Key to Success

Sometimes getting things done seems like a huge task. I get weighed down with the weight of my concerns, worries, and even the things I’m looking forward to. I’m so caught up in these concerns that I don’t recognize when or if I’m successful. And, I fail to acknowledge the One who was successful thinking it was all my doing. I won’t recognize true success unless I’m focused on whom the success comes from.

It doesn’t matter what skills, intellect, talents, education, or experiences I have that can aid me in achieving tasks. Those things are just gifts from God. We can learn a lot about true success by looking at some aspects of King David’s life. We’ve already discovered some areas where David deviated from the Torah (Old Testament) Laws, yet he was successful in many of his endeavors.

In 2 Samuel 5, two battles against the Philistines are recorded (2 Samuel 5:17-21; 22-25). David succeeded in routing the Philistines both times, a task Saul had been unable to achieve many times while he was king. David’s army beat the Philistines so badly that the Philistines basically ceased to exist. What was the key to David’s success?

He gave the Lord God of Israel all the credit. We read in vs. 10, “David grew greater and greater, because Adonai the God of Armies was with him” (CJB). And in vs. 12 it says, “David then knew that Adonai had set him up as king over Isra’el and increased his royal power for the sake of his people.” In vs. 19, “David consulted Adonai, asking, ‘Should I attack the P’lishtim? Will you hand them over to me?’ Adonai answered David, ‘Attack; I will certainly hand the P’lishtim over to you’” (Again the CJB). In vs. 20b we again see David giving credit to God: “He said, ‘Adonai has broken through my enemies for me like a river breaking through its banks.’” Getting the picture? More references to David and his consulting and crediting God are verses 23 and 25.

I think I need to be seeking God, praying, and giving God credit for the outcomes. Today I spent some extended time with God evaluating what He’s been speaking to me about since January (used my daily Bible reading journals to see a pattern). One of the two things was to be praying more and for more things. In the back of my mind I’ve thought it might be good to pray before I write each week. I’ve heard other Christian writers say they pray for their audiences. I’ve heard stories of people who were devoted to prayer and as they expected, saw God’s answers played out in their lives. These are some of the things and ways I need to be involved in when I’m praying. What specific situations would God have you praying about? What answers are you expectantly waiting for? And, finally, what do you need to be giving credit to God for in your lives?

(CJB stands for The Complete Jewish Bible)

Know It

Hypocrisy. King David did not always do things according to the Laws of God. Saul was mutilated after his death. The Philistines cut off his head and strung his body up outside the walls of a chief city (1 Samuel 31:9). This upset David. Mutilating people after their deaths was not customarily done (especially to kings). Yet, in 2 Samuel 4, we see David ordering the hands and feet of Ishbosheth's killers cut off and hanging what was left of their bodies by the pool at Hebron (2 Samuel 4:12). Ishbosheth was the son of Saul and designated leader of the northern tribes of Israel. So David was playing fast and loose with the Laws God had given His people so many years ago.

This is another example of the people corrupting the Old Testament Laws. The people, including David, no longer knew what the Law said. They had forgotten it and had not passed it down to their children. They were violating it in many ways – just as Christians often do today.

Why does this happen? People are just not immersed in the Word of God. They don’t even know what it says so they can’t tell if they are following it or not. Unfortunately, my experiences indicate that this is especially true for those calling themselves Christians. Many mainline denominations have decided to interpret certain passages of Scripture so that they are convinced it can and does mesh with current cultural biases. Individuals rely on others to teach them what the Word of God says without investigating Scripture for themselves.

In a separate study of God’s Word I’m doing with a friend from my church, there are examples of ways to investigate God’s Word as individual people. (Early Christians were commended for searching the Scriptures to see whether what the preachers were preaching was in line with Scripture (Acts 17:10-11). It’s not just something we can do; it’s something we should be doing. I’m going to briefly look at the suggested ways for getting into and understanding God’s Word found in the NavPress Bearing Fruit in God’s Family.

