1 Chronicles 19:4
“Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.”
David sent a handful of his men, as goodwill ambassadors, to Ammon. They went with a gift, as a way to offer condolences to the king for the death of his father. When they arrived, instead of being welcomed, they were brutally mistreated and embarrassed; their beards were shaved and their clothing cut to reveal their nakedness. These poor men were forced to turn around and make the long journey back to Jerusalem in shame. What should have been a time of celebrating the great opportunity they were given to further the kingdom, became a time of shame and embarrassment.
While we have probably never been sent to a palace with gifts from our president, we have had an experience where we attempted to serve King Jesus and found it did not go as we had planned. Perhaps you tried to share Christ with a family member or friend, thinking they would be receptive, only to find they became hostile and even attacked your character. Perhaps you signed up to work in the children’s ministry at church and found, even when you had prayed, planned and prepared, things went badly, and you experienced one of the more difficult hours of your life.
What should we do when ministry doesn’t go the way we expected? Is that a “sign” that we should not be serving the Lord, or taking risks to share the Gospel? I don’t think so. I think the difficulties are designed to cause us to go back to the King for further orders. These men, after their difficult experience, went back to David and were instructed to wait until their beards grew back, then get back to the business of the kingdom.
Perhaps you have had some difficulty in serving the Lord. The proper response is not to stop serving, but to go before the King and let Him comfort, restore, and instruct you for further service.
Until He comes,
Pastor Jim
This chapter records the successful military endeavors of King David. We read of his defeating, or subduing, at least eight separate kingdoms, as he established Israel among the strongest of the nations. His military exploits resulted in peace and prosperity for Israel, and the entire region. However, I think it is worth noting that while we read, “David attacked, David defeated or David subdued”, scripture makes it clear, he did none of these things on his own. His exploits were accompanied by both the presence of the Lord and a host of faithful men. As the chapter concludes, we read of Joab, Jehoshaphat, Zadok, Abimelech, Shavsha, Benaiah and David’s sons, all of whom served alongside the king, making this success possible. David started out as a Lone Ranger, stepping into the valley of Elah when no one else would, but as time went on, a host of others teamed with him to accomplish the work of God.
David learned it is possible to have a great desire to do something, that is not the will of God. His heart burned within him to build a more permanent structure to house the Ark, and to provide a place for sacrifice. He prayed, sought godly counsel, and went forward with his plans, only to find out later, God had other plans for his life, and for the completion of the task. There are some important lessons we can glean from this story.
Over the years, I have met Christians who seem crippled by uncertainty. They struggle with every decision they make, because they don’t seem to be able to determine God’s will. It is true God has a perfect plan for our lives, and to understand it, we must get alone with Him, and listen to His still small voice. But it is equally true, God has already laid out much of His will for us in the pages of His Word. In the text before us, we learn what we should be doing with our mouths.
This was David’s second attempt to bring the ark of the covenant to its new home in Jerusalem. The first time was an utter failure, resulting in death. This time, David wanted to be sure to do things right, so he consulted the Word of God. Because God designed the Tabernacle, He is also the one who wrote the instructions for how things were to operate. When David and Israel chose to look into the Word of God, they found the proper way to move the ark. What had once been a disaster, became a time of rejoicing; and the same will be true of us.
Proverbs are brief popular sayings that give advice about how people should live. A very popular modern proverb states that “the ends justify the means.” In other words, how something is done is not nearly as important as getting it done. We might even say, “there is more than one way to skin a cat” (although, I personally have no desire for a skinned cat). There may be many cases where the ends justify the means, but David found, as it relates to worship and serving the Lord, the method is as important as the activity.
As I read through 1Chronicles, I am struck by the heroic actions of those who served alongside king David. His reign led Israel to the height of their success as a nation, and resulted in establishing peace with the surrounding nations. This success was not accomplished alone, but was a result of heroic men who stood tall in the midst of great difficulty and opposition. This seems to always be the case. One person put it this way, “Heroes are not born they are made”, and it is clear it is the circumstances they faced that made their actions heroic. In other words, Heroes are made when men and women stand up against insurmountable odds and risk their own lives for the sake of others.
My father-in-law uses the phrase,“So soon,” to chide anyone who is late. I personally have heard the term more times than I care to admit. The basic idea behind it is “I am glad you are finally ready, but what took you so long.” I cannot help but think of that phrase as I read of David finally sitting upon the throne as king of all Israel.
I can remember as a child, standing in line to enter Disney’s Haunted Mansion. While I have forgotten most of the details about this particular attraction, the epitaphs on the gravestones left an indelible mark on my memory. One read, “Here lies good old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head.” Another read, “Dear departed brother Dave, he chased a bear into a cave.” I wonder what will be said of me when my time reaches it’s end.
1Chronicles 9 is a record of those who lived and served in the city of Jerusalem. Because the Temple resided in this city, it became the religious capital of the nation, and the place where much of the service of God took place. Here, we read about a vast array of people with diverse gifts and callings coming together to accomplish the work of God. Among those listed are leaders, priests, Levites, gatekeepers and singers. Each person had a different calling which required unique skills and gifts. It was when each one served faithfully within his own calling, that the ministry was accomplished in a way that glorified God.
Jim Gallagher 