Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Samuel: 24 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============
Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Chronicles 21-22 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============
Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 30 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============
Highlight Passage: … 2nd Samuel 24: 25 … David built an altar to the Lord there [on the threshing floor David had procured for his sacrifice to God] and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
============
Highlight Passage #2: … 1st Chronicles 21: 27-28 ... 27 Then the Lord spoke to the angel [who was about to use a plague to slay thousands more of the
Israelites because of David’s sin], and he put his sword back into its
sheath. 28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the
threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.
============
Highlight Passage #3: … 1st Chronicles 22: 6 … Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.
My Journal for Today: Today’s chronological read at the end of 2nd Samuel, chapter 24 and repeated for emphasis for God’s exclamation in 1st Chronicles (chapter 21) is a clear statement from Israel’s history of the outcome of sin being death and God’s blessing of life for obedience and sacrifice in His Name and for His glory. Psalm 30 then was clearly written at the time that David dedicated the place where God’s temple would be built (i.e., on the place where he had dedicated a threshing floor) to praise God for His mercy and loving kindness in sparing God’s people when he repented and cried out for God’s mercy. I hope you go to the links provided above and take in these readings, as I have this morning, to get the full message from God’s word (HIS-STORY – i.e., history) about how we can be blessed by God when we choose to honor Him by avoiding pride and sin in our lives and by living in humility and obedience to His will from His word.
Then, as I was reading through this history lesson about David’s prideful sin in counting God’s people to build up his army; as well as about David’s repentance for the sin, even though it caused thousands to die of a plague, I was taken back to all those years of sinful living in my life before I became a Christian, which seemed so much greater a violation to my God than David following God’s command to count the people but for the wrong reasons; and I was deeply convicted and covered with gratitude for the mercy God has accounted to me and my family now that I have received His saving grace by my faith in Christ. Yes, I know there has been a deep accountability of consequences for my past sin; but no plague has been visited on my family or all of God’s peoples as it was with David’s sin. And this shows me just how much more accountability any church leader, … a pastor, teacher, or elder, … or any government leader, such as the President of the US, has upon them than does someone who is not in that kind of a leadership role.
When a leader sins, especially out of prideful arrogance, the result can be showered upon the people he leads; and that’s what happened with King David in these passages I was led to study today. And now that I am in a position of church/ministry leadership, I cringe at the reality of my responsibility to be a “man after God’s own heart” as was David.
I don’t know how this study today has affected you, anyone reading these passages and what I’ve blogged here today; but I pray we all take any role we have which influences or watches over others very seriously; and I pray we realize the truths brought out in this study which teaches that obedience (in Christ) equals life and disobedience (in sin) yields death. Nuff said!!
My Prayer Today: … Lord, may I stand under these truths and be the leader You have called me to become for Your glory. Amen
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment