April 30 - 2 Samuel 19:31-20:26 | Psalm 7 | 2 Samuel 21:1-22 | 1 Chronicles 20:4-8

Good morning everyone,

As we begin reading this morning David is preparing to cross the Jordan to go back to Jerusalem.  His old friend Barzillai, you remember him, he was the wealthy man who brought David and all his company provisions when they were fleeing from Absalom, comes down to bid him farewell. David extends an invitation for him to join them and stay in the palace. Barzillai, though, is old and feeling it, so instead asks David to take Kimham, who is thought to be his son, instead. David says, “for sure!” and off they go. 

They don’t get far though when the ten northern tribes of Israel come to David and say (in their very best whinny, pouty voice) “Why did Judah get to bring the king back across the river and not us?” Are you kidding me! These are the very same guys who were fighting against David and now they are fighting over him? The guys from Judah simply say, “because he is closely related to us.” Sheba, being a trouble maker, takes to getting the people riled and lead the ten tribes to rebel against David. David has just got to be shaking his head, thinking “ay-yi-yi”, then sends for his new general, Amasa and gives him three days to gather Judah and get back to the palace. When it takes Amasa longer than that, David sends for Abishai, Joab’s brother and blood thirsty mighty warrior, to go in pursuit of Sheba. So, all Joab’s men march out under the command of Abishai. Amasa, this poor unsuspecting guy probably so happy to see them coming, goes out to meet them. As Joab walks toward Amasa he “accidentally” (wink, wink) drops his dagger. Then in one sweeping move he bends down to pick up the dagger with his left hand and while on the way up, grabs hold of Amasa’s beard with his right, indicating he was going to do the kissing-on-the-cheek greeting thing, but instead brutally stabs and kills Amasa. Ahhh, Joab! What a wicked childhood he must have had. Abishai and Joab then head on over to the city of Abel Beth where they will get the head of the traitor Sheba tossed over the wall to them.

In chapter 21 we read about a three year famine going on. David, we’re told, sought the face of God about this. I find myself wondering why it took him three years to inquire of God, but nonetheless, God says the famine in the land is because Saul had put the Gibeonites to death. Now you remember the Gibeonites, they were the tribe that, 400 years earlier, just after the fall of Jericho,  saw the way Joshua had just overtaken Ai, they were afraid and faked being weary travelers from afar to get Joshua so sign a covenant with them, promising to not kill them but rather they would be slaves to the Israelites for forever. Apparently Saul viewed “forever” as until he came on the scene, but God was not seeing an expiration date on the promise and so brought the famine. David goes to the Gibeonites and says, “how can we make this right?” They call for seven of Saul’s male decedents to be delivered to them to be killed. David agrees and goes to fetch the two sons of Saul’s former concubine Rizpah and the five sons of Saul’s barren daughter, David’s excommunicated wife Michal, had adopted. He delivered them and they hung. 

Next we read that David is once again at war with the Philistines. Not just any Philistines, no, no. The sons of Goliath want a piece of David the “Giant Slayer.” But David is getting up in years, grows faint, sometimes weary and his trusty men recognizing this send him back to the palace, do his kingly things from there, assuring David that they’ve got it handled.

There is so much for us to learn from today’s scripture but I think one of the main thing we can take from it is, that for all of our lives we will be at war against the enemy. The devil, the evil one is constantly seeking to bring us down, constantly attacking us where we are vulnerable. Some battles will be small while others will be giants but they will always be there. Why? Because misery loves company, and Satan is, without a doubt, the single most miserable one ever, and will continue to be today, tomorrow and for eternity. Like you and me, he knows the end of the story. He knows he is going to suffer defeat, and it is his sole mission, while we are here on earth, to take as many of us down with him as he possibly can. I would encourage you to remember and follow the advise in Ephesians 6 where it says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Amen??

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 29 - 2 Samuel 17:15-29 | Psalm 3 | Psalm 63 | 2 Samuel 18:1-19:30

Good morning everyone,

When we left off reading yesterday Ahithophel, the grandfather to Bathsheba, once counselor to David, now counselor to Absalom, and Hushai, a spy for David, also acting as counselor to Absalom, have each given Absalom advise on how he should proceed with his plans to overthrow King David. Absalom chooses to go with the council of Hushai and as we begin reading today, Hushai is covertly passing along this information to David via the priests while Ahithophel will saddle his donkey, head back to his hometown where he will hang himself. 

David escapes through the wilderness and arrives at Mahanaim, on the east side of the Jordan, where he and all his people were warmly greeted and provided with plenty of food and comfy sleeping mats. It is here where David is believed to have penned Psalms 3 and 63. David felt as though he were a minority, he was on the run, his son and his once friends, were seeking him out to kill him, to capture his crown and claim the throne. We can see in these psalms that David puts his faith and trust in God and that he was prepared to accept God’s will, whatever it was for his life, praising him through it.

In chapter eighteen we read that David has all of his men assembled and ready to receive their marching orders. I think it is cool that, Ittai the Gittite was put in command of a troop. You remember him, right? He was the one who when they were fleeing the city, David said to him, “hey you just got here, you don’t have to go with me.” But Ittai said back, “Yea … but you’re the king and where you go I will go.” I love his devotion. That should be our mantra for our God all of the time, “Where you lead, I will follow”. Anyway, after establishing that David would not go into battle with his men, he stands at the gate and bids the troops goodbye, making it abundantly clear to everyone he did not want Absalom dead. 

Joab had other plans though, and when Absalom was seen hanging, helplessly from a tree, he went to him and killed him. When David finds out his son is dead, instead of a victory celebration for winning the war, he mourns the loss of Absalom, openly weeping. Joab will go to David and essentially tell him, “get over it, you are making your devoted people feel like schmucks for saving your life.” David realizes that, though crass , there was wisdom in the council and took his seat in the gateway where all his people came before him.

So the war is over, David is going to head back to Jerusalem, but there is a little bit of apprehension, maybe embarrassment because the people who were already at the palace had chose the side of Absalom. In an effort to show that there were no hard feelings David appoints Amasa, who was the general of Absalom’s army, to be the new general, commander, head honcho, of his army which, what?? oh yes, is Joab’s job. We’ll have to wait for another day to see how well that works out. 

