April 17, 2006 - II Samuel 1-2 and Luke 14:1-24
Are you a patient person? Many people have a lot of trouble with being patient. It is hard to wait for things to work out. We want God to go ahead and do it, right now. However, often, life does not work that way. We need the patience to wait on the Lord. That is what we see from David in this passage. Let's all let the Lord teach us something about patience this morning.
In chapter 1 David receives word that the battle is over and Saul as well as Jonathan have been killed. We might think that David would be glad that Saul was dead, so he could become king, finally. However, that was not his reaction to the news. He executes the man who helped to kill Saul, and he lavishes praise on Saul in a song. He mourns the death of Saul, while some people would have been happy. What is going on? Even though David had bouts of discouragement, he had a strong sense of God's will. He knew God would work His will in His time, and David was willing to wait on the Lord. He was a man of integrity, who was willing to give Saul his due. He knew Saul was out of God's will, but he deserved their respect, so he mourned his death. This tells a lot about David. I pray we all would react in the same way.
Then, David saves the highest compliment for his friend, Jonathan. Look at verse 26. David is distressed, because the friendship he had with Jonathan had been very pleasant to him. The love they had for each other was a selfless devotion that surpassed romantic love. It was a covenant of love to each other. They would remain true to each other no matter what happened. How we all need friends like this! How even husbands and wives need to understand this covenant type of love to complete their romantic love.
In chapter 2 we see another element of David's patience. Saul was dead, but the fighting continued. Saul was dead, but David did not get to assume the throne for all of Israel, only the tribe of Judah. How much longer would he have to wait and endure war? He had to wait seven and a half more years. Instead of questioning God and giving up, he patiently trusted the Lord to work out His will in His way. What a tribute to David's faith and patience. Many people would have given up at this point. Even Abner, the commander of the army of Israel, tired of war and went home before more men were killed. It was a bad situation for everyone, but God was working it out. They had to take one step at a time to follow God to work it out. Are you willing to do the same thing in your life?
Luke 14 shows us some urgency and some patience. Both are important. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, because there was no reason to wait. He especially was not going to put it off because of what the Jewish leaders thought. Then, Jesus taught them about pride and patience. We should not promote ourselves and sit at the highest seat at a feast. We should be patient and wait to see what the host says. Then, if we get an honored seat from him, it will be even better. The same is true with God, Himself. He will exalt the humble in His time. We have to be willing to humble ourselves and wait on Him. Finally, the parable of the feast of God represents salvation being extended to the Jews, but the Jews rejected God's offer. He did not give up at that point. God had patience and urgency. He called the poor and the lame to salvation. Then, He commanded us to go and compel all to come in, until the feast was full. That is our urgency, but it is God's patience to wait until the last person is saved. It is important for us to see how these work together. To be patient is not to live with a lack of urgency.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 3-5 and Luke 14:25-35.
In chapter 1 David receives word that the battle is over and Saul as well as Jonathan have been killed. We might think that David would be glad that Saul was dead, so he could become king, finally. However, that was not his reaction to the news. He executes the man who helped to kill Saul, and he lavishes praise on Saul in a song. He mourns the death of Saul, while some people would have been happy. What is going on? Even though David had bouts of discouragement, he had a strong sense of God's will. He knew God would work His will in His time, and David was willing to wait on the Lord. He was a man of integrity, who was willing to give Saul his due. He knew Saul was out of God's will, but he deserved their respect, so he mourned his death. This tells a lot about David. I pray we all would react in the same way.
Then, David saves the highest compliment for his friend, Jonathan. Look at verse 26. David is distressed, because the friendship he had with Jonathan had been very pleasant to him. The love they had for each other was a selfless devotion that surpassed romantic love. It was a covenant of love to each other. They would remain true to each other no matter what happened. How we all need friends like this! How even husbands and wives need to understand this covenant type of love to complete their romantic love.
In chapter 2 we see another element of David's patience. Saul was dead, but the fighting continued. Saul was dead, but David did not get to assume the throne for all of Israel, only the tribe of Judah. How much longer would he have to wait and endure war? He had to wait seven and a half more years. Instead of questioning God and giving up, he patiently trusted the Lord to work out His will in His way. What a tribute to David's faith and patience. Many people would have given up at this point. Even Abner, the commander of the army of Israel, tired of war and went home before more men were killed. It was a bad situation for everyone, but God was working it out. They had to take one step at a time to follow God to work it out. Are you willing to do the same thing in your life?
Luke 14 shows us some urgency and some patience. Both are important. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, because there was no reason to wait. He especially was not going to put it off because of what the Jewish leaders thought. Then, Jesus taught them about pride and patience. We should not promote ourselves and sit at the highest seat at a feast. We should be patient and wait to see what the host says. Then, if we get an honored seat from him, it will be even better. The same is true with God, Himself. He will exalt the humble in His time. We have to be willing to humble ourselves and wait on Him. Finally, the parable of the feast of God represents salvation being extended to the Jews, but the Jews rejected God's offer. He did not give up at that point. God had patience and urgency. He called the poor and the lame to salvation. Then, He commanded us to go and compel all to come in, until the feast was full. That is our urgency, but it is God's patience to wait until the last person is saved. It is important for us to see how these work together. To be patient is not to live with a lack of urgency.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 3-5 and Luke 14:25-35.