[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (LRAU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
[8:26 am, 07/06/2022] S.R: 𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟙:𝟚𝟜
"O daughters of Israel, weep
over Saul, Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on
your apparel."
David didn't rewrite history. He
didn't diminish the works of Saul. He eulogised him! If David could eulogize Saul, if David could ask the
people to honor Saul, is there anyone I cannot eulogize? In the words of Steve
Lawson, we can even eulogize the devil: that he is consistent.
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟚:𝟙𝟜
“Then Abner said to Joab, ‘Now let
the young men arise and hold a contest before us.’ And Joab said, ‘Let them
arise’”
Hmm! What a gory scene! Can't
imagine it. And the Scriptures didn't shy away from such event!
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟛:𝟚𝟟
"So when Abner returned to
Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him
privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of
the blood of Asahel his brother."
I have observed that almost every
leader has someone who is like Joab, and how devastating they can be. And I say
this not in sympathy with them but as an indictment. David wasn't wise or brave
enough to change his commander.
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟜:𝟠
"Then they brought the head of
Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, ‘Behold, the head of
Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus the LORD
has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his
descendants.’"
They thought they were doing
something great in the will of God. But David wasn't pleased with them.
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟝:𝟙𝟚
"And David realized that the
LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his
kingdom for the sake of His people Israel."
Great things have been often done
by those who believed God has called them.
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟞:𝟡-𝟙𝟘
"So David was afraid of the
LORD that day; and he said, ‘How can the ark of the LORD come to me?’ And David
was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD into the city of David with him; but
David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite."
It looks like a protest against
God. I am afraid I have done like that sometimes.
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟟:𝟙𝟠
"Then David the king went in
and sat before the LORD, and he said, ‘Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my
house, that You have brought me this far?’"
Let's learn to be grateful like
David.
In this circumstance, David was
disappointed because he wasn't allowed to build the house for God. He desired,
planned, and was excited to build. The Lord forbade him, saying he was
disqualified.
However, in the goodness of God,
his son shall build the house of God. Actually, this is better because it means
the kingdom will go on prosperous even after his death. Because if there's war
and threat around the kingdom will not have the resources and strength to build
the temple. In a sense, it was a double assurance about the prosperity of his
descendants and the building of the temple.
God is good and great! Learn to
recognize His greatness and goodness, and be grateful to Him!
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟠:𝟙𝟝
"So David reigned over all
Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his
people."
Surely, David wasn't a perfect man,
but his reign was well-commended. We need leaders like him.
But we need to honor leaders too.
That includes forgiving their mistakes, overlooking their blunders sometimes,
and speaking well of them.
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟡:𝟞
"Mephibosheth, the son of
Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated
himself. And David said, ‘Mephibosheth.’ And he said, ‘Here is your
servant!’"
I am still thinking about what to
learn from this verse, or from this chapter for that matter! It happens,
sometimes. 😬🙃
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟙𝟘:𝟛
"the princes of the Ammonites
said to Hanun their lord, ‘Do you think that David is honoring your father
because he has sent consolers to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in
order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?’"
Suspicion. Picking a fight with
someone he cannot win.
Trust, Humility, Kindness are virtues
even if they lead to death!
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟙𝟙:𝟚𝟟
"When the time of mourning was
over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she
bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD."
Indeed, God overlooks our sins. Yet
He also doesn't overlook our sins. So, let's not play with sins. And let's be
quick to repent of sin unto God!
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟙𝟚:𝟜
"Now a traveler came to the
rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To
prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man's ewe
lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
One of these days, I shall write a
poem on this. This is a very relevant parable.
The rich robbing the poor!
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟙𝟛:𝟚𝟙
"Now when King David heard of
all these matters, he was very angry."
David was a sinner in the lowest
category of this kind, so, where would he draw moral courage to confront this
wickedness?
Our sin will make us disqualify to
correct others!
𝟚
𝕊𝕒𝕞𝕦𝕖𝕝
𝟙𝟜:𝟚𝟚
"Joab fell on his face to the
ground, prostrated himself and blessed the king; then Joab said, ‘Today your
servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, O my lord, the king, in
that the king has performed the request of his servant.’"
Joab didn't know what his alliance
with Absalom would do to them. Were they partners in crime? What led this
seemingly beautiful friendship to turn out to be later on?
Absalom would set the field of Joab
on fire, and Joab would spear Absalom to death!
Beware of making friends with
people of ill reputation!