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Posts Tagged ‘David’

Our Campaigns

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , on May 1, 2013 | Leave a Comment »


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Psalms1[1]1 Chronicles 18

Our Campaigns

All of our works tell of our relationship with God.  All of our campaigns speak of our reverence for God.  All of our gestures tell of our constancy in discipleship to God.

Thus the Lord made David victorious in all his campaigns.

If only we might remember this.  It is the Lord who makes all our campaigns victorious; not our cleverness, or looks, wealth or power.  It is the Lord.

David took the golden shields that were carried by Hadadezer’s attendants and brought them to Jerusalem.

We need to return all the spoils of our campaigns to God.  They are the Lord’s.

He likewise took away . . . large quantities of bronze, which Solomon later used to make the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze.

We must dedicate all that we have to the one who provided it for us.  All that we have belongs to God.

Hadadezar . . . sent David gold, silver and bronze utensils of every sort.  These also King David consecrated to the Lord along with all the silver and gold that he had taken from the nations.

We are wise to consecrate all that we are to the Lord for our origin and our existence are from God.  All that we are belongs to God.

As we wage our daily campaigns with family, friends and colleagues at home, in our communities and in the workplace, we must keep our focus on what God is asking that we do . . . rather than on what we want to do.

As we gather the booty and measure the value of our successes, we must remind ourselves that our victories are due both to God’s credit and our willingness to obey God’s call.  In this act of giving back to God what is God’s we can claim our divinity . . . in and with God.

Thus the Lord makes us victorious in all his campaigns.

When we meet failure rather than success we do well to look to ourselves and ask . . . Do we strive to hurdle some barrier because we will ourselves to do so?  Are we setting our own priorities rather than God’s?  Are we backing away from some request God makes of us rather than trusting God’s wisdom because we fear our inadequacy or vulnerability?

Are the campaigns into which we enter of God . . . or of us?  And how do we know?

We shall know by our lives that we dedicate to him. We shall know by the works that we consecrate to him.  We shall know by the abundance of fruit that we bear back to him for . . .

Thus the Lord makes us victorious in all his campaigns.

Tomorrow, another gift of discipleship . . . honesty . . .

Written on May 2, 2009 and posted today as a Favorite.

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Ministry

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , , , , on April 29, 2013 | Leave a Comment »


 

Monday, April 29, 2013

Moretto: King David

Moretto: King David

1 Chronicles 16

Ministry

If we remain constant and in constant dialog with God we are continually surprised by God’s goodness.  When God’s is the first advice we seek, we cannot go wrong; our daily battles will be upheld, and we will stand in awe of God’s generosity.

The Levite hymn of praise that appears in this chapter is thought, by some scholars, to have been added later; other experts believe that it so reflects The Chronicler’s style that it must have always been included in this part of David’s story.  That discussion aside, we can see that David, at this point in his life, makes no decisions without God’s input.  The years he spent on the run avoiding Saul’s troops and making his little guerilla strikes, have prepared him well for this.  We see here someone who understands that even those close to us, those to whom we have pledged our loyalty and love, can and will betray us, someone who understands the importance of fidelity, perseverance and thanksgiving.  The David we see today has come through fire and understands his place in God’s plan, and he understands and accepts his ministry as his vocation.

When we read David’s entire story, we also see that David slips into separation from God.  He is never, nor are we, a finished product.  He is in process with God and his faith journey will take him many places before it ends in old age.  Even at his death, David is embroiled in the argument of which son will rule after him and the death of his beloved Absalom will bring him deep sadness in his final days; yet David continues to commune with God, to listen and to daily dialog, and to live out his ministry as a faithful servant.

Each of us has a ministry we hope to fulfill.  I admit to struggling with my own vocation.  It would be so much easier, I say to God regularly, if I did not have to do all that he asks, if I might pick and choose my own works as I see them suiting my talents.  The reply always returns with an accompanying chuckle: God knows that the path is full of obstacles, and he knows how we tire.  It is for this reason that he abides constantly, never leaving our side.  God knows well the plans he has in mind for us, as the prophet Jeremiah tells us (29:11), and he desires to surprise us at every turn with an encouraging smile, a loving caress, a kiss that does not betray.  God’s constancy and goodness and wisdom are the tools he lends to us in order that we perform our ministry.  God also provides us with little respites at oases that suddenly and surprisingly appear.  Those are the moments in which we might raise our own hymns of praise just as the Levites do in today’s reading.

