April 8 - I Chronicles 9-12
Jerusalem was the city set aside by God to be the location of the Temple, His residence in the Old Covenant. It is a special city to this day, because the Bible tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Before David came and conquered Jerusalem, it was just another pagan city. God used David to carry out His will, but what was the process in all of this. We have already read this process, but it is repeated here so we won't forget.
Saul was the unfaithful king, who was killed along with his sons by the Philistines. David had been anointed king by Samuel, but he spent several years fleeing from Saul, who wanted to kill him. Then, when Saul and his sons were killed, the people made David the king. He conquered Jerusalem, set up the Tabernacle there and prepared for the Temple to be built by his son, Solomon. It sounds easy, when we see it that way, but what had to happen for all of this to become reality? The people had to recognize David's anointing from God to be king and support him in war and in peace. The Bible shows us this reality by giving us the account of all of David's mighty men. Over the course of David's life more and more of these men realized his call to be king and committed themselves to serving David and his kingdom. David did not make it work all by himself. He was surrounded by many strong, gifted people.
This same process holds true for a country or for a church today. For there to be a great level of success , there must be a God ordained leader who is supported by a large group of strong, gifted people. This produces a unity, and it allows God's will to be done. The alternatives bring confusion or stalemate. It is easy to do our own thing in life. The challenging thing is to discern what God is doing and join Him. It takes a lot of unselfishness and commitment. However, I believe this is God's model from the Scripture, and He wants this process to repeat itself over and over, as He ordains His leaders. This is not a blind support at all. It is a recognition of God's blessing and process. If a leader fails to follow the Lord like Saul, he is not worthy of that kind of support. In David's case he was not perfect either, but he was a man whose heart was tender to repent when he did fail and to get back to God. Therefore, a leader does not have to be perfect for us to support him, either.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 13-17.
Saul was the unfaithful king, who was killed along with his sons by the Philistines. David had been anointed king by Samuel, but he spent several years fleeing from Saul, who wanted to kill him. Then, when Saul and his sons were killed, the people made David the king. He conquered Jerusalem, set up the Tabernacle there and prepared for the Temple to be built by his son, Solomon. It sounds easy, when we see it that way, but what had to happen for all of this to become reality? The people had to recognize David's anointing from God to be king and support him in war and in peace. The Bible shows us this reality by giving us the account of all of David's mighty men. Over the course of David's life more and more of these men realized his call to be king and committed themselves to serving David and his kingdom. David did not make it work all by himself. He was surrounded by many strong, gifted people.
This same process holds true for a country or for a church today. For there to be a great level of success , there must be a God ordained leader who is supported by a large group of strong, gifted people. This produces a unity, and it allows God's will to be done. The alternatives bring confusion or stalemate. It is easy to do our own thing in life. The challenging thing is to discern what God is doing and join Him. It takes a lot of unselfishness and commitment. However, I believe this is God's model from the Scripture, and He wants this process to repeat itself over and over, as He ordains His leaders. This is not a blind support at all. It is a recognition of God's blessing and process. If a leader fails to follow the Lord like Saul, he is not worthy of that kind of support. In David's case he was not perfect either, but he was a man whose heart was tender to repent when he did fail and to get back to God. Therefore, a leader does not have to be perfect for us to support him, either.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 13-17.