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: Monday, May 02, 2022
Chapters: I CHRONICLES 11-12, PSALM 133
Study: One Nation in Unity
Hello My Friend,
[Unity; The state of being one; oneness. Unity is a thing undivided itself, but separate from ever other thing.] As I read the chapters for today, I could not help, but think of just how divided my own nation is, and I mean, it is literally split in half, one half being progressives and the other half being conservatives. Then, as I looked up the meaning of the word from my 1828 Webster’s dictionary, it makes a lot of sense as to why we are so divided. What is sad is that while the progressives are surely in unity among themselves, I mean, they stick together like glue, unless one of them wakes up to see just how dangerous it is to have a government in charge of our well-being. Many Conservatives, on the other hand, are extremely divided and will throw you under the bus if it means that their well-being were at stake. All of what is going on in our nation as well as so many others, is a reminder that a nation is only as strong as their faith in God. Jesus said it best.
[Mark 3:24-27 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.]
Think about what Jesus is saying, [except he will first bind the strong man;] America, is one of the youngest nations and yet grew to becoming a very powerful nation, and that was solely due to their faithfulness to God. Now, that is not the case, it is becoming very weak in a very short period of time, and if it keeps taking God out of the picture, it will be overtaken. As we return to 1 Chronicles, it also gives the account to the entire nation of Israel, all twelve tribes, asking David to become their king. It also gives us a little more insight into what happened when the Jebusites tried to stop David.
[1 Chronicles 11:1-6 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. 2 And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel. 3 Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel. 4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. 5 And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. 6 And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.]
[David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD;] First, of all, a nation is only as strong as the leader’s faithfulness to God is. Just take a look into the history of our most successful presidents, and you will find that their faith in God was extraordinary. Because David was a Godly man, he put Godly men in charge of the kingdom, including his army.
[1 Chronicles 11:10-14 These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel. 11 And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time. 12 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties. 13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. 14 And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD saved them by a great deliverance.]
[who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom,] A great leader is not one who dictates our every move by what they believe to be true, it is one who has many helping hands, under God’s authority. The only reason why David became a great leader was because of his faithfulness to God, and seeking His will in everything he did. As all this was coming together, David wrote this short Psalm,.
Psalms 133:1-3 A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.]
[even life for evermore.] God wants us to life the best life, we must understand that the freedoms we enjoy today all came from the fact that our first leaders feared God. Now, that has not been the case for quite some time, little by little our freedoms are being taken away by a godless government. And if you want to know what it would be like if they controlled everything, everything from this pandemic to what kind of vehicle we are to drive, is a good example. This is not unity, this is oppression, and God will not have any of it, especially from our godless leaders, but He is waiting for just the right moment to strike, and that will only happen when His own people come together in unity.
[Isaiah 1:16-18 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.]
A great leader is also someone who is willing to stand in the front line to protect their people. David wasted no time getting his kingdom in order, especially the military. 1 Chronicles goes into great detail of the army that David put together, people from every tribe were included, and eagerly served.
[1 Chronicles 12:1-3,8-9 Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war. 2 They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin. 4 And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite, 8 And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; 9 Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,]
[And of the Gadites there separated themselves] Not only did one tribe have faith in David, they all did, and volunteered to join in with David. David had people working under him from every tribe, including the Benjamites, who were of Saul’s kin.
[1 Chronicles 12:16-18 And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David. 17 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. 18 Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.]
[mine heart shall be knit unto you:] It really is an interesting fact that when the nation became divided, the Benjamites did stay close to Judah. They were the only tribe that did not run off when Rehoboam messed everything up and every bribe, but Judah walked away from God. Well, it was actually under the direction of God, but the Benjamites stayed right by their side, [2 Chronicles 11:4,12 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam. 12 And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.]
Godly leaders risk their lives for their country and their leader, they do not think about the color of their skin, how much money they have, or what lifestyle they live, they are unbiased and do whatever it takes to protect their nation. Just imagine how powerful of a nation that we will be again if we all came together in unity. During David’s reign, and partially through Solomon’s, and for the first time since Joshua, the entire nation was united as one nation under God.
[1 Chronicles 12:23,38-40 And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD. 38 All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. 39 And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking: for their brethren had prepared for them. 40 Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.]
[for there was joy in Israel.] David’s success as king was due to the fact that he set up Israel in the way that God directed him, and when he did sin, he repented. That cannot be said for many of our leaders today, most are like Saul, are too proud to admit they did anything wrong, let alone humble themselves to God. We must remember that a nation can only stand if it remains in unity with God, and our nation is unraveling as fast as Israel did, [2 Timothy 2:24-26 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.]
Today’s Prayer: God, As Christians, we know that You have a place and purpose for everyone and everything that goes on in this earth. You will use any means to show the world that You are in charge and in control of all things. Through our faith in Your Son, we are united as One Body in Christ, but even we cannot get along. When we all come together as one body, we will not only defeat this pandemic and all those fools oppressing us, we will stand united by one faith, by one Jesus, and by one body, and become the once powerful nation that we were. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power to stand in unity by our faith and live in obedience to Your commands so that we can be a powerful testimony as one nation, in unity against the devil and all those who try to knock us down. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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