Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Considering Matters of Life and Death - II Samuel 21 - 24

Life is so fragile and death so permanent; one wonders why people live so haphazardly through the extremely few moments we have while here on earth. The few moments we have should be used to prepare for the eons of time we will have in life [somewhere] after death. Yes, there will be life after death for each and every person on earth. Today, fortunately we live in America, either by birth or some fortunate circumstance. Others live in other nations, even on other continents for the same reasons. After death there will only be two places, continents, or worlds. Those two places of life existence are Heaven and Hell. You and I will live in one or the other, and it will be by choice! I repeat. “Life is so fragile and death so permanent” and I am made to wonder why we waste the little time we have to choose our future home. David probably wasted less of his young life than any other man that has ever lived, Christ withstanding.

The Bible teaches us that life is as a vapor that appears for a moment and then evaporates away. Life is as a flower that blooms and is for a moment of time so beautiful to behold—and then it is cut down. I tell you that you are the flower mentioned here—and in the few moments of your life while here on earth, you will plant your roots in the moist fertile soil of heaven where you will enjoy eternity; or you will cast your roots out on the hot rocky soil of hell where they will wither and burn continually and forever. Just think about a world without a fuel shortage.

The lesson title today directs our consideration to the study of matters that deal with life and death. I want you to stop now and realize that these two conditions only exist in our time, in this present world. In our present state we will all live until we die, and there are no exceptions. After death, the resurrection and the judgment will come. Every soul that has ever lived will be resurrected and all…all…absolutely every one will be alive again. Each one will be judged by the God head and found either accepted or rejected and there will be no more death. All will remain alive forever more…SOME IN HEAVEN! SOME IN HELL! Where will you spend the last eons of your time? I have great difficulty thinking about $700,000.000.000. The amount of the bail out. Try this: an eon=999,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, and more years.


David is the greatest example we have in the Bible of any man that has ever lived a normal life that was challenged each day by the sins of the flesh who held on to the more important necessity of his constant dependence on his lord and savior. David got his first impressions of God being his foundation stone by using field stone for a pillow each night as he slept under the moon at night always available and ready to protect his herd of sheep. David spent untarnished days caring for and studying the life and needs of his animals; and by learning the lay of the land and how to use its food and water to best meet the needs of his herd. He spent as many nights in calm meditation studying the Milky Way and the arrangement and movement of the stars. Out of this dedicated life we have proof through the music he authored and played, and out of the Psalms he wrote that he believed in the one and only God without any reservation. From my study of his young life he may be one of the few; if not the only young man that lived to be sixteen years or older that had not committed a known sin.

There were two facets of David’s life that led God to proclaim that he was a “Man after God’s own heart.” First, he had a young life that was almost if not perfect. He performed God’s will each day. Secondly, from the day that he traded his shepherd’s staff for the warrior’s sling and rock and triumphed over the Philistines—he never committed on sin that he did not acknowledge that he was a sinner…and repent from the sin…and call on his heavenly father to forgive him. He truly and deeply wanted God’s will to be supreme.

His life had not been free of danger since he and his flock had been attacked by wild animals and he had been able to defeat a charging lion in a one on one fight. His success in protecting his flock as he lived through the frequent pearls led him to know without any doubt that God was on his side. It was this inward dependence on God that gave David courage and ability far beyond any other man of his time. Even at the early age of seventeen or eighteen years old, when he was called into his master’s service, he already was able to believe in and depend upon God more than any other man I can remember.

David knew how to live this life fully and completely without fault or defeat. Life to David had been positive in every way… it was definitely that period of his life that afforded him the necessary time to choose his destiny, plan and set his goals for this life that was to be used to prepare for death and eternity. David did not walk into the valley alone and face the giant Philistine, Goliath; he brought with him the same power that had overcome the lions that had threatened his flocks. More important, David did not let this success go to his teen-aged head, but he remained humble and knew in his heart that God was with him all the way. David’s respect for God’s sovereignty never diminished; in fact it grew even stronger during the perilous days of life under the reign of King Saul.

