SOULJournal

2 Samuel 24

Nicole Chiniaeff

22 Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. ²³ O king, Araunah gives all this to the king." Araunah also said to him, "May the LORD your God accept you."  ²⁴ But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."

 If we give on to Lord only that which costs us nothing, is it truly an offering that honors God? Being a disciple of Jesus is not only about salvation, it is about being in relationship with Him. Giving of our time to grow closer and know more about Him, giving of our talents to minister to others, giving of our resources to bless and further the Kingdom of God, Giving of our hearts and will in surrender to His, giving of our anger and unforgivness in obedience,  giving of our pride for humility, even giving of our sins in repentance- all things worthy will cost us something.    

 The wonderful truth we have in Christ is that He sees our sacrifices and honors them. We have the hope in Him to bless our hearts and lives.  Luke 6:38… For the measure you use will be the measure you receive. This truth applies to all aspects of our walk; spiritual gifts/blessings, as well as earthly. If I desire to grow and know more of God, the same measure of time that I set aside and give to God.. that much more will He pour back into my life. God promises to transform my life, and to make me a new creation but it requires me to let go of the weight that is holding me back, and trust in His faithfulness. Yes, sometimes my habits and comfort in my "identity" ( be it sin, pain, pride, etc.) feels too "costly" to give up, but I can testify to the truth in my life -that I traded death and bondage for life and peace each time I have given them up to God.

 

"Where there is true, strong love to Jesus, it will cost us something. Love is the costliest of all undertakings . . . But what shall we mind if we gain Christ? You cannot give up for Him without regaining everything you have renounced, but purified and transfigured." (Meyer)

2 Samuel 23

Nicole Chiniaeff

Vs 1-4

Now these are the last words of David.

 

David, the son of Jesse, speaks -

David, the man who was raised up on high,

David, the man anointed of the God of Jacob,

David, the sweet psalmist of Israel:

 

As David’s life is coming to an end, he reflects on his days and the legacy he will leave.  He is confident that despite his humble beginnings (as “the son of Jesse” the farmer), he has lived an extraordinary and blessed life. Yes, he made mistakes (big mistakes sometimes) but he always repented, and sought forgiveness from God. Because David realized God was his complete and total source, he became Israel's greatest king, and the most prominent ancestor of Jesus Christ our Savior.

Vs 5

Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.

 

 

Although my life has not been perfect in the eyes of God, He is good and merciful to forgive me, and make a Covenant with me.  God has prepared and ordered my life and future- and surely I can depend on His faithfulness. God is my Salvation!

2 Samuel 22

Nicole Chiniaeff

2 Samuel 22   I believe David had the right perspective when it came to the greatness of God.  In this chapter David sings praises of Thanksgiving to God. In his psalm he describes God as: his Rock, Fortress, Protection, Refuge, Worthy, Sanctuary, Light, Perfect,  and Shield. David shouts in vs 47 "The Lord Lives! Praise to my Rock!  May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!       Too often we unknowingly put God in a box and lose perspective on who God is. Our God is the God of the Universe!  All of creation bows down to worship Him! vs 16 "at the command of the Lord, at the blast of His breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare"   I want to remember to keep the right perspective on the greatness of God. To be purposeful to take time to think on how God is Mighty, All Knowing , and Sovereign and experience the tangible joy David feels as he cries out in Thanksgiving.   God He Reigns! God He Reigns! Holy is the Lord of Heaven God He Reigns! God He Reigns, forevermore! And I will sing And I will sing His Praises forever

2 Samuel 21

Nicole Chiniaeff

 

¹ During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.

 ² The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.)

 

God always desires to shape and grow our character. During the reign of Saul and many years before the reign of David, a promise (or covenant), was made with the Gibeonites- The nation of Israel promised to keep peace with the Gibeonites. Yet we read that Saul "in his zeal" killed many of  the innocent Gibeonites, and sought to annihilate all of them despite the promise of peace Israel had made to them.

We know that our God is a God of promises and covenants we can depend on. The bible is full of covenants God has made with man, and ALL He fulfilled…ALL has He Kept..despite man's behavior.. God came through. God promised to send a Savior, a way to be in relationship with Him, and despite our sins, despite time passing, His word was not compromised; He came through on His promise and we have salvation.

If we are to be shaped into the likeness of our God, He expects us to keep our word and promises to others. God saw the sin that was committed against the Gibeonites and sent a famine to all of Israel as punishment. It took three years for David to ask God why they were stricken with the hardship and pain of a famine; and God was faithful to answer David and explain the sin against the Gibeonites that was holding back God's provision for Israel.

Our words and actions greatly affect others, and allowing sin to dwell in our lives will block the flow of God's provision for our lives. Kept promises Glorify the character of God.

Matthew 5:37 reads: Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Heavenly Father, Thank you that you love us so much that you care to develop our character. Guide my words and actions. Fill us daily with your Holy Spirit so that we are sensitive to others and careful with our words. Let our yes be yes and our no be no. 

2 Samuel 20

This week Nicole Chiniaeff will be sharing her journal entries with us.  Thanks Gladi for sharing your Journal entries with us last week.

 ¹ Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,
       "We have no share in David,
       no part in Jesse's son!
       Every man to his tent, O Israel!"

 ² So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

 

In this chapter King David is returning to Israel after fleeing to the wilderness. During this time of David’s travel, the men of Israel took offense to the fact that they were not given the honor of escorting King David back to Israel. As a result, they began to argue and fight with the men of Judea about which one of them should had been given the recognition and honor as the King’s escorts. They also took time to go before King David to plea their case on this matter.

