The Strand Study Bible

II SAMUEL II SAMUEL There are a lot of people in the Bible that started off right, yet ended up wrong. Should we dismiss their life and all the right that they did just because they ended up wrong? David didn’t think so, and neither does God. Nobody started out right more than Solomon (I Ki 3:3-15), yet he ended up so very wrong (I Ki 11). Should we dismiss reading Proverbs , Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon just because the man who wrote them went wrong? Jesus didn’t think so (Mt 12:42/Lk 11:31). NOTE – I have found over the years that the more I study the eternal Word the less I seem to know. It’s a humbling realization, yet if you don’t come to it, you will find yourself becoming the ultimate authority, and there is nothing worse than a Christian who thinks he’s always right on everything in the Bible. J. Vernon McGee, one of the most prolific Christian authors of our day, said in Jeremiah & Lamentations : …I confess that the more I study the Word of God the more aware I am of my own ignorance of it. It disturbs me that so many men think they know it all and are the final authority. 1 ON A PERSONAL NOTE – If per chance I quoted someone in this reference work and he or she went wrong or is going wrong, that still doesn’t take away all the good that he or she may have been used of God to do earlier in their life. Truth is still truth, as truth doesn’t originate with any of us anyway. 1:18 The book of Jasher was a poetic collection of Hebrew songs commemorating Israel’s heroes and exploits in battle ( Josh 10:13 ). As far as we know, Jasher was not a prophet; therefore his poetic compilation became information instead of inspiration ( II Pet 1:21 ). 1:26 The love David had for Jonathan wasn’t sexual; it was above the sexual ( passing the love of women ). Sadly, however, the homosexual movement’s attempt to sexualize David and Jonathan’s friendship in their hopes of legitimizing homosexuality has infiltrated the Church. Joe Dallas in The Gay Gospel notes: 536

During a radio debate I had with a gay minister, when he was asked how he discerned God’s truth, he said there were three sources he relied on, each having equal authority: the Bible, the witness of his own heart, and the witness of his community. I responded that I had no such confidence in either my heart or my community–the Bible was the ultimate authority in all matters. 2

1 McGee, J. Vernon. Jeremiah & Lamentations , Pasadena, CA, Thru the Bible Books, 1978. Print. 2 Dallas, Joe. The Gay Gospel? , Eugene, OR, Harvest House Pub., 1996/2007. Print.