II Samuel 10
Hanun’s officers mistreated David’s messengersverses 1-4
And it came to pass after this
that the king of the children of Ammon died
and Hanun his son reigned in his stead
Then said David
I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash
as his father showed kindness to me
And David sent to comfort him
by the hand of his servants for his father
and David’s servants came into the
land of the children of Ammon
And the princes of the children of Ammon said to
Hanun their lord
Think you that David does honor your father
that he sent comforters to you?
Has not David rather sent his servants to you
to search the city – and to spy it out
and to overthrow it?
Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants
and shaved off the one half of their beards
and cut off their garments in the middle
even to their buttocks – and sent them away
David tells messengers to wait in Jerichoverse 5
When they told it unto David – he sent to meet them
because the men were greatly ashamed
and the king said
Tarry at Jericho until your beards by grown and then return
Battle between children of Israel and Ammonitesverses 6-8
And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David
the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob
and the Syrians of Zoba – twenty thousand footmen
and of king Maacah a thousand men
and of Ish-tob twelve thousand men
And when David heard of it – he sent Joab
and all the host of the mighty men
And the children of Ammon came out
and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate
and the Syrians of Zoba – and of Rehob – and Ish-tob
and Maacah – were by themselves in the field
Joab was surrounded and encouraged his menverses 9-12
When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him
before and behind
he chose of all the choice men of Israel
and put them in array against the Syrians
and the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of
Abishai his brother – that he might put them
in array against the children of Ammon
And he said
IF the Syrians be too strong for me – THEN you shall help me
BUT IF the children of Ammon be too strong for you
THEN I will come and help you
Be of good courage – and let us play the men for our people
and for the cities of our God
and the LORD do that which seems him good
Enemy armies ran awayverses 13-14
And Joab drew nigh – and the people that were with him
to the battle against the Syrians
and they fled before him
And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled
THEN fled they also before Abishai and entered into the city
So Joab returned from the children of Ammon
and came to Jerusalem
Syrians gather a strong army against Israelverses 15-16
And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel
they gathered themselves together
And Hadarezer sent
and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river
and they came to Helam
and Shobach the captain of the
host of Hadarezer went before them
Syrians defeated by Davidverses 17-19
And when it was told David – he gathered all Israel together
and passed over Jordan – and came to Helam
And the Syrians set themselves in array against Davi
and fought with him and the Syrians fled before Israel
And David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians
and forty thousand horsemen
and smote Shobach the captain of their host
who died there
And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer
saw that they were smitten before Israel
they made peace with Israel
and served them
So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Then said David, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. (5162 “comfort” [nacham] means comforter, console, to regret, to be sorry, to console, to alleviate sorrow or distress, give emotional strength to, or express sympathy)
DEVOTION: Have you ever tried to do good to someone and they thought it was wrong? In their mind they didn’t want you around because they didn’t understand your true motives. You wanted to be there to encourage them but they thought you were there to hurt them.
People sometimes don’t understand other people’s motives when they come during a time of sorrow. We want to be comforters but they wonder if we are just there because of some other reason.
Here we find King David wanted to show loyalty to this man who had died. It was the children of Ammon who were cousins to the children of Israel. They were descendants of Lot, who was Abraham’s nephew. There should have been a good relationship but over time there was not that type of relationship.
It would be good if all relatives could get along together even if they are distant cousins. Even today this fact is true. There are very few families that love all of their relatives no matter where they come from in the world. I know of one culture where if you are part of the family you are welcome anytime into the home and meals are provided and help is given. There are people here in America who will bring their nieces and nephews over to live with them while they receive their education. They are treated just like their own children. It is great to watch this happen.
It would be good if we put it into practice as well but most of the time those raised in this country are only looking out for themselves and no one else, not even the LORD.
Well it is stated that “no good deed goes unpunished” and this was true regarding the servants that came to give their condolences to the son of the king of Ammon. They there mistreated and sent away embarrassed.
CHALLENGE: We need to honor those who have been friends with us no matter how their families treat us.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, because they men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown and then return. (3637 “ashamed” [kalam] means to harm somebody, to insult, to put to shame, to be caused to be ashamed, be humiliated, to reproach, to treat shamefully, disgraced, or be mistreated)
DEVOTION: David sent a group of men to kindness to the son of the king of Ammon. They were on a peace mission. They were going to give comfort to the man but the princes of Ammon told him that David was just sending men to spy out the land.
On the basis of the comments of the princes the king’s son shaved off one half of their beards and cut off their garments in the middle to expose their buttocks. Now they were sent away greatly insulted and didn’t want to go to David in such a condition.