On the way back to Jerusalem, David, once again, runs into Shimei. You remember him, right? He was the dirt kicker, rock thrower, mean mouther David chose to ignore when he was leaving Jerusalem. He’s singing a different tune now. A little more humble. King David, though, very secure in who he is, simply says “leave the guy alone, we don’t want to kill him.” 

Also, Mephibosheth, (he so needs a shorter name) Saul’s crippled grandson, who Ziba said had rebelled against David, had changed allegiance, comes out to meet David and David asks him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?” Mephibosheth declares he was betrayed by his servant Ziba. Two different sides of the story here and not really knowing the truth David says to him, “Whatever. You and Ziba just divide the land.” But Mephibosheth says, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has returned home safely.” Great move by the king, and I’m guessing Solomon was close by and saw the wisdom in that then used it years later, we’ll see, when two women both claim to be the mother of a single baby. 

This begs the question … do we say to our King, to our Jesus, “I don’t, care about the gifts; the fancy cars, the big houses, the wardrobes of clothes, the six figure savings account, the anything that comes from the world, I just want You?” We should, because He loved us first. Ephesians 5:4-6 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Amen …

Have a great day, to God be the glory.

April 28 - 2 Samuel 15:1-17:14

Good morning everyone,

This morning as we begin reading we find Absalom, having just made up with his dad, King David, in the early stages of his revolution against the throne. Absalom is a clever kid, very handsome, and I imagine he could really pour on the charm when it suited him. He took to rising early in the morning to be at the city gate to do sort of a “meet and greet” while locals as well as travelers would come to town do their business. He would listen to their problems with a sympathetic ear, give them a kiss, then send them on their way feeling so much better about life. His agenda? Get the vote. A regular politician, this guy Absalom.

For four years Absalom did this, now he is ready to make his move. He assembled two hundred innocent bystanders and with the king’s blessing took off to Hebron. You remember Hebron, right? It use to be the capitol and it was where David was first crowned king after which the capitol was then moved to Jerusalem. There may have been some hurt feelings still lingering there about that, who knows. Absalom also sends for David’s counselor, Ahithophel. Why? What makes Absalom think he can change his allegiance? Well, Ahithophel was Bathsheba’s grandfather and I would not be a bit surprised if he had been harboring a grudge for all these years over the terrible way his granddaughter was taken advantage of by David. (at least that’s the way a grandpa would see it … right?) Grudge or not, he joined forces with Absalom and we’re told the conspiracy gained strength.

Meanwhile back at the palace, David gets word of what is going on decides to flee the city. David’s army is mightier, his fortress stronger, so why run? Maybe because he didn’t want to go into battle against his son and perhaps kill him. Maybe, David just felt that if God was allowing this to happen then there was a reason for it and God would see David through. Whatever the case may be, David takes everyone but ten concubines, who were left to care for the palace, and heads out of town. They travel up the Mount of Olives and when they get to the summit Hushai, whom we’re told in 1 Chronicles was the king’s friend, is there to meet him. David must have thought “perfect!”  and glad to see someone he can trust. David feels Hushai could be of more help on the inside and so he sends him to the palace to spy on Absalom, which will prove to be a great strategical move.

Next David will meet up with Ziba, and really all I have to say to that is beware of those who come bearing gifts. Ziba is a liar, liar pants on fire! He is lying about Mephibosheth, David hears his lie and without consulting God, makes a rash decision to give this worm of a guy all that belonged to Mephibosheth. Ughhh! 

My favorite part of today’s reading, though, is when David, while walking down the road, a man named Shimei sees him coming and starts hurling rocks, insults and false accusations at David. David, as king, could have had this guy taken down in a heartbeat, but he didn’t. Instead David kept walking and instructed his men to leave Shimei alone as he continued to abuse, both physically and mentally, David and his troops. 

1 Peter 3:9 says “Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you”. Sometimes people strike out at us in anger when it has nothing to do with us at all, you just happen to be in “the right place at the right time”, available when they need to vent. You never know what someone else is going through, how their heart may be hurting, or how stinkin’ hard life is for them right then or perhaps they have physical pain that is overriding their usually pleasant personality. It could be anything, and I am not suggesting that it is okay to be abusive to anyone at any time, or be a mean mouther, I am simply saying, that whether it is personal or not, try not to reciprocate anger with anger, more times than not it serves only to fuel the fire. Instead quench the angry flames with love. Paul, who forever a imprisoned somewhere wrote in Ephesians 4:1-2 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” 

I would encourage you to NOT let the evil one rejoice and do the happy dance because he got you to show your ugly side. No! No! NO! Reject him!! Instead, be like David here and show the love of Christ, you never know who will see your act of tenderness and patience and want what you have in the Lord. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 27 - 2 Samuel 12:26-31 | 1 Chronicles 20:2-3 | 2 Samuel 13:1-14:33

Good morning everyone,

Today we begin our reading with Amnon, David’s oldest son, suffering from a terrible case of “gee I’m a jerk-idus” which will ultimately be the death of him. We are told in verse one that he “fell in love” with his half sister Tamar, but may I suggest to you that what he suffered from had nothing to do with love, it was pure, unadulterated lust. Tamar was beautiful, she was a virgin and apparently unaware of Amnon’s feelings toward her. When Amnon confided in his cousin, Jonadab, his adviser, his obsession for Tamar, they devised a plan to get Tamar to Amnon’s house where despite her resistance, her pleading and reasoning him, he raped her. Then … and then, he hated her and threw her out in the street. To add insult to injury, this dear girl’s full brother, Absalom, told her to be quiet about it. Furthermore, when her father, David, the king learned of the attack, we are told though he was furious, he did not lift one finger in her defense; but how could he? He himself was an adulterer and murderer, they would laugh at his hypocrisy should he speak up. The consequence of choice goes on and on. Amnon’s lust, his selfish desires, sentenced Tamar to the life of a desolate woman.

Fast forward and we have Absalom, who has been letting the hatred for Amnon brew for two years, devising a plan to murder him. There is more to it than just revenge for his sister, though. Amnon was David’s first born and next in line to be king, with him dead that would put Absalom next up for the throne, however, he will not have the courage to murder his half brother himself. Nope, he will get him drunk and then order his men to strike Amnon down. Sound familiar? Like father, like son … think about it. 

