Trust Issues

Today's passage:  II Samuel 3
      Abner was a crafty fellow.  He obviously was in this king-making business for how it benefitted him.  Most people in politics are in it for what they can get, and I think that is why we become so disillusioned with them.  Backroom deals, compromises, loophole promises pave the way for power and influence.  Abner was no exception to these schemes.  "Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David:  but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker."  Abner is on a sinking ship, and he knows it.  The numbers would seem to be in Ish-bosheth's favor.  After all, most of the tribes had gone with him.  But God was on David's side, and that makes up for any weakness in numbers.  When Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of a liaison with his father's concubine, Abner makes a great deal of being offended.  He makes it clear to Ish-bosheth that all he need do is say the word and Ish-bosheth will be ousted.  It is obvious who is running the show.  I think Abner was looking for any excuse to go work for David.  David's kingdom was on the rise, and Abner now realizes he picked the wrong side.  He also remembers what happened at Gibeon.  He knows that Joab will never rest until he has avenged the death of his brother, Asahel.  Ish-bosheth knows that Abner can dethrone him and doesn't push the concubine matter any farther.
     Still, Abner decides to do some under-the-table dealings anyway.  He contacts David and assures him of his allegiance, and the future allegiance of the other tribes.  David accepts with the condition that Abner will bring Michal, the wife Saul had promised to him so long ago but then married off to someone else.  David feels it is time that Saul's promise be honored.  So Abner arrives, treated like a guest.  It is fortunate for him that Joab and his men are in battle, because he may have not been received so graciously.  Abner leaves with an assurance from David that he will leave in peace.  I believe this is all Abner was really after.  Unlike that other king, Ish-bosheth, David was in command of his men.  Abner knows this.  He knows that if David makes a promise, it will be kept.  He knows that if David says to withhold harm from Abner, he will be given safe passage. 
     When Joab gets word of Abner's visit, treated like a respected ambassador, Joab is furious.  He confronts David about the matter.  He tells David he is being played, just as Ish-bosheth had been.  David apparently does not give Joab the answers he is looking for, because Joab sends servants to retrieve Abner, without David's knowledge. 
     Under other circumstances, Abner might have had cause for concern.  But he knows David.  This is the man who spared Saul's life in the cave.  This is the man who tiptoed around Abner's sleeping men to confiscate Saul's spear and water canteen.  Abner had become quite familiar with David's character.  He knew that he was not given to deceit or masquerades.  So when Joab requests a private conversation with Abner, Abner doesn't worry.  I'm sure he smiled smugly at Joab, knowing there was little Joab could do.  Although Abner may have known David's character, he obviously did not know Joab's.  Joab takes Abner's life in the same style Abner had taken his brother's. 
     When David learns of the news, he orders Joab to mourn this man.  Joab had his revenge, but Abner will have the last play.  Joab must humiliate himself by being respectful of this man's death.  The man who had murdered his brother would be given a statesmen's burial.  I'm surprised that David does not require a more stringent punishment upon Joab.  This action would make it appear that Joab was calling the shots.  It might make David appear weak.  It might make people question David's word.  But Joab is also family.  He is David's nephew.  Asahel was David's nephew.  Maybe just a little part of him knew that Abner got what was coming.  So for now, Joab is spared any further punishment. 
     Abner played the political game.  His allegiance was with whoever he thought was the rising star at the time.  When it was Saul, he was loyal to Saul.  When he thought it would be Ish-bosheth, he was loyal to Ish-bosheth.  Now that David's influence had increased, he became loyal to David.  In reality, he was only loyal to himself.  Shifting allegiances make a lot of enemies.  Abner thought if he befriended his enemies, that would cause them to forget their grievances, or at least be controlled by them.  He thought he had cleverly ingratiated himself to David enough that his nephew could only follow his lead.  He didn't take into account that like himself, Joab had a mind of his own.  He didn't trust Joab, but he trusted his pact with David, and he assumed that Joab was loyalty bound as David was.  It was his undoing. 
     This is what David says at Abner's memorial:  "Died Abner as a fool dieth?  Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters:  as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou."  Abner's life and death are reminders that we can never be too sure of others.  Our trust is only entirely safe in one place.  In Him.