David heard what had happened and sent some men to comfort them and tell them that they should stay in Jericho until their beards grew again. Beards were a symbol of age and manhood. They were ashamed to come back home in such a condition.
Today we find that there are other ways to embarrass us when we come to help someone who doesn’t want our help. It is not fun to try to help someone who doesn’t trust you to be there to help.
Even with a genuinely good attitude toward someone who doesn’t want our help it can be difficult to help them. They need the help or comfort but they are not willing to accept it from us.
We have to seek the LORD’S guidance in these types of situations. HE will give wisdom when it seems that there is nothing we can do to help those who don’t want our help or think we have other reasons than comfort when we try to help.
We have to seek the LORD’S wisdom when we want to help those who need help but don’t want our help. HE will show us what we can do to help those who don’t want our help.
There are always people who want to question our motives or think the worst of us rather than just accept genuine care.
CHALLENGE: We should never give up helping those who don’t want our help if they need our help. Seek God’s guidance and wisdom in these situations.
: 9 When Joab saw that he front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians (977 “choice” [bachar] means preferred, tested, preferable, acceptable, excellent, elect, to be picked out or more desirable than)
DEVOTION: We have to evaluate our situation many times in our lifetime. We have to know when to fight and when to run. Here we have Joab and his army surrounded by enemies who were a stronger force than them.
He divided his men to each fight against one army at a time. So he fought against the Syrians and his brother fought against the Ammonites. They were surrounded and wondered what was going to happen. Joab gave a good encouraging thought to the army before the battle started. They were going to work together to win the battle.
So we know that the Israelites won the battle because the LORD was with them. We know that the LORD is with us during each of the battles we fight with HIS help. Our responsibility is to be close to the LORD and HIS responsibility is to show us HIS presence in each of our battles.
Winning the battles HE allows in our life is directly related to our looking to HIM for guidance and direction. HE will give us discernment during each of our battles.
If we go into a battle without seeking HIS direction we might wonder why the battle is so hard. We need to stop and pray for wisdom from above to face whatever is in front of us.
CHALLENGE: Never go into battle alone!!!! Never go into battle in your own strength!!! You have the LORD to help you through each battle.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God and the LORD do that which seems him good. (2388 “good courage” “play the men” [chazaq] means be strong, be constant, continue, encourage self, be established, mighty, prevail, be stout, behave self valiantly or withstand)
DEVOTION: This chapter is dealing with David trying to show kindness to the son of a king that had just died. He sent some of his servants to offer condolences. Those around the king’s son, Hanun, informed the son, that David was just trying to spy out the land of Ammon. Hanun believed his princes. He thought David’s comforters were spies.
They mistreated David’s servants. The mistreatment was to shave off half of each man’s beards. He cut off their garments in the middle. This embarrassment was great to men at that time. David told his men to stay in Jericho until their beards grew back.
This shows that sometimes when we are trying to show someone kindness, they can misunderstand our motives. There is always someone in the group that has negative thoughts regarding good actions.
Once they found out that David was angry at their actions, they hired other soldiers to fight with them against Israel. David sent Joab and part of his army to fight with this group of soldiers.
Joab found his army trapped between two armies. He divided his forces in half to fight on both fronts. Before they went to battle Joab was encouraging his men in the face of a great army that was arrayed against them.
He wanted them to have the characteristics of men, which included good courage. The same Hebrew word is used for both phrases. The first statement dealt with each individual being brave personally. The second statement dealt with being brave for the sake of their families. Finally, a separate statement dealt with asked the men to fight for their country that the LORD had given them.
We might not fight in a military army but we are part of the LORD’S army once we become a follower of Jesus Christ. One battle that we will be fighting for the rest of our life is with an enemy to all those who are believers. That enemy is Satan and his fellow fallen angels, which are also called demons, so we need to take courage in this battle. The LORD is on our side. The battle is real and with Christ we can do the impossible. We are fighting for ourselves and for our family and for our Christian community.
Joab won the battle, which caused another battle. The LORD continued to give David and his army victory. We can have victory as well. HE has promised to never leave us. Praise HIS name.
Do we realize that life is a battle? Do we realize who our enemy is? Do we realize we have the same command that was given by Joab to his army? We are to be strong.
CHALLENGE: We are to realize that the LORD will fight with us. Like Joab, we need to encourage those soldiers around us to fight the good fight for the LORD.
: 19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more. (5647 “served” [‘abad] means do, work, service, labor, be subjects, cultivate, become slaves, bond-servant or be a slave)
DEVOTION: The command to destroy all those who lived in the land was no longer understood when Israel conquered the people of the land. They made them servants who did the work as subjects to the Israelites.
