Wouldn't It Have Been Easier To Simply Say "I'm Sorry"?

2 Samuel 10:1-6(NKJV)

1It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. 

2Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. 

3And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”

4Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. 

5When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

6When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand foot soldiers; and from the king of Maacah one thousand men, and from Ish-Tob twelve thousand men. 

Why is it that we as humans have a tendency to escalate things all out of proportion?

One of the things that I like about David is that he remembers those that have helped him in the past and he tries to return or repay that kindness.  In this case however his kindness is met with suspicion.  So much so that Hanun ends up shaming David's messengers.

Now I've got to admit that the Bible has a certain flair for this kind of stuff.  Hanun shaved off half of each person's beard and then cut the seat of their pants out so their butts are showing.  I just get such a kick out of that.  This is the Bible we are talking about here, the inspired Word of God, and we find this in there?  God has a great sense of humor in my opinion.

But then look what happens.  When the people of Ammon see that they have really ticked David off, what do they do?  They go out and hire over 20,000 people and prepare for war, and tens of thousands of people die.

Wouldn't it have been easier to just apologize?

Life Ain't Fair!

 

2 Samuel 6:6-8(NKJV)

6And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 

7Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. 

8And David became angry because of the Lord’S outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place £Perez Uzzah to this day.

Of all of the things in the Bible that I have questions about, I think this is the one that bothers me the most.  I'm not saying God was wrong to do it.  I'm just saying that from everything I know about God, this seems totally out of character to me and I simply don't get it.

We hear about God's love, mercy, and justice and I fail to see any of those things in this story. 

They are moving the Ark of the Covenant on an oxen cart.  Nobody is supposed to touch the Ark directly.  Along the way the oxen stumble so that the Ark is in danger of falling to the ground.  Uzzah puts out his hand to protect the Ark and he gets fried for it.

Did Uzzah have any evil intentions?  Not that I can tell.  And it's not like they were traveling on a smooth super highway.  It was a trail so rough that even the oxen stumbled.  It seems to me that Uzzah was simply serving God to the best of his ability.

And yet he gets fried for it.

This will be on the top of my list of things to ask God about that I just don't get!

How Often Should We Ask?

Continually!

2 Samuel 5:17-19(NKJV)

17Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 

18The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 

19So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

2 Samuel 5:22-25(NKJV)

22Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. 

23Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. 

24And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 

25And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba£ as far as Gezer.

The other day I wrote about how David did things in the correct order.  He would seek God's advice BEFORE acting.  Well here is another lesson.  Keep seeking and asking.

In the first passage above the Philistinians are aligned against David and before he goes out against them He seeks God's advice and God says go.  David goes and wins.  Then in the second passage above the Philistinians come back for more.  Now I would tend to believe that God had already said go so I probably wouldn't have checked a second time.

It's a good thing I'm not David.  David did check with God a second time and it was a good thing he did.  God told him to go again but God told David to use a different strategy the second time.

So when in doubt, follow David's example and keep asking!

The Proper Order

 

2 Samuel 2:1(NKJV)

1It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.”

Yesterday I wrote about leaders and leadership.  Here is an example of a leader doing things in the proper order.  What is that order?

Inquire of God and then take action.  Most of us tend to do things in the reverse and that is where we usually get into trouble.

Notice how before David takes action he inquires of God.  And also notice that he makes a second inquiry of God for clarification and further instruction.  Once David is clear on God's instruction, then he takes action.

Seems like a great model o follow to me.  Have a blessed day!

How Important Is Leadership?

 

1 Samuel 31:7-8(NKJV)

7And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 

8So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 

There are many times in the Bible where this scene is played out.  The leadership is killed and the people scatter.  Why is leadership so important?  Shouldn't people be able to deal with the loss of leadership without panic?

I would suggest that this is just another example of the 80/20 rule.  Most things get done by the 20%.  What I mean by that is you are likely to find that the same people who run the PTA or Little League are also the same people that are teaching Sunday School or volunteering at the Gospel Mission or whatever.  The 20% make things happen and the 80% are there to help.  Quite simply the majority of people are not equipped to be leaders, they would rather follow.

So I would suggest that it is vitally important that you chose who you follow with care.  You don't want to find yourself down the road going through one of those leadership crisis's. 

There are very few things that are guaranteed in life, but would you like guarantee that you never have to go through that again?  Then follow Jesus.  He will not disappoint or leave you.   You will never have to worry about being scattered when you follow Him.

It's never to late to chose to follow Jesus, provided you are still drawing a breath.  If you have reached the end of your life then I am afraid it is too late.  Would you like to know who to follow Jesus? 
 

Simply pray and ask Jesus to come in and take over your life.  "Dear Jesus

But David strengthened himself….

1 Samuel 30:6(NKJV)

6Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

How did David strengthen himself?  In God!  David drew closer to God.  David sought out God.  David prayed. 

Do you ever feel overwhelmed and in the need of some strengthening?  Do you ever feel so overwhelmed that you feel powerless?  If so then I would suggest you take a lesson from David.  Actually two lessons combined.  Number one is where do we go to get strengthened?  We go to God.  Number two lesson is even more important.

Who is in control of whether you get strengthened or not?  YOU ARE!  Notice that David took control.  He knew where his strength comes from and David sought it out.  He didn't have to ask God permission.  He didn't have to wait meekly for God to notice that he needed help.   All David had to do was take control and seek God out.  God has promised to always make Himself available to us when we seek Him.

And what is the first and most important part of seeking God?  Why accepting Jesus, God's son, as your personal Lord and Savior.  Have you done that yet?  If not then why not take control right now and ask Jesus to come into your life and take control.  "Dear Jesus…."

What A Lonely Feeling That Must Be!

1 Samuel 28:4-6(NKJV)

4Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. 

5When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 

6And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

Can you imagine God not answering you?  Just totally ignoring your requests and communications as if you didn't even exist?  What a lonely feeling that must be!

Quite frankly I can't even imagine it.  One of the great things about walking with God is that He has promised to always hear us and answer our prayers.  That doesn't mean we always get the answer we want when we want it but we do know that He hears us and will answer. 

Even when we don't get an answer right away there is a feeling of comfort knowing that God has heard us and He is working on it.  It's what leads to the peace that surpasses all understanding.

How do you get that peace?  It starts with accepting Jesus.  Have you done that yet?  Would you like that kind of comfort and peace?  Then just invite Jesus to take over and guide you.  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus.…"