Games People Play

Today's passage:  II Samuel 2
     At long last, David becomes king.  Of Judah, that is.  Despite what Saul's military captain, Abner, already knew, he decided to take matters into his own hands.  He staged a sort of coup by convincing Saul's still living son, Ish-bosheth, that he should be the next ruler.  He secures Ish-bosheth across the Jordan River in Mahanaim, Manasseh country.  He is then able to procure the loyalty of all the remaining tribes, installing Ish-bosheth as the king over the whole of Israel.  Only Judah recognizes David as king.

      It is amazing what people will do, even though they know what God's will is.  I'm not talking about when we are not sure.  I'm not talking about when we take step by step by faith because we are waiting on God to show us what to do.  I'm talking about when God has clearly shown us, and we think by doing the exact opposite, we are somehow going to change what God intended.  Abner, like his leader before him, did not bother to ask God for wisdom in this matter.  All Abner could see was that his power and control were about to end.  Maybe he even thought he was in danger because he had been Saul's number one guy.  He didn't know David very well.  Abner had been a loyal servant to Saul.  David set great store by loyalty.  The likelihood that Abner would have been rewarded, maybe even promoted was pretty high.  This stunt would cost him.  Had Abner asked God what should be done, he may have been given a pension and been enjoying retirement.  But Abner seems to be an ambitious man.  I don't know that Ish-bosheth had any plans of taking the throne when his father died.  I'm sure he had been told by more than one person that David was to be the next king.  That this is what God had ordered.  I can't believe that Abner did not know this too.  But the hunger for power can be devouring.  With the support from the lead strategist from his father's household, it was probably not a stretch for Ish-bosheth to imagine that they could pull off this coup.  Here is where the power struggle really begins.

     David's military man, Joab, and Abner meet in Gibeon.  They size each other up.  They evaluate each other's armies.  "And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us.  And Joab said, Let them arise."  Abner views this meeting as a chess match.  Both sides have kings. Who will declare "Checkmate"? Joab and Abner play bishop, rook or knight, and the rest of the soldiers are pawns in their little game.  How many casualties will there be?  How many men will be taken out, turn by turn before one is declared the winner?  Abner's army seems to be losing the match at one point.  Then Joab's brother, Asahel, another important piece, pursues after Abner.  He is determined to take him out of the game.  He ignores Abner's taunts and distractions, focused on eliminating this very important player.  But Abner makes the better move, and slays Asahel.  Abner knows Joab will come back with his fiercest move yet, but sometimes anger fuels us, and sometimes it backfires on us.  Abner knows this, and is counting on the latter.  Joab continues the pursuit, causing Abner to retreat into a defensive position.  As Abner gets closer to Ish-bosheth country, he is reinforced by Benjamin's tribe.  Joab has to settle for a stalemate.  Another game will have to be played another day.  He is not willing to lose any more men on this day.  Losing a brother was enough.  So, Abner returns to his king, and Joab returns to his.  Both men, more intent on playing a game than seeing the loss of life, until one of those lives was dear.  Joab and his remaining men bury his brother.  It is a sad reminder that war costs something. 
     I know that some believe that leaders play political games with soldier's lives.  And while that may be true in other countries, I have never thought it to be the case in America.  I don't believe it was a game to David, but I'm pretty sure Abner was not in the least concerned about his men, as long as he came out on the winning side.  In some countries, militia are used as pawns in a chess match.  And although many have accused our country of doing the same thing, I refuse to believe that.  Maybe I'm ignorant, but I'm convinced that when our military has to make a move, it really is to protect our interests, and to protect freedom.  I'm not saying that every display of our military power is always the best move, but I have never believed that our leaders have ever dealt carelessly with those lives, willing to throw them away as long as we win.  I don't believe that of our current President, and I don't believe that of our former President.  I don't believe that of our generals.  There are always power-hungry people, but as the daughter of a military man who served under some pretty high-ranking officials during his career, even though in a relative time of peace, I knew the character of some of these individuals, and I know they only had the best interests of the country and those who served under them.
     Ish-bosheth seemed to be a puppet king, succumbing to the string-pulling of his father's military captain.  Abner refuses to yield to God's will, and although he returned home safely, many of his men gave their lives for a fruitless cause.  That is selfishness at its highest, and though I haven't read ahead, I'm guessing that Abner will be taken out of the game in the next match.  The best move?  Heed God's will when we know it.  Ignoring it, avoiding it, fighting against it never plays out the way we planned.  God's strategy is always best, and we can never outplay Him.