Just as guilty as if he had actually been the one to strike the blow to end Amnon’s life, Absalom then takes off to hide out at his grandfather’s house in Geshur. David’s got this “love/hate” thing going on. He misses his son terribly but is crazy angry at him for killing his first born son, so he just leaves him sit there. After three years, though, Joab steps in to devise a plan to get him back into the palace. I’m thinking this is not so selfless either, Joab is looking at job security. If anything happens to David, he wants to be in good with the next king so he can keep his Commander of the Army title. Whatever the reason, David says, Absalom can come back, but there is no repentance in Absalom’s heart, there is no sorrow. Two years go by, David still refuses to see Absalom and he has the “poor, poor, pitiful me” thing going on and feeling like an outcast makes many unsuccessful attempts to contact David. When Joab won’t answer his calls either, Absalom orders his servant to set fire to Joab’s fields, which happen to be next-door, to get Joab’s attention. That worked. Joab storms over to his house and demands to know why he burnt down his fields. Absalom tells him he wants a face-to-face with his dad and he gets it. Reconciliation is made but there is still an elephant in the room. 

You can see the heavy toll of David’s past sin is taking on his life. How he is suffering from the consequence of poor choices of days gone by. He is hardened, and while he desperately loves his son he is unable to forgive him even though David was totally forgiven by the Father for the sins he committed. Do you have someone in your life you need to forgive? Don’t let the evil one keep you apart one more day, give them a call, show them the love of Jesus. Right on? 

Psalm 103:11-12 promises us, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” 

Have a super good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 26 - 1 Chronicles 20:1 | 2 Samuel11:1-12:14 | Psalm 51 | 2 Samuel 12:15-25 | 2 Samuel 5:14-16 | 1 Chronicles 14:3-7 | 1 Chronicles 3:5-9

Good morning everyone,

As we begin this morning, I would like to share that there are some movies that I enjoy so much that I will continue to watch them over and over as years go by; Titanic being one, Steel Magnolias another, just to name a couple. Each time I watch these movies I desperately hope the people involved in the stories make different choices. I hope Jack doesn't win the poker game so he can not get on the ship, I hope that Shelby takes better care of her body, knowing all along, that before the movies end they both will have died. Well, such is chapters eleven and twelve in the telling of David’s life. Every time I read these chapters, knowing it to be impossible to change history, I fervently pray “Please David, don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t let the evil one win David, don’t.” Inevitably, the story remains the same. 

David, now fifty years old, the greatest King Israel has ever known. Israel, then, one of the most powerful and greatest nation in the world. It is the Spring time, which equates to “war season” in those days and David tells Joab, the commander of his army, that he is going to sit this one out. Big mistake … HUGE! Poor choice number 1.

One evening David is up on the roof of his palace, which was not unusual, and he sees a very, and when the Bible says very that is exceptional, beautiful woman a couple condos over, bathing. Now, at this point David had two choices. He could have turned away and called for one of his many other wives or concubines to be brought to him or allowed himself to be drawn in by the woman in the tub below. He chose to enquire about her; poor choice number 2. 

He learns she is the wife of his good friend Uriah, who was one his original best thirty warriors. David has known this guy for a long time, shared meals with him, but he sends for his wife anyway, and has his way with her. Poor choice number 3. There is so much wrong here, and yet the worst is still to come.

When David finds out Bathsheba is pregnant, he sends for his friend Uriah to come in from the battle field and after failed attempts to get him to sleep with his wife, sends a message with Uriah to Joab, back on the battle field, instructing Uriahs death. Ughhh!!! Another poor choice, the choice that will change the course of David’s life.

Several months go by, a time when David is not communing with God. No devotionals, Bible readings or praying, David is crazy far from the Lord at this point. It is also a time in his life when no Psalms are written, he is one miserable dude. Finally, God having had enough and has a chat with Nathan, the prophet, instructing him to go to David to confront him about his sin. Now, seriously, would you like to be the one selected to go before the king, a cranky king at that, and tell him he was out of line? Not me, but Nathan is obedient and approaches David in a way that touches his heart. David grew up a shepherd and could relate to the little loved lamb and was quick to jump to the defense of the poor man who lost his ewe, which I’m sure David thought was a real situation. As soon as David realized he was the one Nathan was talking about, David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” I love how David owned it!! He did not play the “blame game”.  No, no. He took full responsibilities of his actions. Very admirable. Now, Leviticus 20:10 says “If a man commits adultery with another man's wife--with the wife of his neighbor--both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.” but God because of a previous covenant will not take David’s life or his title but there will be a huge consequences of choice and it will be from here on out that David’s life goes down hill. 

What can we learn here? Well, sin begins in the mind. David saw Bathsheba taking a bath and let his mind run with it. It comes so easily and naturally to all of us that we don’t even realize that it is happening most of the time. We are inundated with, yes I’ll say it, “smut” on billboards, television and even talk on the radio that we are subtly worn down. We tend to let our minds wonder about, thinking on whatever it wishes. I would encourage you to capture every thought. You be in control of your mind because that is the first place the enemy will attack. Though not scriptural, you’ve all heard “An idol mind is the devil’s play ground.” It is so true, if only … if only we would all live our lives according to Philippians 4:8-9 “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Claim the peace! Amen?

Have a great day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 25 - 2 Samuel 8:15-18 | 1 Chronicles 18:14-17 | 1 Chronicles 6:16-30 | 1 Chronicles 6:50-53 | 1 Chronicles 6:31-48 | 2 Samuel 9:1-10:19 | 1 Chronicles 19:1-19

Good morning everyone,

Today, in our reading, after we give a “shout out” to the officials and musicians, we’ll read of two random acts of kindness by King David that will have two entirely different responses. First, is to Mephibosheth, you remember him, right? He was the son of Jonathan, Saul’s grandson. As a boy he had asthma, so it was that when the palace got news of Jonathan and Saul being killed in battle his nurse, because he could not run, picked him up, holding him in her arms while fleeing for their lives. However, in the effort to save Mephibosheth, the nurse dropped him and he suffered severe injuries leaving him crippled in both legs for life. Now, several years later, David inquires as to whether or not there is any living relative of Saul’s house still in the area. He is told by a servant from Soul’s household of Mephibosheth, and so David sends for him. 