1.     Paraphrase a verse or passage. Start by looking at various translations of the Bible. Some of my favorites are the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, the Complete Jewish Bible, the Amplified Bible, the New Living Translation, and the paraphrase, The Message. You can find all these translations at https://www.biblegateway.com/After reading the same verse(s) in a few translations (not necessarily all the ones mentioned above), write the verse(s) out using your own words or borrowing bits and pieces from the various translations until you truly understand what it’s saying.

2.     Questions to be asked. Ask who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of the passage. Also note questions that come to your mind as you read the verse(s) through a few times (possibly also referring to a variety of translations).

3.     Pray through the verse or passage. Look at each phrase or sentence and pray about how it applies to your life and your life circumstances.

4.     Emphasize each word separately as you read through the passage several times. Each word is there for a reason (2 Timothy 3:16). Determine what is the significance of each key word (don’t be fooled; even the word “in” could be significant).

5.     Cross-References. Find them by using a concordance or use Google. What you are looking for are verses that say similar things to the verse you are looking at. You are looking for other verses in Scripture that support the basic concept. You may be surprised how many there are for each verse. I recently used this technique for John 14:21 and found at least 5 Old and New Testament passages that support the concept of keeping God’s Words. (Look up John 14:21 to see what I’m talking about).

6.     Applications to be made. This is a key to true spiritual growth. What specific and measurable step can you take based on the truth(s) in a particular passage. I recommend attempting to make an application for each passage you look at each day. Make it something you can do in one day. For instance, for Philippians 4:6, an application might be to pray each day for a week being careful to give thanksgiving for what has already happened and the promised (yet unseen) answers to come.

Try one of these techniques today. I suggest choosing a different one each day this week and use it in a passage of Scripture you are reading (or should be reading). As a side note, another helpful aid is a little booklet called Woven Writing by Cassie Showerman. This booklet can be purchased at https://godshapedmom.com/shop/ I am using its suggestions and gaining new insight into familiar and not-so-familiar passages of Scripture. Many of the suggestions in this booklet use the same techniques I outlined above.

Not Straying From True Obedience

Abner’s folly was starting a fight (2 Samuel 2; see last week’s article). But that wasn’t the end of the story. During the chase across the countryside, Abner killed one of Joab’s brothers, in self-defense on the field of battle. This set into motion a scenario in which Joab perverted the Torah law to accomplish his own agenda.

Joab’s brother, Asahel, pursued Abner, and even when Abner stopped running and yelled to Asahel to stop because he (Abner) did not want to have to kill him, Asahel kept coming after Abner. Asahel is described as “fleet-footed as a gazelle in an open field” (2 Samuel 2:18) so Asahel was sure to catch up to Abner. Abner, after warning Asahel to stop, used Asahel’s own speed and carelessness to stab him and Asahel fell dead. When Joab found out, he became filled with blood lust and determined to avenge Asahel’s death. That’s the background needed to get to my point from 2 Samuel 3.

In chapter 3, through a series of events, Abner approaches David with the proposition of becoming allies. David agrees to talk it over with Abner in Hebron (David’s headquarters at this time). During this meeting, either by design or by happenstance, Joab is out on a raid. When Joab returns to Hebron, with all kinds of plunder to give to David, he was feeling pretty good about his position in David’s court. Then he hears of the agreement, treaty, David made with Abner in his absence. Joab becomes enraged and rails at David. Joab then sends messengers to chase Abner down (Abner was not far from Hebron at this time) to ask Abner to come and meet with him. It’s important to note at this point that Hebron was one of the Levite sanctuary cities set up in the Torah (Old Testament Law) for those who had committed manslaughter or an accidental killing. Death in a battle would come under this category.

Joab lured Abner to just outside the city. Between the outer and inner gates of Hebron to be exact. So close to sanctuary, but not actually in it. Joab took action and killed Abner for the death of his brother. Or that’s the excuse he used. There were two problems with this excuse. First, Joab claimed it was according to the Law that he avenged his brother’s death; however, the Law made exceptions for those killing in battle or in self-defense so Abner should not have been eligible for avenge killing. Second, Joab was also experiencing some jealousy and self-centered fear that Abner, with his treaty with David, would replace him as second in command in David’s kingdom. Generally speaking, it was the top military man in a Middle Eastern nation that was considered next in line should something happen to the king.

