Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries b
y Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Daily Devotion - Wednesday, May 9, 2018 "It's Hard to Do"
Matthew 6:14-15 - (Jesus said) "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
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When Peter asked Jesus, "How many times do I have to forgive?" he probably thought He was stretching things a little bit when He said, "seven times?" Then, when Jesus surprisingly said, "No, you don't have to forgive seven times," Peter might have breathed a sigh of relief.
The apostle would have been relieved until Jesus added, "No, not seven times, but seventy times seven."
Four-hundred-and-ninety times?! That's 490 acts of forgiveness! Unbelievable! The worst part was this: Peter knew Jesus wasn't saying that when you finally reached 491 times you could get back at the person who had wronged you. You shouldn't think, "I've forgiven him 486 times; I think it's time to plot my revenge; 487, boy, are we getting close; 488, this is gonna make me feel so good; 489, go ahead, sin against me one more time! Please, please, please," and then bam! you're dead meat.
No, Jesus didn't mean count to 490 and then get even. He meant we should keep on forgiving and forgiving and forgiving and, well, you get His drift.
Now, I imagine Peter probably felt frustrated. That's because, quite probably, Peter's question wasn't hypothetical. Maybe Peter was counting Andrew's sins. Maybe he was angry at Judas, or Matthew, or one of the others. Maybe. I don't know the cause of Peter's anger, but I'm pretty sure he wanted to know when he could get even.
He wondered, and Jesus told him that well, really, you can't.
Forgiveness can be frustrating, especially when it comes to those who are closest to us. They are the ones who most easily get under our skin; they're the ones upon whom we want to take our revenge and get satisfaction. In the 1800s, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said, "We humans are like a bunch of porcupines who, on a cold winter's night, decide to huddle together for warmth. But there is a problem: the cold drives us closer, while at the same time our quills push us apart."
Still, Jesus commands His people to forgive.
From this passage and others like it, we can see Jesus wasn't making a general kind of gentle suggestion, a theoretical proposal. To Jesus, forgiveness isn't optional. It isn't something we can offer when it suits us or when it concerns matters inconsequential. Forgiveness is something God's people do. It may be frustrating, but it's something the Savior expects His people to do.
He expects us to forgive because He first forgave us.
Take a look at the life of Jesus. He was born into a world that did not want Him. A stable heard His first baby cries because no one would offer His parents lodging. His king, in a jealous rage, tried to have him murdered. The town in which He grew up tried to kill Him. The religious leaders of His people plotted to take His life. His disciples deserted Him. One denied Him; another betrayed Him. Although His Roman judge knew Him to be innocent, he turned his back on justice and allowed Jesus to be condemned and crucified.
But still Jesus forgave.
Indeed, He died so we might be forgiven, and now the risen Redeemer expects us to live sharing that forgiveness with others.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, it is hard to forgive, especially when someone doesn't deserve it. When we are slow to forgive, help us remember how You died to forgive us. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: 2 Samuel 2-5; John 1:1-28
2 Samuel 2:1
After this, David consulted Adonai; he asked, “Should I go up into any of the cities of Y’hudah?” Adonai said to him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go up?” He said, “To Hevron.” 2 So David went up there with his two wives Achino‘am from Yizre‘el and Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel. 3 David brought the men up with him, each with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hevron.
4 Then the men of Y’hudah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Y’hudah. They informed David that the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad were the ones who had buried Sha’ul. 5 So David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad with this message: “May you be blessed by Adonai, because you showed this kindness to your lord, Sha’ul, and buried him. 6 Now may Adonai show kindness and truth to you; and I too will show you favor because you have done this. 7 Be strong, and be brave. Sha’ul your lord is dead, but the house of Y’hudah have anointed me king over them.”
8 Avner the son of Ner, commander of Sha’ul’s army, had taken Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, brought him over to Machanayim, 9 and made him king over Gil‘ad, the Ashuri, Yizre‘el, Efrayim, Binyamin and all Isra’el. 10 Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul was forty years old when he began to rule over Isra’el, and he ruled for two years. But the house of Y’hudah followed David. 11 David was king in Hevron over the house of Y’hudah for seven years and six months.
12 Avner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul went out from Machanayim to Giv‘on; 13 while Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah and David’s servants also went out; and they met together by the pool at Giv‘on. One group sat down on one side of the pool and the other on the other side. 14 Avner said to Yo’av, “If it’s all right with you, let’s have the young men get up and fight it out between themselves, while we watch.” Yo’av said, “Yes, let them.” 15 So they got up and paired off, twelve for Binyamin and Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, and twelve of David’s servants. 16 Each one grabbed his partner by the head and drove his sword into his side, so that they fell down together. For this reason that place was named Helkat-Hatzurim [field of blades]; it is in Giv‘on. 17 The battle that day was very fierce; Avner and the men of Isra’el were beaten by David’s servants.
