I Chronicles 14
King Hiram offeredverses 1-2
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David – and timber of cedars
with masons and carpenters – to build him a house
And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel
for his kingdom was lifted up on high – because of his people Israel
Children born to David in Jerusalemverses 3-7
And David took more wives at Jerusalem
and David begat more sons and daughters
Now these are the names of his children which he had in Jerusalem
Shammua – Shobab – Nathan – Solomon – Ibhar – Elishua – Elpalet
Nogah – Nepheg – Japhia – Elishama – Beeliada – Elophalet
LORD gives David battle planverses 8-10
And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel
all the Philistines went up to seek David
and David heard of it – and went out against them
And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim
and David inquired of God saying
Shall I go up against the Philistines?
Will YOU deliver them into mine hand
And the LORD said to him
Go up – for I will deliver them into your hand
David defeated Philistinesverses 11-12
So they came up to Baal-lperazim
and David smote them there
Then David said
God has broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand
like the breaking forth of waters
Therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim
And when they had left their gods there
David gave a commandment
and they were burned with fire
LORD gave instructions for second battleverses 13-16
And the Philistines
yet again spread themselves abroad in the valley
Therefore David inquired again of God
and God said to him
Go not up after them – turn away from them
and come on them over against the mulberry tree
And it shall be – when you shall hear the sound of going in
the tops of the mulberry trees
that then you shall go out to battle
for God is gone forth before you
to smite the host
of the Philistines
David therefore did as God commanded him
and they smote the host of the Philistines
from Gibeon even to Gazer
David’s fame spread throughout all the landsverse 17
And the fame of David went out into all lands
and the LORD brought the fear of him on all nations
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel. (3045 “perceived” [yada] means to know, notice, hear of, learn, to be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information, or possess knowledge or information about)
DEVOTION: Do we realize when we are blessed of the LORD? Do we seem to always want more blessings than we already have? Do we think we deserve more blessings from the LORD because of all the good we are doing in our world? Can our thinking be one-sided?
David realized that the LORD was training him before he came to be king of the nation that he had been anointed for by Samuel many years before it actually happened. How good are we at waiting on the LORD to put us in a place of importance?
Once David became king over all of Israel and he received a request from the king of Tyre to help him build himself a palace he realized that the LORD was confirming him as the king he was supposed to be.
His kingdom was receiving blessings and he was experiencing victories in battles because the LORD was with him. Once the victories start coming, he had to look to the LORD more for guidance.
He depended on prayer before each battle when he was in fellowship with the LORD. We need to do the same in our life. If we see victory on a regular basis and there is a confirmation from the people of God that the LORD is blessing us we need to become more dependent on prayer not less.
Victory is only good if we understand that it is the LORD working through us that gives us victory. If we start thinking it is something we are doing on our own we will start experiencing failure and wonder why.
The LORD always has to be in the equation of victory in our personal life. There has to be a thankful spirit within us that leads us to praise for the LORD and HIS grace and mercy in our life.
Do you realize when the LORD is blessing you? Do you break out into praise and thanksgiving each time HE gives you a victory? Do not neglect to bring HIM glory after each victory.
CHALLENGE: Don’t let Satan tempt you into thinking that it your skills and abilities that gave you the victory.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them, (1245 “seek” [baqash] means to discover, find, to try to locate or discover, look for, hold responsible, inquire about, to seek to secure)
DEVOTION: It is a sad but true fact that all of us have people that don’t like us. There are people in our life who would like nothing better than to see us fall flat on our faces each day. They would have a party if they could be the ones who help us fall on our faces in failure.
The Philistines were the enemies that David could see but it was really the spiritual enemy that he faced each day who really wanted to see him fail. The spiritual enemy that all of us face each day is the devil and his angels. They are firing arrows at us each day to cause us to fail.
Once we put on the armor of God each day we are able to fight against and be protected from those arrows that are heading our way. The Philistines thought that they could defeat David but David won victory over them because of his going to the LORD in prayer regarding how to handle each battle.
Our enemies are searching us out to cause us to fail but the LORD is there to give us victory over any circumstance we face in our world. HE wants us to realize that HE is right there to help us win all of our battles over the temptations HE allows in our lives.
CHALLENGE: Are you facing victory or defeat today? The enemy is coming against all those who are trying to serve the LORD faithfully.
