The Responsibilities of Leadership from 2 Samuel 23:3-7

11/7/2010 7:14:34 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                       Focus:  The responsibilities of leadership

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  2Samuel 23:3-7

 

            Message of the verses:  “3  The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, 4  he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.’ 5  ‘Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire? 6  But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand. 7  Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie.’”

 

            The leadership that David speaks of in verses three and four is a leadership that rules with righteousness and one who fears the Lord and realizes that the Lord is in control and that the leader is to be submitted to the Lord in order to do His will.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Without righteousness and the fear of God, a leader becomes a dictator and abuses God’s people, driving them like cattle instead of leading them like sheep.  David was a ruler who served and a servant who ruled, and he had the welfare of his people on his heart.” 

            The results of a godly leader who rules in the fear of the Lord and in righteousness are seen in verse four where he is described as one who is like the light of the morning on a cloudless day and also like brightness after a rain and this produces good fruit.  Evil leaders are described in verses six and seven and they produce thorns which will one day be burned up. 

            David praises God for his salvation and the everlasting covenant that He made with David which would bring the Messiah into world in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It was in the graciousness of God that he made an everlasting covenant with David and even thought this was a promise from the Lord and could not be broken David was humbled by this and prayed for this to happen.  Daniel did a similar thing in the ninth chapter of Daniel where he prayed that the Lord would send His people back to the land of Israel even though God had already promised this to happen.  God has given me His salvation and I must praise Him for it for I did not do anything to deserve this or could I have earned it.  God has promised many other things in His Word pertaining to me as a believer and just as in the case of David and Daniel I too must pray that they will happen even though they will happen because I believe that this is the teaching I get from studying these men’s lives.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.       Trust the Lord to guide me and direct my life this day.

2.       Trust the Lord to continue to work with me in showing me how I should use my tithes and offerings to him.  We do believe that He is leading us to help build a church building in Bangladesh and continue to pray to this end.

3.       Put on the spiritual armor.  The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

 

11/7/2010 8:02:26 AM

The Privileges of Leadership (2 Samuel 23:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  The privileges of leadership

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  2Samuel 23:1-2

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  These are the last words of David: "The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel’s singer of songs: 2  "The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.”

 

            With this SD I begin the twelfth chapter of Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on 2Samuel, and also take on chapters 23-24 of 2Samuel.  Dr. Wiersbe entitles this chapter “David’s Memories and Mistakes.”  In the introduction to this chapter he writes that it is believed that chapters 21-24 serve as an appendix to 2Samuel and they seem to focus on the divine and human sides of leadership.  A leader’s decisions may have serious consequences, as proved by the sins of Saul and David.  Leaders must depend on the Lord and give Him the glory, as David’s two psalms declare; and no leader can do the job alone, as indicated by the list of David’s mighty men.  2Samuel 23-24 give us three portraits of David that illustrate the greatness and the humanness of this leader’s life.” The first of these three portraits is the first main point of this chapter and it is entitled “David the Inspired Singer.”  There are two sub-points in this section and today’s SD will cover the first of these two points.

 

            In the introduction to this first main point of Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on verses 1-7 of 2Samuel he points out that David has been credited to writing at least 73 of the 150 Psalms in the book of Psalms.  The last psalm that he wrote, and this is what is meant by the words “these are the last words of David,”  is the last inspired words that the Lord gave to David.  This psalm speaks of leadership and it could well have been written for the benefit of Solomon, but can be applied to all who read it, epically to leaders.

 

            In this section Dr. Wiersbe reminds his readers of how the Lord prepared and used David as a great leader, and also one who wrote a great deal of the Word of God.  David is quoted in the book of acts by Peter in that first sermon after the Holy Spirit came upon all of the believers, and he calls David a prophet who wrote about the resurrection of the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

            God prepared David for leadership in a similar way that he prepared Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, the apostles, and even His own Son, (see Hebrews 5:8 & Philippians 2:5-11).  David was from the tribe of Judah, the tribe where the Messiah would come from, and yet he was a shepherd, the eight son of Jessie, and therefore in and of his own humanly speaking was not much, yet God chose David and trained David for thirty years to be king of Israel, and to give him a dynasty of which the Lord Jesus Christ would be born through.