You will remember that David had made a promise to Jonathan, way back when David first had to run for his life from Saul, not to hurt any of his family line but I honestly don’t think he would have needed that promise for Mephibosheth. Though a mighty warrior, David was a very loving and compassionate man with a good heart. He had loved Jonathan deeply and there was no way he would have done anything to hurt his son. David actually embraced the boy, considered him like one of his own sons, restored all land that had belonged to Saul back to Mephibosheth and gave him a standing (no pun intended) invitation to eat with David at his table. Beautiful story.

The second act of kindness we read about today is of David sending out a delegation to give sympathy to Hanun when his father died, they were not received well. They were thought to be suspicious and Hanun had them seized half of their beards cut off, and the back of their clothing cut off above the buttocks. They totally insulted, disrespected and scorned David’s guys which did not bode well for them. 

When David found out about it, he put his main man, Joab, on the task of bringing these guys down for their contemptible behavior. When Hanun realizes the depth of his mistake he hired  several thousand mercenaries to go against David’s men, but in the end, all the money in the world wouldn’t save their lives.

These two stories are a perfect picture of God’s heart and the depth of His love for us. He sent His Son, His only child, Jesus Christ, in a divine, random act of kindness, to die on a cross for our sins, allowing those who accept Him as their Savior, the opportunity to spend eternity in heaven, at the King’s table.  Some will embrace this love, accepting this free gift of salvation and spend eternity worshiping our Lord and Savior. Others will be skeptical, suspicious, distrustful and reject Him. Their eternity will be spent in hell, a place originally designed for Satan, where Revelation 14:11 tells us “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day and night”. Everyone will spend eternity somewhere, what’s your destination of choice? As for me … I choose Christ!  

Have a really good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 24 - 2 Samuel 7:1-17 | 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 | 2 Samuel 7:18-29 | 1 Chronicles 17:16-27 | 2 Samuel 8:1-14 | 1 Chronicles 18:1-13 | Psalm 60

Good morning everyone,

As we begin reading today we find David, kicked back in the the palace, admiring the fine workmanship of the many who served together to construct it. Suddenly it dawns on him, “Here I am living in the lap of luxury while the Ark of God is camped outside, living in a tent.” and he summons the prophet Nathan to toss around with the idea of building a more permanent house for the ark. Nathan says, “Sounds good to me, do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”

Well that night, God came to Nathan with a message for David saying, “Nice thought, David, but no thank you. I have lived in a tent for a very long time, and I am okay with it for now, also, you will not be the one to build a temple for me.” Later we will learn that it is because David was a warrior, that he had blood on his hands, is the reason God choose Solomon, a man of peace, for that task. However, God does say, that instead, He will build a house for David, a dynasty of Kings! David says, “Seriously Lord?! Far out!” Now, I have to confess, I am more than a little impressed that David “got” what God was saying, I would have probably been thinking something along the lines of “Well, of course I am going to have a huge family, after all I do have a lot of wives who are having lots of babies.” But David understood God’s meaning, and better yet, David praised God for what God was going to do, to repeat, what God was GOING to do, a promise not yet seen. David did not pout, kick at the dirt and say things to the likes of “Why can’t I build a temple!?” or “I am going to build it anyway.” No, no, David said, “Okay, God, sounds good to me” but more than that, he was humbled and wrote a most heart felt praise to God, recognizing God’s blessing. Oh that we should all have a heart to praise God for all that He does for us.

So while God told David he would not be the one to build the temple, He said nothing about David making preparations for it and that’s exactly what David did. He set about getting things ready for Solomon to build when the time was right, anticipating its every need. He had the plans drawn up, made arrangements for the cedar logs to be brought in and started stockpiling all of the precious metals and materials that were going to be used in the construction of the temple. 

There are a couple of things I really, really like about this. One: David didn’t have to be the “main man” in everything. He was happy to be the backup singer in the band, you know, the one shaking the tambourine. He didn’t care in what capacity he served God, he just wanted to serve Him, and David was pleased to help whomever (oh my, this is where I need my editor friend … whomever??) God did pick to be the leader. David, with all his faults, sincerely loved and totally wanted to please God. That is so awesome!

Then two: This reading on some level, for me, and honestly I am still drying to bring it into focus, shows us how we are to prepare our kids for life. Stay with me here, David made readily available to Solomon all that would be necessary for him to be successful in building the temple, right? Well, essentially isn’t that what we are suppose do for our kids? Prepare them? In Deuteronomy 6 we are instructed to impress commandments on our children. To talk about them when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up. Basically all the time talking to our kiddos about God! So we take them to church, we help them learn Bible verses, sing praise songs with them, teach them God’s will and desires for our lives, for their lives, that there is a consequence of choice, give them all the tools they will need, stockpile it in their hearts, in hopes of them being successful when we turn them out into the world. Some will get straight to the task of building a temple for God, while others will take the scenic route in getting there, either way, it is our job to prepare them. Amen?

Have an awesome day, to God, our dear Abba Father be all the glory.

God bless you …. 

April 23 - 2 Samuel 6:12 | 1 Chronicles 15:1-28 | 2 Samuel 6:12-16 | 1 Chronicles 15:29 | 2 Samuel 6:17-19 | 1 Chronicles 16:1-43 | 2 Samuel 6:19-23

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday in our reading we learned that David wanted to bring the ark of the covenant to reside in the City of David, that is, Jerusalem. You will remember that about seventy years prior to that, the Philistines stole the ark from the Israelites, out of the tabernacle, but because it caused them so much illness with tumors and stomach problems, after seven months they placed it on a cart led by two oxen and sent it back to Israel.  The ark was then set in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite where, out of curiosity or perhaps checking to see if the tablets were still in place, some men opened the Ark to have a peek inside, this angered God and as a punishment, many were struck down dead by the God. 

So now David  had assembled  30,000 of his best guys and they head on over to pick up the ark. They are so totally proud of themselves, and they have made this a very festive occasion. There is live music and dancing planned for the parade route. They place the ark up on a brand new cart and off they go. They don’t get far before there is a bump in the road, literally, it jostles the cart holding the wagon and in an effort to stabilize it, Uzzah reaches his hand back and immediately dies when he touched the ark. That put kind of a damper on the party. David is angry, we’re told, but he is totally confused too and afraid of the Lord. You see,  he thought he was doing a good thing by bringing the ark back to the center of God’s people however, yet again David was acting on his own. He did not go to God for advise on this one and it ended in a disaster. David carries the ark himself to Obed-Edom’s house where it will stay while David re-thinks this.

