Expressing worship - 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 7:2,

"Here I [David] am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."

David found it inappropriate, unsettling, unbecoming, unseemly, amiss and certainly unsuitable that he would be living in a "house of cedar" while the ark of God sat in a tent. Although the king of all Israel, David clearly felt uncomfortable that he should enjoy a good thing when something of God, in this case the ark of the Lord, was not.

I can't help but think of David's perspective on the things of God and my own. Do I have an outlook remotely approaching David's? How much do I care about the things of the Lord? Certainly how I might treat those things speak louder about my priorities than anything I might claim for myself. Quite convicting!

It does bring to mind the issue of worship in our lives. How do we express our worship of God when it comes to the things we own, to how I might spend my income, how I might invest my time and energy. How do I utilize the talents and abilities the Lord has blessed me with?

Do I utilize those things under my control in such a way as to express my love and adoration of the Lord and all he has done for me? David certainly did.

What an example God has provided us in David! An imperfect man, yet a man of faith! A man at times that made decisions that disappointed not only the Lord but himself as well, yet a man who thought the Lord deserved the place of importance in his life.

A lot for me to consider here...

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

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On celebrating the Lord - 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 6:21,

"David said to Michal, 'It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord.'"

This was David's response to his wife, Michal, when she rebuked him for acting in what she felt was an undignified manner for a king to conduct himself in. He was dancing and celebrating the arrival of the ark of God as he brought it to Jerusalem. We read in verse 16, "As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart." And so, when David came home to bless his household afterward, Michael said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" Verse 20.

We are told repeatedly that Michal loved David, and that David paid double the bride-price to her father, King Saul to marry her. In 2 Samuel 3, as Abner plotted with David as to how he would help David assume the throne over all Israel, David demanded first that Michal be returned to him as his wife. (During the time King Saul attempted to apprehend David and kill him, he had taken Michal back and given her in marriage to another.)

Yet, here we have some marital discord. The discord was over the manner in which David chose to celebrate the Lord upon the arrival of the ark of the Lord. David's response to Michal was that he would celebrate before the Lord, and, possibly in a more "undignified" manner, if the opportunity presented itself, verse 22.

Clearly, David made his choice in this life: he embraced the Lord, first and foremost. Above and beyond any one else in this life, he would embrace the Lord and celebrate him. Even if doing so might be the cause of humiliating himself in his own eyes as he did so.

Peter encourages us, "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." 1 Peter 4:16. Paul also said, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord..." 2 Timothy 1:8.

May we all celebrate the Lord and live our lives as believers without fear of shame, reproach or anything the world or anyone at all may attempt to use to humiliate us. We are the ones who understand the important things in life! We are the ones who have subordinated all others to our Creator God. We are the ones who know what is appropriate, what is fitting.

After all, look at the Lord's perspective toward us, "Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters." Hebrews 2:11.

Let us emulate David in our celebration of the Lord. Something greater than the ark of God has come to us: the Lord himself!

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

The incomprehensible love of God for rebellious mankind! - 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 5:1-2,

"All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, 'We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, "You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler."'"

All the tribes of Israel knew all along the Lord had Samuel anoint David to be King Saul's replacement. Yet, following Saul's death, they had followed Ish-Bosheth, Saul's son, who Abner manipulated onto the throne.

What does this tell us about Abner? What does this tell us about Israel? It could not be more clear that the nation had turned its collective back on God and gone their own way. They simply did not care what the Lord wanted, what his intentions were.

It was not just Israel. All mankind is afflicted with the disease of rebellion and rejection of their Creator. As astonishing as this is- from the standpoint of stark reality, it simply points to the schizophrenia that dominates what we think, do, and say as fallen creatures. "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Romans 3:10-12.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

What an incomprehensible love this is! How remarkable that God would express his love of us such that he would send his Son to save rebellious mankind from his own judgement!

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

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Don't lean on your own understanding - 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 4:7-11,

"They [Rekab and Baanah] had gone into the house while he [Ish-Bosheth, Saul's grandson] was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah. They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, 'Here is the head of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, your enemy, who tried to kill you. This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.'
David answered Rekab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, when someone told me, "Saul is dead," and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news! How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!'"

Thus came the end of Rekab and Baanah. David had given his promise to Saul that he would honor Saul's family after he had been removed from the throne, which happened at his death. The man that put Saul out of his misery, as he lay dying was put to death by David, and now these two, for taking the life of Saul's grandson, was put to death.

