Tag: 2nd Samuel 21-24
Famous last words!
Scripture reading for April 2nd: 2nd Samuel 21-24
These are the last words of David: ” The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel’s singer of songs: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.’ (2nd Samuel 23:1-4)
David, the shepherd boy, anointed King by the Lord, speaks prophetically under the Spirit of the Lord. His last words are inspired by the “Most High”, “God of Jacob”, “God of Israel” and “Rock of Israel”. The Bible states that no prophet speaks on his own but is moved on by the Holy Spirit. ( 2nd Peter 1:20-21) He writes not so much for himself, but for those who will follow him in the walk of faith. David writes out of nearly 70 years of walking with the Lord and living a life of faith.
David left a mighty legacy for us. His Psalms are prophetic of the coming Messiah: his life, suffering and death! As a young boy, he knew God as his own shepherd. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd who so cares for His sheep that he lays his own life down for them.
David knew God as the “Rock of Israel”! That Rock was a firm place to stand in the trials that continually came to this man. That Rock was a source of water and refreshment in a dry and weary land as David was being pursued by his enemies. His Psalms flow with an anointing of truth and grace that make them easy reading for people from every age and generation. David’s fear of the Lord and humility make him stand out as a leader. Even though David lived over 3000 years ago, his last words still speak faith to us and encourage us to press on to meet our great “High God”! May we ponder these “last words” for more understanding and grace!
A Root Cause of Famine
Scripture reading for April 2nd: 2nd Samuel 21-24
Have you ever felt like the heavens were brass and your prayers were not being answered? Have you gone through a time of famine when you suffered want and lack? King David and Israel suffered for three years under a severe famine. Finally, the king decided to seek the Lord! (Did it come to that?) (2nd Samuel 21:1) The Lord answered with the root of the problem: innocent bloodshed of Saul’s house against the Gibeonites had not been atoned for.
The Gibeonites had been spared by Joshua as he entered the land of Israel. (Joshua 9) Israel had made a treaty of peace with them and swore their protection. They had been made slaves in Israel because they had deceived Joshua in order to spare their own lives. We do not have a biblical record of what Saul did to the Gibeonites but God tells David about this sin as a cause of the drought. We do not know if Saul’s children were involved or not, but know that God is always just and does what is right by each person.
King David went to the Gibeonites and asked them what could be done for them. They asked for seven descendants of Saul to be handed over to them to be put to death. David granted their request but spared Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan his friend. These were slain and laid out before the Lord. Rizpah, Saul’s concubine and mother of two of those slain covered herself with sackcloth and stayed with the bodies for many days. She drove away the birds by day and wild animals by night. King David heard about her bravery and had the bones of Saul, Jonathan, and these who were slain put away properly in the tomb of Saul’s father. After this, the Lord answered prayer!
What do we learn from this account? Sometimes answer to prayer is hindered by unresolved conflict and hatred. Here a whole nation was under a drought because of the shedding of innocent blood that had not been dealt with. God gave revelation when King David prayed. The drought was broken by taking action to repent of that issue and deal with those responsible. God is a God who demands that His people take responsibility for their actions and deal justly with sin!
Famous Last Words!
Scripture reading for April 2nd: 2nd Samuel 21-24
These are the last words of David: ” The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel’s singer of songs: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.’ (2nd Samuel 23:1-4)
David, the shepherd boy, anointed King by the Lord, speaks prophetically under the Spirit of the Lord. His last words are inspired by the “Most High”, “God of Jacob”, “God of Israel” and “Rock of Israel”. The Bible states that no prophet speaks on his own but is moved on by the Holy Spirit. ( 2nd Peter 1:20-21) He writes not so much for himself, but for those who will follow him in the walk of faith. David writes out of nearly 70 years of walking with the Lord and living a life of faith.
David left a mighty legacy for us. His Psalms are prophetic of the coming Messiah, his life, suffering and death! As a young boy, he knew God as his own shepherd. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd who so cares for His sheep that he lays his own life down for them. David knew God as the “Rock of Israel”! That Rock was a firm place to stand in the trials that continually came to this man. That Rock was a source of water and refreshment in a dry and weary land as David was being pursued by his enemies. His Psalms flow with an anointing of truth and grace that make them easy reading for people from every age and generation. Even though David lived over 3000 years ago, his last words still speak faith to us and encourage us to press on to meet our great “High God”! May we ponder these “last words” for more understanding and grace!