I will now summarize the portion of history that teaches us most about David’s dependence on Almighty God. While Saul was still the anointed king of Israel, David appeared and successfully defeated the philistines and won the heart of the people who began to sing songs about David’s success and insinuated that he had triumphed over King Saul. Saul became very jealous. His son, Jonathan and David became life long best friends. For a short time Saul made friends with David and called him into special personal service to sing and play the harp which seemed to sooth his broken and tormented nerves. Later David was given assignments against some of Israel’s many enemies. He was successful and always without exception gave credit to his superiors. This seemed to make no difference in Saul’s continued effort to do away with David.

There are numerous occasions where even though David was successfully defending his country, Saul seemed more interested in killing David than winning the war. His jealousy grew until it was destroying him. David and Jonathan loved and trusted each other as brothers, and Jonathan had tried in many ways to win his father over and have him trust David also…but to no avail.

We must go back to chapter 24 to find the scripture that truly proves that David had total belief in kingdom sovereignty. Saul returned from war and was told that David was in the area. Saul took three thousand men and set out to look for David in the Crags of the Wild Goats. A large cave was near and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were hidden deep in the same cave and the moment was right—and David’s men urged him to make his move on his sworn enemy, Saul. They insisted, telling him “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

“David was conscience-stricken for having cut the robe.” He said, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a ting to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is anointed of the Lord.” David rebuked his own men and allowed Saul to walk away. And now comes the moment of absolute proof that David was totally committed to sovereign authority.


As Saul walked away, David called out to him “My Lord the King!” Saul turned and saw David bowing down before him. David prostrated himself with his face in the dust and he asked Saul this question. “Why do you listen when men say, “David is bent on harming you”? This day you have seen with your own eyes that I could have killed you…and I did not. My people urged me to kill you but I spared your life. I said. “I will not lift my hand against my master because he is the Lord’s anointed.” David continued to explain that God would be the judge between the two and would be the one to make the final decision as to who should be the anointed king of Israel. There is no other place in the scripture that teaches us any more absolute the necessity of being submissive to the authority over us. Man’s rebellion against God‘s dominion over the earth and all that is within is one of our greatest problems on earth.

I believe the law of dominion authority applies to our lives as American citizens. God has given us the power of the ballot box and freedom to vote and when it is used fairly, the elected official has dominion authority and is worthy of his/her office. Laws based on Christ like principals, anointed by God are to be supported and obeyed even at times when they may seem to be against what we would prefer. David had the situation that makes it difficult. Saul did not deserve to be honored, but he was serving in a kingship that was a form of government accepted or allowed by God and had been anointed to serve therein. No man had the authority to personally kill Saul in order to gain better rule. Any change could be made only under and by the authority of God.

You may not be an elected official, but you are surely a chosen person. You have been chosen by God to perform a work, fill a space, be of service, even just to provide for your family. How effective are you in your chosen field? If you enjoy life here on earth, love your family and would like to spend the last eons of your time with conditions even better there are preparations that must be made. These are the matters of life that need your consideration and these are the very last chances you have to properly prepare for death that is sure to come—and very soon for many of us. HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2008.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

When Family Bonds Shatter - II Samuel 13 - 21

A child without food is hungry and this is a terrible situation to exist especially in America, the land of plenty. A child without shoes or a winter coat will be miserable in cold weather especially in America where many have more than is needed. These problems will never be completely solved, but there are numerous programs world wide that are sending ships literally loaded with what would equal hundreds of box cars of not only necessities but also toys, dolls, and Christmas gifts. Caring people are making a dent in the realm of personal needs. However little is being done anywhere in the world to take care of an abandoned child without a family member who cares; and these children have a need that will never be fulfilled or replaced.

You can ask any minister, law enforcement officer, school administrator or teacher and they will tell you that the greatest problem facing the church, school, or even the governments today are the broken homes where family bonds are shattered. Caring Christians can replace worn shoes and tattered clothing and they can furnish meals on wheals to feed the hungry, but it impossible restore a broken family that has been devastated by the deviated minds of parents that will stoop to the depths of incest, and even murder.

The world has shrunk in regard to extended knowledge of news both good and bad—radio and TV breaks the stories in moments after incidents happen, and the press expands on the stories the next day. It sometimes appears that the world is gong to pot, and that practically nothing is uplifting any more. Some want to infer that things are worse than they have ever been. We need to consider the fact that we have only this one book…the bible…that reveals what God wants us to know about families in OT days, and it is loaded with examples of family problems like David had in his family and the warped minds of the twelve brothers in Joseph’s family.

