Benaiah And Courage

Let me continue with sharing on David’s Mighty Men of David from 2nd Samuel 23 and in this post we will look at verses 20-23: ²⁰ Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. ²¹ He killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²² These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. ²³ He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.

I must confess, my favorite among David’s mighty men is Benaiah. He was the son of a valiant man name Johoida who had done mighty deeds himself. Benaiah killed two sons of Ariel of Moab which compared to the other mighty men who had killed 300 enemies may not seem that impressive, but there’s much more that Benaiah did.

We read here that he descended into a pit on a snowy day to kill a lion and succeeded! Thinking this through, does this sound like something you would really want to do? What do you think the odds would be if you were to fight a lion? How about fighting a lion in a pit? How about in the pit with a lion on a snow covered floor? Most people in their right mind run from lions not chase after them. The Bible does not tell us if Benaiah had any sort of weapon but do you think it would have really mattered? Weapon or not weapon this was more than dangerous. In spite of all the obstacles and difficulties, Benaiah succeeded and his courage clearly is seen in the act.

But there is yet another incident which our author reports where Benaiah battled an impressive Egyptian man. The problem for Benaiah was that he encountered this impressive fellow at a time when he had no weapons. The Egyptian had a spear like that of Goliath and was eager to do battle with Benaiah. Benaiah went down to the Egyptian, with only a club in his hand and taking the Egyptian’s spear from his hand, Benaiah then proceeded to finish him off with his own weapon, not unlike the way David killed Goliath with his own sword. He was a courageous warrior and a man who fought for his King!

The amazing thing about Benaiah is that he was the son of a levitical priest which would put him in line to be a priest – 1 Chronicles 27:5 tells us this: The third commander of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief; and in his division were 24,000. We would not expect a levitical priest to take on lion or to take on others and fight anyone for that matter. Here was a priest willing to dirty his hands and put his faith into practice. Perhaps it was as a reward for his faithful service that David put him in charge of his bodyguard. Benaiah was a man of great courage – like we should all be but are we? Are we willing to step into dangerous places and allow the Lord to work? Are you willing be courageous for Christ? Sadly, many are not willing to step out. Many are unwilling to show their courage. Will you?

How are you currently stepping out in courage right now?

I apologize for the slackness in posts and in responding but live is moving quickly right now – been preaching revival services,  preparing sermons, visiting the hospitals, ect.  – it has been crazy – praying for a slower weekend.

Selflessness, Service, and 3 Mighty Men

In the last post we started looking at some of David’s Mighty men and today we will look at a story of three of David’s men and their courageous act.  Look at 2nd Samuel 23 verses 13-17: 13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15  David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16  So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; 17 and he said, “Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

The writer of Samuel shares a story of these might men before David became king and while he was still fleeing from Saul. The “cave of Adullam” is first mentioned in 1 Samuel 22:1. This cave is where David located after he fled from Gath. It is where a number of his family and friends joined him as well as others who were also out of favor with Saul and where David’s band of mighty men first started. At some point in time, David and his men were in this cave while they were at war with the Philistines. The Philistines had taken possession of David’s hometown of Bethlehem and were camped there. David then said in passing that he would love a drink from that well in Bethlehem because of how good the water was from it.

So what happened was that some of his men heard what David said and decided that they would provide for their leader whatever he wanted. I do not see it that he had given orders to fetch him the water from that well or even intended that anyone to get him water from the well, but to these three brave men, David’s wish was their command. The men left the safety of the cave, went 12 miles or so to Bethlehem, broke through the enemy lines, drew water for David, and came back 12 miles to bring it to him. When presented with this water, David did what seems unusual; he refused to drink the water, and instead poured it out on the ground. This is not because he disdained the efforts of these courageous men or because he did not wish to drink it but his actions demonstrated that he wanted to honor the courage of those who obtained it. David never intended to put these men’s lives at risk for his own desires because that kind of devotion that was showed to him was the kind of devotion that belonged to God. Pouring this water out before the Lord was David’s highest expression of appreciation and regard for these men. The water was a symbol of the blood these men nearly shed, serving him. The highest use to which this water could be put was the worship of God, and so David poured it out to the Lord in worship.

Do you have the courage and selflessness to do what these men did? They selflessly served. Do you selflessly serve or do selfishly serve? Selflessness is not caring about your wants or preferences but about others and their needs. Selfishness is only worrying about what you want and your preferences and nothing about what is the best for others. Which describes you? The Christ like attitude is that of selflessness because selflessness shows real courage.

How do you guard against selfishness?  What is a story of how someone served you selflessly?  Do you see service as an act of worship?