Lasting Loyalty

Today's passage:  II Samuel 1

     At the end of I Samuel, Saul is killed (see post:  Comparatively).  In the beginning of II Samuel, David is just receiving this news.  An Amalekite emerges from the Israelite camp, appropriate mourning attire, reporting that King Saul and his son are dead.  This fellow has a definite agenda.  I can tell this because he knows to go straight to David (who is to be the next king) with this information.  He also thinks he knows that David will be overjoyed at this news.  Who wouldn't?  The man who had been pursuing David for years was now dead.  His son, Jonathan, who should be next in line for the throne is also dead.  This means two things for David.  He can stop running.  And he is about to become the next king of Israel. 

Picture in Public Domain from Standard Bible Story Reader, Book Three by Lillie A. Farris
Illustrated by O. A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland, The Standard Publishing Company, 1926

     I've read a lot of books about England's kings and queens, the intrigue and power struggles at court, and it seems that the successor is always a little happy about the death of the previous monarch.  Usually they put on a good show about being sad, but they were often pretty excited about making their own mark on the country.  Although the events in II Samuel take place well before European courts, wouldn't it stand to reason that a lot of posturing was already taking place?  Weren't people already elbowing for the king's favor?  Didn't they all want to find grace and hopefully lands, titles, wealth under the new king?  I'm pretty sure this Amalekite did.  This is why he makes it clear to David, that although Saul fell on his own sword, he finished him off.  He doesn't say this joyfully, but I have no doubts that a smirk dwells under the frown.  He misjudges David.  A normal person would reward this man for disposing of his enemy and propelling him towards the monarchy.  But David was no ordinary man.  He had an extraordinary loyalty, not only to God, but to the man God placed as king.  A king who was often not worthy of his devotion.  A king who only wanted him dead.  A king who was disobedient to God.  And yet, he was still the king.  David does not reward this Amalekite.  He has him killed.  This man thought he would be showered with affection, with favors. I'm sure Amalekite kings would have done that for him.  He did not understand David, or David's God.