I have heard bible students wondering out loud how David was able to live the sinful life as he did and seemingly come through it all on the good side of God’s heart. If you will study carefully the seven chapters in today’s lesson, you will find that he paid a terrible price for many of his most notable sins. The greatest price came as a result of his family, sons in particular, using their father as a model to live by. His life is a perfect example of one that led his whole family to commit sins just as Dad did because they accepted his life as a pattern for them to follow. I have never completely understood why God permitted good men to practice polygamy while under the old covenant. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a mixed family where several wives and their children by the same man have lived happily together without conflict. Jealousy is the number one culprit, and it is easy to see why it would be.

David must have had an uncontrollable sex drive. He had several wives, many concubines, and still desired the wife of another man of God and a great soldier. This one mistake led to most of the severe problems that tormented David for the most of his life. Amon and Absalom were the sons of David by different wives. Tamar was the sister of Absalom and half sister of Amon and she was a beautiful young lady. The bible says that Amon fell in love with Tamar…I prefer to think that he simply lusted for her as his father had looked at Bathsheba and wanted her. [Read the early verses in chapter 13 for information regarding this tragedy] Why would he consider it the wrong thing to do, when it was just as his father had felt toward Bathsheba?

In v.3, it says that Amon had a friend named Jonadab…read carefully and see that he was his cousin, and a shrewd man. Amon was not ill and did not need help. He had an uncontrolled sex drive toward his half sister and Jonadab simply advised him to play sick, and ask David to send Tamar to love with him and care for him while he was ill. David sent Tamar to care for Amon and he violated her and then hated her so much that he sent her away to live in dishonor. She was devastated.

Her full brother, Absalom, soon learned about the rape of his sister, and vowed to kill his half brother. It is already clearly evident that the family bonds in David’s family are beginning to shatter. Tamar lived with her brother Absalom during the next two years, a secluded life, in shame for she was unclean and according to Jewish law actually deserved death because of what she had done… [Actually because of what Amon had done to her].

Two years passed during which time Absalom did not speak to Amon. The time arrived to shear the sheep. Evidently it was a custom to throw a big party while the sheepshearers were working, and so Absalom invited his father, David and his other brothers to join them for a family reunion. David declined, but allowed the other sons to attend the celebration. Absalom arranged to have Amon served much strong wine and while he was drunk he ordered his men to kill his brother. The rest of the brothers escaped on their mules and for a short time it was falsely reported that Absalom had killed all of them.

Absalom continued to grow in power until he felt like it was time to overthrow his own father and take over the king ship. Actually Absalom was the favorite of all of David’s sons and David’s heart was broken because of the betrayal of his favorite son. When Absalom was killed in battle, and word reached David, he was distraught. He became depressed, and was loosing the power to rule his men. No one had his favor and none were willing to follow him because of his depression and lack of leadership.

All through the ages the family ties have been the strongest bonds that hold men together. In numerous examples given for our direction and role model, there have been increased problems and broken hearts as a result of disobedient children and wayward and over powering parents. The signs of the time in which we live leads me to believe that we will soon face the repercussions that will surely come from the increase in broken homes, the abandonment of dependent children, and the destruction of Godly homes. As the homes go, so goes our nation.

The increase in free-thinking immorality, fired by the gay movement in America is the greatest threat that has ever come against the Christian Home. Parents, how much of your time is spent in Christian teaching and in presenting examples of Christian living that can and will guide your children as they grow up and assume the responsibility for their own families?

Parents, do you have a favorite son or daughter? Yes! Well, get ready because you are sure to have some family problems ahead.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

When Tangled in Sin - II Samuel 9 - 12

I pondered a moment as the lesson title stood out before us today, just wondering why the author used the word “when” and not just “Tangled in Sin.” One answer seems clear and appropriate, we all will sin and there is no question about that. The only question about the matter of our sinning is when will it happen? It is not whether you will mess up or not. You will make mistakes. The course of your life after you sin depends entirely on your attitude toward your guilt and your willingness to repent.

