Tag Archives: faith

2 Samuel, chapters 22-24

“For you are my lamp, O Jehovah;
It is Jehovah who lights up my darknes.”
~2 Samuel 22:29

Ever feel lost in life?
Like you have no idea what direction to steer yourself in?
God promises to light our path so we know what direction to head in.
He does this when we draw close to him in prayer and when we base our decisions on his guiding principles found in his word (Ps. 5:1,2; 119:105; Isa. 30:21).
When we let God influence our decision making, we can have the same confidence as the Psalmist:

Jehovah is my light and my salvation. Whom should I fear? Jehovah is the stronghold of my life. Whom should I dread? (Ps. 27:1).

We will experience clarity and peace of mind that only comes as a result of doing God’s will (Ps. 97:11).

2 Samuel, chapters 4-8

And now, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah, you are the true God, and your words are truth, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
~2 Samuel 7:28

King David had asked for the prophet, Nathan’s, blessing in constructing a temple (2 Sam. 7:2,3).

When Jehovah told David through Nathan that it wouldn’t be him, but his son, who would undertake and accomplish that great task, David opted to see the glass half full (2 Sam. 7:12,13,18,19).

He fully trusted God’s promises 100% (2 Sam. 7:21,27).

He knew that, even after his own death, his kingdom would persist because God had spoken it (2 Sam. 7:16).

We, too, need to keep a positive attitude when we fail to accomplish personal goals.

If we cannot serve God in the way we had envisioned ourselves doing so due to health, financial or family circumstances, or even due to personal shortcomings, we can still demonstrate our faith that Jehovah will bless us and our families in the future.

Like David, we can also pray:
“So may it please you to bless the house of your servant, and may it continue forever before you; for you, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah, have promised, and with your blessing may the house of your servant be blessed forever,” (2 Sam. 7:29).

1 Samuel, chapters 26-31

David was very distressed, because the men were talking of stoning him, for all the men had become very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself by Jehovah his God.
~1 Samuel 30:6

When David and his 600 men came home from pretending to ally with the Philistines, they found their village had been raided by Amalekites (1 Sam. 27:2; 29:9,10; 30:1-5).

Thus David faced a revolt from the men who had been very loyal up to that point.

Instead of fleeing, panicking, giving up, or attempting to eliminate the instigators, David “strengthened himself by Jehovah his God.”

After inquiring of Jehovah, he led his men to seek out their kidnapped families and they liberated them (1 Sam. 30:8,18,19).

This is an example of how hard it can be at times for our elders to carry out their roles in the congregation, since sooner or later they all have to make unpopular decisions and face the scrutiny of others.

Instead of becoming embittered or depressed, elders can take refuge in their strong relationship with Jehovah and continue to find joy in carrying out their ministry (Ps. 31:1).

1 Samuel, chapters 23-25

[…] David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel and said to her: “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.” She immediately rose up and bowed with her face to the ground and said: “Here is your slave as a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” Then Abigail quickly rose up and rode on her donkey with five of her female servants walking behind her; she accompanied the messengers of David and became his wife.
~1 Samuel 25:40-42

Abigail was a “discerning and beautiful” woman (1 Sam. 25:3).

On top of that, she was humble and hard-working.
Despite being the recent widow of a very wealthy man, she did not think she was above her servants in the sense that she would leave them all the dirty work (1 Sam. 25:2, 36-39).

At the time David proposed, he was not yet ruling as king.
He was dwelling in caves (1 Sam. 25:4).
Also, after being deprived of his first wife by his father-in-law, David had already taken on a second wife- making Abigail his third wife (1 Sam. 25:43,44).

This makes Abigail’s answer to his marriage proposal seem all the more selfless.

Abigail considered it a great honor to become David’s wife because she put faith in Jehovah’s words that David would one day be king (1 Sam. 25:30,31).

When I put myself in Abigail’s shoes- how she had just gotten out of a terrible marriage, how she was willing to leave her ranch estate for David- a man who lived like a fugitive, a man who a few days earlier had gone to take vengeance against her own household, a man who was not going to focus on her primarily, a man that had not even gone to propose in person!
I would not have reacted the way she did.
That is why I marvel at her faith and her self-sacrificing personality.

1 Samuel, chapters 19-22

Michal took the teraphim statue and placed it on the bed, and she put a net of goat hair at the place of [David’s] head, and she covered it with a garment.
~1 Samuel 19:13

Why did David’s wife, Michal, have a teraphim idol if God had forbidden their use (Exo. 20:4,5)?

The Watchtower gives a possible explanation in that her heart may not have been complete toward Jehovah and it is possible that certain superstitions still influenced Israeli culture.

Perhaps David did not know about the idol, but it is also possible that he let her keep it because she was the king’s daughter (Watchtower 06-01-04, p.29, “Questions from Readers”).
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With that the king said to the guards stationed around him: “Turn and kill the priests of Jehovah, because they have sided with David! They knew that he was a runaway, and they did not inform me!” But the king’s servants did not want to lift their hands to assault the priests of Jehovah.
~1 Samuel 22:17

The guards in this story are a fine example of fearing God instead of man (Matt. 10:28).

When human authorities come in direct conflict with God’s will, the right thing to do is to carry out God’s will (Acts 5:29).

This principle alone would avoid modern cases of genocide.