     This passage convicts me about our own leaders.  I have said before that I should pray more earnestly for them.  But I should also give them my allegiance while they are in office.  This doesn't mean I will agree with them, or agree with their decisions.  But I should be respectful, not speaking malicious words or wishing for bad things to happen to them.  David never once wished for Saul's death.  Why not?  I think probably because he knew him personally.  It would be easy for David's mighty men to be critical and harsh against Saul.  All they could see were his negatives.  And although David knew those things about Saul too, he had lived with him in the palace and knew there was more to the man. I think it is far easier to be critical of a man's actions when you don't know him, than when you do.  Not that I'm expecting to form bonds of friendship with my mayor or the President.  That is highly unlikely.  They are not evil villains, just as the men before them were not evil villains.  They are in positions of leadership that can change the course of our cities and country.  Sometimes they will make very bad decisions, as all leaders do.  Sometimes they will make very good decisions, and we should acknowledge when they do.  Either way, judging every move they make, threatening to move out of the country (still by far, the greatest country in the world), vowing to bring these men down, questioning their motives behind even their good decisions is not being a loyal citizen.  I'm sure David disagreed with Saul far more than he agreed.  He probably made a list of the things he would do differently as king.  The difference in what I see today is that David kept that list to himself.  If he had announced it to his men, if he acquired a megaphone and shouted it from the caves, it might have caused dissatisfaction among the people.  They may have rioted, they may have tried to get David on the throne sooner.  David knew it was not his time until God said so, not when the people said so.  We have an election every four years.  Campaign season has already started, but the dissatisfaction started as soon as the new President took office, and actually when election night results had been viewed.  I'm not saying I rejoiced at those results.  I have pretty much disagreed with just about everything our present President has done.  That is my right.  But I also believe, God has allowed him to lead our country for the time being, and agreeing or disagreeing, he is my President too.  Just as our city has elected a new mayor (who happens to hail from the present Presidential administration) and who has already made some controversial decisions with which I disagree, he is still my mayor.  I should pray for him.  I should be a good citizen for him (at least until the next election, when I can choose to vote for someone else).  But until I cast my vote in the booth, weighing decisions of new candidates, I need to be careful that I am not trash talking my current leaders.  Disagree with them, yes.  But respectfully.  And I find far too little of that, even in Christian circles.  David was loyal.  He would not tolerate insubordination to the man God put on the throne.  We may want to argue that God did not put "that man" in the White House or in the Governor's Mansion or in City Hall, but now that God allows us to make those decisions, He has had a hand in it.  We have to trust that God knows what He is doing, just as David trusted God.  And until we have an opportunity to make a new decision, we should be as loyal as David, and should encourage others to be loyal too.

Standing Fast

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 16
     Paul says farewell to the Corinth church in this chapter.  He addresses some individually and the church as a whole.  He gives them a few last words of encouragement and advice.  Some of this encouragement is found in verse 13:  "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."
     Standing fast.  In this verse, that probably means, be firm, don't give up, defend what you believe.  Can I make a parenting analogy?  As a parent, when I think of standing fast with my kids, I always have to stay a step ahead of them.  This means I have to think through each stage in their life, and prepare myself for the challenges they present.  I need to have ready answers and planned reactions.  When Paul says to stand fast, I'm sure he means all the definitions I already mentioned, but what if he also means to be quick?  Shouldn't we, as Christians, be a step ahead of Satan and his attacks?  Shouldn't we be watching for what the world will hurl at us, to knock us off balance? 
     How can I stand fast, when standing indicates not moving, but fast indicates movement?  It seems a little contradictory.  Going back to parenting, I have certain values and principles I want my children to learn.  They will test these and question these things in various phases of their lives.  I never relinquish them, I never abandon them, but I rush ahead and plant my feet again, so they understand that when they needed to obey Mommy and Daddy as a toddler, they still need to heed Mom and Dad as a teenager.  So how do I do that with God's Word?  I think the other phrases in the verse help me to see what I need to do.  First, I need to watch.  I know many people are not keen on current events.  Personally, I only watch the news because my husband is a news hound.  It forces me to pay better attention.  I think it is important that we watch worldly trends, not so we can participate, but so we can defend against them.  When we see something, we ought to gauge it by the Bible, and see what His Word has to say about particular activities.  A few years ago, I kept hearing teenagers talking about a particular celebrity who had burst onto the music scene.  I wondered why the sudden hoopla.  I decided to check it out and oh my!  Did I get an eye and earful!  This particular singer was so ungodly in her lyrics and videos, I was just stunned.  That is what is influencing our teenagers!  I was seriously appalled.  Now, I don't recommend turning on MTV on a regular basis.  But I think sometimes to stay a step ahead, we need to be aware of what is out there.  We need to watch and pay attention to the trends, because those are the snares Satan has set for our kids.