As we remain constant, we remain close to God.  As we remain close, we commune with God.  As we commune, we worship.  Let us lift our voices together in a paean of praise.

Tomorrow, the constancy of dialog with God . . .

Written on June 20, 2009. Revised and posted today as a Favorite. 

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Jerusalem’s Story as Our Own

Posted in Easter, Web site included, tagged , , , , , , , on March 23, 2013 | Leave a Comment »


Saturday, March 23, 2013 – Jeremiah 4 – Jerusalem’s Story as Our Own

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. Psalm 137:5

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. Psalm 137:5

When people gathered in on a western hilltop above the Jordan River sometime between the years 4300 to 3300 B.C.E., the city of Jerusalem came into being; her early artisans were known for their stone and copper work. During the Middle Bronze Era (3300-2100 B.C.E.) the people fortified  the city then known as Jebus and her people in the surrounding hills, known as the Jebusites (1 Chronicles 11) began to form a confederation with other peoples in the area.  It was this tribe that fought against Joshua and the Israelites (Joshua 9).

In the Late Bronze and Iron Ages (1600-332 B.C.E.) Jerusalem’s people increased the city walls and size that changed only slightly and remained until the time of Nehemiah (about 445 B.C.E.)  The city was a 12 acre site just south of today’s Temple mount bordered by the Kidron and Tyropoeon Valleys when captured by David; King Solomon nearly tripled the city to an area of about 32 acres when the temple-palace complex was built over a converted threshing floor. Jerusalem’s city and Temple become a center of worship, trade, culture and power until she was taken by the Babylonians and many of her people sent into exile.  Re-built by Nehemiah she struggled to return to her former fame but was taken by Alexander the Great in 333 B.C.E. and later by the Romans.  She was again destroyed in the year 70 C.E.

Western history records the centuries of struggle between Christians and Muslims for control of Jerusalem until 1948 when the state of Israel is formed and the Jewish people are called “home,” but Jerusalem today still remains a city in conflict, divided and troubled yet also united and renowned.

During this coming Holy Week, we are invited to visit with Jerusalem for a short time each noon to explore her days of glory, her times of trial, her humiliations and her celebrations.  In so many ways her history might be ours.  Born out of a desire to flourish, nurtured by a hope for the eternal, and struggling through faith and doubt, Jerusalem offers us a tour of her life; she brings us her story full and open.  Last week we prayed as we went up to Jerusalem.  Now that we are within God’s holy precinct, let us offer our own lives back to the Creator.  Let us spend time with God as we examine the life of Jerusalem as our own life in macrocosm.   And let us return to God honestly, fully and openly . . . to examine the story of our own lives.

Each day this week The Noontimes will journey to a portion of the Jerusalem Story at:
http://www.welcometohosanna.com/JERUSALEM_TOUR/Home.htm

For the National Geographic article “Jerusalem Strife Echoes Ancient History,” go to:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1028_041028_jerusalem_conflict.html

For a Noontime reflection on Jeremiah 4, go to the March 9, 2012 post on this blog at:
http://thenoontimes.com/2012/03/09/sincere-repentance-spiritual-courage/

“The Jebusites.” and “Jerusalem.” ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

For atlas references visit:
http://bibleatlas.org/jerusalem.htm

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Solomon’s Prayer

Posted in Prayer, tagged , , , , on January 9, 2013 | Leave a Comment »


Wednesday, January 9, 2013 – Wisdom 9 – Solomon’s Prayer

SolomonsPrayer[1]Solomon is a well-known figure in scripture.  At a fairly young age he is given a unified kingdom by his father, David.  When asked what he wishes to have in this world he asks for Wisdom.  We are told that he receives this and more . . . all the wealth, power and status he had not asked for.  He seems destined for greatness and so he is. 

Rulers from all parts journey to visit him, to see the beautiful palace and temple he builds, and to experience at close range how this singular king loves and is loved by his singular God.  Even the remarkable Queen of Sheba requests and is granted a special visit.  Later in his story, we are told that he loved many foreign women and married several.  It is likely that in this way he meant to secure alliances with potential enemies; yet these enemies defeat him in a quiet and insidious way.  The writer of 1 Kings tells us: When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods, and his heart was not entirely with the Lord, his God, as the heart of his father David had been. (1 Kings 11:4) After this, the kingdom comes tumbling down. 

