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: Saturday, May 07, 2022
Chapters: II SAMUEL 6-7, PSALM 132
Study: Do Not Slumber
Hello My Friend,
Last night was my first good night of sleep since I had started my training with my job, and it felt great. I woke up, ready to start the day, and my mind was so clear that I wrote yesterday’s message at 6am this morning with not one distraction or the need to check my notes. Did you know that lack of sleep can cause health problems, even weight gain? There are many reasons that we may have trouble sleeping, many of them are linked to our daily habits, including lifestyle, stress, and personal circumstances. As I was thinking on this, the passage came to mind, [Proverbs 24:30-34 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.]
There is a difference between sleeping and slumbering, sleeping is God’s way of giving us some rest, Jesus slept when He was here in the flesh, in fact, God even rested after He created the earth in six days. True rest comes from Jesus, [Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.]
The word slumber means, [To be in a state of negligence, sloth, supineness (laying around) or inactivity.] Slumbering is being too lazy to make an effort to work, yet wants all the luxuries as if you did. I think about all these able bodied people who refuse to go back to work and it is quite sad really. These people do not know nor have the desire to do better, even if there is no incentive for doing so. Thankfully, even if we do not see it in our lifetime here, we who are faithful to Christ will see the rewards of our hard work, even secular work. There was a reason why God had anointed David as king and it took so long for it to actually happen. There was some work that David needed to do before he had gotten his rest as king. And as we return to the reading of 2 Samuel, it also gives the testimony of when David first attempted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
[2 Samuel 6:1-3,6-7 Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. 3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. 6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. 7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.]
[And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor,] A threshing-floor is a barn floor, corn floor, which was kind of like a threshold, when the cart went over it, the Ark shook and was ready to fall of it, and that is when Uzzah touched it and died instantly. [and God smote him there for his error;]. It did not matter if he was aware that only a Levite could carry the Ark, and only a priest could touch the Ark, and his ignorance cost him his life. Of course, David did not know that either, which brings us to question how no one knew about this, even those devout to God. Well, at this point, remember, Saul killed many of the priests, and had also stopped all form of worship after he let his ego get the best of him. You can say that David is what we call a babe in Christ, he trusted in the LORD as his Saviour, and followed what he learned. Since David did not know what to do yet, he had the Ark carried inside of one of the Levites homes.
[2 Samuel 6:9-11 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? 10 So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household. 12 And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God.]
[How shall the ark of the LORD come to me?] This reminds me of this passage, [Acts 8:26-27,30-31 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.]
God does not really send us out there to work in the world so that we can reap the benefits of a paycheck, that is the provisions that God gives His hire for their labor. The reason God does send us out there is for us to teach them who Jesus really is. In case, you did not notice, the world and quite frankly, most religions are clueless as to who Jesus is, and have no clue what this verse actually means, [John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.]. Jesus also said, [Matthew 10:16,19-20 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.]
It truly is incredible how the Holy Spirit speaks to you, especially when you actually listen to what He is saying. Yes, I have been guilty of not listening to Him more times than I care to admit, but thank God that He is long suffering and still uses me, and I believe that He will continue to use me as long as I am willing and repentant.. When David found out how blessed Obededom and his family were for three months, he found out what he needed to do to get the Ark to Jerusalem. And it was a parade and he as well as the entire nation came together, dancing and singing to God as the Levites carried the Ark, all except one person, Michal.
[2 Samuel 6:16,20-23 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! 21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. 22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. 23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.]
[How glorious was the king of Israel to day,] What a sad state, at one point, Michal loved David and even helped him escape when her father was trying to kill him. She had no children of her own with David or the man that Saul had given her to when he took her away from David, [1 Samuel 25:44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.]. It is also obvious that the feelings were mutual between them as she was probably quite hostile when David retrieved her, [2 Samuel 3:14-16 And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines. 15 And Ishbosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from Phaltiel the son of Laish. 16 And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, Go, return. And he returned.]
The problem that comes when we try to retrieve the things that we once thought were of value to us after we are saved, it just does not work. When you stop to think about the life you were born into, and the book that is written about you, and es, there is a book. We must consider that everything we had gone through was either handed to us or we took, attempting to make a name for ourselves, all the while God Himself was using every trial, error, blunder, joy, and sorrow to prepare us for the position that we are in today. Once we get saved, it is best to move forward and start a new chapter, [2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.]
Finally, King David had a time of rest, there were no wars, his enemies were at bay, the Ark was in Jerusalem, with the Tabernacle, and worship had been restored. Something was bothering David, he did not like that the Ark was enclosed in a tent, he was good friends with Nathan, the prophet, and mentioned this to him.
[2 Samuel 7:1-5 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee. 4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, 5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?]
[Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?] This is God, and He is literally saying something like this to David, “You want to build a house for me? One that is permanent and unmovable, unlike the tent that cannot contain me either?” Well, God did have plans for a house for Himself, but it was not a physical building.
[2 Samuel 7:12-15 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.]
[I will chasten him with the rod of men,] If this verse sounds familiar, we just read it in the Psalms. Although God did have Solomon build a temple as he was literally the only king in the entire world, including Israel, that did not experience wars, He would used Solomon to establish a kingdom that no one could see, and that was the Kingdom of God. Even Solomon admitted that no walls could contain God, [1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?]
[as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.] This was God’s promise to David that he would not remove His covenant with him as He did with Saul. So, what was the difference? Why did God keep His mercies on David and his family all the way up until Jesus was born and removed Saul’s and his families? Well, he really did not, the only thing that God did was remove Saul’s lineage from the throne. Even when the kingdom was divided the Benjamites remained in Judah. As far as Saul’s lineage, all his sons were killed, and that is where it ended. We saw this when the account of his lineage had been given, [1 Chronicles 9:39-40 And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 40 And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal: and Meribbaal begat Micah.]
Do you realize that God does not dwell in a man made building? He never has as He dwells in believers, period. Saul lost his faith in God, he refused to repent and worship God as He commands, and that is why He removed His Spirit from him. Well, after hearing all that news, David was quite humble, in fact, he did the same thing the rest of us do, who have no idea why God continues to use them, he asked God what He was thinking, but believed Him nonetheless.
[2 Samuel 7:18-21 Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant. 21 For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.]
[to make thy servant know them.] It is by far a rare occurrence that God reveals His plans to man, He has nothing to say to them. He does have something to say to those who truly believe in Him. Mary did the same thing when the angel Gabriel told her that she was going to give birth to God’s Son, [Luke 1:30-31,34-35,37-38 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.]
It is not for us to question God’s reason, we just smile, humble ourselves, and say, “Thy will be done.” David wrote this Psalm as a reminder of this news.
[Psalms 132:1-5,11-14 A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions: 2 How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; 3 Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; 4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, 5 Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. 11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 12 If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. 13 For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. 14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.]
[he hath desired it for his habitation.] It is God’s desire to live with you, and not to dictate your every move, but to guide us and give us that comfort and helping hand that we need to get through this time of our lives until He brings us home, [Philippians 2:13-16 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for taking the time to plan out every detail in the book that You have written of me. Not everything that I had gone through was pleasant, many of things were of my own doing, and could have had a much greater consequence had I not experienced what true worship is, and that is through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Your Spirit indwells me and will live inside of me until You bring me home, and that is something that will always humble me, especially when I mess up. Thank You, for Your mercy and grace, I will never understand why You have chosen me to do such important work, or why You place things in my life that challenge that, but Your will be done. Whatever befalls me, I know that I will endure it because You are with me and nothing is impossible with You. And Lord, let me not fall into a slumber, rather find my rest in You so that I can be the best at whatever work You give me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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