The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Samuel 20:1,
"Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, 'We have no share in David, no part in Jesse's son! Every man to his tent, Israel!'"
There is always, and I mean always, those who will oppose God's people. Sheba was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, and as Israel began to gather around David as he returned to Jerusalem (from being challenged on the throne by his son, Absalom), this worthless character, Sheba, starts up his rebellion against David.
Remember that David was anointed by the Lord, through Samuel, to be Israel's king when God rejected Saul on the throne. It seems as though David never failed to have someone, whether Saul, Absalom, Sheba, or whomever, rebel in opposition to him. This is not a surprise, as it was God that chose David and it was the Israelites themselves that rebelled against God in their demands to have a human king over them.
There is always that element of mankind in opposition to God. I call it "Team Cain", a name I use for it from the first murderer we find in the Scriptures. The first murder ever recorded in the Bible was committed by Cain, a man who would only accept God on his own terms - not God's. "Team Cain" is that group of humanity that, like Cain, is always in opposition to God.
David refers to this group I call Team Cain in Psalm 2:1-6, "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 'Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.' The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.'"
It helps those of us who are God's people to recognize the motivation that Team Cain is energized by as we acknowledge the spiritually dark forces that energize them. In Psalm 14:4-5 David says of them, "Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous."
Team Cain may not be consciously aware of their separation from God. However, in their estrangement from him, they feel a gut-level resentment at being on the outside of things. Outside of the kingdom of God, outside of any connection with their Creator, outside the purposes and fulfillment in life our Creator originally intended, outside of God's acceptance of them. They gather together, outside the tent of God, where his people dwell, and seek to do damage to those within. They are simply overwhelmed with dread as they look at those within God's tent... judgement day is coming for them, whether they choose to acknowledge it or not.
"Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, 'We have no share in David, no part in Jesse's son! Every man to his tent, Israel!'"
There is always, and I mean always, those who will oppose God's people. Sheba was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, and as Israel began to gather around David as he returned to Jerusalem (from being challenged on the throne by his son, Absalom), this worthless character, Sheba, starts up his rebellion against David.
Remember that David was anointed by the Lord, through Samuel, to be Israel's king when God rejected Saul on the throne. It seems as though David never failed to have someone, whether Saul, Absalom, Sheba, or whomever, rebel in opposition to him. This is not a surprise, as it was God that chose David and it was the Israelites themselves that rebelled against God in their demands to have a human king over them.
There is always that element of mankind in opposition to God. I call it "Team Cain", a name I use for it from the first murderer we find in the Scriptures. The first murder ever recorded in the Bible was committed by Cain, a man who would only accept God on his own terms - not God's. "Team Cain" is that group of humanity that, like Cain, is always in opposition to God.
David refers to this group I call Team Cain in Psalm 2:1-6, "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 'Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.' The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.'"
It helps those of us who are God's people to recognize the motivation that Team Cain is energized by as we acknowledge the spiritually dark forces that energize them. In Psalm 14:4-5 David says of them, "Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous."
Team Cain may not be consciously aware of their separation from God. However, in their estrangement from him, they feel a gut-level resentment at being on the outside of things. Outside of the kingdom of God, outside of any connection with their Creator, outside the purposes and fulfillment in life our Creator originally intended, outside of God's acceptance of them. They gather together, outside the tent of God, where his people dwell, and seek to do damage to those within. They are simply overwhelmed with dread as they look at those within God's tent... judgement day is coming for them, whether they choose to acknowledge it or not.
I am reminded of 1 John 3:12-15, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him."
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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