Tag: kindness

2 Samuel 12–You are That Man

David thought he away with his adultery and murder.  I am sure he felt bad about it, but, he had to keep up his image–right? God saw it all and exposed it immediately. He confronted David with a parable. The parable tracked David’s behavior and David was furious that someone would do such an evil thing–then, like a lightning bolt Nathan pronounced, “You are that man!” David was stricken immediately with the gravity of his sin.  Unlike Saul, however, David repented of his sin. He took responsibility and stood ready to accept whatever punishment that God wanted to assess.  God Forgave David. God pronounced judgment and as David would face in his reign that judgment was awful.  But, in the end, God forgave His King and still blessed Israel–all because of David’s heart.
 
We all sin. We become selfish and say and do things not honoring to God. In 1st John 1:9, God promises us that if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.  That is what David did.  That is what God calls us to do as well.  Help me Lord to be clear and repentant with you!
 
God Bless You

 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives,the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?

2 Samuel 11 Part 2–How Low Will You Go?

David Got complacent. He felt entitled as the king to take whatever he wanted. He wanted Uriah’s wife. He took her. She became pregnant.  So David sent Uriah home to sleep with his wife in order to hide his sin.  That did not work. So then he had Uriah sacrificed in battle–murdered. David the man after God’s heart was immediately enveloped in a set of horrible sins that literally changed the course of his kingdom.  
 
Sin is an all-encompassing thing.  it creeps in but then when it takes root, it begins to overtake everything in one’s life.  When dealing with sin, one has to immediately repent and turn away. Otherwise, the sin will overtake and destroy what God has built.  Make no mistake, God will forgive sin, but we must evade and avoid sin at all cost–otherwise, it will devastate all we have seen God build in our lives.  In 1 John 1:9, God says, if we confess our Sin, God is faithful and just to forgive the sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Do not let sin overtake you, repent, confess and move away from sin. Otherwise, it will become your master.
 
God Bless You
 

 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelek son of Jerub-Besheth[b]? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”

22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”

25 David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.”

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

2 Samuel 11–Part 1–When Kings Usually Go to Battle…

David finally had the Kingdom established, He had quelled all his enemies and had developed his army to the point that for the first time–He did not have to Go out and lead the battles. God had led him and gave him victory in all that he approached.  It was a great story–but then David became complacent. In his complacency, David got up from his bed one afternoon and looked out and saw a beautiful woman bathing…Bathsheba.  He decided to take her and sleep with her–even though he had several other wives.  He decided he was king and he could have anything he wanted–no matter what the cost.
 
One of the challenges of life, when it is going well, is that people become complacent and self-sufficient. When we are in the midst of trials, we have to rely upon God for our protection, provision, and preparation. When things are going well, we often begin to think we no longer need God’s help and start doing things on our own.  Inevitably, if we continue down that path–it ends in disaster.  Such was the case with David, and such is the case in our lives.  In the times when God does bless us, that is when we need to humble ourselves, seek the Lord more intently and follow Him closely.  
 
God wants for us, His chosen, to have full, meaningful and purposeful lives.  It is our responsibility to keep focused upon God in both the blessed and the difficult times. If we will, it will be an amazing journey. If we do not, it will be an inevitable train wreck! Help me, Lord, to stay focused upon you and allow you to lead!
 
God Bless You!

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David.7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?”

2 Samuel 10–Practicing Diplomacy

As any good king would, David sent emissaries to the new Ammonite king to express his condolences for the loss of the king’s father.  The youthful king listened to his military chiefs that convinced the new king that David was spying and that the emissaries were coming for preparation to attack.  The king humiliated David’s emissaries and sent them back in complete shame.  That was a big mistake.  

After the humiliation, rather than admit he was wrong, the new king hired mercenaries to take on Israel.  So David sent his entire army and with God’s leading destroyed the armies and ended any thought of coming against Israel again. three more nations were now subject to Israel.  What an odd way for diplomacy to impact the kingdom.

Once again, God did amazing things with unfortunate circumstances.  David had a great heart. He sent his men in good faith. But, when the enemy turned a kind gesture into a war, God responded in the way a Father cares for his children. David’s men recovered and David’s kingdom was avenged and strengthened.  