Three months later, David had been working on establishing his city, constructing buildings for himself and preparing a tent for the ark of the covenant, but most importantly David got got back into God’s word and read what God’s will was for moving the ark. He was reminded, as I am sure you all will remember, it was only the Levites, the priests who were to move the ark and it was with poles on their shoulders. So once more David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark.

David and company would successfully get the ark placed inside the tent in Jerusalem, however, the distance between Obed-Edom’s house and the city of David was just over 6 miles so the process would prove to be a very slow and tedious one, stopping every six steps to sacrifice a bull and a fattened calf. The sacrifice alone is very labor intense, most bulls weighing upward of 600 pounds, not to mention bloody, and then the patience  and discipline involved in only going six steps would be most challenging. Seriously, stand up and take six steps, you did not travel far even if you have super long legs. Certainly they could still see, smell and maybe even touch the previous sacrifice. The temptation to go maybe nine steps just once or even eight had too be tugging at them, but David was determined to please God, to be in His will and so it was they stuck to the plan.

What a lesson we can take from this! Right?! The world is constantly pulling at us here, tugging at us there in instant gratification mode So we’ve got everything that we do on an ultra modern, super fast, state of the art, oxen cart moving through life in a such a hurry, seldom taking time during the course of the day to say, “Hey God, am I doing this right? What are your thoughts God? What are you your plans for me, God.” May I suggest that you, that we, that all of us slow down and every six steps check in with God, see how we’re doin’. Ask him to forgive how stinky we got when something didn’t go as we had planned. Ask Him to protect us from the enemy who is lurking right next to us. Thank Him … Thank Him … Thank Him for all that He does for us. Our God loves us, and desperately wants the best for us. I love that! You?

You all have a good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you …

April 22 - 2 Samuel 5:1-3 | 1 Chronicles 11:1-3 | 1 Chronicles12:23-40 | 2 Samuel 5:17-25 | 1 Chronicles14:8-17 | 2 Samuel 5:6-10 | 1 Chronicles11:4-9 | 1 Chronicles 3:4 | 2 Samuel 5:13 | 2 Samuel 5:4-5 | 2 Samuel 5:11-12 | 1 Chronicles14:1-2 | 1 Chronicles13:1-5 | 2 Samuel 6:1-11 | 1 Chronicles 13:6-14

Good morning everyone,

First thing I have to say is I hope that the list of verses at the top of the page did not discourage you. While it looks like a lot of reading, really it is merely 1 Chronicles reiterating what 2 Samuel is saying. In some places word for word, while in others, adding a bit more detail. I always find it exciting to have what I read in the Bible validated in another book in the Bible, the different perspective being totally cool! Make sense?

We begin our reading in 2 Samuel where it tells us that “ALL” the tribes of Israel, having recognized that even while Saul was king, it was David who led the military campaigns. So they go to David at Hebron to anoint him ruler, king over all the land. When I first read this I thought that the “all” they were talking about were perhaps selected spokespersons for each tribe, however, in 1 Chronicles we read that there were nearly 341,000 people (if my math is correct) that came knocking on David’s door in Hebron, determined, mind you, to make David king over all the land. Who could say “no”?  

Now keep in mind that David is a mere thirty years old, that’s right friends, thirty! Quite frankly, I can barely remember back to when I was thirty, but nonetheless, all of Israel determined to have him be their king. God has totally paved the way for David! It is evident in every situation David has been in and clearly present in the hearts of the people of Israel, and so he is anointed for the third time in his life as king.

When the Philistines heard the news about David they went in search of him, they wanted to take him on; but note this, David didn’t let the “soldier in him” that is to say his pride rule his actions. No, no. Instead of going up to meet the Philistines in battle he first went down to the stronghold to meet God in prayer, to ask God what He wants David to do. Is that awesome or what?! God says “Go, I got your back.” So David did. However, next we read that once more those persistent Philistines came back to attack. Again, David goes to the Lord to seek advise. This time God tells him to circle round the back and when he hears marching in the tops of the poplar trees attack. David did as he was instructed and was quite successful. 

Now, I just want to take a moment for a personal share. I love, love, love the sound of the wind blowing through the tops of the trees. Always have. You can hear it coming forever, especially where I live and I never tire of the trees wiggling and dancing with delight as the angels whisk through tickling their branches. When I read David was to wait to hear the marching in the tops of the trees, I could totally see God’s army up there going before him and it gave me chills. Oh man, I L-O-V-E my God!!!

Yikes, I am running out of space so off to David conquering Jerusalem. The Jebusites had control and had the lame and the blind guarding the city. No kidding! I read in one commentary that the blind and the lame were placed on the walls, because why? Well, blind folks can hear really well and no one was going to sneak up on them undetected, and when they heard someone coming they would, not wanting to get caught in the fight, would make a hasty (as fast as a blind person can move) retreat leaving the lame who could not move, behind screaming for help. Hence, the the alarm system. So David being the astute commander that he was knew the way into the city was through the water shaft and put it out there that whoever made it up the shaft, into the city first would forever be his commander-in-chief. It would be Joab, you remember him, he is the one who murdered Abner, to receive the title and help David, who will rein for forty years, restore and build what will be know as the City of David. 

We’re told that David  became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him. We have the ability to be just like that, all we have to do is put our total allegiance, our hope and our faith in God almighty. I would encourage you to read then claim Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Amen?

Have an awesome day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 21 - 2 Samuel 3:6-4:3 | 2 Samuel 4:5-4:12

Good morning everyone,

Today as we begin our reading, the war between the house of Saul and the house of David had gone on and on. Abner, who had become a powerful force, has a bit of a run in with king Ish-Bosheth and will be making a “power play” to turn his entire kingdom over to David. When Abner contacts David with the proposal, David says “I’m down with that only I want my first wife, Michal, back.” Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal”, and Ish-Bosheth did have her taken from her husband, and sent to David. Deuteronomy 17:17 says “He (the king) must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” David knew this, and this will not bode well for his house.

Meanwhile, Abner secretly conferred with the elders of Israel and of Benjamin and then takes twenty men down to have a chat with David, who genuinely glad to see Abner, prepares a feast for them. Feeling good about the way things went Abner heads home. 