Courtesy of http://breadsite.org

     This verse also says to "quit you like men".  Quitting doesn't seem like it belongs in this verse, since he is talking about standing firm and being watchful.  The definition by Webster I particularly like is "To carry through; to do or perform something to the end, so that nothing remains; to discharge or perform completely."  When I think of doing this like men, I think of the military.  Soldiers follow through with an order given by their commander.  It is what they are trained to do.  Sometimes they have to quit a station to move ahead of the enemy and not allow them to advance further.  Sometimes they are engaged in combat.  As a woman, that does not appeal to me.  At all.  I am generally a peacemaker and do not like to engage in conflict.  There are those occasions when my husband hands me the phone when a political party calls for donations.  He chuckles when I won't back down from my conservative views and advise them that if they want my money they better get on the right track.  He lets me answer the door when religious organizations preaching heresy try to give us their literature.  When it comes to defending God's Word, I can be tenacious.  Now, I don't try to engage in debate, I never find that works.  But I am determined to let them know my resolve will not weaken on these issues.  If I am going to stand fast, I need to be studying God's Word, and praying that God will give me the words to say when I am engaged in battle.
     The last phrase in this verse says to "be strong".  Physically, I am not all that strong.  I know women with more muscle and are stronger.  Emotionally, I am often a weakling.  My heart is easily touched and I get all feminine and woman-like, crying at weddings, at sappy songs, at chick flicks, at people in need.  How strong am I spiritually?  I hope in that area, I have the strength to fight the good fight.  I could do a much better job memorizing Scripture.  I know a lot of parts of verses, but don't ask me where to find them.  I'm horrible at references.  Yet, if I want to stay a step ahead of my attacker, if I want to stand fast, I better be able to point out where I can support my position.  Satan will challenge me on this.  Just as he tempted Jesus in the wilderness by presenting Scripture, he will try to twist and distort God's Words so that I am convinced they say what he wants me to believe.  Its also important to know the context of verses.  Anybody can take a verse out of a passage and make it say what they want it to say.  I try so very carefully here, not to do that.  Sometimes I will do that by way of application, but hopefully never by way of interpretation or doctrine.  How many cults have been founded on a verse taken out of a passage that did not mean anything that they were trying to make it say?  Satan is a master at this.  If I want to stand fast, and stay that step ahead of him, I need to know what all of my Bible says.  Reading the whole passage is a really good way to defend against this.
     As a parent, as a soldier, as a Christian, God wants me to stand fast.  He wants me to watch the signs of the times, He wants me to defend His Word, He wants to give me spiritual strength to fight the Wicked One.  He wants me to stay a step ahead of the devil so I can defend against him properly.  God says His Word is quick and powerful.  Using it can make me the same.

Just Around the Corner

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 15:51-58
     My son's favorite game on the Wii is Mario Karts.  I have to admit, I really enjoy it too.  The first couple times I played, I was a very bad driver.  The graphics of the game are so incredible, but because the game is only 2D, it was sometimes hard for my undiscerning eyes to separate the background from the actual course.  I drove off every bridge, crashed into every wall, fell into every body of water.  And then there are those blind curves.  You know, those curves that you can't see what is around the corner and smack into whatever ends up being around the bend.  Yeah, did that numerous times.  It would be easy to get frustrated and give up on the game.  Fortunately, I do have a bit of a competitive side, and it rises up and won't allow me to do that.  So although, I rarely ever finish in first place in these races, I don't always finish in last either.
    "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."  We often quote this verse to emphasize the importance of being faithful to a task.  But it is really important to read the verses beforehand.  There is a reason we can be steadfast, unmoving, and abounding.  It is because Christ will return.  Christ may come within the next few seconds, as I'm typing these words, and I want Him to find me hard at work, going about the Father's business.  He's coming very soon.  That is why every Bible verse I review with my kids, every prayer I offer for a loved one's salvation, every tract I give to the grocery store cashier, is urgent.  It is not in vain.  It may be the last time I get to do those things.  Christ's coming is like the blind curves.  I can't see around the corner, so I don't know when it will be, but everyday is a little closer to the time Jesus will come back for us.  It would be easy to get frustrated and give up.  I mean, really, there is a lot in the Christian life that is discouraging.  There are days, when I wonder, what's the point?  This morning I was feeling a bit like this.  I have felt like giving up this blog, on more than one occasion.  But I am not a quitter.  I'm amazed sometimes to see that someone in a different country has read something here.  I mean, that is astounding.  Now how much was read, I don't know.  How often they read I don't know.  For me, I have always benefitted from reading the Bible and then writing about what I've read.  I just get more from my devotions that way.  In the past, I have written them in a notebook, now in the electronic age, when I learned about blogging, I decided this might be the outlet for me.  I could give it up.  I could go back to spiral-bound pages.  But Christ's coming is just around the corner, and who knows if someone might happen upon these pages and find the Lord?  I'm not saying that has or ever will happen, but shouldn't we use every avenue possible to see people saved?  I think so.  It may be that someone puts a word in a search engine, and somehow this blog shows up.  So maybe someone just takes a peek.  Maybe they will peek at a page explaining how they can know Christ.  Isn't that why God leaves us here?  To be that witness?  I need to stay faithful to the things Christ has given me. Like a Mario Kart driver, I need to follow the course to the best of my capabilities, even though I may drive into a wall, fall off a bridge, submerge my vehicle in the CG lake.  Satan will put many pitfalls in our path.  We must do our best to avoid them, because Christ's coming may be just over the hill, and if I stop my work a little early, I may neglect to point someone to Him.  If today is my last day on this earth, this minute, this hour, what words can I leave behind to direct others to Him?  That is my whole life's purpose, and I want to be faithful to it until the trumpet sounds.

