Impact on Jesus Week 18
Impact week #18
5/15/17
Well, I have to admit that my own personal heart is starting to be convicted as I read through the life of David and Jesus side by side. Today, 2 Samuel 2 opens up with "David inquired of the Lord. . ."
David was asking if he should return to Judah and he wanted the Lord to direct his steps. Saul had been slain along with Jonathan and a few of Saul's sons, and David could have jumped at this opportunity to lift himself up and take the throne of all of Israel, but instead he inquired of the Lord asking "Do I go up to Judah?"
God honors David for honoring him. Jesus clearly was impacted by David's desire to inquire of God to guide his steps. Jesus only went where his father sent him. He only did what God told him to do. He healed who his Father led him to heal. He withdrew when his Father told him to withdraw. He deflected glory to his Father. He got up early to inquire. He slipped off to be alone to inquire. He waited on the answer of his Father, and once he received it, he promptly moved forward. "Daddy, do I go up... to Jerusalem, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick, to teach, to calm the waters, to turn water to wine, to rebuke the Pharisees, to eat with a tax collector, to forgive a broken woman, to Jarius' house," and the list goes on even unto "Daddy do I go up to the cross?"
Jesus learned from David the need to inquire of the Lord before moving forward. He had seen David react in anger before which almost led him to killing Nabel, a move that surely would have haunted David for his entire life. But Jesus also watched through these stories of David a man whose heart was after God's heart, who continually asked God for clear guidance and then Jesus saw a man willing to leap to obedience once those inquiries had been answered. David trusted the Lord to guide him and show him the correct path. David was a Shepherd and he knew that the sheep depended on the Shepherd to get them where they needed to go. So David inquired, then he waited, then he obeyed. A lesson Jesus put into practice and displayed for all who follow him, our Good Shepherd.
"Father, please help me to be still, to inquire, to wait, and only move forward based on how You lead. Teach me to always "inquire of the Lord like David, like Jesus!"
5/16/17
This morning in 2 Samuel 4-5, David is faced with several interesting scenarios.
First, two brothers sneak in and murder Saul's son Ish-Bosheth, who was reigning as king and proudly bring his head to David thinking he would reward them. Instead, David has them killed on the spot because they had murdered an innocent man and David would not stand for it.
In chapter 5, all the tribes come to David after he has been king in Judah for 7 and 1/2 years and anoint him king over all of them.
After this, David goes up to Jerusalem to fight the Jebusites who tell him he can never beat them in such a fortified place. They claimed even the "blind and lame" could hold him off. Undeterred, David captures the city of Jerusalem and calls is the "City of David" and his palace is built there.
Today's reading ends again with David "inquiring of the Lord" regarding the raiding Philistines who God tells him to go against and that he will win. But in the second "inquiring of the Lord" we see God be more specific with David and told him not to face the Philistines head on, but to flank them and then to wait until he hears "the sound of marching in the tops of the trees," then he was to move quickly because that sound meant "the Lord had gone out in front of him and would strike down the Philistine army" and David obeyed and God fulfilled his promise and defeated the Philistines.
Some days I sit and wonder what it was like for Jesus to unpack the riches of these stories for his first 30 years on earth. As he listened, read, and learned from the stories he had uniquely laid out over time for him to learn from, how they must have gripped his soul, maybe a little different each time.
Just in this very short span of stories he would have picked up so much. What little I could unpack today is seeing how Jesus was not to rush into his position as king. David had been anointed king years ago, but he did not force himself into the role, but waited till God put him there. He did not reward those who claimed to kill those in his way of being king, but punished them for taking the lives of others in their own hands. Jesus was consistently put out with anyone around him who dared ask if they should take up a sword in order to punish his enemies or those who wanted to call fire down on places that rejected him. He learned from Davids story to patiently wait on God to put him on the throne prepared for him (and both started this position at the age of 30).
Jesus also would have been encouraged by the story of David taking Jerusalem. Just like David, Jesus heard that he could not conquer his enemy. He was told the stronghold of sin and death was too fortified to ever be defeated. They laughed and mocked him as he marched up the hill as they did David as he approached Jerusalem. However, Jesus learned that with God all things are possible and this victory was His to win because Jesus had been told, like David, that he would be king and sit on the throne on the hill. So as David was undeterred on conquering Jerusalem, Jesus was not phased as approached his battle on the hill of Calvary. And like David, he won and now his kingdom is being built as he prepares a place for his bride!
