THE JOY IS IN THE JOURNEY

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, "Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?"

Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said and he answered, "Am I a dog's head—on Judah's side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba." Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, "Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you."

"Good," said David. "I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me." Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins."

So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go back home!" So he went back.

Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, "For some time you have wanted to make David your king. Now do it! For the Lord promised David, 'By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.' "

Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin wanted to do. When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. Then Abner said to David, "Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a compact with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

2 Samuel 3:6-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In chapter 2 of 2nd Samuel, we read about the battle that took place between Israel and Judah. Israel’s group, led by Abner, who had been the commander of Saul’s army, first met David’s group, led by Joab at the pool of Gibeon. There, Abner and Joab agreed to each send twelve men into hand-to-hand combat with one another which resulted in all twenty-four men dying. This was followed with a fierce battle between the two sides with 360 Benjamites and 19 of David’s men dying in the conflict, including Joab’s brother Asahel who was killed in the heat of battle after refusing to give up his pursuit of Abner. The fighting ended only after Abner and Joab agreed to stop fighting with both sides returning to their home camps.

We also learned in Chapter 2 that Saul still had a surviving son after the fatal battle with the Philistines. That son, Ish-Bosheth, was made “king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel” by Abner. At that time, they had a good relationship but as we continue study in Chapter 3, we see where that didn’t last long.

For we read that Abner “had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul” during the “war between the house of Saul and the house of David”. We don’t know if this had caused Ish-Bosheth to grow jealous or not but it is a possibility. Nonetheless, Saul’s remaining son accused Abner of sleeping with Saul’s concubine, Rizpah. This greatly angered Abner who said to Ish-Bosheth:

"Am I a dog's head — on Judah's side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven't handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba."

And with these words from Abner, scripture tells us that Ish-Bosheth “did not dare to say another word to (him) because he was afraid of him”.

And so Abner made good on his word and sent messengers to make and offer to David. The offer presented for David to gain rule over all Israel if he would make an agreement with Abner. David agrees but on one condition. He wanted Saul’s daughter Michal brought to him.

Now, you’ll recall that David had earned the hand of Michal in marriage by bringing Saul two hundred Philistine foreskins. (1 Samuel 18) You’ll also recall that Michal helped David escape Saul’s men who were sent to kill him and after David fled Saul’s kingdom, Saul had given Michal to Paltiel as his wife. And so after David sent his demand to Ish-Bosheth, orders were given to take Michal “away from her husband Paltiel” who was saddened by the loss and wanted to accompany Michal but was sent home by Abner.

Abner then “conferred with the elders of Israel” saying, "For some time you have wanted to make David your king. Now do it! For the Lord promised David, 'By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.' " And “Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person” before going to “Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin wanted to do”. David, in turn, “prepared a feast for (Abner) and his men after which Abner went to “assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a compact with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires." And so “David sent Abner away, and he went in peace”. God’s plan was about to be fulfilled.

As I pondered this scripture, I couldn’t help but think about the matter of how God’s plan became fulfilled in David’s case…and, in turn, think about how His plan is played out in our lives as well.

For remember this…David was selected by God when he was just a young shepherd boy and anointed to be the coming king of Israel back in 1st Samuel, Chapter 16. Eighteen chapters and a lot of events later, we just now see everything fall into place where David will be king over all of Israel. And in examining this, we find out a lot about how we need to approach life and God’s plan for us in our respective lives.

Now if we were writing the script for David’s anointing and call to leadership, we would have probably had God select him and Saul die so David could just inherit everything that Saul had. It would be short and sweet…neat and tidy…smooth with excellent fluidity and continuity. Yes…if it were up to us, we would take the direct route…for in our limited human wisdom, we often just take the closest route between two points…a straight line. And with that attitude, we too often expect that God will act that way as well to meet our expectations only to find that God doesn’t usually act that way.

No…we see that God often takes us to a lot of different places before He gets us to His final destination…to the place where His plan is fulfilled. David did.

Consider all that took place between Samuel’s anointing and David actually sealing the deal to be king over all of Israel:

He left his father Jesse and lived with Saul, soothing him with his harp playing.

He fought and defeated the Philistine giant warrior, Goliath.

He eluded multiple attempts on his life both by Saul and then by the men Saul sent.

He married Saul’s daughter, Michal, after meeting Saul’s demand for one hundred Philistine foreskins (David actually brought Saul two hundred foreskins).

He befriended and formed a special alliance with Saul’s son, Jonathan.

He escaped Saul’s men when Michal deceived the men into believing David was in bed ill. David had actually fled.

He escaped to seek guidance from Samuel at Ramah and when Saul’s men and then Saul pursued, they were all brought to prophesying at Naioth.

He hid in a field while Jonathan tested his father, Saul, to see if David was in danger or not. After discovering that Saul did indeed wish to still kill David, Jonathan warned him and sent him away.

He visited and received supplies from Ahimelech at Nob.

He had to act crazy in order to escape King Achish at Gath.

He assembled 400 men who supported him and traveled with them from the cave at Adullam to Moab to the forest of Horeth where he was joined by Abiathar, son of the priest Ahimelech who Saul had killed.

He took his men and drove the Philistines out of the town of Keilah.

He eluded Saul and his men along a mountainside near the desert of Maon.

He spared Saul’s life while hiding in a cave with his men and later would spare him again as Saul slept in his camp.

After a wealthy man named Nabal refused to give David provisions, David was prepared to go to battle against Nabal but changed his mind after Nabal’s wife Abigail made restitution by bringing him two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs.

He lived amongst the Philistines in the town of Ziklag and was favored by King Achish.

He was sent back to Ziklag and not allowed to fight against Israel with the Philistines after the Philistine commanders complained to King Achish feeling David might turn on them and begin fighting for Israel.

As he and his men returned to Ziklag, they found the town destroyed by the Amalekites who took their families and possessions.

He pursued and fought the Amalekites, winning the conflict and getting everything back that had been taken.

He received word of Saul and Jonathan’s death and deeply mourned, writing a lament. He also killed the Amalekite messenger who had claimed to kill Saul although scripture clearly stated that Saul had killed himself.

He was anointed king of Judah.

He blessed the people of Jabesh Gilead after they retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the Beth Shan and gave them a proper burial.

Wow. Just look at all that happened in David’s life during this time. It definitely wasn’t a road traveled in a straight line. Instead, God had many stops for David to make along his journey to full kingship…stops that each had a special purpose in shaping and molding David into the man God wanted him to be.

And friends, God does the same with us. He has a plan for us but seldom takes us to the end of that plan without taking us on a journey that includes many stops along the way…stops where He is seeking to mold us into the person He wants us to be.

One thing is certain. God has a plan and that plan will be fulfilled. So as we travel along on this Christian Walk, let us enjoy the trip and seek to richly experience all God has in store for us along the way to His final intended destination…the place where His present plan ends and His new plan begins. For the joy is in the journey…now and forever. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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