Today we spend time with Solomon’s Prayer which can also read in 1 Kings 8 and we speculate what it was that drew him away from God into the world.  We picture what lured him to foreign gods and extravagant women.  We can imagine what and who convinced him that authority and influence were more important than fidelity to Yahweh.  When we reflect on Solomon’s Prayer, we might want to make it our own and pray it often . . . resisting the lure of self-deceit and warding off the siren song of the material world.  And so we pray to the God of Solomon, the Living God.

Give me Wisdom, the attendant at your throne . . . For alone I cannot manage my days and nights sensibly.

Reject me not from among your children . . . I will make mistakes and I know that you will pardon me.

You have bid me build a temple on your holy mountain, an altar in the city that is your dwelling place, a copy of the holy tabernacle you had established of old . . .  I will do my best to act as you ask, to answer as you call, to praise as you create.

Send forth Wisdom from your holy heavens that she may be with me and work with me . . .  I really cannot do this without your voice in my ear.

For who knows God’s counsel, who can conceive what the Lord intends?  I cannot conceive of that you see, all that you know, all that you do. I only understand that your are goodness and therefore do only good. 

Piero della Francesca: Legend of the Cross - The Queen of Sheba Meeting with Solomon

Piero della Francesca: Legend of the Cross – The Queen of Sheba Meeting with Solomon

Thus were the paths of those on earth made straight, and we learned what was your pleasure, and were saved by Wisdom.  So abide with me that you might bring goodness out of any action I take may harm another.  Remain with me that I might remain in you.  Love me always that I might always love others.

Amen.

Read more about Solomon in 1 Kings and in 1 Chronicles. www.Biblegateway.com

To read more about Solomon’s Prayer, click on the image above or go to:
http://www.hedua.com/blog/solomons-prayer/

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Michal

Posted in Web site included, tagged , , , , , on October 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »


Monday, October 15, 2012 – 2 Samuel 6: Part II  – Michal

Tissot: Michal Despises David

Yesterday we spent time with the opening portion of this chapter; today we focus on the rest of the story.  Just as we are given an opportunity to see the realities of life in the story of Uzzah, we are given the chance to see our own reality in the story of Michal.

It has been noted that Michal is the only woman in scripture described as loving a man who does not love her in return.  As with many women in scripture she is used by a pawn. In this case it is her father and husband who exploit Michal . . . the two men closest to her . . . the two men charged with her protection.  Again as a child I saw her circumstances as out of her own control and I saw her life as one of deepest betrayal.  As with the tale of Uzzah, we turn to commentary to ask why in 1 Samuel 19 to find that David and Michal had pagan statues in their household and we might nod smugly and knowingly and comment that perhaps she suffered for bringing idol-worship into her home.  If we spend time reading the scattered fragments of Michal’s story we pull together the threads of her life.  As a child I saw her as a victim; as an adult I understand that there are far too many circumstances beyond Michal’s control and I watch as she sees all her dreams melt away into nothing.  I begin to understand how her passion becomes loathing.

As we grow in God’s love begin to understand that with mercy there are no bounds; we see that justice is best delivered in God’s time and according to God’s plan; we know that love carries with it the dark potential to become great hatred unless it is founded in God.  As with the story of Uzzah yesterday, we see that life defies description.  Again we learn that what looks correct may not always be correct.  And we feel the full force of the lesson that we cannot make events occur nor can we prevent circumstances from overtaking us.  We can rest only in the surety that God is in us, that we are in God, and that our relationship with God is the only eternal and permanent promise that matters.

Uzzah, Michal and David teach us much.  Their stories might embolden or frighten us.  Their circumstances may cheer us or depress us.  Their lives may dissolve or transform us.  But in all of this, as we examine the lives of Uzzah, Michal and David . . . we have much to think about today.

To learn more about Michal and to put her story together, go to:
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/michal-bible
 or
http://www.alabaster-jars.com/biblewomen-m.html
 or
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/Women-Of-The-Bible/a/021511-CW-Michal.htm

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