18 The three sons of Tz’ruyah were there, Yo’av, Avishai and ‘Asah’el. ‘Asah’el was as fleet-footed as a gazelle in an open field. 19 ‘Asah’el chased Avner, going straight for him, veering neither right nor left. 20 Avner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, ‘Asah’el?” “Yes, it is,” he answered. 21 Avner said to him, “Turn off to your right or your left, catch one of the young men and take his armor.” But ‘Asah’el wouldn’t turn aside and kept following him. 22 Avner said again to ‘Asah’el, “Turn aside and stop following me! Why should I kill you? If I did, how could I look your brother Yo’av in the eye?” 23 But he still refused to turn aside; so Avner stabbed him in the groin with the back end of the spear, so that the shaft protruded behind him. He fell down and died on the spot. Everyone who came to the place where ‘Asah’el lay dead stopped there.
24 Yo’av and Avishai continued in pursuit of Avner; the sun went down when they arrived at Amah Hill, across from Giach along the Giv‘on Desert road. 25 The people of Binyamin gathered themselves together into a phalanx behind Avner and stood on top of a hill. 26 Then Avner called out to Yo’av, “Must the sword go on devouring forever? Don’t you know that in the end it can produce only bitterness? How long will it be, then, before you tell the people to quit pursuing their brothers?” 27 Yo’av said, “As God lives, if you hadn’t said something, there is no doubt that the people would have kept following their brothers all night long.” 28 Then Yo’av sounded the shofar, and with that the people halted. They stopped pursuing Isra’el, and they stopped fighting.
29 Avner and his men went through the ‘Aravah all that night; they crossed the Yarden, went through all of Bitron and arrived at Machanayim. 30 Yo’av returned from following Avner. When he brought the troops together for review, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, along with ‘Asah’el. 31 But David’s servants had killed 360 of Avner’s men of Binyamin. 32 They took ‘Asah’el and buried him in his father’s tomb in Beit-Lechem. Then Yo’av and his men marched all night, so that they reached Hevron at daybreak.
3:1 The war between the house of Sha’ul and the house of David dragged on, but David grew stronger, while the house of Sha’ul became weaker.
2 Sons were born to David in Hevron. His firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Achino‘am from Yizre‘el; 3 his second, Kil’av, whose mother was Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel; the third, Avshalom, whose mother was Ma‘akhah the daughter of Talmai king of G’shur; 4 the fourth, Adoniyah the son of Haggit; the fifth, Sh’fatyah the son of Avital; 5 and the sixth, Yitre‘am, whose mother was ‘Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hevron.
6 During the war that was going on between the house of Sha’ul and the house of David, Avner strengthened his position in the house of Sha’ul. 7 Sha’ul had had a concubine named Ritzpah, the daughter of Ayah; and [Ish-Boshet] challenged Avner: “Why did you go and sleep with my father’s concubine?” 8 These words of Ish-Boshet’s enraged Avner. “What am I,” he shouted, “[that you treat me with such contempt]? A dog’s head in Y’hudah? Till this moment I have shown only kindness to the house of Sha’ul your father, and to his brothers and to his friends; and I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet you choose today to pick a fight with me over this woman! 9 May God bring terrible curses on Avner and worse ones yet if I don’t accomplish what Adonai swore to David — 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Sha’ul and set up the throne of David over Isra’el and Y’hudah, from Dan all the way to Be’er-Sheva!” 11 Ish-Boshet couldn’t answer Avner a word, because he was afraid of him.
12 Avner immediately sent envoys to David with this message: “Who is going to control the land? If you make yourself my ally, I will use my power to bring all Isra’el over to you.” 13 David sent this reply: “Very well, I will be your ally — on one condition: you will not come into my presence unless at the same time you bring with you Mikhal Sha’ul’s daughter.” 14 David sent messengers to say to Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul, “Give me back my wife Mikhal. I betrothed her to myself for 100 foreskins of the P’lishtim.” 15 Ish-Boshet sent and took her from her husband Palti’el the son of Layish. 16 Her husband went with her, crying as he went, and followed her to Bachurim. But when Avner told him, “Go back,” he returned.
17 Then Avner conferred with the leaders of Isra’el. He said, “In the past, you wanted David to be king over you. 18 So now, do it. For Adonai has said of David, ‘Through my servant David I will rescue my people Isra’el from the power of the P’lishtim and from the power of all their enemies.’” 19 Avner also spoke with the people of Binyamin.