            Jesus Christ spent thirty years in training for three years of ministry and the effects of the men He trained to follow after Him can still be seen in the world today.  Dr. Wiersbe wrote earlier in this commentary that a good leader always knows that he is second in command, and this is seen in the life of David, for he always gave the glory to the Lord knowing that it was the Lord who empowered him to do His Work.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have a great desire to be like David, realizing that the Lord is in control of my life and that whatever I accomplish for Him, He will receive the glory.  I don’t consider myself a true leader in the sense that David was, and yet the Lord has used me on some occasions to lead others into understanding the Word of God in a better way, and for that I am grateful to be able to serve the Lord in that way.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.       Put on the spiritual armor for the battle is all around me.

2.       Trust the Lord to lead and to guide me and to direct my path today.

3.       I praise the Lord for the much better blood report.

 

11/6/2010 9:21:48 AM

 

 

           

The Lord Established David (2 Samuel 22:44-51)

11/4/2010 8:02:21 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  The Lord established David

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  2Samuel 22:44-51

 

            Message of the verses:  “44 “You have delivered me from the attacks of my people; you have preserved me as the head of nations. People I did not know are subject to me, 45  and foreigners come cringing to me; as soon as they hear me, they obey me. 46  They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. 47 “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Saviour! 48 He is the God who avenges me, who puts the nations under me, 49 who sets me free from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. 50 Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. 51 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.’”

 

            The introduction to this last main section in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary tells that David not only had to unite the twelve tribes of Israel under his leadership, but also had to make sure that the nations around him which he defeated were subjected to Israel.  There are three sub-points in this main section which I will attempt to go over this morning.

 

            The Lord enthroned David, verses 44-46:  In this sub-section David writes of how he was no longer attacked by his own people, and how the Lord put him leader of Israel and how the “foreigners” or gentiles were now subjected to his rule and obeyed David.

 

            The Lord exalted David, verses 47-49:  David begins this section by saying “The Lord lives,” and this is contrary to the dead idols that the nations around him worshiped.  David exalts the Lord, and does not take credit for what he has done and so the Lord exalts David in return.  To exalt one’s self is sin, but when one exalts the Lord He will in turn exalt him.

 

            The Lord elected David, verses 50-51:    It was the sovereign choice of God in choosing David to be king and it was also God’s sovereign choice to make a covenant with David to have one of his decedents on the throne, and this happed through the Lord Jesus Christ.  It was also God’s sovereign choice that the nation of Israel would bring salvation to the world, both Jews and Gentiles alike and this happened through David’s Greatest son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus told the woman at the well that salvation is of the Jews, and Jonah 2:9 says that salvation is of the Lord.  Jesus was both Lord and a Jew.

            Paul quotes verse fifty in Romans 15:9 as he wraps up his admonition to the believers in the churches of Rome that they receive one another and stop judging one another.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to follow the example of David and give glory to the Lord and to lift His name on high, not taking credit for the things that He has done for me.  I surely will always praise the Lord for His most wonderful gift to me, the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that He has provided for me.  For this He deserves all of the praise and glory forever more!

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.       Continue to seek the leading and the guiding of the Lord in all that I do, remembering to give glory to the Lord.

2.       Put on the spiritual armor.

 

11/4/2010 8:38:22 AM

 

 

           

The Lord Enabled David from 2 Samuel 22:29-43

11/3/2010 9:18:41 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  The Lord enabled David

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  2Samuel 22:29-43

 

            Message of the verses:  “29  You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light. 30  With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. 31  "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 32  For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? 33  It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. 34  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. 35  He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36  You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great. 37  You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn over. 38  "I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. 39  I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. 40  You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. 41  You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. 42  They cried for help, but there was no-one to save them—to the LORD, but he did not answer. 43  I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth; I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.”

 

            Just as in yesterday’s SD there are multiple sub-points in today’s SD which I will again attempt to look at this morning.  The first sub-point is “The Lord enlightened David” and this covers verse 29.