Lastly, Jesus sees again his need to depend on his Father for guidance in every situation. He saw David "inquire of the Lord" again before entering a battle and then again asking how he was to fight. I personally love this story of how David was told to wait and not make a move until the Lord moved in front of him, but once God moved David was to obey quickly and God would defeat the enemy. Jesus learned to inquire of the Lord, to wait on the Lord, to depend on the Lord, and to quickly obey the Lord in order for the Lord to win the victory using him as a His instrument to overcome the Enemy.
5/17/17
2 Samuel 6 tells the story of David going to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. They load it on a cart and are having a big parade and show bringing it into town until Uzzah is struck down for steadying the ark when the oxen stumbled. Everything was going great until that moment and we see David getting mad at God and putting the ark in someone else's home.
Here we see David NOT doing something he has done all along. He did not inquire of the Lord. And, apparently he did not read the law in which his heart delighted to see the proper way to transport the Ark, OR, he chose to try and do it an easier, more logical way. Whatever the reason, by choosing to do it his way, a man lost his life and David watched another man receive blessings on his life while the ark was stored there because David was mad.
The story ends with David hearing of the blessings poured out on the man's house where the ark was, and David went to bring the ark up to Jerusalem, but this time he did it the God had commanded for it to be done. Once the ark was in the City of David, they too enjoyed the blessings of God poured out on them.
This again is a clear picture for Jesus as he is growing in wisdom and favor with God and man the difference between doing things according to the word of the Lord, vs doing things man's way or the most logical or easiest way. Man's way led to death and missing out on blessings God longed to pour out. Gods way led to life, to blessing, to abundance, to being in the presence of the Lord, the very place Davids heart longed to dwell forever (Oh that I might dwell in the house of the Lord forever!)
Jesus was tempted to do it his way. He certainly could come up with a more logical way. He was capable of choosing his own path. However, being forewarned again through Davids actions in this passage, Jesus learned to need to always doing things according to Gods word. He learned the pitfalls of failing to inquire of the Lord and failing to know Gods will by knowing his decrees and commands.
Praise God for a Savior who saw the example placed in front of him and chose to learn from both the warnings and the encouragements given in these stories written for him to learn from.
5/18/17
2 Samuel 8 verses 6 and 14 both repeat this phrase: "The Lord gave David victory every where he went."
What an amazing statement. Those who trust the Lord, the Lord leads to victory. David was going into his battles with the confidence that God was with him and that God was the one securing the victory. David and his men could fight boldly knowing the battle was in the hands of the Lord.
What a statement, "The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went."
Can you imagine how much confidence this story gave to the "Son of David," Jesus Christ as he entered into his battles? He looked at the life of David, and he saw how confident David could enter his battles trusting God to give him victory everywhere he went.
What impact this had on Jesus as he lived and faced battles every day. Test in the wilderness. Temptations on every hand. Spiritual warfare against demons. Facing the impossible battle of raising the dead to life. And then entering his battle of laying down his life so that others might live. Having to trust his Father that the victory would be won, even as he breathed his last, he gave his spirit into the hands of his Father, and he could do so knowing that his Father would give him victory everywhere he went, even as he entered the gates of death!
Victory is the Lords! Victory belongs to all His redeemed!
5/19/17
2 Samuel 10 and 11 are not high points in the life of David.
Chapter 10 tells the story of a neighboring king passing and David decides to send men with gifts to the son who has taken the throne. These men are seized by the new king, half their beards shaved off and their cloths cut off so that their buttocks were revealed. Humiliated they return home and David ends up in a war from this.
Chapter 11 tells us the well known story of the man "after Gods own heart" becoming an adulterer, a conniver, and a murderer. What happened to David that he would drift so far?
There is one phrase that I found oddly missing from these two chapters. In neither of these circumstances do we read "David inquired of the Lord!" The man who sought God out in so many other things never asked if he should send a gift to the new king, he just did what he thought was logical and kind. When it came time for war, David did not ask the Lord if he should go out, he just sent out the army and decided to stay home and that leads to adultery, pregnancy, scheming for a coverup, and eventually murder (not of just one man, several men lost their lives due to Davids attempt to cover his sins ) in all this, not once do we read "David inquired of the Lord!"