The theme for the next three-month study is “Finding Stability in a Turbulent World.” It sounds as if we will be starting our study about the conditions of America on Election Day in November 2008. But for sure the date is slightly prior to that time—how about the days when King David reigned in Israel. During several hundred years of reign under the Judges and Kings it actually appears that each one that came to power tried to out do his predecessor in graft, greed, corruption, war, murder and immorality. Only three or four of these many leaders were considered to be Godly men. Even though David was deeply involved in many of the ungodly procedures, he was one of the few that were considered Godly—not because he was without sin…but because of his repentant spirit.

Our lesson this week is focused on the lowest period of David’s life. The first episode of this story occurred because David had an uncontrolled sexual drive that led him into an extramarital affair with Bathsheba. There is a legion of sad and destructive results of this immoral act that was culminated in the cover-up attempt that led to the murder of an innocent, honest, and dedicated soldier. I hope and pray that the wayward government servants in America today can and will discover from David’s experience that when God’s people confess their sins, God will respond by graciously forgiving their sins and giving them a new beginning.

For a period of about forty-years prior to November 2008, those of us who are older have stood by and watched America become publicly anti-Christ, socially immoral, and spiritually dead. This is not a problem of political parties…it is a personal people problem—Republicans and Democrats are both guilty. I wish my memory was better and I could name the long and much extended list of criminal and otherwise unacceptable public servants. There is a list floating around that I have recently seen, and it is unbelievable.

This notorious list includes people who were/are Representatives, Senators, Judges, Governors, CEO’s and Presidents of large banks and huge cooperation’s, as well as State Officials, County Officials, and at least two United States Presidents. You will remember enough about these scandals to know many of whom I speak. This notorious gang contains liars, thieves, adulterous, homosexuals, extortionist, most of them are actually capable of committing any crime that can be named—and they are unworthy of the office they hold while they render the office entrusted to them to be of absolutely no use to the people it was established to serve.

Each and every violation against their public trust is the result of a personal character defect that is immoral in nature and their uncontrolled love of money and power. The thing that stands out in my memory is that I do not remember a single one that has been arrested and charged that has admitted their guilt and ask for forgiveness.

The lesson today and the materials connected with the problems during the rule of the priest, judges and Kings illustrate how God blessed and rewarded obedience and faith, while judging the righteous and disciplining disobedient. At this time in history, David had successfully united all of the twelve divided tribes into one nation, Israel. The stronger leaders of what had been the Northern Kingdom were never satisfied and for the next seventy years there were numerous conflicts and wars frequently cropping up somewhere in the nation that caused David to need to be constantly aware and prepared.

Note: In my minds eye it is easy for me to compare this period in Israel’s history to the last seventy years of our U. S. History. There are many similarities to be found between the two nations. We have been frequently involved in an actual war, or the settling of some on-going conflict between other countries. As recorded above, many of our officials have failed in one way or another to do their best in pleasing God and man with their decisions, administrations and even their lifestyles. There is one major difference in the final results of major decisions that are made today. In bible days it was customary for the King to personally go to battle. Today, neither the President nor members of congress have to report for active duty in the service. If America had a policy that the President and all congressmen under the age of 62 would be the first ones called to active duty I doubt that we would have gone to war in Vietnam, Korea, Kuwait, Iraqi, and several of the more minor conflicts in which we have been involved.

The eleventh chapter warns us about the power of lust that can control the strongest of men. It was the time of year—and the custom of the day—for Kings to go into battle. Uriah and Bathsheba were King David’s close neighbors; and many times he had seen her less than fully dressed on the veranda, through the windows, and sun-bathing on their roof. David had developed a lustful urge to be with her. Since David longed for her in his heart, he made sure that Uriah was sent into battle, and he stayed in his castle. While Uriah was away serving his country, David used the opportunity to seduce Bathsheba and she was with his child. King David sent special orders to Joab, the commanding officer, directing him to assign Uriah in a harm’s way that would assure his death.

[David intentionally gave this order to kill an innocent man, which was equivalent to First Degree Murder. His intent was to cover all the other sins in which he had been involved which included at least, jealousy, coveting, lying, stealing, deceitfulness, lust, and adultery.]