Since Ish-Bosheth was occupying the throne over all Israel - which was now rightfully David's, apparently Rekab and Baanah thought David would be pleased with their killing of Ish-Bosheth. Unfortunately for them, they found otherwise.

How could Rekab and Baanah have been so mistaken? How could they have possibly thought they might endear themselves to David in carrying out such a deed? Perhaps they were looking for some kind of placement in David's reign over Israel, or some other form of good will from David- expressed in a reward or???

One thing is certain. They could not have been more self-deceived. It seems to me we all have the potential to deceive our own selves, and even when doing so leads to something painful we do not see headed our way.

I am reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." I suspect Rekab and Baanah failed to trust in the Lord and leaned on their own understanding that lead to their undoing.

Quite the cautionary tale here.

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

"Even the wicked for a day of disaster" - 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 3:9-10,

"May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba."

These words were spoken by Abner, the commander of Israel's troops, when he was confronted by King Ish-Bosheth for sleeping with one of the king's father's concubines. Whether he did so, the text doesn't say, but this is the response from Abner. The response shook Ish-Bosheth, to the point where Ish-Bosheth feared Abner and dropped the matter, "Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him." Verse 11.

Abner was an ambitious man. "During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul." Verse 6. As it turns out, Abner, as the commander of the army of late King Saul, was the person responsible for Ish-Bosheth's ascendance to the throne of Israel, "Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel." 2 Samuel 2:8-9.

As I say, Abner was a man of ambition, and his move to place Ish-Bosheth on the throne of Israel when he knew quite well that David had been appointed by God to replace Saul as king shows that he was not necessarily a man who feared God.

Yet, throughout this account we see God achieving his purposes and accomplishing what he desired through those who did not fear him. Such is our God. He does everything he desires to and he doesn't just use those who fear him, who have placed their faith in him. He uses anyone, including sinners, evil people, the weak, the unbelieving. He uses both the godly and the ungodly. All of the acts of Abner eventually led to David taking the throne.

Paul makes this point when he proves that God is free to make his own choices and does whatever he wants through whomever he wants, "For Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'" Romans 9:17. We see the Lord using Satan in Job's life for his purposes, Job 1:12, "The Lord said to Satan, 'Very well, then, everything he [Job] has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.'"

The Lord seems to transcend anything we may feel we understand about him - but he does want us to know him and he has revealed to us much about himself, what he is doing in the world, his agenda and his designs for us. I love this proverb: "The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster." Proverbs 16:4.

The account of Abner and how it plays into the hands of the Lord's purposes for David to assume the throne of Israel reminds me that this is just like the Lord..

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

Contrary ambitions - 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 2:8-9,

"Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel."

Abner was aware that the Lord had chosen David to succeed Saul on the throne of Israel. Yet, as the commander of the dead king's army, instead of accepting David as the new king, he placed Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth, as king over the northern territories of Israel.

Possibly due to David fleeing Israel and finding safe harbor among the Philistines (enemies of Israel) as Saul pursued David to kill him, Abner thought David was no longer in the picture. However, I suspect he had more devious motives for doing so: motives born of selfish ambition.

We read in 2 Samuel 3:6, "Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul." Next we read of Ish-Bosheth confronting Abner with news that Abner had been sleeping with one of Saul's concubines. To sleep with the dead king's woman was tantamount to seizing the throne for himself.

Having been caught in the midst of plotting against his own placeholder on the throne (Ish-Bosheth) that he had manipulated into place, he responded by turning against Ish-Bosheth and attempted to align himself with David. Now he would attempt to manipulate David into the throne over all of Israel.

However, this was God's choice and God's plan. God would do it his own way and not in a way to facilitate Abner's own ambitions. Abner confesses he knew all along the Lord wanted David to replace Saul when he had manipulated Ish-Bosheth on to the throne of the northern territories. He told the elders of Israel, "For some time you have wanted to make David your king. Now do it! For the Lord promised David...". 2 Samuel 3:17-18a.

As I read of the account, I am mindful that there are many who pursue their own ambitions, apart from, and at times, contrary to what they know the Lord intends. The insanity of pursuing what we may desire in opposition to what God desires is illustrative of our sinful and fallen nature. Given over to that nature, we find ourselves doing the unthinkable.

Such, I believe, was the case for Abner, and it causes me pause to ask myself how I might be pursuing things in contradiction to what I know what the Lord desires.

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

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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!

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