Again, Jesus goes from seeing in David the path he should follow to being warned of the grave outcomes of not seeking His Fathers face. David abandoned his practice of seeking God out and it led him into making a poor decision that shamed some of his men and another that killed some of his men. David slipped into a dangerous place of doing things he considered wise or smart.
As Jesus allowed these stories to sink in, Jesus realized his desperate need to cling to Always seeking His father's face. Jesus could have done many kind things for many people, but he only did what he saw His Father doing. He could have sent others to face his battles, but Davids life taught him to seek His Father out and always go where he was suppose to be. Jesus learned from David that he should always inquire of the Lord, and he saw the consequences of failing to do so.
I hope as I see these stories through the eyes of Jesus, that I can learn as well to always inquire of the Lord, seek His face, wait on him to lead, and obey in going where he leads.
5/20/17
First today, I just want to praise the Lord for his goodness and kindness. Today has been tremendously blessed and I want to say thanks to Jesus for his mercy and love.
I played catch up today in 2 Samuel, reading 4 passages, 12-15.
David has murdered Uriah and others have died as well. Nathan shows up and tells David a story of a poor and rich man and a little lamb. I am sure this tugged at Davids heart, having raised and loved lambs as a shepherd boy. David declares this rich man will pay with his life for taking the poor man's lamb and Nathan points his finger at David and cries out "You are the man!"
David is not only overcome with guilt, I am sure fear floods his soul. Others who had gone before him who had messed up like were left by the Spirit of the Lord. In 12:13 David cries out, "I have sinned against the Lord!"
Nathan comforts him with these words: "The Lord has forgiven you, you are not going to die!" What relief.
However, from this point Davids life is thrown into turmoil. His child by Bathsheba dies. (Yet another is born to them named Solomon and in 12:24 it says "the Lord loved him! WOW!) His son Amnon rapes his daughter Tamar. Then Absalom kills his brother for raping his sister and flees the country. When David brings Absalom home, his son conspires against him to overthrow his kingdom. David is forced to flee and go into hiding. Davids actions had consequences, but even through those, God worked his plan.
The one verse that jumped out at me loud and clear today was 14:14. It says, "But God does not take life away, instead he devises ways so that the banished person may not remain estranged from Him."
David, through encouragement, devised a way to bring his son home. Then his son betrays him, yet David out of love flees the city in order to avoid war for his people. He is cut off, with only a handful of followers. Yet, David never stopped loving his son.
As Jesus reads this story, I wonder if he wept as David wept leaving the city. David banishing himself away from the people he loved. It must have really hit home for Jesus as he connected this story to his Father leaving the garden away from the people He loved.
Yet Jesus clung to 14:14. God devises a way to no longer be estranged from His people and Jesus realizes he is that plan.
I am Amazed at how these stories connected with Jesus and his life and how they prepared him for the mission he came to accomplish. And accomplish it he did.
5/21/17
Today I honestly did not have much time to reflect on the passages in 2 Samuel. As a group of believers, we did look at the Armor of God and see how Jesus is every piece of our Armor.
Belt of Truth - John 14:6 "I am the Truth." John 17:17 and connect to John 1:1-2
Breastplate of Righteousness - 1 Corinthians 1:26-30. (Emphasis on v 30) Isaiah 61:10 , Philippians 3:7-11. Jesus is our Breast Plate of Righteousness
Gospel of Peace - Philippians 4:4-7, John 16:33. He is our Peace and in Him we carry the good news in a word of bad news and he holds us firm in place as the good news is spoken into our lives by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Good News of Peace.
Shield of Faith - Galatians 2:20, John 6:35, 7:38, Mark 11:24, John 1:12, Romans 1:17, Ephesians 2:8. Through the gift of Faith in Jesus, when we are soaked in Jesus (as the Roman soldiers would soak their shields of leather in water to put out the fiery arrows shot at them) the fiery lies of the enemy are put out. Jesus is our shield of Faith.
Helmet of Salvation - Romans 10:9-10, Hebrews 7:20-25, Acts 4:1-12 (emphasis on v 12) Jesus is our helmet of Salvation.
Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. John 1:1-2 (who is the Word?) John 1:14. Revelation 19:13. The Spirit uses the Word of God, Jesus, as the sword to attack the enemy
In other words, our Armor is Jesus Christ. In Jesus we are covered. In Jesus we are protected. In Jesus we are victorious.
I was super encouraged by this look at the Armor and loved how Jesus is ALL I need!