When Uriah did not return home Bathsheba mourned for him according to Jewish custom. After the mourning was over, David took her into his house as his bride and she bore his son. God was displeased.

I have often wondered what was on David’s mind during this nine month period. We know that he was not unaware of his horrible mistakes and that he had already started his process of repenting, but he must have been very concerned about what the final consequence would be. God had not told him and did not tell him until he sent the prophet Nathan to him in 12: 01.

Can you imagine the difficulty that a Priest would have in confronting the King of his nation to charge him as being the rich man that had just taken advantage of a lonely soldier, robbing him of his wife and then ordering that the husband be killed? It was difficult enough for the Priest to preach God’s word to His people and face them with their daily sins and accusations that would make most men mad. But, just to walk up to the King and say; “Ha! David, I just dropped by to remind you that you are an adulterer, and a murderer.” That would have been bad news.

Now read and study the story of the two men that lived in the same town. One was rich and one poor. One had much wealth and many animals while the poor man had only one animal and it was a household pet. The Priest cleverly put a lot of hair on his story and made it sound so real that David’s wrath was stirred against anyone that would commit such an evil deed. It is obvious that David had not recognized that the story was all about him and his evil deed. In fact, David was angry and demanded that the traveler that did this cruel deed should be killed. David must have been shocked to the toe of his boots when Nathan said, “That man is you!” Or, “You are the man!” According to the title of the lesson, “David was Tangled in Sin.” “When?” Was it at the moment David looked at Bathsheba with lust in his heart? NO! It started there but entanglement occurred when David first failed to seek forgiveness.

“All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” We do not become entangled in sin when we sin—not at the very moment we commit the sin. No. However that is just the beginning of our entanglement. The very moment that a Christian realizes that he has sinned—he/she must repent and seek forgiveness in order to avoid a devastating entanglement in sin that will require that a penalty be paid.

Let us take this incident to establish God’s law regarding sin and forgiveness. David would have to go back to the very first time…the moment that he looked at Bathsheba with lust in his heart. He sinned. He was already a sinner. He could not help it, it just happened. He could not prevent it, it happened before he realized it was happening. However, he was not at this moment entangled in sin…for if he had realized what had just happened, and immediately repented to God, and ordered Satan out of his thoughts and life—God would have immediately forgiven him and there would have been no further payment for or punishment of sin.

David allowed a known sin to grow for at least nine months before he sincerely repented and ask God to forgive him. As a result of his entanglement, two people died, two families were broken, and many lost faith and confidence in David, and he kept paying for his sins for the rest of his life.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

When Assessing One's Lifework - II Samuel 5 - 8

Time can be defined as the embryonic period of development that passes between inception and birth: or as the period of early childhood development from birth to kindergarten; then comes the age of the young and often foolish that definitely should end at age twenty-one when we are considered to have reached adulthood. Time is our most precocious possession. We should continually assess the method we are using to gain the greatest rewards available from time.

What does the word ‘assessing’ mean? Be careful and think. Do we assess our taxes each spring? We often say so, but we do not. We access our property for the purpose of taxation. To assess anything means that we are putting an acceptable and defendable value on it. Have you ever taken the time to evaluate your life and develop a written picture of its value? I think you will find your life evaluation both interesting and useful.

Use a note book or legal sized paper to jot down the various facets of your life including but not limited to finances, relationships, vocation, family, education, and Christian service to the Lord. Remain humble and prayerful and evaluate [assess] each facet by asking yourself the question; “Am I living and working in line with God’s purpose in this area of my life?” Only by living and working in line with God’s purposes for our lives can adults of all ages expect to experience the blessings of God.

Introduction:

David ruled over the southern part of the nation called Judah for over seven years before he finally became the one undisputed king over all of Israel—both the North and South Kingdoms. His capitol was in Hebron…in the far south…and he defeated the Jebusites and Jerusalem and moved the capitol to Jerusalem where it was more centralized. David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and determined in his heart and mind to build a city and a temple in the city that would forever honor God. David did the planning, obtained materials, and raised much of the money necessary to build the new temple, but the actual building was reserved by God for his Son, King Solomon, to do.
In the first few verses of chapter five we find that David was anointed king three different times. The first time was back in 1 Samuel 16:13 in a private anointment by Samuel as directed by God. He spent his first years as king serving Saul the first anointed King of Israel. David was 30 years old when he was anointed as King of Judah where he served seven and one half years. The nation was divided as North and South. In today’s lesson he becomes king over all Israel. The North and South are united and he remains king for thirty-three years. During this time Jerusalem became the City of David, Zion. It became the city that would forever be referred to as the most important city in Biblical history.

