David is paralysed by the guilt from his sin and cannot act decisively as the King or as a father regarding his sons Amnon and Absalom.

The Russian state blandly announced the death of Alexei Navalny. Navalny was Russia’s foremost dissident and opposition leader. Despite being poisoned and repeatedly punished with long bouts of isolation in remote prisons, Navalny stood unbroken. He continued to mock Putin and denounce the invasion of Ukraine. As Nicholas Kristof argues, “His wit and refusal to bow to authority made him a Kremlin nightmare.”

David mourns the loss of his son; Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar; but David refuses to discipline Amnon.

In 2023, Jean M Twenge, Psychology professor at San Diego University, published an important book entitled Generation: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silent—And What They Mean For America’s Future. She offers profiles of the living generations in the midst of a century of social change

David’s sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband Uriah resulted in 5 consequences for David’s family and the kingdom.

As I am writing this piece, continued American aid for Ukraine is in grave doubt. Tucker Carlson recently conducted a friendly interview with Vladimir Putin. There are reports from the front lines that Russia is advancing, in part because of Ukrainian ammunition shortages. In short, the war is reaching a critical stage, and Ukraine may lose because, among other factors, there is increasing evidence that many Republicans are simply turning against Ukraine. In fact, in some GOP circles, there is now outright contempt for the Ukrainian cause.

In 1978, the historian Christopher Lasch published a profoundly important book, entitled The Culture of Narcissism, in which he argued that this culture “assumes that psychic health and personal liberation are synonymous with an absence of inner restraints, inhibitions, and ‘hangups.’” And what could offer more liberation than throwing off the constraints of one of humanity’s oldest institutions, monogamous marriage? Polyamory is the most recent manifestation of this narcissistic penchant.

David defeats and subjugates all of Israel’s enemies and shows grace to Mephibosheth

Sunday, 21 January 2024, was centenary of the death of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of Soviet communism and the leader of the bloody Bolshevik Revolution that brought communism to Russia. There were no parades or stirring speeches in Red Square. The obvious reason is that one of Lenin’s most strident critics is Vladimir Putin, “who appears far more enamored with the empire that Lenin’s revolutionaries overthrew.” “In my opinion, the 100th anniversary of Lenin’s death creates an opportunity to try to move away from the endless passionate and meaningless bickering around the dilemma: is he an angel from heaven or a monstrous antichrist, the embodiment of absolute world evil?” said Vladimir Lukin, a Russian senator who formerly served as a human rights commissioner.

David returns the Ark to Jerusalem and “dances before the LORD;” God then establishes the Davidic Covenant, promising to David an eternal throne, dynasty and kingdom.