: 10 And David inquired of God, saying Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will YOU deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said to him, Go up, for I will deliver them into YOUR hand. (5414 “deliver” [nathan] means to give, to hand down, to surrender someone or something to another, especially to an authority, or place an object or idea in the possession or control of another, implying value of the object, as well as a purpose for the exchange)
DEVOTION: Prayer is important to anything we do if we are a follower of the LORD. We should pray before we leave the house when we are facing the challenges of the day. We should pray for wisdom on how to handle a situation with people. Our lives should be governed by prayer each day.
Here we find that David is asking the LORD about a battle he is going to face against a stronger enemy humanly thinking. We have to face enemies that are stronger or more than the forces we have with us each day. We need the extra strength that only the LORD can give.
David received the assurance from the LORD that HE would fight with HIM. We have that same assurance when we pray to the LORD and ask for HIS help when we face challenges. We should have the confidence that HE will fight for us in any battle we face, as long as, we turn to HIM for help.
We have to be living a life that is pleasing to HIM as we go out the door into our world. This can only happen as we pray and study HIS Word in a genuine way. Too often we don’t spend time with HIM in prayer and Bible Study and expect HIM to give us answers and victory in all the battles we face.
HE want us to have close fellowship with HIM on a daily basis. HE wants us to realize that we need HIS help as we face any enemy in our life.
CHALLENGE: Remember to set your face toward HIM first each day before we face the world full of enemies and challenges. Our enemy is real but our LORD is able to meet any challenge he puts in our way.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 15 And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. (6807 “going” [tse ‘adah] means a marching, or sound of ornaments of the legs)
DEVOTION: The king of Tyre wanted to build David a palace. This confirmed in David’s mind that the LORD was present in his reign over Israel. He relaxed by taking wives which showed that he was confident in the LORD’S blessing.
Well, the Philistines didn’t like the fact that David was king. They thought they could come out and defeat him early in his reign. But David consulted the LORD regarding how he should battle the Philistines. The LORD gave him directions. David followed the LORD’S directions and defeated the Philistines.
When the Philistines came a second time against David this passage relates how the LORD uses different strategies against the same enemy. David prayed a second time for guidance from the LORD and HE gave it. The first time HE told David to face the Philistines head on. In this second battle HE told him to go after them from behind. He was to wait for the sound of marching from the tops of the mulberry trees.
Sounds like a strange thing to listen for but David obeyed. He knew that the battle was the LORD’S. David listened and heard the sound. He went to battle. The LORD won the battle. The Philistines ran out of the land of Israel.
When word of the victory hit the area, all the kings around Israel backed away from David’s army. The Bible says that all the people around feared David. Each of the two battles in this chapter had a different strategy.
David acknowledged the LORD after each victory.
We need to remember that each battle we fight, we need to talk to the LORD before facing the same enemy. We need to obey the orders of the LORD at all times, even when they don’t seem to make sense to us. HE gives different instructions in each of the battles we face. HIS instructions need to be followed faithfully in order for us to have victory. With HIM we can have VICTORY.
Are we listening to the LORD? Are we willing to submit to the LORD? Do we go to battle against our enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil, with the same strategy each time? The LORD wants us to realize that HE gives good directions but each time we need to pray for those directions. Don’t face the enemy with directions for the last battle as we face a new battle each day.
CHALLENGE: Each battle we face is different, even if it is the same enemy. Our LORD wants to give us victorious directions. We need to listen to HIM regularly. Then we need to acknowledge that HE is giving us victory.
: 17 And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations. (8034 “fame” [shem] means reputation, name, renown, standing, honor, authority, and character)
DEVOTION: We all have a reputation among our family and friends. It can be a good reputation or a bad reputation. Sometimes we can start with a good reputation and then lose it or we can start with a bad reputation and change it to a good reputation as we allow the LORD to work in our lives.
David was just beginning his reign as king over all of Israel and he faced an enemy he would face most of his life. The Philistines came to battle and he asked the LORD what strategy he should use against them. Each battle was different and so each strategy was different.
As he waited on the LORD to answer his prayer, he watched the LORD give him victory. If he had gone to battle without consulting the LORD he would have lost.
So, the victories gave him a reputation as a winner in the first years of his reign. It established a reputation that all the other nations took notice of before they would go to battle against him.
We need to realize that word spreads around the world in our day and age faster than in the past but the word gets out nevertheless about what we are doing with our life.
If we are winning battles for the LORD people notice and tell others about what is happening in our life. It can be a good testimony as to how the LORD helps HIS children in their battles.
