Arise and march forward: (2 Samuel 21/Luke 13)
Repent humbly and keep God’s words with every effort
2 Samuel 21/1-6:
There was a famine lasted for three years when David was the king. He sought the face of the Lord for it. Then he knew it was caused by a wrong doing of Saul. Saul had killed the innocent Gibeonites when he was the King. Whenever there are sins, there are curses. That was why there had been a famine in David’s kingdom. David asked the Gibeonites what he should do for them. They asked for the lives of seven of Saul’s male descendants. They would kill them and expose them on a hill. David said, “I will give them to you.”
One lesson we may learn from here is: Go before the Lord alone. This is the only one thing is needed for God’s children. Everyday we must spent time listening carefully to what the Bible says to us. This is especially important for those who are in the service, such as missionaries, pastors, elders and deacons. If we do this, we will be able to discern right from wrong, and good from evil. We will also know how to please the Lord. Second lesson is: We should seek the Lord more humbly when we have troubles in our lives. Humbly ask the Lord to instruct us the cause of our troubles and the area needed to be disciplined. Why do we get sick like this? Why do we have miseries, frustrations, or sufferings in this manner? God’s words are the true light. When we fear Him and seek the face of God, the Lord will point out the very cause of it. God will also provide for us the solution of it. Let us turn to the Lord everyday. Repent and forsake our ways and our thoughts. Put God’s words into practice everyday. If we go to the Lord in such a humble heart everyday, we are sure to get the faithful love that God had promised to David. God will use us mightily as the witness to all nations. He will empower us with authority as kings and commanders of the peoples. (It is promised in Isaiah 55/3-5, “Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”)
Third lesson we learn is to make a complete restitution to people whom we have offended. Follow the example of David, “I will give them to you.” He made restitution according to the demand of the victim. We must give out the source of sins which caused the curse. There is no other way to change curses to blessings unless we give out the very cause of it. When sins are out, blessings arrive.
Luke 13/1-10:
Jesus told the people around Him that they should not regard those who suffered miserably as worse sinners than they were. Jesus said that if they did not repent, they would perish too. He told them the truth of repentance by a parable of a fig tree. The owner of it would like to cut it down because it had not born any fruit for three years. The owner said, “Why should it use up the soil?” But the gardener pleaded for it. This gardener is a type of Jesus. He acted as the Mediator who intercedes for the sinners. He said, “I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.”
The three-year-famine in David’s kingdom was the digging and fertilizing of God. The Lord is using troubles in our lives as “digging and fertilizing” the ground of our hearts. God uses troubles to wake us up so that we will give out the source of our sins. Then we can bear fruit to honor God. Therefore, our troubles may become worse and worse if we do not give out the source of our sins to the Lord. If we give it out, curses will be turned into blessings. We will bear fruit to glorify our God.
Here is a true and sad testimony for us to bear in mind. When uncle Chang (President of Home of Grace in China) preached gospel in Shanghai, he met a manager of a bank. He had two wives. The first wife had given him some children. But he married a second one and got two children from her. His first wife refused to believe in Jesus because of that. Therefore, this manager confessed his sins and separated from this second wife. However, after that he went back to live with the second wife again. He refused to give out the source of sins. I saw him got stroke by my own eyes. The church he attended prayed earnestly for him. He actually recovered from it completely just as if raised from the death. At that time a brother in Jesus wrote to him and advised him to repent. He wrote that this illness was a “digging and fertilizing” from God. The Lord wanted him to repent and bear the fruit of repentance, lest he be cut down. But this manager refused to depart from his sins. He continued to live with this second wife. One night he had some guests for dinner, one guest spoke a joke. He got stroke again when he was laughing because of the joke. Unexpectedly, he died on that spot. His first wife would rather perish in the hell than believe in Jesus because of him. He made her stumbled and perished forever.