Mighty

In Chapter 23 of  2 Samuel we see some of David’s Mighty Men and their courageous acts looked at by the writer.  This week, I hope to post on them  because in them we can see the courage that these men had but more than that we can see how mighty our God is.

Take a moment and look 2 Samuel 23 verses 8-12: These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time; and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn.  He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain. ¹¹ Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.

Here we see David’s three mightiest men. They are Josheb, Eleazar, and Shammah. First there is Josheb. Now with him there is a little controversy over how many enemies he killed. Here it says 800 and in Chronicles it says 300 – I have no idea which is the right number – but most likely one is a copyist error. Regardless if he killed 300 or 800 – it is a huge number of people to kill in a day! He is certainly a real warrior and courageous man who fought for his king!

Then we have Eleazar who was fighting with David against the Philistines. Apparently the Philistines were prevailing over the Israelites, at least through the eyes of many of the Israelite soldiers who fled before them. Eleazar seems to have been defending a field full of barley, which the Philistines may have intended to plunder or destroy. Eleazar is fighting alongside David, even though everyone else had fled – these two courageous men stood their ground. The Philistines fell before Eleazar, and he continued to fight to the point that his hand cramped, frozen to the sword. The battle was won, due in part to the courage and perseverance of Eleazar. When the people returned to the site of the battle, all that remained to do was to strip the dead of the spoils. Eleazar fought for his king and stood his ground!

The third of the big “three” is Shammah, the son of Agee. On this occasion, the Philistines were once again doing battle with the Israelites. They gathered for battle where a plot of land had a crop of lentils growing. Once again, it seems the Philistines want to deprive the Israelites of their crops. To win this plot of ground was to obtain necessary supplies and to deprive Israel of them. The people fled from the Philistines, but Shammah stood his ground and striking down a number of the Philistines. Again, a great act of courage showing love for king and country!

There is more to each of these stories because I left out a piece that is mentioned in verse 10 and in verse 12 which is: the Lord brought about a great victory that day. These men showed courage and because they did – God brought about a great victory! It is God who brings the victory. Every blessing, every victory, anything we have is brought about by God – never forget that but also do not forget that you also have to be sensitive enough to do as the Lord directs. You have to step out in courage. Are you willing to swallow your pride and step out in courage so that the Lord can bring about the victory in and through you? Are you willing to do that uncomfortable and right thing so that the Lord can work? The Lord will bring about the victory in your life as long as you are courageously putting yourself the position for Him to work! It is time that we did put ourselves in position for Him to work! Are you doing it – I challenge you to begin even now!

How are you putting yourself in a position for God to work?  What are you doing right now to put yourself in the position for God to bring you the victory?

Titles

2nd Samuel 23:1 – Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, The man who was raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel,

What we see here in this verse is that David shares some of  titles he has in life. He was The son of Jesse: Jesse was a humble farmer and this title shows David’s humble beginning. He was The man raised up on high: David allowed God to raise him up, so he could confidently rest in this title. He was The anointed of the God of Jacob: David was anointed by God, not by himself or merely by man but he had a unique empowering and enabling given from God. He was The sweet psalmist of Israel: David had a beautiful gift of eloquence and expression before God. This title shows of David’s deep inner life with God. These titles all reminded David of who He was; that he was more than just a king, he was a man of humble beginnings, a man raised up by God and set apart by God, and a man who had a deep relationship with God.

I have titles – I am a son, a husband, a father, a pastor, and some would say jokester.  They are all titles that I carry and they remind me of who I am and what God has done for me.  The greatest title I carry though is Son of God.

What are the titles that you have? Do they remind you of who you are? Do they remind you of what God has done for you? What about the title son of God or daughter of God? Are you living up to that title? What title are you living up to today in your life and what titles are you not living up to?

What is the greatest title you have and why do you consider that one the greatest and are you living up to it?

Past, Present, and Future

In Psalm 22 – David writes his last song.  At the end of his last song he writes this in verses 47-51: : “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, The God who executes vengeance for me, And brings down peoples under me, Who also brings me out from my enemies; You even lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. “Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name. “He is a tower of deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.”

David here sings here of the God who secures and in whom he has found his security. The word “Therefore” in verse 50 calls is a call to look backward.  David examines the landscape of all the years that have passed in his life.  As he does, he sees the clear hand of God has led him, kept him and blessed him.  David sees that his past has been a time of absolute security found in Christ and the only insecurity came when David went astray from the path of God!

It would do us all good if we were to take just a minute to look back.  Look back to where you were when He found you.  Look back to how He saved you and changed your life.  Remember His power, His blessings and His miracles that have been showered down on you through the years.  Remember how He has strengthened and sustained you on so many occasions.  Remember them!

