Justin Houtz

2 Samuel 9, Matthew 16

DateVersionReading Plan
October 3, 2025ESV (2016)OT/NT Plan 2025 – 2027

2 Samuel 9

Observation & Interpretation

2 Sam. 9:1 – David sought to show kindness to anyone left of the house of Saul.

  • David continued to show kindness to the house of Saul.
  • David remembered his covenant with Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:14-17) to show him kindness and wanted some opportunity to fulfill it.
  • “Steadfast love” is displayed by keeping a solemn commitment toward a covenant partner, doing so not merely out of a sense of duty but with affectionate concern for the other’s well-being. (ESVEC – Comment)

2 Sam. 9:3 – [Ziba] is careful to point out that this survivor [Mephibosheth] is “crippled in his feet” (cf. 2 Sam. 4:4). This information is repeated by the narrator in 9:13 to demonstrate that Mephibosheth could not mount a viable challenge to David’s rule, as he is physically unable to lead an army in battle—a vital qualification for a contemporary king. (ESVEC – Comment)

Matthew 16

Observation & Interpretation

Matt. 16:4 – The sign of Jonah is the resurrection of Christ on the third day (see also Matt. 12:39).

Matt. 16:12 – The disciples understood that Jesus was not telling them to beware of the leaven of the bread but of the teaching of the Pharisees.

  • The leaven of the Pharisees was rationalism. The freethinkers of their day, they, like the liberals of today, had built a system of doubts and denials. They denied the existence of angels and spirits, the resurrection of the body, the immortality of the soul, and eternal punishment. This leaven of skepticism, if tolerated, will spread and permeate like yeast in a meal. (BBC)

2 Sam. 16:23 – [Jesus] had come into the world to die for sinners. Anything or anyone who hindered Him from this purpose was out of tune with God’s will. (BBC)

2 Sam. 16:1-12 – It is no sin to ask God for signs as assurances of God’s promises, but it is a sin to demand that he prove himself (Ex. 17:7; Ps. 78:18-20; Matt. 4:7). (ESVEC – Response)

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