These individuals were free labor for the fields and also worked the land that they lived on and gave the profit to the king of Israel. They helped make the nation wealthy.
So we find that David won all the battles up to this time with the help of the LORD. This meant that he conquered more lands and enslaved the people to help the nation become one of the richest nations of its time in the area. There were no nations that wanted to fight against Israel.
David was collecting the wealth toward the building of a Temple for the LORD. He was using his victories to prepare for the future.
The fear of the LORD was present in the nation of Syria. The fear of the LORD used to be present in the nation of America as well as other nations. They would honor the LORD with their laws and actions. This is no longer true. Our nation seems to be at war with Christian principles. It seems that those in leadership no longer want the name of Jesus Christ mentioned in public prayer. They no longer want people who love the LORD teaching in our universities. They no longer even want churches to honor the LORD by obeying HIS commands regarding proper behavior in society.
Does this mean that the church should change their stand on the Word of God? The answer is NO!! There are many that are turning from the plain teachings of the Word of God to follow what is right in their own eyes just like in the times of the judges.
We know that in the future the nations of the world will have the fear of the LORD again in their hearts. They will have to face the fact that HE is still in control over the world. HE will return to reign on this earth as a descendant of David.
CHALLENGE: Don’t keep your eyes on the present condition of the world remember the LORD is coming to reign on the throne of David.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator)verse 12
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verse 12
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Children of Ammonverses 1-14
Hired Syrians of Beth-rehob
Hired Syrians of Zoba
20,000 footmen
King Maach 1,000 men
Is-tob 12,000 men
Hanunverse 1
Nahash died father of Hanun
Became king of nation of Ammon
Took David’s servants
Shaved off half their beards
Cut off their garments to buttocks
Sent them away
Princes of children of Ammonverse 3
Told that David’s motives were not good
Search city and spy it out
To overthrow kingdom
Syrians of Zobaverses 6, 8, 11-19
Fled from Joab and Abishai
King Maacah of Rehobverses 6, 8
Ishtobverses 6, 8
Hadarezer brought Syrian beyond the riververses 16-19
Fought against David and his army
Fled before Israel
Made peace with David
Shobach – captain of the hose of Hadarezerverses 16-18
Killed by David
Syrians feared to help children of Ammon
any moreverse 19
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Lie of princes of Ammonverse 3
Mistreat comfortersverse 4
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Show kindnessverse 2
Comfortverse 2
Honor othersverse 3
Good courageverse 12
Peaceverse 19
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Davidverses 2-19
Wanted to show kindness to Hanun
Nahash had showed kindness to David
Told what happened to servants
Told them to tarry at Jericho until
beards grew back
Heard that Ammonites hired soldiers
Sent Joab and host of mighty men to fight
Told about Syrians coming to fight
Gathered all Israel together for battle
Slew the men of 700 chariots
40,000 horsemen
Killed Shobach the caption of Syrian army
David’s menverses 2-5
Sent to show kindness to Hanun
Mistreated
Joabverses 7-13
Told brother to be of good courage
Told brother LORD would do what
seems good to HIM
Syrians fled before him and his brother
Returned to Jerusalem
Abishai – Joab’s brotherverse 10
Battle planverses 9-12
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
When David’s intelligence network informs him of the exact location of the Aramean forces (v.17), he musters his entire army and crosses the Jordan River eastward to engage the Arameans in battle. Although the Arameans “regrouped” (v.15), the Israelites that David “gathered” (v.17) would prove to be more than a match for them (same Heb. verb). The contrast between David’s leading his own army (cf. also 12:29) in this situation and his remaining behind in Jerusalem in the next episode (11:1) is noteworthy (cf. Lawlor, “Theology and Art,” p. 195).
No braver than the Aramean mercenaries hired by the Ammonites, Hadadezer’s reinforcements also flee from the Israelites (v.18; cf. v.13). This time, however, David and his men press their advantage and inflict huge numbers of casualties on the enemy. Unless an error in transcription has occurred, the discrepancy between “seven hundred of their charioteers” here (v.18) and “seven thousands of their charioteers” in the parallel passage (1 Chronicles 19:18) is perhaps best resolved by understanding reḵeḇ in v.18 to mean “(men of) chariots” or “(men of) chariot divisions” and in 1 Chronicles 19:18 to mean “charioteers” (cf. Hodges, “Conflicts in the Biblical Account,” p. 242 n. 6; Symon Patrick, p. 425). As to the “foot soldiers” in 1 Chronicles 19:18, where v.18 has the Hebrew word for “horsemen” (see NIV mg.), the two texts can be reconciled by assuming either that the terms were interchangeable (see comment on v.6) or that foot soldiers and horsemen “were mixed together …: And that in all there were slain forty thousand of them, part Horsemen, and part Footmen” (Symon Patrick, p. 425). In any event, these texts clearly distinguish not only between “charioteers” and “foot soldiers” (cf. also 8:4) but also between “charioteers” and “horsemen” (cf. the MT of v.18).
