In our last lesson, King David had to give up on his first commander due to Amasa's procrastinating nature. What a shame to be called upon for an important task and then never show up to do your part! Now we find that King David has decided to turn to Abishai, one of his 30 brave warriors, to put down the revolt of Sheba. Will Abishai respond with haste or delay to the king's plan? Is he an asset to the king's service, or will he too, cause the king loss?
2 Samuel 20:6-7 (KJV)
And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more
harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after
him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us. And there went out
after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all
the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba
the son of Bichri.
Thanks to Amasa, time has been wasted and ground has been lost. Such is the fruit of procrastination in the lives of those who will not do their part in serving the King of Kings. We give way to the enemy in our lives when we hesitate even for a moment to do the right thing! We ought to be sure the Lord Jesus Christ does not have reason to feel regretful about calling upon us to do a job, amen? By turning immediately to Abishai for help, we sense that King David feels he has no time to waste in pursuing and defeating his enemies.
While we're on the subject, how do you feel about your spiritual enemies? Are you lax in your attitude toward the enemies of your soul that would steal your fenced cities, those places in your life where the peace of God reigns? Why leave such important places unprotected and unattended? Ladies, keep careful watch over those areas of your life where you have gained ground and made spiritual progress. You see, David knew that is precisely where Sheba, his enemy, was headed, and he was determined not to let him get away! Likewise, we must understand that is where our enemy, the devil, is headed too… Perhaps he has already arrived on the scene of your heart and done some damage due to your lazy attitude toward spiritual things. Spiritual warfare is nothing to take lightly! Just because you may have experienced victory as a Christian in certain areas of your life, to become lax in your walk with the Lord now would be foolish. Stand guard and watch out for Satan who would creep in unawares and lead you captive again and again...
2 Tim. 2:26 (KJV)
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who
are taken captive by him at his will.
When believers are not fully submitted to God’s will they make themselves the victims of the devil’s will. Yes, Satan is behind every revolt that would take us away from faithfully serving the King of Kings. While Sheba may have cleverly thought he was escaping King David, he did not realize that he had already been taken captive by the devil in his heart! Have you too?? You see, pride makes you a slave and sends you on a rampage of serving yourself as we see in the example of Sheba's life. Such a pathway is always a dead end street! What King David needs at a time like this are some mighty men to help him pursue Sheba, this man who is bent on getting his own way. Self is definitely a powerful, driving force. Unfortunately, it is one that shoves us headlong into sin…
James 1:14-15 (KJV)
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it
is finished, bringeth forth death.
No matter who we are - king or pauper, we all need strength in the time of battle, whether we're fighting against our own flesh, or against spiritual wickedness in high places. The Bible says that with Abishai, were all the mighty men… Who are the soldiers that fight alongside of you, dear lady?? Are you surrounding yourself with strong Christians, or weak, worldly ones, or maybe even none at all? How do you expect to experience spiritual victories without the right kind of support in your life? As with all battles we face, there will be moments of fearing, fainting, and even failing, and it's then we are going to need strong, stable Christians around us who will encourage us to stay on the right track and keep in the fight, preventing us from giving up. Can you think back on a time when you had someone mighty like Abishai in your life? I can, and what a difference it made in me! I could have never fought my spiritual battles alone, without the right kind of godly Christian fellowship. By the way ladies, King David wasn't too proud to turn to Abishai to ask for his help… How about you?? Are you demonstrating a team spirit? Believers are designed to need the fellowship of one another. We're like coals of fire - together we glow, apart we die out! God has set it up this way; it's part of His perfect plan for His children…
Romans 12:5 (KJV)
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of
another.
Do you share the Lord's perspective in this matter? Do you consider yourself members one of another in your church family, or do you prefer to operate alone? Many Christians today do not fight or strive diligently for unity; instead they actually treat one another as if they were enemies! Christians don't trust God like they should and they don't trust one another like they should either. We avoid coming into each other's private zone, choosing rather to stay divided and distant, purposely dwelling apart from one another. Yet the Lord has told us in Romans 12:16 to be of the same mind one toward another. There should be a desire among us to gather and bond. Why? Because our heavenly Father considers us family - ONE body, not one hundred separate bodies, and we ought to behave accordingly! As parents, don't you like it when your children get along and dwell together in unity? Don’t you like to see your offspring gather and bond? It certainly makes for a pleasant atmosphere in our homes, amen? Well, God likes it too! How grieving and unpleasant this must be for our Heavenly Father to view the lack of harmony and confidence that dwells between His children...
Psalm 133:1 (KJV)
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity!
King David, Abishai, and all the mighty men were able to stand strong TOGETHER, much stronger than they ever could have apart. And they knew they needed one another, especially when pursuing the enemy. King David's wisdom was needed in pursuing Sheba, Abishai's capacity for leadership in battle was needed, and even the soldiers fighting skills were needed to succeed as well. All made their contribution to gain ground on the adversary. Each of us, regardless how humble our station in life might be, or how deficient in education or even expert we might be, has gifts from God to donate to the whole body. Do you really understand that it is God's plan that we contribute one to another?? Are you investing in the lives of others, dear lady? Are you allowing others to make a contribution in your life as King David humbly did? Perhaps you've been building a wall around yourself and distancing your church family more and more... Why in the world would you foolishly cut yourself off from the brothers and sisters in Christ with whom you are actually going to spend eternity?? Just what is your family attitude? Better make sure your heavenly Father is pleased with it…
Hebrews 10:25 (KJV)
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves TOGETHER, as the manner of some
is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching.
I've really enjoyed going through this particular chapter and I hope you have too. The lessons have been many... We've learned from King David how to behave ourselves properly toward all people, even in the midst of personal conflict. We have seen King David take thought for smaller matters at home before going off to battle. We have seen King David's determination to diligently pursue his enemies and fight to protect his fenced cities. We have seen King David choose the proper companions to achieve victory in his life. We have seen King David work with others as a team player, even though he himself is a king. And to think we are only on verse seven! Nonetheless, one can only wonder in the face of such lessons what the Lord has seen US doing…
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60: 1&2
Copyright 1999 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
