Tuesday, January 13, 2009

No, he isn’t?

5 Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"

 6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

 8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9 Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

 10 When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.' " And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever." 1 Samuel 27:5-12

Is it just me, or does sound like "24"?

"David's a terrorist now, working with another government, killing men, women and children?"

Surely, not!

Look close, it isn't too far from last night's episode, where we find out…stop reading if you haven't watched it yet…Tony isn't the traitor we first think he is.

But David is raiding all those villages and killing all those people?

I can't explain that, nor will I try, but here is the thing I do want you to get…God is good on His promises.

Let's start with Ziklag…what? Not a what, but a town, Ziklag was one of towns in the Promised Land that was given toJudah (Joshua 15:31). For whatever reason Ziklag was in the hands of the Philistines and God was giving David back a portion of his inheritance that He had promised.

Remember the Amalekites…

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."  Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation." Exodus 17:8-16

God said He would wipe them out:

22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23
My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.
Exodus 23:22-23
(Also Numbers 21:3; Deuteronomy 7:1-5; Judges 1:17)

David maybe fulfilling God's promises, but it wasn't for the right reasons; he was just providing food and clothing to his people.

Stop and think about that for a moment…

God's promises are true and they will come about, even if God accomplishes them through self serving men who do so unknowingly.

Here's the lesson for me; in the eyes of the world I might fail, I might be a fool, and my actions
might be questioned, but His plan, His promises
will ALWAYS
prevail.

If it's about my glory, well, I'll have a hard time with that. But, if all I'm concerned about is His glory, then I'll be up for whatever!

Look through every situation and see how God is bringing about His good.

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

To Him be the glory!

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