The forty thousand horsemen/foot soldiers (cf. also Judg 5:8) probably represents four armies of troops (cf. Segal, “Numerals,” p. 12). Carlson makes the intriguing observation that the numbers four and seven, here boding ill for Aram, are reprised in the passing of judgment on David in chapter 12 (p. 146; cf. 12:6, 18). (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, pp. 925–926). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
10:15–19. Though the Ammonites apparently learned their lesson, the Arameans determined to avenge the disaster of Medeba by recalling their occupation forces from beyond the Euphrates River and employing them against Israel. Under the command of Shobach, general of the army of Hadadezer of Zobah, they took up positions at Helam, a desert place 40 miles straight east of the Sea of Kinnereth. There David met them, and again the Lord gave Israel victory. David’s men killed 700 … charioteers and 40,000 … foot soldiers and struck down Shobach. (Though the Heb. has 700 charioteers, the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 19:18 indicates that 7,000 charioteers were slain. The larger number is preferable since the Chron. account on the whole seems fuller and more comprehensive.) This broke the back of Aramean resistance and brought the Aramean confederates under Israel’s domination. Never again did they side with Ammon against the people of Israel. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 467). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
The second battle (vv. 15–19). David came personally to lead the battle against the Syrians, and he and the army of Israel defeated them, and the Syrians became vassal states in David’s growing empire. Joab wisely waited to set up a siege against the Ammonite capital of Rabbah at that time, so he waited to renew the attack in the spring of the year (11:1). He took the city and David came to finish the siege and claim the honors (12:26–31). It was while Joab and his men were besieging Rabbah that David remained in Jerusalem and committed adultery with Bathsheba.
David indeed was a man of war and fought the battles of the Lord, and the Lord was with him to give him victory. He extended the Israelite empire to the River of Egypt on the south, to the Euphrates River on the north, and on the east, he conquered Edom, Moab, and Ammon, and on the north defeated the Arameans and the Syrians, including Hamath. Because of God’s gifts and help, David undoubtedly became Israel’s greatest king and greatest military genius. He was blessed with courageous men like Joab and Abishai, plus his “mighty men” (2 Sam. 23; 1 Chron. 11:10–47). (Wiersbe, W. W. (2002). Be restored (p. 62). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor.)
Ver. 18. And the Syrians fled before Israel, &c.] After an obstinate and bloody fight between them: and David slew the men of 700 chariots of the Syrians; the word men is rightly supplied, for chariots could not be said to be slain, but the men in them; in 1 Chron. 19:17, they are said to be 7,000, here 700; which may be reconciled by observing, that here the chariots that held the men are numbered, there the number of the men that were in the chariots given, and reckoning ten men in a chariot, 700 chariots held just 7,000 men; though Kimchi takes another way of reconciling the two places, by observing that here only the choicest chariots are mentioned, there all of them, but the former way seems best: and 40,000 horsemen; in 1 Chron. 19:17. it is 40,000 footmen, and so Josephus; and the same may be called both horse and foot, because though they might come into the field of battle on horseback, yet might dismount and fight on foot; and so one historian calls them horsemen, and the other footmen; or the whole number of the slain, horse and foot mixed together, were 40,000: Kimchi makes use of another way of removing this difficulty, and which perhaps is the best, that here only the horse are numbered that were slain, and there the foot only, and both true; an equal number of each being slain, in all 80,000, besides the 7,000 in the chariots: and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there; of his wounds upon the spot. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, pp. 604–605). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
The men of seven hundred chariots; Heb. seven hundred chariots, i.e. the men belonging to them, that fought in or with them; as plainly appears, 1. Because the men only, and not the chariots, were capable of being killed, as these are said to have been. 2. Because it is thus explained in the Book of Chronicles, which was written after this book, for this end, to explain what was dark or doubtful, and to supply what was omitted here; where, instead of these words, are seven thousand men which fought in chariots, 1 Chron. 19:18. And this is a very common metonymy; of which see above, chap. 8:4, and the notes on 1 Sam. 13:5. Although there might be seven thousand chariots in all, whereof seven hundred where chosen ones; according to the distinction made Exod. 14:7. Forty thousand horsemen; for which in 1 Chron. 19:18, is forty thousand footmen; which may be reconciled divers ways. 1. Both these may be true, that he slew forty thousand horsemen, which being the most considerable part and strength of the army, it might seem sufficient to name them, and every one could easily understand that the footmen in that case were certainly cut off; and that he slew also forty thousand footmen, as is said 1 Chron., where he mentions them only, because they were omitted in 2 Sam., and the horsemen being expressed here, it was needless to repeat them in 1 Chron. 