Meditate on it

"Riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in  Your hand, and it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all." 1 Chronicles 29:12 From 1 Chronicles 29 and the Biblical Illustrator---Truths to Meditate Upon: "Use 3. For encouragement. I. This truth affords encouragement in those special cases which are most apt to trouble and deject you. He can supply all your need. (1) Want you wealth, or what you judge to be a competency? (1Ch 29:12).All the riches of the world are in His hands, and He can dispose thereof to whom and in what proportion He sees good (2Co 9:8; Php4:19). "And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8 I. “God is able”—a very simple proposition. A self-evident one to those who really believe in God. Is not the opinion of many something like this?—“God is not

www.stevethomason.net The kingdom is united for three reigns, although even within these reigns there was strife and division between the tribes. Saul-1st king David-2nd king Solomon-3rd king then the official split begins: From Bob Deffinbaugh's article "The Great Divorce" "Our text is a vivid illustration of the way divisions occur. The division of the united kingdom occurred in a way that is classic for all divisions. Churches have split and marriages have ended in divorce in precisely the same manner. Let me point out some of the key elements. The first element is pride (or arrogance). Rehoboam was too proud to heed the petition of the people and to lighten the load his father had placed on them. The second element, closely related, is power. Rehoboam wanted to be in control, to be “in charge.” He viewed mercy, kindness, and humility as weakness, and he would have none of this. The third element is “godly counsel.” Rehoboam refused to heed the wise

"Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters,  and thy footsteps are not known.  Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron."  -Psalm 77:19-20 “Thou leddest Thy people.” The whole philosophy of life is here, here for us no less than for Israel. If we think we need some other theory of living because the Israelites were only poor slaves, and we intelligent nineteenth-century Christians, we are greatly mistaken. After all these centuries, God has nothing to add to this, that men let Him lead them, in His own way, through the sea if so He will it. The true philosophy of life is summed up here, in simply following God. Over the Apennines there is a wonderful railroad, on which, in a space of less than seventy miles, one passes through forty-three tunnels, some of them of very great length. The road is full of magnificent outlooks, but every few moments you go plunging into a tunnel. And certainly the traveller over this road

Every time I read through the Psalms, I find old friends.   Often, I don't know them by number or name, it's more that I enter into a familiar wave of words and ride it out with contentment.  Others are classics, but they never grow tiresome. Here are some favorites: Psalm 139 Psalm 123 Psalm 27 Psalm 61 Psalm 103 Good wisdom here: Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. -Psalm 4:4

"That which the French proverb hath of sickness is true of all evils, that they come on horseback and go away on foot; we have often seen that a sudden fall, or one meal’s surfeit, has stuck by many to their graves; whereas pleasures come like oxen, slow and heavily, and go away like post horses, upon the spur. Sorrows, because they are lingering guests, I will entertain but moderately, knowing that the more they are made of the longer they will continue; and for pleasures, because they stay not, and do but call to drink at my door, I will use them as passengers with slight respect. He is his own best friend that makes the least of both of them." (Joseph Hall.) Tough going with 109 and 110---I need to take time to hash through them, but they are not particularly winsome psalms, but psalms of punishment and justice.  I would much rather dwell on the merciful character of the Lord! Psalm 109 One thing I find interesting is that the psalmist welcomes conflict---especiall

I particularly liked MacLaren's commentary on 1 Chronicles 29:29-30.   Time is such a slippery concept--the correct use of it, the loss of it, the critical nature of seizing the moment as it ripens:    "Note “times” which make up each life. By “the times” the writer does not merely mean the succession of moments. Each life is made up of a series, not merely of successive moments, but of well-marked epochs, each of which has its own character, its own responsibilities, its own opportunities, in each of which there is some special work to be done, some grace to be cultivated, some lesson to be learned, some sacrifice to be made; and if it is let slip it never comes back any more. The old alchemists used to believe that there was what they called the “moment of projection” when, into the heaving molten mass in their crucible, if they dropped the magic powder, the whole would turn into gold; an instant later and there would be explosion and death; an instant earlier and ther

The psalms are gradually becoming an old friend of mine. Although I still cannot claim to know them all, each time through, I recognize more along my journey through them, and some have become dear familiar friends.  My favorite commentaries on the psalms are Matthew Henry and Charles Spurgeon's Treasury of David. This time around, I am trying to give some others a fair shot as well. Psalm 5 was on my reading list for today. "For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.  The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.  You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man." "The passage is worthy of our most special attention. For we know how greatly we are discouraged by the unbounded insolence of the wicked. If God does not immediately restrain it, we are either stupified and dismayed, or cast down into despair. But David, from this, rather finds matter

It's insightful to read opinions from different eras. Charles Spurgeon's tone typically strikes me as severe but refreshing. He suffers no fools and doesn't mind pointing them out publically either. His thoughts on men who do not value commentaries: "It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others." ha! Here are his favorite general commentaries: Calvin, Ness, Henry, Trapp, Poole, Bengel And his favorites for specific books: "Caryl on Job will not exhaust the patience of a student who loves every letter of the Word; even Collinges, with his nine hundred and nine pages upon one chapter of the Song, will not be too full for the preacher's use; nor will Manton's long metre edition of the hundred and nineteenth Psalm (Psalm 119:1-176) be too profuse. No stranger could imagine the vast amount of real learning to be found in old commentaries like the