Shortly after, Joab returns from a raid he and his troop had been on and is livid when he finds out that Abner, the guy who, albeit accidental, had killed his brother was in the house and sends a messenger out after him to bring him back. Abner clearly thought nothing about it because he did return, met with Joab and Joab killed him in retaliation.

When David found out about this he proclaimed his innocence of an knowledge of the entrapment or the murder, making it known to all the people Joab did this all on his own. Like Saul, David I believe respected and maybe even loved Abner. He had spent half his life being chased by him and now David would walk behind him at his funeral procession. 

Back at the house of Saul, Ish-Bosheth’s captains enter into his bed chamber and murder him and in an effort to find favor with David, deliver the dead king’s head to him. However David could not tolerate the death of an innocent man, you see Ish-Bosheth’s only crime was in being weak. He was not wicked, he just didn’t have the courage to stand against injustice, and so David gave him a decent burial. 

2 Thessalonians 3:13 says “And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.” David, though sometimes got sideways, was a guy who never tired of trying to do what was good. I like that.

I pray you have a good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 20 - 2 Samuel 2:1-3:5 | 1 Chronicles 3:1-4 | 2 SamuelL 23:8-17 | 1 Chronicles11:10-19 | 2 Samuel 23:18-39 | 1 Chronicles 11:20-47 

Good Easter morning everyone ….. He is risen indeed!!

We continue our reading this morning with David, having learned Saul was dead, going to God and asking him if now was the right time to go up to Judah. You see, David knew he would become king but rather than rush ahead of God, going about his own plans and in his own strength, he took the time to see what God had in mind, David wanted to go with God. Make sense? And so when God said, “Go.” David asked, “To where?” to which the Lord answered, “Hebron”. 

Hebron, located high in the Judaean Moutains, about nineteen miles south of Jerusalem and was the largest city in Judah at the time. It was originally under Canaanite control, a royal city actually, until Joshua came along and conquered it when claiming the Promised Land. It was also the same area, if you will remember from Genesis, where Abraham purchased a cave to bury Sara in. Now, it is where David takes his two wives along with all of his men and their families, and where David will be anointed king of Judah. 

Meanwhile, Abner, you remember him, right? the general of Saul’s army? well, with the king dead he is probably thinking he is out of a job and scrambles to get another king on the throne of Israel, one who will allow him to continue his role as leader of the troops. He runs to get Saul’s forty year old son, Ish-Bosheth, who had stayed at home doing who knows what (I’m guessing not video games) while his dad and brothers were out fighting for the country, and says to him “Hey, guess what? You are now king.” That will not end well.

Next we read about a confrontation at a pool in Gibeon. I am not going to say a whole lot about that, other than, I have read three different commentaries and each had a little different slant as to how and what actually happened. God has not encouraged me in it so I will leave it alone for now. There’s just some things God doesn’t feel has to be crystal clear, you know?

Finally, our reading today directed us to take a look at David’s mighty warriors. There were two elite groups, “The Thirty” and “The Three”. The members of these teams were men with outstanding leadership skills and had showed exceptional, selfless courage in battle. They were the “creme de la creme” (good French … right?) They had sought David out while he was in the caves and though wavering a bit when their families were kidnapped, had proven to be devoted to David for more than a decade. When we read about these men we can see that over the years, motivated by greatness, David inspired them to be all that they could be (to coin a phrase), not only as soldiers but as men of God as well. It begs the question; Do you know who the people you hang out with? The people you spend the most time talking to? What God they look to? 1Corinthians 15:33 says “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” and Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” I would encourage you to look to the Davids of the world to follow. Though not a perfect kind of guy, (but really who is?) he had a heart for God and to do God’s will. Amen?

Happy Easter my dear friends, to God be the glory!!

April 19 - 1 Samuel 30:1-31 | 1 Chronicles 12:20-22 | 1 Samuel 31:1-13 | 1 Chronicles 10:1-14 | 1 Chronicles 9:40-44 | 2 Samuel 4:4 | 2 Samuel 1:1-27

Good morning everyone,

When we left David yesterday, not being allowed to participate in the attack on Israel, he was headed back to his town of Ziklag. Today we read that when he got there he found the city burned to the ground and all of the women and children taken captive along with all of their goods. Obviously no one was happy about this, in fact, his men were talking about stoning him but … but … and get this because this is totally awesome, David turned back to the Lord. Oh how I absolutely love that. David had become depressed, he had backslidden, was doing worldly things, had quit talking to the Lord, but here when his wives and children had been taken away, his town burnt down his friends are turning against him, he no longer looks to the world for help, he doesn’t try to fix it in his own strength, no, David falls to his knees and finds strength and direction from the Lord. He asks God “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” God says “Yes, go.”

So David takes his six hundred men and pursues the Amalekites who stole from them, however along the way two hundred of the men found it to be too exhausting to go on. David says no problem stay here and guard the supplies while I, and the others, push on. They find their families unharmed and all of the plunder that had been taken from them and head back. Now when they get back to the two hundred guys that had remained behind, we’re told  “But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.” But David said, “Yea … you need to rethink that. They will get the same share as you, everyone will get the same.” How is that important to us? Well, it lets us know that while the ones who go out and evangelize, or do missions, or boldly stand in front of an abortion center protesting, or anyone who goes to the front line of God’s battle field, will receive rewards when they get to heaven, so shall the little people, the ones who work behind the scenes, the ones who stay back and pray for those on the front line, they will get an equal share of the reward in heaven. Did I make that make sense? I hope so. God doesn’t play favorites. 

Chapter 31 finds Saul on the battle field wounded by an arrow. Jonathan and his two brothers are already dead, and Saul, knowing he is a goner, will fall on his sword in an attempt to take his own life though, it is thought to be a failed attempt because as we will read later, an Amalekite will go to David claiming he found Saul, laying on his sword, still alive and then killed him. Nonetheless, the Philistines, while collecting the plunder and checking out the who’s who of the slaughtered will find Saul dead and behead him. So ends the book of 1 Samuel.

Now in 2 Samuel, chapter 1, we get to that Amalekite I mentioned before, the one who tracks David down and informed him of the death of Jonathan, and also the death of king Saul claiming he was the one who struck the final blow to Saul and hands over Saul’s crown and the band from his arm. Oh how this broke David’s heart. You see, even though for years Saul sought to capture and perhaps even kill David, they had a history before that, and even a history through all of that. David loved Saul like a father and Jonathan like a brother. As I write this now, a tear falls down my cheek as I imagine how sorrowful David had to have been knowing he would never see these two men, who for decades had been such a huge part of his life, ever again. My mind’s eye sees him reflecting on the many times, in days gone by, he’d shared a meal with Saul, or seen the “atta boy” smile on Saul’s face when he’d returned from a victorious battle, or when Jonathan gifted his sword to him after he’d slain Goliath, or the time Jonathan sought him out to encourage him in God. Yes, David’s heart was mournful and melancholy as he wrote a lament for Saul and for Jonathan proclaiming “How the mighty have fallen. How the mighty have fallen” thus ending one season of David’s life. Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” God’s got big plans for David in his new season coming up and He’s got big plans for you and for me too if we will but let Him use us. Let’s live our lives on our knees forever seeking the will of God. Amen?

I pray you all have an amazing day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all…

April 18 - 1 Samuel 26:1-27:7 | 1 Chronicles 12:1-7 | 1 Samuel 27:8-29:11 | 1 Chronicles12:19 | Psalm 56

Good morning everyone,

Well, as we begin reading this morning David and his men are hiding out on the hill of Hakilah where the Ziphites of the land betray him to Saul who, one more time, gathers his three thousand men and heads on out to capture David. When David heard of this news, seriously … he had to have scratched his head and thought, “are you stinkin’ kidding me?” “Again?!” But  takes Abishai with him and under the cover of darkness, they successfully make their way undetected to the center of the three thousand men, to where Saul was sleeping. While standing over the sleeping king, Abishai wants to kill him but David says, “no, leave him alone, just get his spear and water jug”, so they did and left. When they get a safe distance away, David calls out to Abner, the king’s general, “Oh H-E-L-L-O! Wake up down there. Helloooo.” Finally, getting their attention David asks the king why he is again in pursuit of him, and lets Saul know he could have killed him yet again but did not. Saul once more hangs his head, apologizes and says, “Come back David my son.” But David not trusting the ole’ boy says, “yea …. no! Here’s your spear, send one of the young men to come get it.” Then they went their own ways, this being the last time Saul would set eyes on David

Chapter 27 finds David falling into a state of depression and for sixteen months he will back slide into the world, live as a Philistine. He and his entire company travel to Gath, you remember Gath, right? Where Goliath was from, where David was once before and acted like a crazy man to make an escape? Well, now he is there again and asks king Achish for a city in the suburbs where he, his men and all the families could settle. The king, no doubt aware of David’s troubles with Saul and fugitive status feels he’s no threat and gives him the city of Ziklag to live. During this time David and his men raided and destroyed three Canaanite tribes living near Shur toward the land of Egypt. However when king Achish would ask David where he had been, David lied and indicated he had been out destroying Israelites. This is not the first time nor the second we have read of David lying. It is worth noting that David knew this was a weak area for him and we read in Psalm 119:29 (kjv) where David prays, “Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.” 

Now all the Philistines are gathering, they are going to go after the Israelites, who are quite vulnerable because instead of spending his time keeping them strong and safe from the enemy, Saul, for a decade, has been chasing one of his own, David. King Achish has appointed David his body guard and off they go. Saul sees the Philistine Armies gathering, gets a little nervous, and starts trying to talk to God. Isn’t that typical, we don’t have a whole lot to say to God until we are in trouble or danger and then we want the direct line to Him, expecting immediate attention from Him. Saul didn’t get it though, he was too far from God and so instead of the Holy Spirit, in the dark of the night, Saul seeks the company of evil spirits and goes to a witch, a fortune teller, for help. BIG Mistake!! Huge!! Leviticus 19:31 tells us, “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”  The fortune teller did not recognize Saul because of the disguise he wore when he asked her to bring up Samuel from the dead. When Samuel appeared she was quite shocked, to the point of shrieking. Samuel chastised Saul for calling on him then told him that basically his time was up. Those Amalekites he was suppose to do away with years ago and did not, are now going to be the death of him. 

Meanwhile back at the Philistine camp, all the commanders see David riding up with Achish and say, “No way are we letting him go into battle with us.” They tell Achish to send him back, saying, “Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances: “‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands?”’ But David, so off his game, so into the world says “What? Why can’t I fight with you?” What was he thinking?!? These are David’s own people they are going to war against. However in the morning David and his men rode away, back to the land of the Philistines. 

Interesting, would you agree?, how the song the women were singing, “Saul has slain his thousands , and David his ten thousands,” the song that made Saul so very jealous of and angry at David, driving him out from his home, apart from all that he knew and loved and in fear of his life for many years, is the very same song that will ultimately save David from going into battle against his own country, the Israelites. Preserving the life he was destined to have as their king. God so subtly and amazingly works in all the details of our lives, weaving those threads of protection, wisdom and guidance in all that goes on in the lives of those who love him, directing our paths despite ourselves. God is so good. Our God is an awesome God! Amen?

I pray you have a great day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

April 17 - 1 Samuel 23:13-29 | Psalm 54 | 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44

Good morning everyone,

As we begin reading today, God has just revealed to David that the people of Keilah, the same people he and his men had just rescued from the Philistines, were going to betray him and give him up to Saul, so David and his six hundred men get the heck out of Dodge (well actually Keilah) and went to stay in the Desert of Ziph. While there, David’s good friend Jonathan, finds him and we’re told “helps him find strength in the Lord”. I think that is super cool. Lot’s of people are very happy to join in on a “pity party”, help us wallow in our sorrow and Jonathan could have approached David with an “Oh, poor David, I am so sorry my dad is being such an idiot to you and you have to be on the run” type attitude, but Jonathan doesn’t, instead he reminds David that God’s plan is perfect and encourages him to be strong, and to stay strong, in the Lord. I love that! This will be the last time that David ever sees his dear friend alive, and that was a great memory to carry with him.

So now David is on the run with his six hundred men and Saul is on his tail with his three thousand men closing in on David, and just about ready to capture him when Saul gets word that the Philistines were invading his home and they needed to get back to protect it … NOW! So Saul and his men broke off the pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. Coincidence? I think not! God heard David’s prayer and came to the rescue. Our God is so good.