           

            The Lord enlightened David:  A lamp used in a spiritual sense is found in many places in the Scriptures and is used for different meanings.  It can refer to the goodness of God by keeping people alive and the Lord did just that while David was in exile.  It can also refer to the king as seen in 2Sam. 21:17 where David’s men referred to David as a lamp.  The Lord enlightened David many times in many ways as David sought light from the Lord by using the prophets God gave him and also the Urim and Thummim to seek the will of the Lord.  One of the seven “I AM” statements in the book of John is “I AM the light of the world.”  God is light!

 

            The Lord empowered David:  David was gifted by the Lord in a physical sense to be a great warrior, but God also gifted David in a spiritual sense to be a great warrior and in this section David writes about these gifts that God gave to him.

 

            The Lord enlarged David:  Why would the Lord enlarge David?  David most always thought of himself as a shepherd, and yet the Lord stooped down and made him a king.  When David first comes on the scene he is a young shepherd who goes out and fights a great Philistine giant whom he slays because the Lord was with David and because David was fighting that giant because that giant was against the Lord and that is how David saw it.  There is much bloodshed in the OT, but God was using the nation of Israel to do many wonderful things and so those who were the enemies of Israel were the enemies of God and this was fully realized by David.

            Dr. Wiersbe speaks of a theme of “gracious condescension” in this section and my vocabulary was expanded again with the use of this word:  “behavior that implies that somebody is graciously lowering himself or herself to the level of people less important or intelligent.”  He goes on to say that this is a theme that is too often neglected by God’s people.  David realized what this meant and this was one of the things that shows up in the life of David that can be described as humbleness, for David knew that it was the Lord who was doing all of these great things in his life and he wrote about it on many occasions like today’s writings.

            The triune God has chosen to work in the lives of His people:  “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite (Isa. 57:15).  In Philippians 2:5-11 we see this in the life of Jesus Christ:  “5  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  The Holy Spirit condescended to come to earth an live in the people of God! 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Part of being a sinner is to be selfish, to want what you want when you want it no matter what.  I surely can relate to this; however not as much as before the Lord invaded my life in January of 1974.  The thing that upsets me to no end is that having the Holy Spirit in my life to lead me and to guide me that too many times I don’t take advantage of this gracious condescension that He has done for me.  I surely want to do better in this for the rest of the time that the Lord gives me on this earth, or better until the Lord comes in the clouds to receive me unto His own.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.       Allow the Holy Spirit to control my life, all of my life.

2.       Put on the spiritual armor.

3.       Trust the Lord to guide my steps and direct my path today.

 

11/3/2010 10:13:30 AM

           

God Rewarded David (2 Samuel 22:20-28)

11/2/2010 8:13:03 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  The Lord rewarded David

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  2Samuel 22:20-28

 

            Message of the verses:  “20  "He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. 21  "The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 22  "For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God. 23  "For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. 24  "I was also blameless toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 25  "Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes. 26  "With the kind You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; 27  With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the perverted You show Yourself astute. 28  "And You save an afflicted people; But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe divides this section into two sub-sections and my plan is to cover both of these this morning.  He begins this main section commenting on verse twenty and especially the words in the first part of the verse speaking of the Lord bringing David into a broad place.  I looked yesterday at this section of Scripture, this Psalm as happening right after David had become king in Hebron, after some ten years of being hounded by Saul, hiding from him in order to stay alive, and now the Lord brings David into a broad place, a place where he will not be hounded by Saul anymore for Saul is dead.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “In the school of life, God promotes those who, in times of difficulty, learn the lessons of faith and patience and David had learned his lessons well.”  Hebrews 6:12 goes along with this quote, “We do not want any of you to grow slack, but to follow the example of those who through sheer patient faith came to possess the promises (Phillips).