2. The horsemen may be here called footmen, in opposition to those that fought in chariots; because they sometimes fought on horseback, and sometimes came down from their horses, and fought on foot, when the place of the battle was more commodious for footmen than for horsemen; which it is not improbable was their case here; for David being a soldier of great prudence and experience, and understanding the great numbers of the Syrian horsemen, whereas the Israelites had but very few, Deut. 17:16, would doubtless endeavour to choose a place as inconvenient for their horsemen as he could. 3. Peradventure the Syrians designed to bring the war into David’s country, and therefore hastened their march, and for that end put their footmen on horseback, (as hath been frequently done in like cases,) who, when they came to the place of battle, came down from their horses, and fought on foot. So there is no need of acknowledging an error of the scribe in the sacred text; which yet if it were granted in such historical passages of no moment to the doctrine of faith and good life, it would not shake the foundation of our faith in matters of great importance, which it might reasonably be presumed the providence of God would more watchfully preserve from all depravation or corruption. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 1, p. 605). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
According to a Gallup survey, today’s teens have six basic needs that the youth leader is in an amazing position to address:
1) The need to believe that life is meaningful and has purpose;
2) The need for a sense of community and deeper relationships;
3) The need to be appreciated and loved;
4) The need to be listened to, to be heard;
5) The need to feel that one is growing in faith;
6) The need for practical help in developing a mature faith.
I don’t think it’s coincidental that each of these needs can be met, to some extent, by a spiritual mentor or youth ministry leader. (p. 180, Taking Back the GOOD BOOK by Woodrow Kroll)
IS INSTRUCTION NEEDED?
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18
The Bible does not teach that Christians do not need instruction. But surely, says someone, that must be wrong. Look at this verse from 1 John: the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teaches you (2:27). John says we do not need any man to teach us, and yet you say that the Christian church still needs instruction. How do you reconcile this?
It seems to me that the answer is as simple as this: The very fact that John is writing to them proves that they need instruction. If they do not, then John need have no concern about them at all. If the Christian needs no instruction, then the apostles claim to be divinely inspired when they wrote their epistles was a sheer waste of time. These epistles are full of instruction. We are told that the Christian is to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is milk provided for him, and there is strong meat. That is impossible if you take this statement literally and maintain that John is saying the Christian never needs teaching. Clearly that is not what he means.
So let us put it in this positive form: Surely the context here determines the interpretation. What John is really saying is what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:13-14. He is saying that the Christian has spiritual understanding that the natural man does not have. These things are only understood in a spiritual manner, and what John is here saying is that the Christian, having received the
Holy Spirit, has a spiritual understanding. You, says John, “are holding fast to this truth because the Holy Spirit has given you this enlightenment and understanding.
A Thought to Ponder: The Christian, having received the Holy Spirit, has a spiritual understanding. (From Walking with God, pp. 125-126. By Dt. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Jesus casts demons out of a Gadarene man and raises a girl from the dead.
INSIGHT
When Jesus takes over a life, He makes a difference. The worse the life, the greater the change.
When the demoniac from Gadarene rushes at the disciples with evil intent, Jesus exercises divine power, banishing Satan’s minions from their victim’s soul. Later, the man who had run naked among the tombs, howling and cutting himself, is sitting beside Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.
Wherever we are in our spiritual journey, the Lord will continue the work He has begun. He will keep changing us, ever into the image of Christ. (Quiet Walk)
Walking with God
Now it is generally agreed that there are two main senses in which this word is used throughout the Bible. The first sense of“ sanctify”—and we must always put this one first because it is the one most emphasized in Scripture—is to set apart for God and for God’s service. So you will find that this term sanctify is not only used of men—it is used even of a mountain, the holy mount on which the law was given to Moses. Mount Sinai was sanctified, it was set apart for a special function and purpose, in order that God might use it to give His revelation of the law.
The word is used, too, of buildings and of vessels, instruments and utensils, and various things that were used in the Tabernacle and the Temple. Anything that is devoted to or set aside for God and for His service is sanctified. So there is a double aspect to this primary meaning of the word. It means, first, a separation from everything that contaminates and perverts, and the second, positive aspect is that something or someone is devoted wholly to God and to His use.
A Thought to Ponder: To sanctify is to set apart for God and for God’s service.
(From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 8-9, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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