Then Avner went to Hevron and reported to David everything that had been agreed to by Isra’el and the house of Binyamin. 20 When Avner came to David in Hevron he brought twenty men with him. David held a feast for Avner and his men. 21 Avner said to David, “I must get up and go to gather all Isra’el to my lord the king, so that they can make a covenant with you. Then you will be able to rule over everything your heart desires.” David sent Avner off, giving him safe conduct.
22 Just then David’s men and Yo’av returned from a raid, bringing a lot of plunder with them. But Avner was not with David in Hevron, because he had sent him off under safe conduct. 23 When Yo’av and all his army had arrived, Yo’av was told, “Avner the son of Ner came to the king, but he sent him off, and he has left under safe conduct.” 24 Yo’av went to the king and said, “What have you done? Here, Avner came to you, and you sent him away, and now he’s gone! Why? 25 You know Avner the son of Ner — he came only to deceive you, to learn what campaigns you’re planning and to find out everything you’re doing!”
26 After leaving David, Yo’av sent messengers after Avner, and they brought him back from the water cistern at Sirah without David’s knowledge. 27 Upon Avner’s return to Hevron, Yo’av took him aside into the space between the outer and inner city gates as if to speak with him privately; and there he struck him in the groin, so that he died — thus avenging the death of ‘Asah’el his brother.
28 Afterwards, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent of the death of Avner the son of Ner. 29 Let it fall on the head of Yo’av and all his father’s family. May Yo’av’s family always have someone with a hemorrhage or tzara‘at, or who has to walk with a cane, or who dies by the sword or who lacks food.” 30 Thus Yo’av and Avishai his brother killed Avner, because he had killed their brother ‘Asah’el during the battle in Giv‘on. 31 But David said to Yo’av and all those with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Avner.” King David himself walked behind the body as it was carried. 32 They buried Avner at Hevron; the king wept aloud at Avner’s grave, and all the people wept. 33 The king sang this lament over Avner:
“Should Avner have died like a thug?
34 Your hands weren’t tied, your feet weren’t fettered;
you fell like one who falls at the hands
of criminals.”
Then all the people wept over him more than ever.
35 All the people came to David and tried to make him eat some bread while it was still daytime; but David swore, “May God bring terrible curses on me and worse ones yet if I taste bread or anything else until the sun goes down.” 36 All the people took note of this, and it pleased them; whatever the king did pleased all the people. 37 So that day, all the people and all Isra’el understood that the king had had no part in the killing of Avner the son of Ner. 38 The king said to his servants, “You realize that a leader, a great man, has fallen today in Isra’el. 39 Even though I have just been anointed king, I feel weak today; and these men, the sons of Tz’ruyah, are too brutal for me. May Adonai repay the criminal as his crime deserves!”
4:1 When Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul heard that Avner had died in Hevron, his courage failed; and all Isra’el became alarmed. 2 Sha’ul’s son had two men who were captains of raiding parties, one called Ba‘anah and the other Rekhav, sons of Rimmon the Be’eroti, of the people of Binyamin (for Be’erot is counted as part of Binyamin, 3 even though the Be’erotim fled to Gittayim and have lived as foreigners there to this day). 4 Now Y’honatan the son of Sha’ul’s had a son, and he was lame in both legs. He had been five years old when the news about Sha’ul and Y’honatan came from Yizre‘el. His nurse had gathered him up and fled; but as she was hurrying to get away, he fell and became lame. His name was M’fivoshet. 5 The sons of Rimmon the Be’eroti, Rekhav and Ba‘anah went and arrived during the heat of the day at the home of Ish-Boshet as he was taking his afternoon rest. 6 They went right into the house, as if they were coming to get wheat, and stabbed him in the groin; then Rekhav and Ba‘anah his brother escaped. 7 They entered the house as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, stabbed him and killed him; then they beheaded him, took his head and fled all night along the road through the ‘Aravah. 8 They brought the head of Ish-Boshet to David in Hevron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-Boshet the son of Sha’ul your enemy, who wanted to take your life. Today Adonai has taken revenge on Sha’ul and his son for the sake of my lord the king.”
9 But David answered Rekhav and Ba‘anah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Be’eroti, “As Adonai lives, who has rescued me from every kind of difficulty, 10 when someone told me, ‘Here, Sha’ul is dead,’ thinking to himself that he was bringing good news, I didn’t reward him for his news but seized him and killed him in Ziklag. 11 How much more, when criminals have killed an innocent man in his own house on his own bed, shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his death and rid the earth of you?” 12 David then gave the order to his men, and they put them to death, cutting off their hands and feet and hanging them up next to the pool at Hevron. But they took the head of Ish-Boshet and buried it in Avner’s grave at Hevron.
