirsty in the desert."  (17:28-29)

And that, my friends, is the last mention of the word 'desert' in 2 Samuel.

The desert was David's sanctuary in 1 Samuel; he went through the desert to sanctuary in 2 Samuel.  This time, he went across the Jordan, and he had allies who helped him...which was the difference between being someone the king sought to kill and the king whom someone wanted to kill.

But it takes the next three chapters to bring all the details in this sad story to closure...David's son Absalom was killed; there was a big fuss among the tribes over bringing the king back to Jerusalem; tempers flared and offense was taken, resulting in Sheba, son of Bicri, leading a second rebellion. The seeds of the future division of the country may well have been sown in that episode.  David and Joab were at odds; Joab murdered the man David planned to set in his place over the armies of Israel.

At the fords of the desert David's life was in danger, waiting for word from Jerusalem. By the Lord's doing, the counsel of the enemy was thwarted and David made it to safety...but the ripple effect kept spreading.

The ripple that began when David saw something he shouldn't have seen, coveted something that wasn't his, took what he wanted despite the transgression of it, and then murdered men to try and hide it.  His sin was forgiven, but the consequences kept multiplying.

A sobering lesson.