The assignment this week was a little difficult for me to really understand and apply to my life, personally. I'm focusing on David - the part of his life as he was King of Judah and then King of Israel (2 Samuel 1-10).
In a nutshell, David accomplished a lot of things in his lifetime. He wanted to build a temple to replace the 300 year-old portable Tabernacle built during Israel's sojourn in the wilderness, but God denied him that privilege because he had seen and been a part of too much war and bloodshed (see 1 Chron. 22:7-8). But God also promised David great blessings, including that David's house would be "established for ever before [him]" (2 Samuel 7:16).
David was very grateful to God for promising him these blessings, and offered a prayer of thanks in that same chapter.
I learned the most about David by studying about him in the Bible Dictionary. His life is one of great poignancy, and he gained a lot of strength and wisdom by following God. The Bible Dictionary says, "The long and varied discipline through which he passed in the earlier part of his life fitted him for the duties of the throne. As shepherd he acquired the habit of deep reflection; as courtier he was trained in self-control and chivalrous generosity; as outlaw he acquired knowledge of men and power of government; while each successive phase of experience developed that conscious dependence upon God which was the secret of his strength throughout his life."
What are your thoughts on David, and what do you learn from his story? How do you feel about the poor decisions he made towards the end of his life?
1 comment:
I enjoyed this very much...and it made me reflect on how each part of lives is actually "time of schooling". If I look back over my life I see how in each segment, whether large or small, I have been able to learn many things. At this point in my life I can take all of those things and use them to help me as I move on in this step and on to the next step of my life. It was an eye opener for me.
Post a Comment