5:1 Then all the tribes of Isra’el came to David in Hevron and said, “Here, we are your own flesh and bone. 2 In the past, when Sha’ul was king over us, it was you who led Isra’el’s military campaigns; and Adonai said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Isra’el, and you will be chief over Isra’el.’” 3 So all the leaders of Isra’el came to the king in Hevron, and King David made a covenant with them in Hevron in the presence of Adonai. Then they anointed David king over Isra’el. 4 David was thirty years old when he began his rule, and he ruled forty years. 5 In Hevron he ruled over Y’hudah seven years and six months; then in Yerushalayim he ruled thirty-three years over all Isra’el and Y’hudah.
6 The king and his men went to Yerushalayim to attack the Y’vusi, the inhabitants of that region. They taunted David, “You won’t get in here! Even the blind and the lame could fend you off!” — in other words, they were thinking, “David will never get in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David captured the stronghold of Tziyon, also known [now] as the City of David. 8 What David said on that day was, “In order to attack the Y’vusi, you have to climb up [from the spring outside the city] through the water tunnel. Then you can do away with those [so-called] ‘lame and blind’” (whom David despises — hence the expression, “The ‘blind and lame’ keep him from entering the house”).
9 David lived in the stronghold and called it the City of David. Then David built up the city around it, starting at the Millo [earth rampart] and working inward. 10 David grew greater and greater, because Adonai the God of Armies was with him. 11 Hiram king of Tzor sent envoys to David with cedar logs, and with them were carpenters and stonemasons; and they built David a palace. 12 David then knew that Adonai had set him up as king over Isra’el and increased his royal power for the sake of his people.
13 David took for himself more concubines and wives in Yerushalayim after coming from Hevron, so that still more sons and daughters were born to David. 14 Here are the names of those born to him in Yerushalayim: Shamua, Shovav, Natan, Shlomo, 15 Yivchar, Elishua, Nefeg, Yafia, 16 Elishama, Elyada and Elifelet.
17 When the P’lishtim heard that David had been anointed king over Isra’el, all the P’lishtim went up in search of David. On learning of it, David went down to the stronghold. 18 The P’lishtim came and deployed in the Refa’im Valley. 19 David consulted Adonai, asking, “Should I attack the P’lishtim? Will you hand them over to me?” Adonai answered David, “Attack; I will certainly hand the P’lishtim over to you.” 20 So David went to Ba‘al-P’ratzim and defeated them there. He said, “Adonai has broken through my enemies for me like a river breaking through its banks.” This is why he called the place Ba‘al-P’ratzim [Lord of breaking through]. 21 The P’lishtim had left their idols there, so David and his men took them away.
22 The P’lishtim came up again and deployed in the Refa’im Valley. 23 When David consulted Adonai, he said, “Don’t attack! Circle behind them, and engage them opposite the balsam trees. 24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, advance; because then Adonai has gone out ahead of you to defeat the army of the P’lishtim.” 25 David did exactly as Adonai had ordered him to do and pursued his attack on the P’lishtim from Geva all the way to Gezer.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing made had being.
4 In him was life,
and the life was the light of mankind.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not suppressed it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was Yochanan. 7 He came to be a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light; so that through him, everyone might put his trust in God and be faithful to him. 8 He himself was not that light; no, he came to bear witness concerning the light.
9 This was the true light,
which gives light to everyone entering the world.
10 He was in the world — the world came to be through him —
yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to his own homeland,
yet his own people did not receive him.
12 But to as many as did receive him, to those who put their trust in his person and power, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 not because of bloodline, physical impulse or human intention, but because of God.
14 The Word became a human being and lived with us,
and we saw his Sh’khinah,
the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
15 Yochanan witnessed concerning him when he cried out, “This is the man I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”
16 We have all received from his fullness,
yes, grace upon grace.
17 For the Torah was given through Moshe;
grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah.
18 No one has ever seen God; but the only and unique Son, who is identical with God and is at the Father’s side — he has made him known.
19 Here is Yochanan’s testimony: when the Judeans sent cohanim and L’vi’im from Yerushalayim to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 he was very straightforward and stated clearly, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 “Then who are you?” they asked him. “Are you Eliyahu?” “No, I am not,” he said. “Are you ‘the prophet,’ the one we’re expecting?” “No,” he replied. 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? — so that we can give an answer to the people who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?” 23 He answered in the words of Yesha‘yahu the prophet, “I am
The voice of someone crying out:
‘In the desert make the way of Adonai straight!’”[
John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3
]
24 Some of those who had been sent were P’rushim. 25 They asked him, “If you are neither the Messiah nor Eliyahu nor ‘the prophet,’ then why are you immersing people?” 26 To them Yochanan replied, “I am immersing people in water, but among you is standing someone whom you don’t know. 27 He is the one coming after me — I’m not good enough even to untie his sandal!” 28 All this took place in Beit-Anyah, east of the Yarden, where Yochanan was immersing. (Complete Jewish Bible).
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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