2015-01-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, we got a view in to what God put in David’s heart, with his making faithful adherence of his covenant responsibilities to Mephibosheth. The latter was the only remaining member of Saul’s and Jonathan’s family [2 SAM 9: 1-13]. We also saw how the Jebusites, inhabitants of what later became the old city or City of King David in Jerusalem were run out by David, and how the Lord allowed him to establish his capital there. One might lose respect for David had it not been God’s will to establish the Jewish people in this area (then called Canaan), setting them apart-- due to their belief in one God [monotheism], as opposed to Jebusite polytheism [belief in many Pagan gods]. The Jebusites didn’t believe David and his men could evict them from the area, and said as much, in 2 SAM 5: 7, “You will not get in here; even the blind and lame can ward you off.” David and his men used the water shaft (which runs from the city to the Pool of Siloam), to do just that. Then David said, “The blind and the lame shall not enter the palace,” in 2 SAM 5: 8b. Once David set up his capital there, he terraced the hill leading up to it and became more and more powerful.
Rumors about David’s power reached Mephibotsheth prior to his meeting David face to face. This added to his bitterness at his being crippled and in his family’s forgotten covenant with David. In our sinfulness, we fear what we don’t know. Often people hear rumors and misconceptions about God, and they come to be afraid of God too. The foolish often take information out of context, leading to these rumors and misconceptions. Over time, David’s power was consolidated and spread to all over Israel. He was anointed king at the age of 30 and ruled for 40 years [2 SAM 5: 4-5].
If I might be allowed to speculate, I believe God (Who knows everything about every person [PS 33:13; JOB 28: 24]), was pleased with Jonathan’s courage before his death on the battlefield at Gilboa [1 SAM 31: 1-6]. He allowed Jonathan to know his friend, David, would one day be king. I know this from 1 SAM 23: 16-18, which were Jonathan’s words at Horesh when he was helping David find strength, “Don’t be afraid, my father, Saul, will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel and I will be second to you. Even my father, Saul, knows this.” It’s a shame that only half of this was true, because it’s possible Jonathan would have been a great second in command to David had he lived. But God has His reasons, ones we can’t always understand, but which are always-righteous. God has no evil in Him [1 JN 1: 5]. Throughout his reign over Israel, David was righteous in the administration of Israel. He learned the hard way how to become righteous in his personal life, as well, with the death of his baby with Bathsheba [2 SAM 12: 18-19]. Returning to David’s administration, God rewarded him by reiterating the Davidic covenant [2 SAM 7: 12-16; 2 SAM 8: 15]. God has never broken a promise, which is why I believe that the Lord Jesus will one day reign over all. We must remember He is the “Child Who is born, the Son Who is given, the One Who will have the government upon His shoulders, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Prince of Peace” [IS 9: 6], the “Shoot that will come up from the stump of Jesse” [IS 11: 1], and the Rock that struck the giant statue in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream-the One that broke the statue into pieces that drifted away with the wind, the One that filled the whole earth [DN 2: 34-35]. David was clearly on the Lord’s team, as we saw in 2 SAM 8: 15, “He put his garrisons throughout Edom and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.”
Have you ever had a distaste for someone you’ve never met face to face, and then had the wind taken out of those evil feelings once you met this person? It happened to me. Due to tender feelings, I can’t give you more detail than that, but I can assure you that this happened to Mephibosheth. The latter had been bitter over his plight-being crippled, being the last member of a once huge and famous family, and having lost his father, grandfather, and uncles in the battle of Gilboa. And yet, David, the object of his fear and hatred, offered him friendship, hospitality, and the warmth of a loving home. Mephibosheth’s fears were fueled by rumors and innuendos. It’s so easy to garner ill will due to believing what one has heard. This is over actually experiencing the love of a friend, who takes his covenant responsibilities seriously. We must remember this covenant was with all the members of the houses of Saul and David [1 SAM 20: 15-17], not just David and Jonathan (as individuals). Even before the covenant was tested, we could see that David was the kind of person who would honor his commitments.
It is at this point that some important questions come to mind: how well do we honor our commitments? Our marriage vows? Our Covenant of Grace commitments? What initiative are we willing to take to carry out our responsibilities to others? Each of us must answer these questions for ourselves, and we must make whatever alterations necessary in our lives to improve, if that is what is needed, i.e. conform to God’s expectations. Think eternally, and consider the eternal implications of any thoughts, decisions, and actions we take. It is the only way to garner God’s pleasure, if we take our commitments seriously. And when God is pleased, we get rewarded with peace of mind and wonderful faith-strengthening friendships with Him and other people in our lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come to You today to praise and thank You for the many blessings You give us, for the many chances we have to make improvements in how we honor our Covenant of Grace commitments, and for the freedom we have in Biblical truth. Moreover, we learn more and more about the blessings You give us as we discover Your presence and interaction in our lives. Learning to recognize our blessings is the key to getting to know You better. You work hard in presenting those opportunities for discovery, and we need to respond to them with righteousness, justice, and demonstrating the gifts of the Holy Spirit [GA 5: 22-23]. We must be loving, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. These things are often not easy for us, because of the conflict between our outer fleshly selves and our inner Spirit-filled selves. Paul described this conflict nobly, in RO 7: 14-25. Still and all, You give us time to deal with it and are patient with us [2 PET 3: 9], and You give us both Your armor [EPH 6: 10-18] and assure us that we have been given what we need to be victorious in spiritual warfare in Your name [EPH 1: 18-20]. We must remember this important reconnaissance and think eternally. We must consider Your marvelous attributes and deeds. When the conflict is overwhelming to us, we must trust that You will step in and help us-sometimes even to the point of carrying us though it-- as You did for King Jehoshaphat and the Hebrews when they were threatened by a combined army of Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites, in 2 CH 20: 1-30. We ask for Your continuing presence, leadership, and intervention in our lives, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am led to write more about this segment of the “Our Covenant” messages, “Covenant Applications.” It will deal with sharing the king’s table. We will see the extent of David’s generosity when he took in Mephibosheth into his household. Moreover, we will see more about what God called David “a man after My own heart” [1 SAM 13: 13-14]. Since we are at it, we will also view yet one more part of God’s heart. I’m convinced that the Lord Jesus is all over the Old Testament. He might not have been specifically named in it, but His action is all over it, just the same. God wasn’t going to allow faithful mankind to go without a way out of inherited sin, because our God is a forgiving God. That is why He sent His only Son, Jesus, to the cross, so that all who believe in Him can have everlasting life [JN 3: 16; RO 3:24-25]. This great sacrifice, Christ’s Atonement, was due to God keeping up His end of the Covenant of Grace. It’s one reason, an important one, for why we should do the same with our end of this all-important covenant. Keeping track of the blessings God gives each of us in our individual lives is key to recognizing God at work in our lives. Remember this, God loves each of us and wants us to know Him better and better [COL 3: 10]. That is just one glimpse at the most loving heart in the universe. Praise and thanks to Him for loving us the way He does!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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