I know I make bold statements on occasion, and I try to be intentional about them. But I recently read a bold assertion that made me stop and think about how intentional the author really was in making the statement.
In her very interesting chapter on Leviticus 21, Dr. Johanna Dorman drops in this assertion:
“Although David feels a deep hatred for blind and deaf persons . . . (2 Sam 5:8)” (Dorman, p. 26).
I remembered the Biblical reference, but I did not recall concluding that David felt hatred towards people with these disabilities. So I looked it up again:
And the king (David) and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 2 Samuel 5:6-8
Frankly, I don’t see the hatred. David is being taunted – “even our weakest members could keep you out!” David responds in kind to the taunt.
It looks remarkably like school-yard behavior from my childhood – “You throw like a girl!” “Oh, yeah, well, you ARE a girl!” Thankfully, nobody died on the schoolyard. But passions would rise at such words.
Both my ESV Study Bible and the MacArthur Study Bible agree that this was probably a taunt:
“The Jebusites probably meant that the fortifications were so strong that the city needed no able-bodied defenders. David quotes their words in ordering the attack, referring to the Jebusites as “the blind and the lame.” ESV Study Bible, p. 549.
“The Jebusites taunted the Israelites and mocked the power of David by boasting that the blind and the lame could defend Jerusalem against him.” MacArthur Study Bible, p. 426.
Probably the greatest argument that it was only a taunt and not really about people with disabilities at all comes from the second half of Dr. Dorman’s sentence:
Although David feels a deep hatred for blind and deaf persons (2 Sam 5:8), he returns to Mephibosheth all the land of Saul, and invites him to eat regularly at his table (2 Sam 9:10-13).
Mephibosheth was lame, and ate at the King’s table. Of course, David is honoring the promise he made to his dearest friend, Jonathan, but that did not need to include the invitation to eat at David’s table. If he really felt hatred or revulsion, he could have made sure Mephibosheth’s needs were taken care of, but out of his sight. Eating at the king’s table is a very intimate, personal affirmation of Mephibosheth’s standing before King David.
So, I think Dr. Dorman simply wasn’t careful, both because the Biblical reference doesn’t include people who are deaf at all, and because the reference isn’t really about hatred towards people with disabilities.
But statements like that start to bleed into the general assumptions about what a passage means or about the character of the person making the statement (in this case, David). I can almost guarantee I will see that assertion about David again somewhere else. Only that person might not be as careful as Dr. Dorman in providing the Biblical reference, further disconnecting the assertion from the source.
Mostly I take this as a personal warning that I should be careful in how I read (and write about) any Biblical passage. The Bible is worth being careful about!
The Works of God 
Is Greg right about angels?
October 17, 2010 by John Knight
I have known people who take great comfort in the idea that they or their children have angels who watch over them. Some have crossed the line from worshipping God to worshipping angels.
Yesterday I shared a quote from Greg Lucas’ book, Wrestling with an Angel, that Dianne particularly liked because Greg asserts that God, and not angels, stand watch over boys like Jake and Paul. Here’s a shorter excerpt:
Greg used this passage to frame that section of the book:
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 18:10
I think Greg is absolutely right to conclude that it is God who leads and calls into action, rather than angels having some sort of independent oversight.
This isn’t to suggest that angels only serve as messengers. Clearly, God gives them things to do, and not always things what we would call ‘comforting’ or ‘peaceful’:
“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. (2 Kings 19:32-35)
And at a key moment in all eternity, an angel ministers to Jesus:
And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44)
Angels are real and from the typical first words they utter – ‘fear not!’ – I gather their appearance and their abilities are incredible.
But they are created, just like we are. It is far better to trust, cling to, ask forgiveness from, cry out to, and hope in the creator and sustainer of all things. And if God uses angels to help us, as I expect he does, to thank the sender of help rather than the obedient angelic servants.
After all, they rejoice when sinners come to God! “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10
And it has the advantage of being consistent with the Bible’s message that God is sovereign over all things – like disability, disease and suffering – rather than Satan. Satan may hate us and seek to destroy us, but God alone has the final say, even in our times of deepest sorrow and pain.
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