A Loyal Priest Zadok (1) and Abiathar serve David as priests. The two work together in support of him. During Absalom’s coup attempt, they both side with David. The pair covertly work to send information about Absalom’s short-lived reign back to David’s camp through their sons. This is not the case, however, when Adonijah tries […]
The Next King? David’s first four sons are Amnon, Kileab, Absalom, and Adonijah (1). Each one has a different mother, making them all half-brothers. Absalom kills Amnon for raping their sister Tamar. Then Absalom dies in a coup attempt. The Bible only mentions Kileab once, so he likely does nothing noteworthy nor notorious. As a […]
In Service to the King Abishag is a young, beautiful Shunammite woman. She’s carefully selected to attend to King David in his old age. Despite her sleeping next to him to keep him warm, their relationship isn’t sexual—though I’m sure people thought otherwise. When the king dies, we might assume her ordeal is over. But […]
Commander for Life In Absalom’s brief coup attempt against his father, he appoints Amasa (1) as commander of his rebel troops. Amasa is the first cousin of Joab, who commands David’s army. During the rebellion, Joab kills Absalom. This occurs despite David’s explicit command to spare his son’s life. Though doing so ends the coup […]
A Disgraced Counselor Ahithophel is King David’s counselor. Yet when Absalom attempts his coup against his father, Ahithophel shows no sign of loyalty to David and aligns himself with Absalom. Ahithophel gives Absalom advice, which we later find out is correct. But Hushai—working under David’s direction to foil Ahithophel—provides a conflicting recommendation, albeit for David’s […]
Luke Bible Study, Day 31 Today’s passage: Luke 19:28–48 Focus verse: The whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. (Luke 19:37) As Jesus and his disciples head toward Jerusalem, he sends two of them on ahead with a curious instruction. “Go into the […]
Hushai is an Arkite. The Bible tells us little about the Arkites, other than that they descend from Noah’s grandson Canaan. This makes Hushai a foreigner in Israel, a non-Jew. Yet he is also loyal to King David, serving as his confidant. When Absalom attempts a coup against David, the king flees for his life. […]
A Loyal but Overzealous Army Commander Abishai is the brother of Joab, commander of King David’s army. Scripture tells us that Abishai is one of David’s mighty warriors, a subcommander of his army, and credited with impressive military victories. He’s also zealous for David, perhaps too much so. Or maybe he has a thirst for […]
A Priest with Shifting Loyalties When Doeg the Edomite, under the order of King Saul, kills Ahimelek and eighty-five other priests, only Ahimelek’s son Abiathar escapes. Abiathar flees to David, who offers him sanctuary. Abiathar takes the ephod with him. This likely refers to the ephod Moses made for the priests to wear (Exodus 28). […]
The Genealogy of Jesus Today’s Passage: Matthew 1:1–17 Focus Verse: This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1) We’ve already talked about how John, Mark, and Luke open their biographies of Jesus. Now we’ll look at Matthew’s approach. Though it may seem strange to us […]