As David looks around He sees the hand of God still working in his life.  He was secured by God’s power in the past and knows that God still has him safely in his hand.  Regardless of what the day may bring, David knows that he is safe in God’s “tower of salvation”.  The past has been a showcase for God’s power in David’s life, but he also knows that regardless of what today may bring, God will keep him safe and secure as long as he stays on the path!

That same blessed assurance belongs to us as well.  Regardless of what the day may bring into your life or mine, we can rest assured that He will secure us as we read in great passages like Romans 8.  Thank God, we are the partakers of His divine destiny as we move through all the valleys, trials and burdens of our lives.  God works in our present, just as He has worked in our past. 

David also looked to the future and he saw God working in his life into eternity.  David knew that God would secure his future just as surely as He had secured his past and his present. We have that same hope!  God did not just work yesterday and He is not just working today but He is working in our futures.   What a blessing and what a hope we have because no matter what comes our way, we are in a permanent relationship with God if we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus! Trust him and stay on the path he has laid out for you.

Today let me ask you – what is one thing God has done in your past, what is is one thing God is doing now in your life, and what is one thing that you see God working on for your future?

Not my Righteousness but His

As I was studying for last weeks sermon I came across 2 Samuel 22 verses 21 through 25 which say: “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.“For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not acted wickedly against my God. “For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. “ I was also blameless toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. “ Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes.

The phrase in verse 21; According to the cleanness of my hands, is an interesting one. It is these words that are one reason why some believe David could only have sung this song before his sin with Bathsheba. Yet when the whole text or chapter is looked at it seems to indicate that David sang this towards the end of his life.  I really wondered about it and it how it fit with the end of his life and then it hit me.

What this does is actually brings about this argument that this could be made and that is that David simply believed what the Prophet Nathan told him in 2 Samuel 12:13: The LORD also has put away your sin. David knew he was a forgiven man, and that the cleanness of his hands was because they were cleansed by God, not because they had never been dirtied. What I see David is saying his being clean is all about God and not about him. Remember that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to Him for righteousness.

Here is the strange thing with this and that is that some people think they are going to get into heaven on their righteousness, but the truth is that will not happen because of what Isaiah 64:6 says, our righteousness is like filthy rags. The only way we are going to make it to heaven is to be clothed in Christ’s righteousness because that is the only righteousness that will be accepted. So here David is talking about God’s righteousness that is now his righteousness because of his relationship with God. .

David also says here in these verses:  I have kept the ways of the LORD . . . I was also blameless before Him: David here is not claiming sinless perfection here but he speaks of his general righteousness and of his righteousness as it contrasts with the wickedness of his enemies. We can come to God in prayer we can claim the same things but not on the basis of our own righteousness, but again with the righteousness we have received from Jesus as 2 Corinthians 5:21 remind us: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Have you trusted in Christ for His righteousness? Do you still wrongly believe your righteousness has something do with getting to heaven? It is all God and not you – you need to trust in that.

More than we can handle?

As I return from vacation, let me share something that David writes in 2nd Samuel 22 verse 18 – “He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.   When I read this verse my mind went to what I hear a lot of people saying these days which is,“God will not give us more than we can handle.”  What we read here in this verse is that David’s enemies were too strong for him.  What I see is that God gave David more than he could handle with his enemies because they were too strong for him. You see I have a real problem with the idea that God will not give us more than we can handle because I think that God does give us more than we can handle. 

Let me explain my position on this:  many will automatically go to 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says, No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. When I read this verse I see it not saying God will not will not give us more than we can handle but I see it is saying that by ourselves the problems we face will be too much for us and that the only way we can endure problems that are too much for us is with Him. 

Many say that God will not give you more than you can handle but they never go to God  and they never really think about God except to add Him into their trite saying.    When it comes around to this idea again, my mind again goes to another verse because  the only way that we can make it through anything in life and through any problems is by abiding in Him.   Jesus said in John 15:5  - I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. That is how we can make it through – by abiding in Him!

Here is what I think about all this talk about God  not giving us more than we can handle.  You see, I wholeheartedly believe that God will give us more than we can bear on our own but not more than we can bear with Him. When you try to take on life’s problems and issues all  by yourself, you will fail, fall short, and really struggle. On the other hand, if you abide in Him and leave it all with Him – He will take it on his shoulders and you will be able to endure! Give it to Him and move forward allowing him to carry the weight of it all.

So yes God will give us more than we can handle alone but not more than we can bear if we abide in Him.

What are your thoughts?  Does God give us more than we can handle or not?

Legacy?

