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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, July 19, 2018
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Subjecta:Sheba Rebels Against David [Part 1] Bible Verse:2 Samuel 20:1-10 "There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram’s horn and began to chant: “Down with the dynasty of David! We have no interest in the son of Jesse. Come on, you men of Israel, back to your homes!” So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed with their king and escorted him from the Jordan River to Jerusalem. When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died. Then the king told Amasa, “Mobilize the army of Judah within three days, and report back at that time.” So Amasa went out to notify Judah, but it took him longer than the time he had been given. Then David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bicri is going to hurt us more than Absalom did. Quick, take my troops and chase after him before he gets into a fortified town where we can’t reach him.” So Abishai and Joab, together with the king’s bodyguard and all the mighty warriors, set out from Jerusalem to go after Sheba. As they arrived at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa met them. Joab was wearing his military tunic with a dagger strapped to his belt. As he stepped forward to greet Amasa, he slipped the dagger from its sheath. “How are you, my cousin?” Joab said and took him by the beard with his right hand as though to kiss him. Amasa didn’t notice the dagger in his left hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach with it so that his insides gushed out onto the ground. Joab did not need to strike again, and Amasa soon died. Joab and his brother Abishai left him lying there and continued after Sheba. " Message:
Do not confuse Sheba, the rebel, with the much more prominent Queen of Sheba, who appears later and has a romance with Solomon. Sheba attempts once again to split the nation into two parts, Israel to the north and Judah, where Jerusalem lies, to the south.
David then consolidates his faithful. Ten concubines, who had apparently slept with Absalom, are allowed to live in reasonable comfort, but are confined for life.
Amasa, whom David had to promise the generalship of his army in order to regain his throne, drags his feet when David orders him to assemble Judah for war. David could not have been happy about Amasa in the first place; Joab had served him faithfully and with great skill as the leader of his army. Certainly, David was even unhappier about Amasa when he failed to carry out his critical first assignment.
Do Not Cover
It is Joab's brother Abishai who gathers the army and marches them out of the city. When Amasa shows up to take over the army, Joab assassinates him, by his own hand. Joab was a tough cookie! Much is not stated. One might guess that David knew about this deed beforehand or even ordered it done, but then, Joab has been known to take affairs into his own hands before, in David’s service.
It is interesting to ponder civil rebellions in general. Christ markedly refused political upheaval, against either the Romans or the Jewish establishment. Indeed, the New Testament codifies this refusal as a commandment: Submit to the civil authorities. (E.g., Romans 13:1) Armed rebellion, even when in the service of the noblest cause, seems always to go astray.
As often as not, it lays waste to the society and changes nothing—the Jewish rebellion against Rome being an immediate example. And even if successful, it is undone by covetousness of power: there is always, in the end, a power-hungry person left holding the reins of government, who is even worse than the predecessor. We see, in our own lifetime, the greatest horrors of history following successful armed insurrection: Mao Zedong, Lenin/Stalin, Hitler, Robert Mugabe.
Meditation : Prayer : May God the Father bless us; may Christ take care of us; the Holy Ghost enlighten us all the days of our life. The Lord be our defender and keeper of body and soul, both now and for ever, to the ages of ages.,..Amen |
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