Good day friends!
I will be doing a four part series on David the man after God’s
heart. David loved God with all of his heart but it wasn’t easy.
He went through a lot and his relationship with God was tested
immensely! I want to talk about some of the challenges he faced.
There is no doubt God had an amazing plan for David’s life but
we need to realise that the enemy didn’t sit back and let it be. he
fought and at times he seemed to be victorious BUT
God was with David and saved him from all of his trials! I hope
and pray this series is a blessing to you. Let’s get started….
“Then the Jebusites said to David, You shall not come in here.
But David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the City of David.
And David said, whosoever smites the Jebusites first shall be
chief and commander. Joab son of Zeruiah [David’s half sister]
went up first, and so he was made the chief.
1 Chronicles 11:5, 6
This was one of David’s worst decisions. This decision would
impact his life in a way he would never expect. Instead of
seeking the Lord like he always did he turned to his flesh!
He left the decision of who would be his chief and commander
to a test of physical strength! Now get me right, there are a
few things Joab did right but the bad things far outweigh the
good.
You might think I am over exaggerating but look at the
consequences of David’s decision:
Joab murders Abner against David’s wishes.
(Read 2 Samuel 3:21-30)
Okay fair enough, Abner had killed Joab’s brother Asahel but
Joab still went against David’s wishes.
Joab kills Absalom, David’s son (Read 2 Samuel 18:14, 15)
Yes, Absalom took over David’s kingdom and even sought
to kill him but after being instructed by David (2 Samuel 18:5)
to not kill Absalom, Joab still went ahead and killed him.
Not convinced Joab was the wrong choice? Let me share a
few more incidents that will convince you otherwise:
Joab kills Amasa (Read 2 Samuel 9:10)
Joab betrays David by supporting Adonjah rather than Solomon
the promised king. (1 Kings 1: 7)
To conclude read 2 Samuel 23:8-39
All of David’s mighty men are mentioned but Joab’s name
is not there.
Look at how one decision made in the flesh impacted David’s
life. David always sought the Lord in his decision making.
But this one decision made in the flesh cost him much.
We need to always seek the Lord when making decisions. And
please understand,
I am not talking about deciding between drinking coffee
or tea tonight. 🙂 That’s not the kind of decision making I am
talking about. I hope you get the gist of what I mean.
David made a mistake. He made a really important decision
without seeking God and he paid a hefty price for it.
May we always seek the Lord in everything we do.
As we seek the Lord for His direction and guidance in the
decisions we have to make know it pleases Him.
It shows Him our faith in Him.
So as I end the lesson is this,
Seek the Lord! Things go horribly wrong when God is taken
out of the decision making process. Seek the Lord in every decision
you make!
Bless you….
Rolain
kingspeech 