All of us want to be winners when it comes to the battles, we face each day. Some of the battles are physical and we need to ask the LORD to give us victory even in those battles. We should not be like Hezekiah who asked for more years to live if it is not going to bring glory to the LORD. When we ask, we should ask for the LORD to give us the time HE wants us to have and give HIM the glory for that time period. Some people think that the LORD should always restore health if we ask for it. It should always be according to HIS will and HIS timing.
David gained a good reputation because of his dependence on prayer. We should gain the same reputation because of our dependence on prayer. I talked to someone who was getting better from a physical ailment and she gave credit to the prayers of her family and friends. That is what we should do too each time the LORD gives us healing and strength to face our battles.
CHALLENGE: People notice how we handle each situation the LORD allows in our life. Give HIM the glory for any help HE gives you in your personal battles.
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)
David followed the LORD plans for battleverses 10, 11, 14, 15
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)
David inquired of the LORDverses 10, 14
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)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 2, 10, 17
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)verses 10, 11, 14-16
LORD brought fear of Davidverse 17
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)
Hiram – king of Tyreverse 1
Philistinesverses 8-16
Came to do battle with Israel
Came a second time against Israel
All nations feared Davidverse 17
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
False godsverse 12
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Perceivedverse 2
Confirmed of Godverse 2
Anointedverse 8
Direction from the LORDverses 10, 14
Deliverance from enemiesverses 10, 15
Obeyed commandverse 16
Reputationverse 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Davidverses 1-17
LORD confirmed as king of Israel
David took more wives
Children of David
Shammua, Shobab, Nathan
Solomon, Ibhar, Elishus, Elpalet,
Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama,
Beeliada, Eliphalet
Inquired of God regarding Philistines
Said God has broken in on mine enemies
Baal-perazim
Burned false gods of Philistines
Second battle – God will smite them
Did what God commanded
Fame of David
Baal-pe-ra-zimverse 11
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
14–15 Against the Philistines’ renewed invasion) the Lord guided David into an encircling movement. The signal for springing this ambush was a supernatural “sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees,” perhaps similar to the miracle recorded in 2 Kings 7:6. (Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 383). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
14:13–17. After the Philistines were defeated by David they did not lose heart altogether; they returned again to Rephaim. This time the Lord instructed David to set an ambush. When Israel would hear a sound of marching in the … balsam trees (i.e., a loud rustling of the leaves) this would be their signal that the Lord was already leading their army into battle and they should follow. David had such a victory (pursuing the enemy from Gibeon to Gezer, about 15 miles) that all other nations heard of it and feared him. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 1 Chronicles. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 606). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
14:12 gods … burned. Second Samuel 5:21 reports that the idols were carried away, presenting an apparent contradiction. Most likely the idols were first carried away and then burned later, according to the Mosaic law (cf. Dt 7:5, 25). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Ch 14:12). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
David’s victories over the Philistines enhance his standing (14:8–17). After his consolidation of power, the Philistines move directly against David by raiding the Valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem. David’s piety is seen in his inquiring of the Lord (v. 10; very likely at the ark) and his ordering the burning of the abandoned Philistine idols (v. 12). Once more the Philistines raid the valley; once more David inquires of the Lord; and again David is victorious. (Bowling, A. C. (1995). 1-2 Chronicles. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 272). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
8–17. The account of these wars is so exactly represented before in the 5th chap. 2 Sam. that I refer the Reader to what is there observed upon them. Spiritually considered, and with an eye to Christ, we may derive great improvement from the wars of David. In Jesus he conquered. So must we. His direction for going forth to the war, was by the sound of the mulberry trees. Our guide is the same, in the movement of the Holy Ghost. His opposition to the Philistines all his days, teacheth us, that the holy war with us ends only with our breath. His burning with fire the spoil, shews us that no quarter is to be given to the foe. His reputation as a warrior among his neighbours, serves to point him out as a type of Christ, under whose banner he fought. And the holy praise he gave to the Lord, in saying, God hath broken in upon mine enemies, and ascribing all the glory to him, serves to teach us, that in all our victories, like the armies above, we overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of his testimony. Rev. 12:11.
