8/25/2010
9:23:42 AM
SPIRITUAL
DIARY
My
Worship Time Focus:
Abner the negotiator
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
2Samuel 3:1-21
Message of the verses: “1 ¶
Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of
David; and David grew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker
continually. 2 Sons were born to David
at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; 3 and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow
of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter
of Talmai, king of Geshur; 4 and the
fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of
Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, by
David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David at Hebron. 6 It came about while there was war between the
house of Saul and the house of David that Abner was making himself strong in
the house of Saul.
“7 ¶
Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah;
and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father’s
concubine?" 8 Then Abner was very
angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, "Am I a dog’s head that
belongs to Judah? Today I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to
his brothers and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hands of
David; and yet today you charge me with a guilt concerning the woman. 9 "May God do so to Abner, and more also,
if as the LORD has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him, 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of
Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan
even to Beersheba." 11 And he could
no longer answer Abner a word, because he was afraid of him. 12 Then Abner sent messengers to David in his
place, saying, "Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold,
my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you." 13 He said, "Good! I will make a covenant
with you, but I demand one thing of you, namely, you shall not see my face
unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me."
14 So David sent messengers to
Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was
betrothed for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines." 15 Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her
husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish. 16
But her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her as
far as Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go, return." So he returned.
17 Now Abner had consultation with the
elders of Israel, saying, "In times past you were seeking for David to be
king over you. 18 "Now then, do it!
For the LORD has spoken of David, saying, ’By the hand of My servant David I
will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand
of all their enemies.’" 19 Abner
also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin; and in addition Abner went to speak in
the hearing of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and to the whole
house of Benjamin. 20 Then Abner and
twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner
and the men who were with him. 21 Abner
said to David, "Let me arise and go and gather all Israel to my lord the
king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may be king over all
that your soul desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.”
There
is a lot going on in these twenty-one verses, but I have decided to take them
all on this morning because I have a desire to move faster through the OT, as
it is my goal to study the entire Bible the way that I am doing it before I go
to be with the Lord either in the Rapture or through death.
The
first six verses mention David’s new wives and new sons that were born to him
while he was in Hebron. I must mention
that this was something that the Lord put up with concerning these OT saints
even though it was strictly against His Law. “"He shall not multiply wives
for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase
silver and gold for himself.” This is a
quote from Deu. 17:17, and it is for certain that Solomon did not obey this
command nor his father David.
Abner
is accused of sleeping with Saul’s concubine by Saul’s son and this was done
after a long war between the house of David and the house of Saul to which
David kept growing stronger and Saul’s house weaker. The text does not make it clear whether or
not this really happened or not, but by doing this it would mean that Abner was
going after the kingdom for himself.
Absalom did this with his father’s concubines when he was trying to take
over the kingdom and one of Solomon’s brothers tried to take a woman who was
sleeping with David before he died in order to keep him warm and because of
this he lost his life as Solomon had him killed.
There
was a series of negotiations that went on between David and Abner in order to
swing the kingdom of Saul over to David and it began with some of their men
meeting with each other and would conclude with the two of them meeting with
each other. As a part of these
negotiations David wanted his wife Michal back for she was his first wife and
she was Saul’s daughter and this would help to bring about a lasting peace
between the two parties.
This
peace process ended with a feast, a feast in which Abner will lose his life
because he had killed Joab’s brother, and David will be saddened because he was
killed.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Once again I see David’s patience in this
section, not only his patience with allowing the Lord to work these things out,
but his kindness in dealing with the house of Saul. As I look at this and compare it to what is
going on at GBC I want to follow David’s example of patience and dealing with
love in these matters. In my heart I
believe that the things that are going on at GBC by our elders is wrong and
will not be tolerated by the Lord forever, but since Christ died for the Church
and is Head of the Church, I believe that He will be the One who takes care of
these problems. I will continue to pray
for the church and the leaders that God will open their eyes to see the damage
that they have done, but will not scheme to get my way because it is God’s way
that must be done here.
My
Steps of Faith for Today:
1.
Trust
the Lord to work things out at GBC for His glory and our good.
2.
Remember
that I am in a battle and in need of my spiritual armor.
3.
Have
the patience to follow out with the plan concerning leaving GBC and trust the
Lord to lead us to the church He wants us in.
4.
Trust
the Lord to continue to teach me contentment through these difficult times.
5.
Give
myself to the Lord for worship and service for today.
6.
Trust
the Lord to guide my path today.
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