 

The men of Israel took great offense to being left out of this journey with the King. Their self-centered hearts and feelings of entitlement lead into another rebellion against King David. Sheba, a man of Israel, stirred up anger amongst the people and lead 10 tribes to desert David; and God’s people were divided was once again.

 

With all the burdens and pain that comes with being such a heavily war stricken nation, you would think the people of Israel would welcome back David who had brought them so many victories and refuge from their enemies. Yet instead of rejoicing in the fact that David was returning as their king and leader, they focused on petty details that were not important for the good of all the people. Sheba was described as “a trouble maker” and we see here how one person can cause great harm within God’s people if the focus is removed from God and the body as a whole, and put on our individual offenses.

 

Psalm 119:165 reads- "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them." ..…Lord, your word teaches us not to be easily offended.  And truthfully I know in my humanness I can be sensitive and easily offended by others. Help me to see past my own temporary feelings in circumstances, and be more unified with your desires. Help us all, as your church body, to remember to come together in unity for the good of Your Kingdom.

2 Samuel 19

Gladi Wilmes 

vs. 18  "Now the Shimei, the son of Gara, fell down before the King....

David teaches us a lesson that we all need to learn.  "Forgiveness and Grace"  Shimei "fell down" begging for his forgiveness.  David exemplifies how to respond when we are injured by others.    If anyone deserved to be hated, it would be Simei.  But David reached out to Shimei with compassion and forgiveness.  He was quick to forgive.  That is why David is a man after God's own heart.   

How  many of us have been hurt and attacked by someone else words or actions?  Keep a tender heart, ready to forgive.  If you don't,  that anger and resentment will fester up and will turn into hatred and bitterness...what is the next step..revenge?       

Lord, increase my faith and work on my heart, ready to forgive and help  me  pray for those that sin against  me. and remind me Lord that you love them too.

  “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” Luke 23:34.

2 Samuel 18

Gladi Wilmes

2 Samuel 18:33 - David's Mourning for Absalom

 "Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept.  And as he went, he said thus: O' my son Absalom--my son--if only I had died in your place!  O Absalom my son, my son!"

 Grief comes to us when we have a death in the family, whether it be a child,  parent, family member or friend.  Or maybe the death comes from someone we love who has depression or has an addiction or has brought on griefs and sorrows that we have no control over--we grieve.   David poured out his pain and his loss and wept unashamed.     And in our grief and loss, we learn how to trust God.  Things do not always turn out the way we want them to, or prayed for.        

 Pray for those whose loved ones have died, but also for those who have experienced  great losses in many different ways and in the midst of our loss, may our trust in God deepen.

2 Samuel 17

Gladi Wilmes contributes today's Journal entry...

2 Samuel 17:14

So Absalom and all the men of Israel said,"The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the  advice of Ahithophel"  For the Lord had purposed to defeat the good advice of Aithophel to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalom.  

Pray that the Lord will confuse and frustrate any advice of ungodly counsel we may be listening to.  Know that this counsel is an art of the Enemy's strategies against you.

Here was a wonderful effect of Divine Providence blinding Absalom's mind and influencing his heart, that he could not rest in Ahithophel's counsel, and that he should desire Hushai's advice. But there is no contending with that God who can arm a man against himself, and destroy him by his own mistakes and passions. Ahithophel's former counsel was followed, for God intended to correct David; but his latter counsel was not followed, for God meant not to destroy him. He can overrule allcounsels. Whatever wisdom or help any man gets and takes, the success is from God alone, who does not let his people perish. (2Sa 17:22-29) 

Matthew Henry Commentary

 

2 Samuel 16

¹⁴ The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

David does something that all of us should take heed of because it is wise.  In the middle of the chaos and hardship, even though things were not going well for him, even having people kick him while he was down, he took some time to refresh himself.  So I imagine that he was physically exhausted so he took some time to rest.  He was emotionally exhausted so he probably sought encouragement from his friends around him.  He was spiritually exhausted so I wonder if he took some time to pray and simply be in God's presence?  This is good and wise actions on the part of David, because he realized that in order to go on he had to stop for a moment and refresh himself.  

How often we do the opposite?  When the going gets tough we think if we do more and more then we can get ourselves out of the mess and in the end we work ourselves into burnout.  We have been designed in such a way that requires we rest and refresh ourselves.  We need refreshing physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  What are you doing to refresh yourself for the road ahead?

2 Samuel 15

Today's reading is a continuation of the consequences that came to David as a result of his choices to sin.  But we say, I thought he was forgiven?  Yes he was but there are consequences to the choices that David must now face.  His household is in turmoil.  The loss of a child. Rape of a daughter.  A brother murders a brother.  A son plots against his father.  This is tough stuff. 

In the middle of it David takes a hands off approach and I believe that this compounds the problem.  Maybe he was feeling like he could not say anything because his own wrongdoing.  Maybe he was just a passive, uninvolved father.  Maybe he was too busy being king that he had no time to be dad.  What is sad to me is that this incredibly successful man, who was loved by so many was hated by his son.  I think that Absalom was angry with his dad that he didn't even care enough to confront him.  Too often we think that we are doing our children a favor by not saying anything, when they are wanting us to confront them and call them to account.  David's kids manipulated him and he did nothing about it, and not for one second do I believe that such a smart warrior did not know what was going on, yet he did nothing.  Let it be a lesson in parenting to us.  The Lord gives us the example we should be as parents..."Whom the Lord loves he disciplines."