Wednesday, February 10, 2016

A Lament - Ruminating in the Word of God

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 1:19,

"How the mighty have fallen!"

This phrase occurs three times in David's lament for Saul and Jonathan following their deaths. The lament both begins with the phrase (here) and ends with it in verse 27. David had known Saul's day was coming as the Lord had already tapped him to replace Saul on the throne of Israel, but David loved Jonathan, Saul's son, as himself. He lamented both their deaths.

I am fully convinced of the sincerity of David's short lament of nine verses for Saul and Jonathan. Although Saul had pursued David in a misguided effort to kill him, David nonetheless recognized Saul as God's own anointed man to be Israel's first king. The things of God were of utmost importance to David, including the man that preceded him on Israel's throne.

I am reminded that in spite of the bereavement and loss David felt at the announcement of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, the Lord's agenda strongly marched on. The Lord continued his pursuit of the nation of Israel as his chosen people to be his vehicle to prepare for the coming of his Son, Jesus Christ, a millennium later.

Perhaps it is instructive for us to recognize that when death occurs, when a loss is experienced, when bereavement has its strongest grip, that the Lord continues on in his mission of building his kingdom, an enterprise we are all engaged in, one way or another. David would one day be reunited with his friend, Jonathan, in Paradise (however, I'm not so sure about his father Saul.) Until that time, David was used by the Lord in important ways as God continued on in his progression to bring about the redemption of all of mankind.

As horrific as death is, it is never the end of those important things in life. The bereavement is appropriate, legitimate and necessary, but the Lord's purposes continue on, just as those who remain continue on.    

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!

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Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

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