Worth more thought, from Bob Deffinbaugh's article on David mourning the loss of his first son by Bathsheba. I'm intrigued by his bend on things---that a person's response to the natural world and their understanding of God in that sphere is telling of their response to Him had they been given a fuller revelation. I'm not sure whether I agree or not---here it is: "I believe the argument goes like this. God has revealed Himself to all men through nature. This revelation is not complete, and it does not include the good news of the forgiveness of sins through the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Even so, a person’s response to what God has revealed to them in nature is a demonstration of how they would have responded if more had been revealed to them. Those who have received the revelation of God in nature have rejected it, twisting it into a religion of their own making, so that they worship God’s creation rather than God the Creator. &

A Bob Deffinbaugh fest of commentary excerpts: "But now David was the king of all Israel. He needed a capital that was farther north. He needed a capital which would be more centrally located, and one which would unify the nation. Jebus was the perfect city. Israel's victory over the Jebusites would unite the nation. The possession of Jebus as David's new capital would do likewise. The city was virtually on the border of Judah and Benjamin. It was a city that neither the sons of Judah nor the sons of Benjamin had been able to capture. Thus, taking this city as his capital would not seem to favor either of these two tribes. In addition to all of this, its natural setting made it difficult to defeat (which is why the Israelites had not taken and held it before). It was in the hill country, on the top of more than one mountain, and with valleys around it. With a little work, it was a virtual fortress (5:9)" -Bob Deffinbaugh, Study on 2 Samuel, Bible.org **********

I've been hashing over the life of David this summer.  I find his life like a kaleidoscope--each way I turn it, I find another pattern to think through.  Publically, his journey to the throne was a long one.  It begins after an inauspicious visit by Samuel, followed by a long season of waiting and strife. From a fleshly perspective, what does David get for his anointing?  He faithfully serves Saul only to be attacked intimately by Saul's spear then more corporately hunted as a fugitive.  David's integrity toward God and his men through these years is sterling.   Though he has opportunity to take Saul's life twice, he refuses.    TBC....

Joab has continually confounded me during my sojourning in Samuel and Chronicles. Here are some facts: *He was the son of Zeruiah, a sister of David.  So, Joab was David's Nephew *Joab has been with David since the cave of Adullam when 400 men and his family come to support him. *He had two brothers, Abashai and Asahel. *He was a brave commander, not afraid to fight and seize the moment.  2 Samuel 10: 9-14 *Joab was from Judah.  Abner, Ishbosheth, (and Saul) were from the tribe of Benjamin, representing Israel.

Deffinbaugh brings up some interesting background on Abner, commander of Israel while Saul is living and after his death: *Abner's father was probably Ner, the brother of Kish (who was Saul's father). This would intensify the loyalty Abner had toward Saul. *Abner was there when David slew Goliath. He didn't step up to the plate then. *As David was a captain of a thousand in Saul's army of which Abner was the commander. Abner was surely familiar with David then too. *The second time David could have taken Saul's life, he stole Saul's water jug and spear. After retreating, he taunted Abner and asked him why he wasn't defending Saul as he should be. "As we put all of these elements together, we see that Abner is guilty for failing to protect his king, and thus worthy of death. His failure is divinely caused (by God putting all of them to sleep), thus making Saul vulnerable to Abishai, who wants to kill him but is prevented from doing so by David. David

2 Samuel, Chapter 2 On the Situation After Saul Died and Before David Assumes Kingship:  This was a decisive and important move for it immediately alienated him from the Philistines with whom he had taken refuge and made an alliance; it signified the quasi-independence of Judah from Israel, an attitude which would find complete expression at the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s death (1Ki_12:16); and it asserted David’s reign as being in rivalry with that of Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, who succeeded his father in the North. -BKC On Hebron Unto Hebron - The metropolis of the tribe of Judah, one of the richest regions in Judea. The mountains of Hebron were famed for fruits, herbage, and honey; and many parts were well adapted for vines, olives, and different kinds of grain, abounding in springs of excellent water, as the most accurate travelers have asserted. -Adam Clarke Hebron was well suited for the temporary capital of David’s kingdom, being situated in a strong pos

The Partial Obedience of Saul 1 Samuel 15 Saul is told to strike the Amalekites.  He musters Israel to fight, conquers them, but makes the mistake of keeping what is worthwhile: 1Sa 15:9  But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. In some odd way, this reminds me of Cain and Abel.  If the sacrifice is worthless in the giver's eyes, then it becomes an insult to the Lord instead of a pleasure.  What good is it to destroy only the "despised and worthless"? In 1 Samuel 15:11, we are given insight into the Lord's thoughts on Saul directly: 1Sa 15:11  "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments." And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. Samuel and the Lord seem more

Encounter with David & Abigail: Note, 1. God is to be acknowledged in all the kindnesses that our friends do us either for soul or body. Whoever meet us with counsel, direction, comfort, caution, or seasonable reproof, we must see God sending them. 2. We ought to be very thankful for those happy providences which are means of preventing sin. -Matthew Henry On Sparing Saul's Life a 2nd Time The tigerish lust for blood awoke in Abishai. Whatever sad, pitying, half-tender thoughts stirred in David as he looked at the mighty form of Saul, with limbs relaxed in slumber, and perhaps some of the gloom and evil passions charmed out of his face, his nephew’s only thought was,’ What a fair mark! what an easy blow!’ He was brutally eager to strike once, and truculently sure that his arm would make sure that once would be enough. He was religious too, after a strange fierce fashion. God-significantly he does not say ‘Jehovah’; his religion was only the vague belief in a deity-had