 

            David’s righteousness (vv. 21-15).  When first reading this section of this Psalm one might be inclined to think that David was bragging about himself, but the point of this section speaking of David’s righteousness is that David kept the Law of God and he did not serve any idols for he was a man after God’s own heart.  There were times in this period of David’s life when he went to the enemies of the Lord, but basically David kept his heart pure before the Lord in circumstances that were very difficult and during this time David put his trust in the Lord.  Psalm 24:3-6 says the following that help describe David’s life during these difficult times:  “3 ¶  Who may climb the mountain of the LORD?  Who may stand in his holy place? 4  Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,  who do not worship idols  and never tell lies. 5  They will receive the LORD’s blessing  and have a right relationship with God their savior. 6  Such people may seek you  and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob (NLT).

 

            The Lord’s faithfulness (vv. 26-28).  This is one of those sections of Scripture that when broken down is so very rich and so I will use different quotes from Dr. Wiersbe to help me to understand the richness of this passage, for Dr. Wiersbe has a way of saying and writing things that make it easy to remember his sayings which help me to understand and hopefully apply what it is that I have learned.

            The first thing to remember when looking at this section of Scripture is this:  “The Lord never violates His own attributes.”  At the end of his commentary on this section Dr. Wiersbe seems to add to this quote from the beginning of his commentary:  “God is always faithful to His character and His covenant.  Knowing the character of God is essential to knowing and doing the will of God and pleasing His heart.  David knew God’s covenant so he understood what God expected of him.  The character of God and the covenant of God are the foundations for the promises of God.  If we ignore His character and covenant, we will never be successful in claiming His promises.”

            Now it is time to look into the passage, and in order to help understand this passage Dr. Wiersbe compares the life of David with the life of Saul, and I suppose you can guess who comes out on top.  “God deals with people according to their attitudes and their actions.”  “26  You stick by people who stick with you, you’re straight with people who’re straight with you, 27  You’re good to good people, you shrewdly work around the bad ones. 28  You take the side of the down-and-out, but the stuck-up you take down a peg.”  This is quoted from the Message and it seems to help me understand a bit better what these verses mean.

            David was merciful to Saul, for he had a number of chances to kill him, but because David knew that Saul was the Lord’s anointed he could not kill him.  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  David was not sinless, but no one on earth is sinless, but David had a pure heart in that he wanted to be faithful to the Lord, and when David sinned he did not run from the sin, but confessed it to the Lord and even lived with the consequences of forgiven sin as seen the previous chapters of 2Samuel.  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

            Saul was obstinate in his heart, but David was not.  Definitions for the word Obstinate:  “stubborn, determined not to agree with other people's wishes or accept their suggestions, refusing to change, unwilling to change or give up something such as an idea or attitude.”  The NIV translates verse 27 this way:  “to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.”  This word for crooked means to “wrestle,” and David did not fight God while Saul did fight God.  When Nathan came to David and stuck his boney finger in David’s face and said to him “you are the man” David did not call for the executioner to have Nathan’s head removed, now David followed 1John 1:9 and then he wrote Psalms 32 and 51, showing that he did not wrestle with God. 

            Finally David was humble before the Lord while Saul was not.  Look at verse twenty-eight in the NIV “You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.”  “When Saul began his reign, he stood head and shoulders above everybody else, but at the end of his life, he fell on his face in a witch’s house and fell as a suicide on the battlefield.”  “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (1Cor. 10:12 NKJV).”  “David fell on his face in submission, and the Lord lifted him up in honor.  Saul lifted himself up and eventually fell on his face in humiliation.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  My study thus far, through the books of 1^st and 2^nd Samuel have taught me much as I looked at the different people that are found in them.  Hannah is the first person I met, and her story is brief, but so very powerful and inspiring.  Samuel’s life is uplifting to my heart, and the way that the Lord used him to end one era in the history and begin another is beautifully written and his life is a great example of someone who followed the Lord in some difficult situations.

            Saul’s life is good to study in order not to follow for when there is discussion among people about a person as to whether or not they were a believer or not you may want to stay away from following them.

            David’s life is a life that is worth following in spite of the sins that he committed, for we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.  To read that David is a man after God’s heart, and know that it was God who said that should make me want to follow the examples of his life just from that one statement.

