GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 28 ~ ~ Jeremiah 30:2 ~ ~ “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.”
From the book How to Read the Bible by Dr. Michael Youssef
Chapter 6 ~ ~ David and Solomon: Foreshadowing God’s Kingdom
John Ashcroft has served as governor of Missouri, a United States senator, and U.S. attorney general. The morning Ashcroft was to be sworn in as senator in January 1995, he joined friends and family at a house near the capitol building for a dedication service.
One of those present was Ashcroft’s father, James Robert Ashcroft, a retired minister who was in poor health due to a heart condition. He had confided to a friend that he was dying, but wanted to see his son sworn in.
The attendees sang a few hymns, then Ashcroft’s father said, “John, please listen carefully. The spirit of Washington is arrogance, and the spirit of Christ is humility. Put on the spirit of Christ. Nothing of lasting value has ever been accomplished in arrogance.”
The attendees knelt in front of the sofa where John’s father sat. As they placed hands on John to anoint him with oil and prayer in the way of the ancient kings of Israel when they undertook their administrative duties, the senior Ashcroft struggled to rise.
Concerned, John said, “Dad, you don’t have to stand.” “John,” his father said, “I’m not struggling to stand. I’m struggling to kneel.”
John never forgot those words, which were among his father’s last; he died later that night.
Ashcroft’s father taught him that a genuine leader doesn’t struggle to stand – that’s the posture of arrogance. A genuine leader struggles to kneel in prayer and humility.
Israel’s kings still speak to us from the pages of God’s Word. King Saul, it may be said, was a leader who struggled to stand, a king who led in arrogance. But King David was a leader who struggled to kneel. The Kingdom of Israel that God established through David was a foreshadow of that future eternal Kingdom whose Ruler would inherit David’s throne, Jesus the Lord.
A Man After God’s Own Heart
Speaking through the prophet Samuel, God declared, “I have found David son of Jesse, a an after My own heart; he will do everything I want him to do” (see Acts 13:22) and 1 Samuel 13:14). David was an imperfect man and an imperfect leader, yet God declared him to be a man after His own heart. There are several reasons why God made this declaration.
First, David was humble. Though he was the king, he had no exaggerated sense of his own importance. When the prophet Nathan told him:
“The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2Samuel 7:11-14)”
David humbly prayed, “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” (verse 18).
Second, David loved God’s Word. Every verse of Psalm 119 is a shout of praise for it. Here is a typical passage:
“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me, and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. (Psalm 119:97-99)
David was a man after God’s own heart because he fed his soul on the thoughts of God.
Third, David loved and trusted God. Because of the Psalms he composed, we have more insight into his soul than that of almost any other person in Scripture. David was deeply aware of his own sins, and he was grateful to God for the blessings of forgiveness. He wrote:
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit…Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart! (Psalm 32:1,2&11)
David knew that God saw him as righteous – not because he never sinned, but because he loved God and repented from his sins.
Fourth, David demonstrated Christlike love. His predecessor, King Saul, was an insecure, jealous, and violent man who attempted to kill David several times (see 1 Samuel 19-24). David responded to Saul’s attempts on his life with forgiving, Christlike love. A thousand years before Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, David lived out the Lord’s command, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5;44).
One reason we know we can trust God’s word is that it tells us the unflattering truth about its heroes. David was one of the greatest leaders in history, yet the Bible honestly reveals his moral failure. Can you imagine what it would be like to be David, to have not only your triumphs recorded, but also your acts of disobedience, adultery, and murder enshrined in God’s eternal Word for millions to read, generation after generation, century after century? God’s word is trustworthy and true. That’s why it still speaks to us today.
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Zechariah 4:6
…..Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
Proverbs 3:26
For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.
Psalm 31:7
I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
Psalm 121:1&2
I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
I Peter 5:7
Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.