Topic: How can I be faithful in a world of distractions?
Personal Piece: This week was a bit of a struggle for me emotionally. Sometimes the people we consider to be friends can be rather insensitive. Sometimes it can feel like we're all alone even while surrounded by people. That's what the last couple days have felt like. For those who don't know me, I've never really struggled to make friends, I've just struggled to keep them. I love meeting new people and getting to know people's quirks and what sets them apart. Unfortunately not many people feel the same way about my quirks. People love to judge and make themselves look better. Throughout my entire life the number one message I have gotten from those who call me friend is "You're important, but not as important as..." fill in the blank. It's in these moments that I must turn to Christ. In these moments I have to crawl up onto his lap and sob into his shoulder and beg to know why and how long. He rarely gives me an answer but he always brings me comfort and I must choose to trust him.
Thought of the Week: Last week we talked about a priest named Eli who led the people of Israel and allowed them to live in sin. He chose to do nothing and because of his inaction the Ark of the Covenant was taken and he and his sons were killed. His successor was a prophet named Samuel who was a strong man of God but he was unable to bring Israel back to its roots and restore the priesthood. The people begged for a king and the separation between God and man became even deeper then before. Yahweh stopped using the king as a mouth piece as he had done before. As we read through the book of First Samuel we see that the first king, Saul, was used by God at first but as the glory and power of kingship became greater, the Spirit of God became less and less prominent in his life.
Last week I talked about how the prophets and leaders of Israel became two separate entities after Saul became king with two exceptions. The first exception was Saul's successor David. David is hands-down the most well-known of all the kings of Israel. Not only because of his kingly conquests but because of his devout faithfulness to God. David wasn't raised in the courts, he wasn't from a rich family and had no dreams of ruling anything. He was a mere shepherd but he had a deep desire to go deeper with God then anyone had gone before. God chose him to be the king and David did not disappoint.
David was in the same world as Saul, he faced the same Philistines and followed the same God. But Saul wanted to please the people and David longed only to please God. He wasn't going to allow anyone to influence who he was or what he believed. He had encountered God and he wasn't going to let idols of the people distract him from following God. Even when the promises seemed so far away he knew it was in God's hands. He restored the Ark to its rightful place in the Tabernacle, establishing God back to his rightful place.
As long as David's eyes were on Yahweh the kingdom had victory and prosperity. Sadly, David's story does not end on a very happy note. Though he served Yahweh throughout his life he eventually became distracted as well by the things of this world, he too stumbled and needed a prophetic mouthpiece to get him back on track. His sin, though forgiven, brought much destruction to not only his family but the entire nation. Every king after David dealt with deeper and deeper separation from God and until even the prophets were not loud enough for the people to hear.
Throughout the old testament we see accounts of the different prophets who pleaded with the people of Israel and Judah, warning them of God's anger and pleading with the king to lead the people in holiness. A few of the kings tried but none could restore the priestly connection that they had once had and their deaths always led to a deeper return to the darkness. Finally Yahweh had had enough and after hundreds of years of speaking through the prophets he decided not to choose a mouthpiece. For over a hundred years there was silence from God. The temple was destroyed the Jewish people scattered and fighting for something stable.
I can't imagine what that time must have been like. For hundreds of years God had been speaking through the prophets, begging for the people to listen, begging for them to repent and live holy lives and then suddenly...silence. A world shrouded in dark silence, the God they had taken for granted had seemingly turned his back on them. Perhaps he had finally been pushed too far. After 4000 years the God of the Universe was without words, he had said all that he could possibly say and there was nothing left but to wait. Wait, until the world noticed that he'd pulled away and came looking for him.
Yahweh had given a special promise to David because of his faithfulness. A promise that 1000 years later had still not been fulfilled. Yahweh had promised that someone from David's bloodline would always remain on the throne. When the people were taken into captivity, I'm sure that it felt like God was failing to keep that promise. Not only was there no descendant of David on the throne but there was no king at all. It seemed like Israel had truly fallen and Yahweh had completely turned his back. But the story wasn't over yet there was still one more king to come.
To Be Continued...
Digging Deeper: For the full story of King David check out 1 and 2 Samuel. For more about the kings that followed after David check out 1 and 2 Kings
The Bible itself does not tell us what happened during God's period of silence but for more information you can check out the Books of Maccabees which tells more of what happened in Israel during this period of time.
Challenge: The past two entries may not have had a clear life lesson but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Read through the entries again and ask God what he's trying to teach you. Then share what you're learning in the comments and don't forget to take the survey at the top of the page.
No comments:
Post a Comment