II Samuel 10, I Chronicles 19, and Psalm 20 and Dark Shadows

II Samuel 10, I Chronicles 19, and Psalm 20

If I had to name one, I would say the theme of today’s reading is found in Psalm 20:7: “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.”

We first heard of Nahash, king of the Ammonites, in I Samuel. Nahash had been oppressing Israelites who lived east of Jordan River. Nahash was a cruel man who gouged out the eyes of the Israelites who wanted a treaty with him.

For some reason, when David learned of the death of Nahash, he decided to show loyalty to Nahash’s son Hanun by sending ambassadors to let Hanun know how he sympathized with him regarding the death of his father. Hanun got some really bad advice – the Ammonite commanders told Hanun that David’s ambassadors were there to spy on the city. Hanun shaved off half of each ambassador’s bear and cut off their robes at the buttocks. They sent these men back to David in shame.

Someone must have let the Ammonites know how angry David was because they hired Aramaean mercenaries to beef up their army. Through some crafty maneuvering, Joab routed the Arameans, who had 7000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers. The Arameans sent for reinforcements, but it didn’t help. They again fled from the Israelites. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites.

As David says in Psalm 20:7: “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.”

Tomorrow, it’s Psalm 65, 66, 67, 69, and 70.

Dark Shadows

In the 1960s, ABC had a melodramatic soap opera called Dark Shadows which featured ghosts, vampires, werewolves, etc. Apparently, as a child, Johnny Depp was fascinated bye the TV series. That must be why he was so eager to star in the movie.

What a great performance by all of the characters: Johnnyt played vampire Barnabus Collins. Michelle Pfeiffer played a modern day member of the Collins family. Helena Bonham Carter, well-known for her role of Bellatrix Lestrange inj the Harry Potter series, did a fantastic job. Jackie Earle Haley, who was recently in the TV series Human Target.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was scary and hilarious and heartwarming with lots of unexpected plot twists and turns.

See if if you get a chance.

Until next time…