King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Saturday, May 01, 2021
Chapters: I Chronicles 10, II Samuel 4-5
Message: Wake Up, Christian
Hello My Friend,
Between 1730-1755, there was a period known as the Great Awakening, it was a time when a great revival of God took place, people of great faith went from town to town, preaching the Gospel. Tens of thousands of non-religious colonists were converted to Christianity. The revival was part of a much broader movement that was taking place in England, Scotland, and Germany too. Decades later, there was a Second Great Awakening, 1790-1840, and as I looked this information up, I discovered that there was a third, 1855-1930, and a forth, 1960-1980. Do you see the pattern here? [Psalms 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.]
You see, a nation that is built upon the ROCK of Christ becomes a great nation as God blesses it through their faithfulness. However, it does not take very long to go sinking in the sand if it turns it back on Him. [Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.]
Now, David, when he was just a teenager was anointed by Samuel, to be appointed the next king of Israel by God Himself. God first chose Saul, but when his heart turned away from Him He stripped him of his reign. A new king would only reign after the current one died or was found guilty of treason and stripped of the throne. God did not want David to go right in and take the throne, He had to prepare him first. David never took things into his own hands, he left it up to God to decided Saul’s fate. After I Chronicles lists the genealogies, it gives further account on the death of Saul and three of his sons during the battle that happened with the Philistines before David became king. Note that while it is almost identical to I Samuel Chapter thirty-one, we are given here an explanation as to why Saul lost the kingdom, his life, and David became God’s second choice of king.
[I Chronicles 10:1-4,11-14 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. 4 Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. 11 And when all Jabeshgilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. 13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.]
[and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit,] Do you see what this was all about? Had Saul just repented and turned to God, his life would not have ended as tragic as it did, and he would have been saved. Millions of people die and end up in hell, not because they did not believe in God, but because they never called upon the name of the LORD, [Romans 10:11-13 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.]
Now, with Saul gone, it would have been easy for David to become king of all of Israel, but he chose to remain in Hebron and serve as king over Judah for seven years. Saul’s living son Ishbosheth became king of Israel, but it was not going so well, and after Abner was killed, the whole nation was unsettled. Now, these fools, Baanah, and Rechab took it upon themselves to kill Ishbosheth, even worse, they bring the poor mans head to David.
[II Samuel 4:7-11 For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night. 8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed. 9 And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, 10 When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings: 11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?]
[when wicked men have slain a righteous person] David knew that God was with him, and that He would make him king of Israel when the time was right. He learned that through all his troubles with Saul it was God that was preparing him and all that adversity was part of it. He did not take too kindly to someone killing a man who did no wrong so that he could take the throne. While it is said that desperate times calls for desperate measures, we cannot succumb to the evils of this world in order to escape them. Believe it or not, God’s hand is upon this nation, in part because it is allies with Israel and because although it may start sinking in the sand as these fools in office take God out of the equation, it gets back up when strong men and women of faith stand up and start preaching the Gospel again, [Romans 10:14-15 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!]
As Christians, it is important that we keep the faith, especially when our nations begin to sink. With some patience, perseverance, and boldness to stand up for Jesus, we can turn things around. Then God will give us the leader that will lead awaken our nation once again. And, now, it was time, the wait was finally over, most of the other tribes of Israel realized that David had no part in what happened to Saul and his sons, and asked him to be their king, but his first challenge was the Jebusites.
[II Samuel 5:3.6-9,12 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel. 6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. 7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. 9 So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. 12 And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.]
[Except thou take away the blind and the lame,] The Jebusites were mocking David, they believed that Jerusalem had a fortress around it so strong that it could not be taken by force, they literally used people who were blind and crippled to guard the wall. The truth is Israel had a fortress so strong around it that it could not be taken by force, unless God allowed it, and that was the LORD. [and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind,] David was referring to the Jebusites here, not Israel. We are not bound by our infirmities, God sees the crippled, blind, autistic, as He does everyone else, a living soul. In fact, it is the infirmities that God uses to for a great work in us, [II Corinthians 12:8-10 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.]
[And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel,] [Perceive; To know; to understand; to observe.] David now understood that it God who made him king over Israel exactly when the time was right. David was anointed as king three times, and there was a purpose for every one of them. First, he was anointed by God to establish kinship, second, by Judah to establish the power to lead, and third, by Israel to establish God’s eternal purpose as His Son would descend from the flesh through David. This marked one of the greatest days in Israel’s history, as all of Israel reigned under one king. When David defeated the Jebusites, Jerusalem also became the capital of the United Kingdom. Now, when the Philistines found out that he was king they did not take it well.
[II Samuel 5:17,19-25 But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. 19 And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 20 And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim. 21 And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them. 22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. 24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. 25 And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.]
[for then shall the LORD go out before thee,] And here is the key to David’s success as king, he not only inquired of God he also did as God commanded. How long did it take God to answer David? We do not know, but we do know that in every decision he made he first inquired of God before he did anything. Believe it or not, America was founded not on religion, but the freedom to worship God as is it written in His Word. This is why the First Amendment of the Constitution gives each person the freedom to worship in whatever religion they choose, even of they choose not to believe in God. Just like every nation of God, there are always going to be some who go against God, and for some reason they have the biggest mouths. Let me tell you, just like the Jebusites, their bark is worse than their bite, they are defenseless against our all mighty God. God will fight for us, we just need to be ready for the battle using the most powerful weapon we have, [I Peter 3:15-17 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. 17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [II Samuel 5:24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.]
Today’s Prayer: God, On any given day we should be able to stop, look at the life we have now, and see how far we have come since we came to know Your Son as our Saviour. It is not so easy to see the blessings if we are facing difficulties or have not had a chance to get to know You like we should, but with a little prayer, studying of Your Word, some faith, patience, and perseverance, we know You can revive this nation once again. I do not believe that You have given up on us just yet, there are so many who are still eager to hear the Gospel. Lord, Lead us and guide us, help us to see beyond the challenges we face as a nation, and stand up to the mockers, and in Your strength we will prevail. Awaken out nation, let Your people be bold to preach the Gospel, put Your hedge of protection around us, and let us get back upon our ROCK of Christ so that You can keep us from sinking any deeper. I ask these things in Your name Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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