Because of a constant barrage of wars against the Holy City and God’s people the union between the North and South only lasted 75 years, and then it became divided again. However, from that date forward for the next 400 years, David and his dynasty ruled over the Southern part of Israel. It was during this period of time that God was working out his plan for the coming of the Messiah to be born, live, preach, teach, die and be resurrected in David’s City.

David was called from the field to fight the giant when he was a young lad and became famous and was soon anointed but did not become King over Israel until he was 37 years old. Scholars believe that this period of elapsed time developed a man with long and solid patience; and that his bent for being patient made it possible for God to mold him into the man after his own heart.

Remember that Jerusalem was a part of the Northern Kingdom and it was the first stronghold that David determined to conquer. It was located on the land of the tribe of Benjamin and was occupied by the Jebusites, who were a tribe of Canaanites. They were Israel’s greatest enemies, and had never been captured in all of the wars that had been fought.

Jerusalem was the safest city ever built. The lay of the land and the walls that had been built were fortified to the point that the Jebusites did not have any fear of David. This story sets the stage for the truth regarding safety. The lay of the land…the position of the river and the mountain protection has nothing to do with the safety of people who were standing against God and his plan. This should remind us that our only safety from our enemies, or the enemies of God, lies in His hands and does not depend on our tanks and plains.
The Jebusites had a clear military advantage and were noted as boasters of their security behind the impregnable walls of Jerusalem. This city had one of the most elaborate water systems ever known in the entire world. It was constantly adequate and available from the mountain springs and streams that flowed into the underground tunnels into the man made system of distribution. David moved his armies into the city under cover and through these underground water systems and when they were adequate in number they simply stud up and claimed the city without fight.

David knew that he had been chosen by God. He knew that God had thrice anointed him to be King of Israel and he knew that his power came from God. He also realized that the power of the other kings and nations came from their wealth, power, armies and ability of men.

It must have been toward the end of theses days that David began to make the assessment of his life that helped him to determine that God was definitely on his side. It is not expected that many of us have as many explicit incidences in our lives as did David. We have few if any times when we were able to kill a giant that was standing in our way. However there are many times when we have had some annoying little midget that got in our way and we were able to triumph, with God’s help.

David succeeded by keeping his ambition under control. He realized that he was well liked, respected and had a strong leadership role, but he never lay claim to his success but always gave God the glory for all of his gains and glory. He had a strong human drive that kept him going forward but it was always for the benefit of others. Most of us have a strong human instinct to get ahead…but the question is…is ours a selfish reason or is it mainly so that we can be of service to others.

One is never too young to make an assessment of his life work. However it is very easy to grow older and neglect to make regular assessments of life’s work. You should never leave it to others to help you make your assessment. Our friends will decline to tell us the truth about our noticeable faults for fear of hurting our feelings. Our enemies are likely to stretch their stories of our constant failures and this can lead to doubts and misgivings. In fact, the bible says that we should not judge others—lest we be judged. This leaves it up to each individual to assess his own position before Christ.

Time can be defined as the embryonic period of development that passes between inception and birth: or as the period of early childhood development from birth to kindergarten; then comes the age of the young and often foolish that definitely should end at age twenty-one when we are considered to have reached adulthood. Time is our most precocious possession. We should continually assess the method we are using to gain the greatest rewards available from time.

What does the word ‘assessing’ mean? Be careful and think. Do we assess our taxes each spring? We often say so, but we do not. We access our property for the purpose of taxation. To assess anything means that we are putting an acceptable and defendable value on it. Have you ever taken the time to evaluate your life and develop a written picture of its value? I think you will find your life evaluation both interesting and useful.

