[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during October 2026]
‘Don’t be afraid,’ David said to him, ‘for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.’
2 Samuel 9 v7 [NIVUK]
It was a common practice in Old Testament times for a new monarch to kill the former ruler’s family, as a means of eliminating potential rivals. Perhaps the most prominent example is that of Jehu who became king of Israel in around 840BC. He ordered the assassination of some 114 relatives of the previous royal family.[1]
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