Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. Psalm 51:1 (NLT) In a rather unsettling way, David, the "man after God’s own heart" had sinned against God.He had committed adultery and senselessly ordered the husband of the woman to be killed both as a cover-up and to pave t...  Read More

On that day Gad went to David and said to him, ‘’Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.’’ So David went up, as the LORD had commanded through Gad.When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.Araunah said, ‘’Why has my lord the king come to his servant?’’...  Read More

So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Ara...  Read More

Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer. ‘’Go and tell David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’ ‘’So Gad went to David and said to him, ‘’Shall there come on you three years of famine in the land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue ...  Read More

Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He incited David against them, saying, ‘’Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.’’So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, ‘’Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.’’But Joab replied to the king, ‘’May the LORD your God multiply the troops ...  Read More

These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter. Next to him was Eleazer . . .  As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines . . . the Israelites retreated, but Eleazer stood his ground and struck down the Philistines ti...  Read More