I want you to think about the legacy you are building in life.  This past week I spoke on 2nd Samuel 21 and God really struck me when I got to the last 7 verses of the chapter.  When I read them I began thinking that a legacy was not something that I was to build when I got older but something that I need to be working on now.  Let us look at these verses:  15 Now when the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary. ¹⁶ Then Ishbi-benob, who was among the descendants of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, was girded with a new sword, and he intended to kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall not go out again with us to battle, so that you do not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

David is getting older now, but it seems that he wants to fight.  He got into trouble with Bathsheba when he didn’t go to war and so this time he goes out to the battle.  What we see though is that in the battle he starts to get tired. What we need to understand is that even a great man of God grows old and will begin to fade physically but that does not mean they have to spiritually. As you get older – you should be growing spiritually even though your physical body is fading! As the years went on, as they do with all of us, David became unable to physically fight as he once did but spiritually he could be strong! Let us not fade spiritually but let us be soaring spiritually the older we get!

What we see here is that in this battle against the Philistines, David’s life was endangered when he tired in battle against a descendant of Goliath. When David’s strength failed him, God protected him through the strength of others. God will allow us to be in places where we need the strength of others and where we need His strength. Do you allow others to help?  Do you allow God to help you?

David then heard words he probably did not want to hear in his advanced age which was it was time for David to retire from the field of battle. His season as a warrior had passed. To everything there is a season and his season has passed. This is true in life – everything is season and changes except for the message of gospel. Methods to share the gospel change and should change to reach new people but the Message of the Gospel always remains true and the same because it is unchangeable. Let us be using every method we can to get the true message of the gospel out!

Then we really hit the legacy verses: ¹⁸ Now it came about after this that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among the descendants of the giant. ¹⁹ There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ²⁰ There was war at Gath again, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born to the giant. ²¹ When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. ²² These four were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

This description of victory over the Philistine giants shows that Israel could slay giants without David. What we see is David has modeled for a generation and now that generation has stepped up and become a generation of giant killers. There was a time in Israel’s history when a giant made the entire army tremble in their boots.  Until a young man stepped up and took the challenge. Now that young man has set the example for others and instead of one giant-killer in David, you have a whole host of them. In these men we see that they accomplished heroic deeds and when David was finished fighting giants, they stepped in and began fighting giants. God will continue to rise up leaders when the leaders of the previous generation pass from the scene. When we are faithful to God and to His Word – He will raise up leaders! If we are not faithful to God and his Word – we will see leadership fade away and people not want to step up and the church itself will begin to fade away. We need to be faithful to God and his Word so that we show others how to lead with integrity and faith in God. David lead by example and he got others involved – that is what we are called to do – model for others and then help them see that they can do it too. We are called to step up to the leadership tasks – God is calling you to step up, to model, to invite others to join you and then to move on to a new task when those behind you begin to show leadership.

Understand that David’s legacy lay not only in what he accomplished, but in what he left behind – a people prepared for victory. David’s triumphs were meaningful not only for himself but for others who learned victory through his teaching and example. What is the legacy that you are leaving behind? Are you leaving a legacy of destruction? Are you leaving a legacy of faith? Are you leaving a legacy of hurt feelings or a legacy of encouragement? David left a legacy of people who could take over and fight giants – how about you – what is your legacy? I want to leave a legacy behind of people who fight giants for God!

How would you describe the legacy you want to leave?

Forgive, Forget, and Free

Let us pick up in 2nd Samuel chapter 19 verse 19 which is where we left off in the last post as we are talking about forgivingness.  This guy Shimei who has done some pretty bad things to David in the past has come to him and is seeking forgiveness.

Let us look on to verse 19: 19 So he said to the king, “Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.”

What we see here is that Shimei has a three-fold plea to present to the king: do not hold me guilty, do not remember and as a matter of fact, put it completely out of your mind. Think about it, those are exactly the same three things we want from the Lord when we come to Him with our sin. We say, Lord, do not hold me guilty, or in other words, forgive me for what I have done. We say Lord, do not remember it or please forget what I have done. And we say Lord; put it out of Your mind, so I can be free me for the future to live differently. When you really think about it, these are exactly the things we get from the Lord. God forgives so we can push forward and make a difference in life for Him! Let us forgive freely!

Here is what we do though: we allow the evil one to bring the garbage back in our lives and render us ineffective. When the past, quarrels with the present, there is no future – you are stuck. Forget the past failures so that you can have a future! Paul tells us in Philippians to forget the things in the past! You have been freed so get on with the rest of your life, and realize that God in His marvelous grace is has forgiven you! So experience the forgiveness that is there. We need to be like Shimei saying, “Please forgive, forget, and free me for the future.” God will do it – if you ask with a repentant heart – He will free you!

