Bible Humor, 29

 

~ Modern Newspaper Headline 2 ~

 

Headline ~ “Hate Crime Results in Death: Investigators are Studying the Rock Involved”

 

This Series ~ I hope these posts lighten your day as we take a light-hearted look at some Scripture verses and related spiritual topics. Some of these views or concepts may be well known to you, but hopefully others will be new.

 

Scripture ~ “Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

 

“And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span [9’9”]. He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, ‘Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.’

 

“And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

 

“Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. …  The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. …  David was the youngest. …

 

And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them.  And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. …

 

“Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

 

“Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you!’

 

“So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.’ So David took them off.

 

“Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!’

 

“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.’

 

“So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

 

“And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.” Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron” (1 Samuel 17:1-52).

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

 

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Bible Version: Quotations are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted. Emphasis is added.

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Tough Spot, 4

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~ David In A King’s Palace ~

 

Series Note  ~  God often allows His children to be in difficult circumstances.  Many of my readers are in difficult circumstances as they read this post.  But our God is faithful never allowing us to be faced with a bigger situation than we are capable of handling with God’s help.

 

In this series we look a few of the many examples in Scripture where God placed one of His own in a difficult spot yet they remained faithful to God.  If you are in a tight situation, be thankful that God has entrusted you with that responsibility.

 

Scripture  ~  “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

 

Tough Spot  ~  “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.  And Saul’s servants said to him, ‘Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you.  Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp.  And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.’  So Saul said to his servants,  ‘Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.’

 

“Then one of the servants answered and said, ‘Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.’

 

“Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, ‘Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.’  And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul.  So David came to Saul and stood before him.  And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer.  Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, ‘Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.’  And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand.  Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.” (1 Samuel 16:14-23). 

 

 

The Rest of This Story  ~  It is highly recommended that you read and meditate on the surrounding verses and other related Scripture passages to this example. 

 

The Ultimate Three Examples  ~  Read Matthew 4:1-11.

 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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* * * * *

11 Failures Of David

~ The Progressive Nature of Sin In David’s Fall ~

Introduction  ~  King David in the Old Covenant and the Apostle Peter in the New Testament are examples of how even some of God’s greatest servants can fail miserably.  Recall that David throughout most of the Biblical record had an intimate relationship with God.  He had many accomplishments for God—however his major recorded failure, which occurred after great spiritual successes, is an example for us today.  “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  Let’s look at the steps in his failure as recorded in 2 Samuel 11. 

1.  David Was Careless In His Duties  ~  “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah.  But David remained at Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1).  …

2.  David Let His Guard Down  ~  …  “Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house.  And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold” (2 Samuel 11:2).  …

3.  David Began To Lust  ~  …  “So David sent and inquired about the woman.  And someone said, ‘Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’” (2 Samuel 11:3).  …

4.  David Embraced His Lust  ~  …  “Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house” (2 Samuel 11:4).  …

5.  David Reaped Consequences  ~  …  “And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, ‘I am with child’” (2 Samuel 11:5).  …

6.  David First Scheme To Hide His Sins  ~  … “Then David sent to Joab, saying, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’  And Joab sent Uriah to David.  When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered.  And David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and wash your feet.’  So Uriah departed from the king’s house, and a gift of food from the king followed him.  But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.  So when they told David, saying, ‘Uriah did not go down to his house,’ David said to Uriah, ‘Did you not come from a journey?  Why did you not go down to your house?’” (2 Samuel 11:6-11).  …

7.  David’s Second Scheme To Hide His Sins  ~  … “Then David said to Uriah, ‘Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.’  So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.  Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk.  And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house” (2 Samuel 11:12-13).  …

8.  David’s Third Scheme To Hide His Sins  ~  … “In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.  And he wrote in the letter, saying, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.’  So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men.  Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab.  And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.  Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, and charged the messenger, saying, ‘When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, if it happens that the king’s wrath rises, and he says to you: “Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought?  Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?  Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth?  Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez?  Why did you go near the wall?” — then you shall say, “Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also”’” (2 Samuel 11:14-21).  …

9. David Thought He Got Away With It  ~  …  “So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him.  And the messenger said to David, ‘Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate.  The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’  Then David said to the messenger, ‘Thus you shall say to Joab: “Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another.  Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.”  So encourage him’” (2 Samuel 11:22-25).  …

10.  David’s Sin Made It Easier To Sin More  ~  …  “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.  And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son” (2 Samuel 11:26-27a).  …

11.  God Was Not Pleased With David’s Actions  ~  … “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27b).

Closing Scripture  ~  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).  “…be sure your sin will find you out…” (Numbers 32:23). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

* * * * *

O.T. Shepherds, 5of6

~ David: A Royal Reigning Shepherd ~

Series Prologue  ~  There are at least five Old Testament shepherds who were clear “types” of Jesus Christ—our shepherd.  A type is like a faint image or shadow of the true item.  In each of these cases we can see parallels to our Great Shepherd. 

Sample Scripture  ~  “Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, ‘Send me your son David, who is with the sheep’” (1 Samuel 16:19).

“But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem” (1 Samuel 17:15).

“And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months” (2 Samuel 2:11).

“Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, ‘Indeed we are your bone and your flesh.  Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, “You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.”’  Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord.  And they anointed David king over Israel.  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah” (2 Samuel 5:1-5). 

Hints Of The Coming Messiah  ~  David was a shepherd who took on royalty and reigned over his kingdom. 

David was a shepherd who was later anointed king.

David was rejected by his own.

David was forced to flee from his home into the land of the Philistines.
David received a Gentile bride. 

David later returned home (after the death of Saul).

In the end David was accepted by his own nation—Israel. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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