“B’nayahu the son of Y’hoyada was in charge of the K’reti and P’leti [serving as the king’s bodyguards], and David’s sons were cohanim.“-2 Samuel 8:18
In the closing verse of 2nd Samuel Chapter 8, we’re given an interesting piece of information.
We’re told that David’s sons were cohanim or “priests.”
Say what?!
Some Rabbis try to explain this away by saying the word COHANIM in this context doesn’t really mean priests.
Instead, they’ll say it means “officials” or “leaders” or something like that.
Seriously?
That meaning doesn’t show up anywhere else in the Bible.
Other Rabbis maintain we have to accept what it says here at face value…
That David really did make his sons priests, for reasons we may never fully understand!
I agree with that viewpoint.
Look, this shouldn’t surprise us, considering that David didn’t have a problem appointing two High Priests at the same time.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.
Israel was barely conversant with the Law of Moses at this time!
They mostly followed manmade traditions and did whatever felt right in their eyes.
Ya feel me?
So, the fact David thought he could not only keep two High Priests…
But also make his own son’s priests (even though they were from Judah, not Levi)…
Proves how ignorant he and all Israel were of God’s Law at this time.
This ignorance sent Israel into a downward spiral…
One that ended in disaster, shame, and being booted out of the Land.
The takeaway here is as clear as day.
When people stop studying God’s Word and start doing whatever feels right…
Bad things happen!
David, Israel’s greatest king, still made choices that went against Torah.
Why?
Because he, like the rest of Israel, didn’t prioritize the study of God’s Law.
And that kind of ignorance doesn’t just lead to a few mistakes.
It leads to disaster.
If we don’t want to repeat history, we have to stay grounded in the Torah.
Feelings fade.
Traditions shift.
But God’s truth?
That never changes.
Are you feeling me here?
See ya all next time!
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Don’t think that I have come
to abolish the Torah or the Prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to complete.
Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven
and earth pass away, not so much as a yud
or a stroke will pass from the Torah—
not until everything that must happen has happened.
So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot
and teaches others to do so will be called
the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.
But whoever obeys them and so teaches
will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
-Matthew 5:17-19
“All Scripture is God-breathed and
is valuable for teaching the truth,
convicting of sin, correcting faults
and training in right living;”
-2 Timothy 3:16
“Then I will tell them to their faces,
‘I never knew you!
Get away from me,
you workers of lawlessness!'”
-2 Timothy 3:16
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