In our lives, like David’s, we must live in a way that reveals God in our lives. Kindness, generosity, and empathy should be part of our humble focus on God. When, however, the world responds selfishly, we must not be surprised nor unprepared.  We live lives seeking God and allow him to lead us through the series of unfortunate circumstances. knowing that the Lord is still large and in charge. We can never give up, lose hope or become like the world. Instead, we live focused upon God and his leadership and trust God will make things right.  It worked for David and it will work for us!

God Bless You

In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.

7 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. 8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.

9 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 10 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites.11 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

2 Samuel 8–When God Leads, David Wins

First David was restored, then God gave him rest. After that, God began to give David victories and a reputation that would bring peace to the nation throughout his reign. As a leader, David was relentless, brutal and practical. He subdued all of Israel’s major enemies and he posted garrisons to assure there would be no uprisings.  Most importantly, David dedicated the spoils and his victories to the Lord. God received the gold and the jewels. God received the glory and God received David’s unyielding allegiance.
 
In our lives, we continue to face the daily battles of life. As we do we are given the choice of yielding to God’s leadership or taking personal control of our lives. It is difficult to continue to trust God as the enemies in our lives bear down.   The truth is, that with God’s leadership if we continue to move forward and trust the Lord; God will himself lead us through the journey with peace and purpose and allow us to have an abundant and fruitful life. We will at times question the plan and the path…But, God created us and knew from the beginning of time exactly what would transpire and when it would occur. 
 
Like David, we can never lose hope, never give up, and never retake the lead–for, that will be our ultimate undoing.  Help me, Lord to trust and follow You.
 
God Bless You

In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines.

2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

3 Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his monument at[a] the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers[b] and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah[c] and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.

9 When Tou[d] king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,10 he sent his son Joram[e] to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.

11 King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12 Edom[f] and Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

13 And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites[g] in the Valley of Salt.

14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

2 Samuel 7 Part 1–No Palace Necessary

David was not the typical king.  As he settled into the life of a king, he was displeased with the idea that he lived in a palace while God lived in a tent.  He wanted to build a temple for God–but God had a different plan.  First, God wanted David to not be concerned about his dwelling. God created the entire universe and frankly could not be contained in a palace! The tent of meeting was simply that–it was not where God lived.  God loved David and now wanted to give him peace, give him a name and give him a legacy.  As David continued to follow God, God would do amazing and mighty things for David.  God did not want David the warrior to be David the architect.
 
We often try to do things for God.  We think that if we do amazing things for God, we will somehow curry favor in His eyes and become one of His special ones. The truth is that God loves us UNCONDITIONALLY! He loves us at our best and at our worst. He does not need us to do tasks to earn that love.  He simply needs us to follow Him and allow Him to bring peace and provision to our lives. It is not that the Lord does not recognize our desire simply to please Him–it is that our trust in God and desire to follow God’s lead is the greatest “gift” we can give the Lord.  God loved to bless David. He also wants nothing more than to bless us. We must simply trust and follow Him–no palace building is necessary.
 
God Bless You

After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

2 Samuel 6 Part 1–Reverence

David was bringing the kingdom back in line with God’s plan.  He had already reestablished Israel as a nation under God’s lead. Now the King set out to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Sadly, on the journey, one of the men caring for the ark reached out and grabbed it to hold it steady–when he did, he died.  David was furious and scared all at once.  He decided to park the Ark at a place right there.  The Ark was sacred. God was clear, no one was to touch it. So when the Uzzah did, no matter his intention, the response from God was also clear–he died.  
 
It is critical to understand that God is and does command reverence.  We tend to want to claim God’s gifts and favor–but, we refuse to honor His deity.  God is God he is powerful beyond measure. He deserves reverence.  We, as His children need to show that reverence in our lives. It is not that God will strike us down if we do not, but, we lose so much in our relationship with God if we fail to honor the Lord for who He is.  Reverence is critical! 
 
God Bless You

 David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. 2 He and all his men went to Baalah[a] in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name,[b] the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it,[c] and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets,[d] harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.

6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.

8 Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.[e]