We see here that Shimei does acknowledge his sin. Part of being forgiven is the acknowledgment of our sin. If you are too prideful to acknowledge your sin then you will be too prideful to gain the forgiveness you desperately seek and the peace that comes with it.

Why does he say the “house of Joseph”? Joseph was a great forgiver, because remember that his brothers sold him into Egypt as a slave. They thought they were going to really get it from Joseph when years later they realized that he was alive had the power to save their lives. What did Joseph say when he was asked about what happened at all those years earlier? “You thought up evil against me, God meant it for good to bring about the saving of many people today.” He is using Joseph to plead for forgiveness. Shimei desires forgiveness for what he has done.

Some people have a better capacity to forgive than others – how is yours?  What are some things that keep you from forgiving others?

Full Forgiveness?

In some of the previous posts we were looking at 2nd Samuel 19 and due to a busy schedule and some other life events I was unable to get back to it for a few weeks but now let us check out where we left off.  Please look with me at 2^nd Samuel 19, starting in verse 16 we will discover how David is going to deal with some people from his past that show up: ¹⁶ Then Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.

I do not know if anyone remembers or knows who  this guy Shimei is but he is the guy back in 2nd Samuel chapter 16 that came out and was throwing rocks, cursing, and kicking dirt at David when David was on the run for his life. He is the guy who claimed that David was a worthless man and a man of bloodshed. Shimei could easily had lost his life that day because David’s man Abishai wanted to kill him but David let him live. Even after that Shimei followed him for quite a ways throwing rocks, throwing insults, and kicking dirt on David and his men. He is quite the character and he is back to see David.

Let us look on: ¹⁷ There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, with Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.

What we see is that Shimei is not alone when he comes and when he comes he is rushing to see the king because he needs to make things right. He does not come alone because he is probably afraid of what will happen when he sees the king. So who does he bring along? Ziba who is another character from David’s past. Ziba is Saul’s servant that was responsible to Mephibosheth, the handicapped son of Jonathan, who was eating at the king David’s table. This guy Ziba was also responsible to farm all of Saul’s land for Mephibosheth. When we last saw Ziba, he had come with a great gift for David when he was on the run for his life. As a result of this gift, David gives all the land to Ziba that he was farming for Mephibosheth because Ziba lied about Mephibosheth by saying that “He is staying back in Jerusalem hoping to get to become king.” So you have Shimei and Ziba showing up to see the king but it is really Shimei who really needs to see the king because of what has happened in the past.

So what do we see that happens: ¹⁸ Then they kept crossing the ford to bring over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan.

What we see that happens here is that Shimei gets over on the east bank of the river and he fell prostrate before the king. He is preparing himself to cry out for mercy, grace, and forgiveness because of his past interaction with David.

Here is a key point that I want you to see and that is  the power of forgiveness and the ability to forgive – although not perfectly as I will talk about in a  later post – but what you will see is forgiveness – an example for all of us. You see the Bible is a whole book on forgiveness. We are called in the pages of the Bible again and again to forgive because we have been forgiven. So today is a challenge to all to forgive others. What we need to see and realize is the freedom that comes to us when we forgive others.

What happens to a person when they do not forgive? As I see it, it creates a spiral downward in their life. This spiral works for not forgiving others or self. First there is the offense. If it is not forgiven, then resentment builds up. This will then festers until you get hatred and that will quickly develop into a grudge. This will then finally lead you to be eaten up with the thoughts of revenge which will make you a miserable person on the inside and on the outside. Failure to forgive others and yourself creates a cancer that will eat away at your soul and will change you into a bitter, mean, and hateful person that people will not want to be around. When you live this way, you always play into the hand of the devil, anytime that you delay forgiveness and forgiving someone, including self, you play into the hand of the devil. Is this the way you wish to live – a bitter, mean, or angry person that no one really wants to be around? If not then you need to start forgiving freely!

Now there are three types of forgiveness that all fall short of the forgiveness that is described in the Bible. First of all, there is conditional forgiveness – I’ll forgive you but don’t you dare ever do it again or I will take my forgiveness away. Then there is partial forgiveness – I forgive you but don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Then the third one is delayed forgiveness – I will forgive you someday but it hurts too much to do it now but I will forgive you someday.  Here is the thing; all of these types fall short of the forgiveness that the Bible teaches. God expects of us that we forgive, we forget, and we free the offender.

Here is the truth with that and that is we almost always fall short of biblical forgiveness but that should never keep it from being the goal we go hard after. We need to be seeking to forgive and forgive fully and completely.

Any thoughts on forgiveness today?  Any thoughts on what I have posted?