Star Light, Star Bright

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 15:30-50
     Red giants.  Blue dwarfs.  Black holes.  Supernovas.  I learned about these in my ninth grade earth science class.  With the naked eye, they would be hard to detect, but with a telescope, I might be able to make out the different types of stars.  When I was younger, summers at my grandparents meant my uncle and I using a star guidebook to identify the constellations in the sky.  I can still pick out the dippers, Orion and the summer triangle. 

See How Lofty the Stars
Taken from Standard Bible Story Readers, Book One
By Lillie A. Faris
Illustrated by O.A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
The Standard Publishing Company, 1925

     "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars:  for one star differeth from another star in glory."  It amazes me how God placed each star in the sky.  He arranged them.  How many millions of them are there in the universe?  Scientists would try to tell us, but I know only God knows that answer.  If He took such care to order these celestial bodies, how much more thought did He put into mine?  How much more did He decide to whom I would be born and how my life's path would go?  Has anything in my life been a mistake?  Some of my own making, but none of God's.  Just as God uniquely designed and arranged each star, He has done the same with me.

 I've done art projects taking black paper and either a hole punch or a sewing needle to repeat holes in the paper to replicate the night sky.  The only problem with that is that a hole punch or needle will achieve a uniform look to the stars, and God designed each of them differently.  God gave me a story He has given to nobody else.  He has given me a way to use my talents for Him, in a way nobody else can.  Not that nobody else has my gifts, but He has put me in a situation that make them unique to me, and a viewpoint that is my own.  We can all say this.  When we view our lives as a series of "happy accidents", we neglect to see the special value we have to our Creator.  Maybe I wasn't the first person to be born, and maybe I wasn't the seven billionth (a milestone birth approaching our earth sometime soon) but being the four billionth six hundredth forty third person (like I really know) was just as important to Him.  And He made me to glorify Him.  I pray I can do that.  I pray that my star, whether shooting, sparking or fading will point light towards Him.  I pray that my glory will be His glory.  I pray that even though I can't see when a star has become a black hole, because there are millions of stars up there, and I can't keep track, God knows when I have done something for Him.  To others I may blend in with the crowd, my place unnoticeable, but He put me exactly where I need to be, and He would notice if I am missing. 
     Thank you, Lord, for loving me in a special way.  You love all of us uniquely as only You can, because You created us uniquely.  Thank you for reminding me today, how special I am to You.  I can never understand that, but I know how special my children are to me, and You love me as Your child.  Help me to shine my light for You.