King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 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.]
Date: Sunday. May 01, 2022
Chapters: 1 CHRONICLES 10, 2 SAMUEL 4-5
Study: A Chosen Generation
Hello My Friend,
When I first began serving God I started in the nursery, for two years a good portion of my time was there, I had always wanted to be the nursery director, but God saw fit to use me as a Sunday school teacher. Well, one of my very first students turned just eighteen, and let me tell you the memories and tears of joy that this has brought me. I also spoke with someone who reads the devotions and she thanked God for using me. All of this is a great reminder of why I dedicated my life to Christ and continue to serve Him. God sees fit to use me to teach His Word, it does not matter if they are six months or eighty years old, wherever He takes me, I will go. I wonder why He uses me because I fail Him a lot, and that is when He reminds me, [But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. – 1 Peter 2:9-10]
As we return to the reading of I Chronicles, we are given a recap of Saul and three of his sons who died in the battle before David became king in Israel, first in Hebron. A few more details are given to give us a little more insight into what took place the day that Saul had lost his life.
[Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. 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. 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; And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. – 1 Chronicles 10:1-3,13-14]
[and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit,] Do you see what this was all about? Had Saul truly repented, his life would not have ended so tragically or humiliating. Millions of people die and end up in hell, not because they did not believe in God, but because they never truly called upon the name of the LORD, [Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. – Matthew 7:21-23]
Way too many “Bible” scholars and religious leaders have and will find out the hard way what happens when they not only face Jesus, but are judged for sending so many people to hell. Now, returning back to the reading of 2 Samuel, we learn of, for the first time, Johnathan’s son, Mephibosheth, and continue where Ishbosheth finds out about Abner’s death.
[And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. – 2 Samuel 4:4-6]
[He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan] At this point, Mephibosheth, is a teenager, he actually became crippled during the time of the attack. Can you imagine what the boy was going through? He not only lost his father, but walked with a crutch or in a wheelchair the rest of his life. 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 however long God saw fit to keep him there. 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.
[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. 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, 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: 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? – 2 Samuel 4:8-11]
[who thought that I would have given him a reward] 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. David, was just a teenager was anointed by Samuel, to be appointed the next king of Israel by God Himself. David never took things into his own hands, he left it up to God to decided Saul’s fate, and about thirteen years later, twenty actually, God’s promise came true, and David became king, for the entire nation of Israel.
[Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. 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. 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. 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. – 2 Samuel 5:1-3,6,8]
[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. [smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind] David, was being sarcastic when he said this, not literal. The gutter is the supposed place for those who are crippled, and perhaps some of them did curse God because of their infirmities as I am sure many do today. Jesus invites all to come to Him, in fact, He encourages the lame to come to Him, [The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. – Luke 4:18-19]
The true blind and lame are those ignorant fools, such as the Jebusites, who’s hearts are crippled to the fact they are dying and headed straight for hell because they refuse to accept that Christ is the only way to God. The truth is that Israel did a fortress so strong around it that it could not be taken by force, unless God allowed it, and that was God Himself. Things were going so great that David finally declared that God made him king.
[And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house. 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. 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. – 2 Samuel 5:10-12,17]
[and the LORD God of hosts was with him.] 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, but there was nothing that he feared because he knew that God was with him through every battle. The very first thing he did was ask God what he should do.
[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. 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. And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them. And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 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. 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. – 2 Samuel 5:19-24]
[And David enquired of the LORD,] And here is the key to David’s success, 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. 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 Almighty God. God will always fight for us, we just need to be ready for the battle using the most powerful weapon we have, our voice.
[From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:1-3,7]
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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