            David spent ten years in a very difficult situation, running for his life, and yet he had the promise from the Lord that he would one day be king in Israel, and although there were probably times when David actually doubted that, I’m sure that most of the times David help onto that wonderful promises and this helped him go on.  David passed this great test in his life as God was preparing him to be king even though these were difficult times.  As I dare to compare some difficult situations that have occurred in my life since I retired from my job I can take comfort in the life of David knowing that God is faithful and knowing that I am to continue to follow the Lord and keep his commandments like David did so that I can draw upon His strength in these difficult times.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.       Remember the commandments of the Lord and keep them for the glory of the Lord and for my own personal good and growth in the Lord.

2.       5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

3.       6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

4.       7 ¶  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

 

11/2/2010 9:33:24 AM    

 

           

The Lord Delivered David PT-2 (2 Samuel 22:1-19)

10/31/2010 9:05:08 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                   Focus:  The Lord delivered David

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  2Samuel 22:1-19

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

    “2 ¶  He said, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3  My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. 4  "I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. 5  "For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me; 6  The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 7  "In my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears. 8  "Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. 9  "Smoke went up out of His nostrils, Fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. 10  "He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. 11  "And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind. 12  "And He made darkness canopies around Him, A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. 13  "From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. 14  "The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. 15  "And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them. 16  "Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare By the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils. 17  "He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. 18  "He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. 19  "They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.”

 

            Some background is needed before heading into the first nineteen verses of this Psalm, which is very close to Psalm 18. 

            There are some differences between 2Samuel 22 and Psalm 18 that Warren Wiersbe notes in his introduction to his eleventh chapter of his commentary on 2Samuel.  “It’s likely that 2Samuel 22 is the original version, but when the song was adapted for corporate worship David wrote a new opening:  ‘I will love the, O Lord, my strength’ (Ps. 18:1KJV).  The Hebrew word used here for ‘love’ means ‘ a deep and fervent love,’ not just a passing emotion.  He also deleted from verse 3 ‘my savior; thou savest me from violence.’  There are other differences, but they do not deter us from grasping the glorious message of this song of praise.”

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to write that this Psalm was probably written right after the Lord had given His covenant to David that he would always have a descendent on the throne of Israel.

 

Written on 11-01-2010:

            I must say that I surely have a great deal of difficulty in understanding Scripture like this one, basically Psalms in general for many of them are written in a figurative style that makes it very difficult to understand and that is the way this one is to me, and that is why I am so very thankful for the help that I receive from the pen of Warren Wiersbe.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that this Psalm was written after David became king, but it reflect back, at least the first part, to when he was being hounded by Saul who actually tried to kill him on five occasions that are recorded in the Scriptures.  David was anointed by Samuel to be king of Israel but this did not happen until after at least ten years of being chased by Saul, and during much of that time he and those with him lived in caves and so they could see how the weather affected the land in a more personal way and perhaps this is why David used this type of figurative language of a storm and rain and even fire to describe the Lord and how He moved to help David get away from his enemies and those who hated.  David did not really count Saul as an enemy, but David knew that Saul hated David and wished to kill David.

            The first four verses in this Psalm speak of God as a rock and this goes all the way back to Genesis 49:24, and can be seen in other earlier parts of Scripture such as the “Song of Moses” and the prayer of Hannah.  A rock is something that is pictured as strong and not able to be moved, and this pictures the Lord perfectly.

            Next in verses 8-20 pictures of storms are seen, and they to picture God, for as storm in Scripture can represent a coming army or the judgment of God.  These verses show David being rescued by the Lord as David is now rid of the threat of Saul who has by this time been killed.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following that I will use for this part of my SD:  “What do you do when you’re drowning in a flood of opposition?  You call o the Lord and trust Him for the help you need.

            He also points out that David didn’t see himself as a great commander who led a victorious army, but as God’s servant who trusted Jehovah to win the victory.  David gave all glory to the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.        Trust the Lord to take care of the difficult circumstances that we find ourselves in because of the possible job in Hawaii.

2.       Put on the spiritual armor.

3.       Trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not upon my own understanding, in all of my ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct my path.

 

11/1/2010 11:40:53 AM