1 Samuel, chapters 16-18

So David got up early in the morning and left someone in charge of the sheep; then he packed up and went just as Jesse had commanded him. When he came to the camp enclosure, the army was going out to the battle line, shouting a battle cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up so that one battle line faced the other battle line. David immediately left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he began asking about the welfare of his brothers.
1 Samuel 17:20-22

David was undoubtedly a unique boy.

It is without wonder that God chose him as the new future king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:11-13).

In just this short passage, we are able to see his distinct qualities in action and appreciate what really set him apart from the rest.

First, young David was responsible in leaving his flock of sheep attended by someone else.
He obeyed his father Jesse ‘just as he commanded him.’
When he gets to the battleground, he shows to be cautious when he leaves his baggage “in the care of the baggage keeper.”
Then we see him compelled to run to the battle line, worried about his brothers’ welfare.

David was an orderly, detail-oriented, brave, faith-driven boy of action whom Jehovah trusted would become a great king.
Though hardly any of us aspire to royalty, these noble qualities are worthy of imitating to gain God’s favor.

Chapter 17 of the first book of Samuel is one of the most exciting renown Bible stories.
The implications of this series of events coupled with the prophet Samuel’s intense emotional writing style makes for one of the must-read stories of any person’s lifetime.

1 Samuel, chapters 14 and 15

“[…] Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer was behind him; and the Philistines began to fall before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer was putting them to death behind him.”
~1 Samuel 14:13

By standing up to their people’s oppressors, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were demonstrating great faith in Jehovah, crediting him with the victory before it begun (1 Sam. 14:6).

There is another lesson in their actions: teamwork goes a long way.

They were obviously very coordinated, being able to carry out this extraordinary deed of striking and putting 20 men to death, despite being outnumbered 10 to 1 (1 Sam. 14:14).

Although as Christians we do not participate in deadly combat, we do need to collaborate extensively with other members in the Congregation on a weekly or sometimes daily basis.

The success we experience spiritually is directly related to our ability to subject to theocratic arrangements, which in turn is directly related to being humble (1 Cor. 14:40).

Like Jonathan’s armor-bearer, we need to be willing to sacrifice personal interests in order to demonstrate our unyielding loyalty toward God and our spiritual family (1 Sam. 14:7).

Then we will clearly see Jehovah’s blessings and his loyalty toward us (1 Chron. 16:34).

1 Samuel, chapters 1-4

“Then Elkanah went to his house in Ramah, but the boy became a minister of Jehovah before Eli the priest.”
~1 Samuel 2:11

A few years prior, when Elkanah’s sterile wife Hannah came before Jehovah to pray for a son, the high priest Eli had mistakenly made offensive comments to her, misjudging her for a drunkard (1 Sam. 1:10-14).

Her reply to him reflected a quiet and mild spirit (1 Sam. 1:15-18; 1 Pet. 3:4).

When Hannah’s prayer was answered and her child was ready to be weaned, neither her nor her husband held resentment against the house of Jehovah nor toward his appointed servants.

They understood that the center for pure worship was the tabernacle at Shiloh and did not restrain from taking their son to serve there (1 Sam. 1:21-25).

They had faith in Jehovah that he would look after their son and that it was the best place for him despite the imperfections of those serving there.

Likewise, we should not let the imperfections of others in the congregation deter us from offering ourselves up for greater service.

We may witness personality defects that could work as stumbling blocks, but we should continue to recognize Jehovah’s congregation for what it really is: the center for pure worship (Isa. 2:2,3).

If we do our part and leave the rest in God’s hands, we will surely be blessed, like in the case of Hannah and Elkanah (1 Sam. 2:20, 21; Mal. 3:10).

 

Judges, chapters 8-10

 Gideon made it into an ephod and exhibited it in his city Ophrah; and all Israel committed spiritual prostitution with it there, and it served as a snare to Gideon and to his household.
~Judges 8:27

When Gideon liberated the Israelites from the oppression of Midian, they tried to make him king (Jg. 8:22).

However, Gideon was not about to usurp on God’s sole right to rule, so he instead asked for material donations (Jg. 8:23,24).

He proceeded to use these donations to create an Ephod, which was an apron-like garment made of gold and precious stones, worn by the high priest on special occasions (Ex. 28:6-14).

Gideon, being a man of Faith, was apparently motivated by the desire to commemorate the unlikely victory Jehovah had granted Israel over its enemies (Jg. 7:20-22; Heb. 11:32,33).

How did this piece of commemorative art become a snare?

It detracted attention from the center of pure worship which was God’s tabernacle.

The Israelites commited “spiritual prostitution” in the sense that they bowed down to the ephod as if it were God, much to Gideon’s dismay.

What can we learn from this?
Good intentions do no always justify the means or the project.
We should be careful with our actions so that we never become a “stumbling block” to members of our community and our spiritual endeavors end up having an opposite effect (Rom. 14:13; 1 Cor. 10:23,24).

 

Judges, chapters 5-7

The villagers in Israel were no more;
They were no more until I, Deborah, rose up,
Until I arose as a mother in Israel.
~Judges 5:7

Here, the prophetess Deborah is praised in song for leading the Israelites in victorious battle against their oppressors (Jud. 4:14-16).

As women, we should never feel so powerless or intimidated by men to the point where we restrain from delivering God’s message .

To assume no one will listen to us is to underestimate the power of God’s word, for he is the one who puts it into action, and he will use any means he wishes to achieve its purpose (Isa. 55:10,11).

Therefor, may we not shy away from making a difference.
Let us seize decisive moments and speak God’s truth (John 17:17).