March 15 - II Samuel 1-4
David is sincerely saddened by the news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan as well as the defeat of Israel. He displays his own grief, and he leads the people to grieve openly. This is a healthy practice for all of us. Each of us must go through the grieving process whenever we lose someone close to us. If we bottle up our feelings and hold them in, it short circuits the process to our detriment. If we express our emotions and allow God to help us work through them all, we can come through the loss with a healthy sense of what God is teaching us in our sadness and go on with our lives.
David shows his sadness for Saul's death by killing the man who claimed to have ended Saul's life. He could have been happy that his enemy had died, but instead he was in mourning. I believe David was showing his love for Saul even though he sought to take his life. This is what Jesus told us. He wants us to love our enemies and not give into hate or bitterness.
David expresses his love for Jonathan by saying that his love for him had surpassed the love of a woman. There are those who want to make something sexual out of this, but that is a sick thought. David was speaking of the loyalty and devotion. He had experienced inconsistencies in his relationships with women, perhaps, but he could always count on Jonathan to be there for him. I think this is one of the highest compliments that can be given to a person. The strongest love is the love that never fails to put the other person ahead of yourself.
David is installed as the king of Judah in Hebron, but the other tribes follow Saul's' son. For the next six years there is a power struggle to see who will be king. David's forces become stronger and stronger, because he is trusting God, and Saul's forces become weaker and weaker. In the process Abner, Saul's general, is killed by Joab, David's general, because he had killed Joab's brother and because Joab did not trust him even though he had begun to support David and proved his loyalty to him by bringing Michal to David. This is a lesson in leadership. We must make sure that we surround ourselves with leaders who trust the Lord the way we do. In this case Joab was not trusting the Lord. He was doing the work his way. It caused him to take revenge and to kill a good man. David was so angry he spoke a curse on Joab's family. We should never try to do God's work by the world's methods. That is what Joab was doing here. David was trying to trust God. God was faithful to bless David because of his desire to follow Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 5-8.
David shows his sadness for Saul's death by killing the man who claimed to have ended Saul's life. He could have been happy that his enemy had died, but instead he was in mourning. I believe David was showing his love for Saul even though he sought to take his life. This is what Jesus told us. He wants us to love our enemies and not give into hate or bitterness.
David expresses his love for Jonathan by saying that his love for him had surpassed the love of a woman. There are those who want to make something sexual out of this, but that is a sick thought. David was speaking of the loyalty and devotion. He had experienced inconsistencies in his relationships with women, perhaps, but he could always count on Jonathan to be there for him. I think this is one of the highest compliments that can be given to a person. The strongest love is the love that never fails to put the other person ahead of yourself.
David is installed as the king of Judah in Hebron, but the other tribes follow Saul's' son. For the next six years there is a power struggle to see who will be king. David's forces become stronger and stronger, because he is trusting God, and Saul's forces become weaker and weaker. In the process Abner, Saul's general, is killed by Joab, David's general, because he had killed Joab's brother and because Joab did not trust him even though he had begun to support David and proved his loyalty to him by bringing Michal to David. This is a lesson in leadership. We must make sure that we surround ourselves with leaders who trust the Lord the way we do. In this case Joab was not trusting the Lord. He was doing the work his way. It caused him to take revenge and to kill a good man. David was so angry he spoke a curse on Joab's family. We should never try to do God's work by the world's methods. That is what Joab was doing here. David was trying to trust God. God was faithful to bless David because of his desire to follow Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 5-8.