Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Friday, April 21, 2023

QT 4/21/2023 2 Sam 21:15-17, Sometimes prudence is a better choice

2 Samuel 21:15–17 (ESV) —

15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”

 

NOTE: The theme of this section seems to be God's protection of David during his reign. Since the Jews organized things thematically, these four stories are difficult to place in the timeline, and at least one of the stories seems to contradict an earlier version (there are a number of reasonable explanations including copyist errors to explain the differences). All four stories probably occur much earlier than the Bathsheba-Uriah incident. In this passage, the Philistines have a chance to kill David and came at him forcibly to the point where he was completely exhausted, at which point Abishai rescues him. Afterwards, the troops would not let David fight with him -- not because he couldn't fight, but because it gave the enemies such an important target. Throughout the book of 2 Samuel, we see the troops holding David back.

 

Certainly God could and did protect David, often miraculously. But prudence is why God gives us minds to think. A counter example is Jehoiakim, a godly king who went to war against Egypt and died in battle. The book of Romans says that God's works all things for good to those who love him. God is in control, in the sense that he works within the actions of men and women to achieve his plan. It is a balance, but nothing happens that God cannot bring good or bring into alignment into his plan. He is not surprised by our stupidity, our faith, or our prudence. The application is: trust God and use the mind God gave you.

 

PONDER:

  1. Am I acting in faith or testing God in actions where prudence might dictate a different response? Am I sure God is leading?

 

PRAYER: Father, give me grace to do the right thing, to trust you when I need to and to be prudent when I need to. Help me to differentiate. Lead me and guide me, I ask.

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