Once Saul has the Philistines under control he receives word that David is in En Gedi and resumes his quest to capture him. It gets pretty hot in that part of the country and so it was that one afternoon Saul sought the coolness of a cave to take a nap. Now in all the caves he had to choose from in that desert, Saul picked THE one cave David and his men were holding up in. Coincidentally? Again, I think not. David’s men encouraged him to kill Saul right then and there but instead David only cuts off a corner of his robe. When Saul wakes up, he walks out of the cave to carry on with his day never realizing that his life had just been spared. Though, David feeling guilty for his act follows Saul out and in a most humble way, bowing to and praising Saul, asks why he is so bent on killing him. Saul hears David and his heart, at least for the time being, is touched and reconciles. He asks David to give an oath that when king he will not wipe out Saul’s family. David does so and they part company. 

Now, David traveling with his company of men in wilderness are once again without supplies. They have been, though unsolicited, protecting Nabal’s shepherds and floc from bandits and David sends ten of his guys to ask for some food from Nabal which he believes is a reasonable request. Wouldn’t you? However,  Nabal, as his name indicates, is a fool and not about to give them anything but an ear full of rude words. When they reported this back to David, he too acts without thinking or talking to God and sets out in a huff to kill them. Ahh, but on the way he meets Abigail, Nabal’s wife. A beautiful and smart woman who knew of David reputation, perhaps had even heard the songs women had written about him, knew of the injustice Saul was showing him and that he would be the next king. She had learned of her husband’s stupidity toward David’s men and their request and quickly put together supplies for them and was in the process of delivering them herself when she and David crossed paths. She humbly fell at his feet, taking total blame and responsibility for her husband’s stinky behavior, begging forgiveness. David indicates “no harm, no foul” takes the food she brought for them and sends her home. The next day when Abigail tells her husband what she did he has a cardiac arrest and ten days later dies. When David heard this news he sent word to Abigail, asking her to be his wife and of course she said yes and went to him. We are told that Saul had given Michal, you remember her, David’s wife who helped him escape, to another man, however, David was also married to Ahinoam and so he will have two wives. Though having more than one wife was customary at the time, we have seen before that never ended well, and it won’t here either, but that’s another story that we’ll save for another time :-)

Awesome reading today. I hope you are loving as much as I am reading about David. He is an amazing guy who we’re allowed to see as being just like you and me. True he was anointed to be king but he went through the very same feelings, experiences, actions and reactions that we do. He was just as human as you or I and only Jesus is written about more in the Bible than David. We can certainly learn a lot from him. 2Timothy 2:7 says “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Amen?

I pray you have a super day, to God almighty be the glory.

God bless you all ….

April 16 - 1 Samuel 22:1-2 | Psalm 57 | Psalm 142 | 1 Chronicles 12:8-18 | 1 Samuel 22:3-23 | Psalm | 1 Samuel 23:1-12

Good morning everyone,

 Oh my word, amazing reading today! I love how the psalms are blended into the story of David. They are transformed from being a lovely psalm to the more tender nuance of a prayer, allowing us to be a part of a most intimate moment David is having with God and see that the time David spent on his knees is not so different from the times we ourselves go to God in prayer. Lovely picture! 

We pick up today with David in the cave of Adullam where upon hearing of David’s troubles, his family would travel to join him there, probably to not only show their support but most likely their life was in jeopardy too with Saul so angry at David. You know? Furthermore, we’re told that about four hundred men from Gad who were in distress, debt or just plain discontented with Saul, who just happened to be brave warriors ready for battle, came knocking on the door of David’s cave as well.

Now that David has a little bit of a support system going on, the first thing he does is get his family to safety. You will remember that David is related to the Moabites, his great-grandmother was Ruth and so he goes and has a chat with the king of Moab who agrees to let his father and mother stay there until he knows what God has planned for him. 

Meanwhile, Saul is being cRaZy Saul. You remember Doeg? The do-og who witnessed David lying to get bread from the priest? Well, he just threw Ahimelek, that priest, under the bus, telling Saul that he had seen him helping David. Saul sends for the priest and his whole family who were the priests at Nob, and accuses him of siding with David. But Ahimelek is so confused because honestly he himself had been deceived and having no knowledge of what was going on he adamantly professes his innocence. However, Saul in all of his blind, insane behavior would not hear it and ordered the guards to kill Ahimelek along with all the priests of the Lord. To their credit, they refused the kings order. The king would then give Doeg the same order and this blood thirsty animal of a man had no problem slaughtering not only the eighty-five priests but he would travel to Nob the town of the priests, and likewise slaughter its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep. Super nice guy … not!

There would be one and one only to escape, a son of Ahimelek, Abiathar, who quickly fled to where David was with his tragic story. David encouraged him to stay there where he would be safe, though, imagine, if you can, David’s guilt at finding out the devastating ripple effect of his sinful lie to the priest, and it certainly begs the question; did Abiathar know of David’s role in all of that? Because, I am thinking what a beautiful heart this priest had. I am not seeing at all where he played the blame game, or had any animosity what so ever. I want a heart as pure as that. Right?!

Next David gets a message that the Philistines are looting the folks at Keilah, they need help. I love that the first thing that David does is ask God if He wants David and his guys to go help out. God says, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah”, but David’s team says “What?? We’re in enough trouble here. Are you sure?” So David goes back, just to be sure, and asks God again if that be His will, and God said “Go.” So David will take his men and help the people in Keilah, but what we need to get here is that it is okay to go to God to reaffirm anything we think He has told us. Sometimes I wonder and I am guessing you do too, “Is that really from God?” It’s good to check it out because if it is from God, he will validate it either through His Word, a friend, a circumstance or whatever, if you allow it He will make His will known.

Friends, the story is just getting good. You see Saul knows David is going to be in a gated city and David knows, that Saul knows, so David asks God if he will be safe there and God tells David that actually the citizens of Keilah, these very people he just risked his life to save, will actually turn him and his men over to his enemy Saul. If you’re David are you scratching your head thinking, “Huh, alrighty then”? We’ll find out tomorrow what happens next. While this is a bit of a cliff hanger one thing is for certain, our God will never leave us hanging. Our God loves, loves, loves us and is always there for us. Remember in Joshua 1:9 we read “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Good words for David and us to live by. Amen?

Have a great day, to God be the glory.
God bless you all …