Basically, Joab twisted the Scriptures to his desires. Now we can ridicule Joab for doing this, but we need to be careful. I, for one, have misapplied Scripture to fit my desires. I didn’t necessarily do it knowingly, but the way I interpreted Scripture at various points in my life, led me to deviate from God’s plans. For instance, I do not always remember to turn away from temptations or acknowledge God’s way as being better. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” How many times do I allow myself to watch unwholesome television or movies? How many times do I excuse it as harmless fun? And, how many times even when I am convicted by going ahead and participating in viewing things that are in bad taste or contrary to God’s guidelines and fail to be truly repentant of it and do something different instead, do I do it anyway? I often say, perverting the intent of God’s Word, “Well God will forgive me, and cleanse me from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9)?

I could give other examples in my life that I’ve not handled accurately the Word of truth. I think, if you’re honest, you could think of some in your own life as well. Joab paid a price (which comes out in the following chapters of 2 Samuel), and there will be a price for us to pay, also, if we do not repent and work hard at applying the Word of God accurately to our lives.

Abner's Folly

Today I’m looking at 2 Samuel, chapter 2. This chapter starts out with David consulting the Lord about his next steps. There’s a principle in this section about going to God in prayer and then moving out to let God do His work through us, but I’m going to look at another portion of the passage, with a different (but overlapping) principle.

We find out that Abner (Saul’s military leader) tries to establish Israel under the authority of Saul’s remaining son, Ishbosheth. There is quite a bit of speculation as to why Ishbosheth wasn’t on the battlefield with Saul and Saul’s other sons, but for reasons not given in Scripture Ishbosheth did not go to war. So, Abner sets Ishbosheth up as the new king of Israel. This is the beginning to an Israelite civil war between Abner’s (Ishbosheth’s) territories and men, and David’s territories and men.

In the course of time, a faction of Abner’s military rest by a pool, the pool at Gibeon. At the same time, Joab (David’s military leader) had a faction of David’s army also camp on the other side of the same pool. What were they to do? No one is said to have gone to God in prayer. Scripture does not say they consulted priests. So, out of Abner’s own mind, without input from God, he proposes a plan to Joab. “Abner said to Joab, ‘If it’s all right with you, let’s have the young men get up and fight it out between themselves while we watch’ . . .” (2 Samuel 2:14, CJB). The NASB says that they would “hold a contest.” This is the same type of contest there was between the Philistine representative, Goliath, and the Israelite representative, David. We know how that turned out . . . David won but the Philistines did not surrender as agreed upon. The end of this contest does not resolve the conflict either. Each side put up twelve men. As Abner and Joab and the rest of their armies watched, “Each one grabbed his partner by the head and drove his sword into his side, so that they fell down together . . .” (verse 16). The contest was inconclusive as all the champions on both sides died and a general battle broke out between the armies. Abner’s army was routed and chased across the countryside.

The principle that struck me was that we should be careful about picking fights. Being the aggressor, as Abner was, may have disastrous results. Abner obviously thought he had the upper hand, but he failed to recognize God’s role in the battle. As David with his army were the anointed of God, they would have a distinct advantage even if their army looked smaller or less experienced. Bible commentator Matthew Henry gave the following cross-reference to the events in this passage: Proverbs 25:8. “Do not go out hastily to argue your case; Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor puts you to shame” (NASB).

I took this as a warning to me. I simply thought, “Don’t ‘create’ strife with the people in my life; it could come back to bite me.” I know that David eventually wins the civil war, but this battle may have been avoided if Abner had not been so quick to start something. What battles in my life could have been avoided if I didn’t start the argument? I’m sure there are some, which I conveniently don’t remember. But now I’ve been warned. I do not have to start things in the future.