REFLECTIONS
Reader! learn from the view given us of David in this chapter, that the highest state of earthly glory, is neither secure from corruptions within, nor from fightings without. Even David hath fleshly lusts which war against the soul. And even David’s security under the blessing of the God of Israel, shall not exempt him from furious battles with the Philistines on every side. They that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Reader! if you be Christ’s, do not expect much ease, or uninterrupted enjoyment. But see to it, in all your conflicts, that you fight under the Lord’s banner. Remember what David saith, speaking of Jesus: In thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness make their boast. Go forth, therefore, as he did, in the strength of the Lord, and make mention of his righteousness, even his righteousness only. And Reader! suffer me to add one thought more. As David waited for the sound of a going in the mulberry trees: so let you and I watch that still small voice, of God the Holy Ghost, which, like a voice from behind or within, saith, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right-hand, and when ye turn to the left. And to what is this direction pointed, but unto thee, thou blessed Jesus, for the Holy Ghost is unceasingly glorifying thee, for thou art the way, and the truth, and the life. In thee and thy finished salvation, we shall overcome and be more than conquerors through thy love, wherewith thou hast loved us. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, pp. 360–361). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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!!)
Shem can be a synonym for “reputation” or “fame”: “Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:4). To “give a name for one” is to make him famous: “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land …” (2 Sam. 7:23). If a name goes forth for one, his “reputation” of fame is made known: “And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty …” (Ezek. 16:14). Fame may include power: “And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three” (2 Sam. 23:18). This sense, “men of reputation,” appears in Gen. 6:4: “… mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”
This word is sometimes a synonym for “memory” or “reputation” (that which remains): “… And so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth” (2 Sam. 14:7). In this respect “name” may include property, or an inheritance: “Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father” (Num. 27:4).
Shem can connote “renown” and “continuance” (in those remaining after one): “And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown” (Num. 16:2). This significance is in the phrase “to raise up his name after him”: “What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” (cf. Deut. 9:14; 25:6; Ruth 4:5). (Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.)
Sol writes (Mexico): Living by faith. This must be our attitude every day. Search The Lord. If we are always in need and we always need his grace. He gives us timely relief in every circumstance. It’s beautiful to experience your timely help. When we look for him and pay attention, it is when we can realize his presence in our lives and his absolute provision. His throne is available to everyone. Busquémosle with a sincere heart.
THE DOCTRINE OF REGENERATION
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Psalm 51:10
Nothing, it seems to me, is quite so strange as the way in which man by nature always objects to the doctrine of regeneration. There is nothing also, I sometimes think, that so demonstrates the depth of sin in the human heart as this objection to the doctrine of the rebirth or being born again. Read the New Testament Scriptures, and you will find that men objected to it in those days. When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ spoke about it, He was always persecuted. People disliked Him for mentioning it. When He began to expose the depth of iniquity in the human heart and to talk about a rebirth, they invariably misunderstood Him. They disliked it then, and it has always been the same ever since.
When John Wesley was truly converted, he went back to his university at Oxford and preached a sermon on this very subject; and he was hated for it. Those respectable religious people in Oxford disliked this doctrine, and they made it impossible for him to continue preaching there. The natural man, the unregenerate human heart, objected to this great and wondrous biblical doctrine of rebirth and regeneration. And it is equally true today. People sit and listen to an address or sermon on what is called the fatherhood of God or the brotherhood of man and they never object to it. When they are exhorted to live a better life, they never express any objection at all. They say that it is perfectly right, and even though they are reprimanded for not living better lives, they say that it is perfectly true and quite fair and that they could do better. But if a preacher stands before the natural man and says, “You must be born again” “you must have a new life from God,” they ask, “What is this strange doctrine?”
A Thought to Ponder: There is nothing that so demonstrates the depth of sin in the human heart as objection to the doctrine of the rebirth. (From Out of the Depths, pp. 71-72. By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.)
Well-meaning Christians at times speak of “law and grace” as opposite ways of salvation, as if the the Old Testament and the New Testament were opposed to one another. This viewpoint results from thinking of the law of Moses as legalism rather than God’s gracious instruction for Israel. Thinking of the OT law as legalism typically comes from misunderstanding Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians. This approach leads to a misunderstanding of the Gospels, especially Matthew. One person put it this way: “Did Jesus preach Paul’s gospel?” The more I reflect on that question, the more upside-down it seems. But the notion that Jesus and Paul were at loggerheads comes from the more basic error that the teaching of Jesus contradicted the Torah (instruction) of Moses.