Use a note book or legal sized paper to jot down the various facets of your life including but not limited to finances, relationships, vocation, family, education, and Christian service to the Lord. Remain humble and prayerful and evaluate [assess] each facet by asking yourself the question; “Am I living and working in line with God’s purpose in this area of my life?” Only by living and working in line with God’s purposes for our lives can adults of all ages expect to experience the blessings of God.

Introduction:

David ruled over the southern part of the nation called Judah for over seven years before he finally became the one undisputed king over all of Israel—both the North and South Kingdoms. His capitol was in Hebron…in the far south…and he defeated the Jebusites and Jerusalem and moved the capitol to Jerusalem where it was more centralized. David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and determined in his heart and mind to build a city and a temple in the city that would forever honor God. David did the planning, obtained materials, and raised much of the money necessary to build the new temple, but the actual building was reserved by God for his Son, King Solomon, to do.
In the first few verses of chapter five we find that David was anointed king three different times. The first time was back in 1 Samuel 16:13 in a private anointment by Samuel as directed by God. He spent his first years as king serving Saul the first anointed King of Israel. David was 30 years old when he was anointed as King of Judah where he served seven and one half years. The nation was divided as North and South. In today’s lesson he becomes king over all Israel. The North and South are united and he remains king for thirty-three years. During this time Jerusalem became the City of David, Zion. It became the city that would forever be referred to as the most important city in Biblical history.

Because of a constant barrage of wars against the Holy City and God’s people the union between the North and South only lasted 75 years, and then it became divided again. However, from that date forward for the next 400 years, David and his dynasty ruled over the Southern part of Israel. It was during this period of time that God was working out his plan for the coming of the Messiah to be born, live, preach, teach, die and be resurrected in David’s City.

David was called from the field to fight the giant when he was a young lad and became famous and was soon anointed but did not become King over Israel until he was 37 years old. Scholars believe that this period of elapsed time developed a man with long and solid patience; and that his bent for being patient made it possible for God to mold him into the man after his own heart.

Remember that Jerusalem was a part of the Northern Kingdom and it was the first stronghold that David determined to conquer. It was located on the land of the tribe of Benjamin and was occupied by the Jebusites, who were a tribe of Canaanites. They were Israel’s greatest enemies, and had never been captured in all of the wars that had been fought.

Jerusalem was the safest city ever built. The lay of the land and the walls that had been built were fortified to the point that the Jebusites did not have any fear of David. This story sets the stage for the truth regarding safety. The lay of the land…the position of the river and the mountain protection has nothing to do with the safety of people who were standing against God and his plan. This should remind us that our only safety from our enemies, or the enemies of God, lies in His hands and does not depend on our tanks and plains.
The Jebusites had a clear military advantage and were noted as boasters of their security behind the impregnable walls of Jerusalem. This city had one of the most elaborate water systems ever known in the entire world. It was constantly adequate and available from the mountain springs and streams that flowed into the underground tunnels into the man made system of distribution. David moved his armies into the city under cover and through these underground water systems and when they were adequate in number they simply stud up and claimed the city without fight.

David knew that he had been chosen by God. He knew that God had thrice anointed him to be King of Israel and he knew that his power came from God. He also realized that the power of the other kings and nations came from their wealth, power, armies and ability of men.

It must have been toward the end of theses days that David began to make the assessment of his life that helped him to determine that God was definitely on his side. It is not expected that many of us have as many explicit incidences in our lives as did David. We have few if any times when we were able to kill a giant that was standing in our way. However there are many times when we have had some annoying little midget that got in our way and we were able to triumph, with God’s help.

David succeeded by keeping his ambition under control. He realized that he was well liked, respected and had a strong leadership role, but he never lay claim to his success but always gave God the glory for all of his gains and glory. He had a strong human drive that kept him going forward but it was always for the benefit of others. Most of us have a strong human instinct to get ahead…but the question is…is ours a selfish reason or is it mainly so that we can be of service to others.

One is never too young to make an assessment of his life work. However it is very easy to grow older and neglect to make regular assessments of life’s work. You should never leave it to others to help you make your assessment. Our friends will decline to tell us the truth about our noticeable faults for fear of hurting our feelings. Our enemies are likely to stretch their stories of our constant failures and this can lead to doubts and misgivings. In fact, the bible says that we should not judge others—lest we be judged. This leaves it up to each individual to assess his own position before Christ.