Anyone who thinks that the New Testament is at odds with the Old Testament, that Jesus’ message contradicted Moses’ message, has to deal with Matthew 5:17-48, where Jesus strongly prohibited that very thought, let alone that teaching. In this post we want to get a better understanding of how Jesus understood the Old Testament and his relationship to it. That should impact our own Bible reading today, and our understanding of the relationship of Christians to the Old Testament law. You’ll notice in these verses that Jesus forbids us to think that he has done away with the OT. Rather he said he had come has come to fulfill it. We’ll talk through what “fulfillment” means and how that impacts our Bible reading and Christian life. (Dr. David Turner)
The prophet Nathan openly rebukes David and stirs him to repent.
INSIGHT
When Nathan comes to accuse David of adultery and murder, it is well within David’s power to shout: “Off with his head!” But David does not issue that order. Instead, his heart breaks. The horror and magnitude of his sin is incalculable, but it is to David’s credit that he immediately repents. Rather than resisting repentance because we feel we don’t deserve forgiveness, we should do as David did-repent that very instant.
(Quiet Walk)
ONE CURE
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
There is but one cure for the ills of man. When my conscience accuses me, there is but one thing I know of that can give me rest and peace. It is to know that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who bore my sins “in his own body on the tree,” has forgiven me. It is to believe and to know that because He loved me and died for me, I am clear of accusation. Then, conscious as I am of my weakness and failure and my lack of power to live a life worthy of the name, I am again driven back to Him. It is only from Him and the power of the Holy Spirit that He imparts that I can be made more than a conqueror.
As I contemplate meeting my Maker and my eternal Judge, my only hope is that I shall be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ and that He will take me by the hand and present me “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). It is always and only in Christ that I find satisfaction. It is only in Him that my problems are solved. The world with all its methods cannot help me at the moment of my greatest need. But Christ never fails. He satisfies always and in every respect. The more I contemplate Him, the more do I agree with Charles Wesley when he said:
Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find!
He still remains the only hope for individual man, the only hope for the whole world. Is the gospel still relevant? It alone can deal with and solve the problems of man.
A Thought to Ponder: There is but one cure for the ills of man.
(From Truth Unchanged, Unchanging, pp. 124-125, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
God’s Memorial Day
“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Exodus 3:15)
It is surely a good thing that Americans have designated an annual Memorial Day in which we call to remembrance the great sacrifices of those before us who fought and suffered (and often died) to form our nation and preserve its freedom. Without them we would not be here today, and we need to remember them.
It is even more important, however, to remember the God of our fathers, our true Author of liberty. He has established His own memorial, wanting us to remember not only our ancient spiritual forefathers, but also His own great name, Jehovah. “The LORD God” in our text verse is Jehovah Elohim. The sense of God’s announcement to Moses was that “Jehovah” was the name of the God of Abraham, and in fact, the name of the Creator of the world. Jehovah is the redemptive name of God, while “Elohim” is His name as omnipotent Creator.
We must always remember this, He says. The word “memorial” is used here for the first time in the Bible and thus is very significant. We should remember Him as Creator every seventh day when we devote a day to rest and worship (Exodus 20:8, 11). But there is also another day to remember the Lord for His work of redemption. When He became man, dying to save us from our sins, He established a memorial supper, saying: “This do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Thus, when we observe each weekly Lord’s day, and also whenever we partake of the Lord’s supper, we are really observing a special Memorial Day in His honor, remembering His great name “unto all generations.”
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Nathan Wagner writes (MI):
As a church family we’ve spent the last few weeks considering how to reflect the heart of God in the midst of the cultural standoff related to racial justice. We discovered that our identity as Christ followers empowers us to enter into the messy middle and refuse to align ourselves with either side of the standoff.
It’s in that messy middle that we have the opportunity to offer hope, grace, and truth to a fractured and fragile world.
What does that look like? We used this acrostic to help inform how to love, serve, and lead with confidence, compassion, and curiosity.
P – C A R E – A Pre-decision to Care
Pray – Lament over our history as a nation, healing for those affected, wisdom for leaders making decisions, hope for the future, how best to leverage your position and power to help
Connect – Pursue mutual friendship with those different from you and who have different lived experience than you, ask questions, seek to better understand, empathize, be relentlessly curious
Advocate – Invite into your circle, open up your network for those who don’t have access, give a seat at the table where decisions are being made, use your influence to empower others who would otherwise miss out on opportunities
Reflect – Do a radical self-evaluation on personal biases, prejudices, defensiveness, or insensitivity and seek to better understand where it’s sourced and what to do about it
Engage – Seek out books, articles, podcasts, and other media that can inform and inspire you to better reflect God’s heart on justice.
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.