Second testimony is about a sister was blessed when she gave out the source of her sins. This sister accepted Jesus as her Savior when she heard Dr. John Sung spoke in the meetings of National Bible Study in Hangzhou. She was a second wife of a director of a fabric factory. The first wife had no children. She had two young children at that time. After she believed in Jesus, she loved the Lord with all her heart. She told her husband, “You must make a decision. You cannot have two wives at the same time. If you want her, I must leave.” This director ignored her. He thought that she would never leave him for the sake of the children. However, she had devoted herself to the Lord wholeheartedly. She left behind her young children for the sake of the truth. She took no money or valuables from that director. She moved to another province and audited in a Theological Seminary. She was about 20s and had no schooling before this. For the Lord she took the narrow way. She endured hardship and poverty. Many times she heard of how the first wife mistreated her own children. The first wife pulled her daughter’s head to hit against the wall, and told her to die soon. Her young son was thrown from the stairs to the floor by the first wife. In spite of all these sufferings, she refused to return to the sinful live. There was nothing in her heart except the Lord. After many years, the first wife died suddenly. Then this director begged her to come back home. She insisted to have a formal wedding and be blessed by a pastor. When I met her, she was holding her grandson. How zealously she asked us to preach gospel to her hometown. The Lord restored the family and the fortune to her because she loved the Lord more than anything. Her daughter grew up to be a manager because she was smart and capable. Her son was short and low in wisdom (His brain might have been damaged when he was thrown down from the stairs). But an elder of a church was willing to marry his daughter to him. A very smart grandson was blessed to this sister. I still kept a picture of this wonderful sister. Her testimony really warms people’s heart. How she loved the Lord! God was far beyond everything in her heart. You and I should also come before the Lord everyday. Ask Him to shine upon us so that we can give out anything that hinders us from loving the Lord. In this way we are counted as loving the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. And the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us run quickly and follow the Lord. Finish the Great Commission that has entrusted to us. Preach gospel to the ends of the world. Refresh the heart of our Lord!
2 Samuel 21/7-9:
Here we see that David spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul. Why was it? Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet. He had been looked down and bullied by people. He was spared because he was humble and grateful. He knew himself was unworthy for such a grace. He humbled himself as a dog before King David. How grateful he was for the loving kindness of King David to his father and him. He loved David truly and sincerely. Therefore, King David did not give him out to the Gibeonites. He handed over to the Gibeonites the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, sister of Michal, and two sons of Saul born by Rizpah. All seven of them were killed and exposed on a hill. (Seven descendants of Saul can apply to our sinful nature.) When the sins were given out, it was the first day of the harvest. The disaster of famine stopped.
Here we see God’s mercy and grace came on Mephiboseth, the poor and humbled, when He dealt with sins.
Luke 13/11-14:
Jesus saw a woman in a synagogue who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. At once Jesus put hands on her and delivered her from this bondage. But the synagogue ruler was angry and judged Jesus for doing it on the Sabbath.
Here we see how merciful Jesus was to the poor, the humbled, the bound and the sick. There is a parallel between the Lord’s compassion to this woman and David’s mercy to Mephiboseth. But Jesus rebuked the hypocritical and the proud without any reservation.
Pray to the Lord to help us to know how corrupt and unworthy we are. How poor and miserable we are. Pray that God will help us to come before Him humbly. Let us put our hope in His might and great love. We are sure to be spared, saved, delivered and healed by God. Do not be proud or pretend to be good as the hypocrite. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
2 Samuel 21/10-14:
Rizpah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. She watched those bodies carefully. She did not let the birds of the air touch them by day or the wild animals by night. She had been a concubine of Saul. Later Abner the commander of Saul’s army slept with her. Though she was a lowly woman, she had such a great love to the dead sinners. When King David heard of that, he was moved and was kind to her. He went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. He buried them in the tomb of Saul’s father. He also gathered up the bones of the seven who had been killed and exposed. After that, God answered their prayers.
We learn from here that God sends down disasters to chasten our sins. He has to expel that sin from us before He can answer our prayers. God is pleased when He sees us confessing, repenting, and giving out the source of our sins. God is also pleased to see that we act in justice and compassion. When King David buried the bones of his enemy and the enemy’s descendants, God was pleased. Therefore, the disaster was stopped. And God answered their prayers when He saw them bearing fruit to honor His name. The Bible says, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6/8)
Luke 13/15-22:
Jesus said, “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were ashamed. The people over there were delighted with his wonderful deeds.
Then, Jesus gave more parables about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. If you plant it in the garden, it will grow and become a tree. The birds of the air will perch in its branch. The kingdom of God is like yeast. If you mix it into a large amount of flour, it will work all through the dough. It means that people tend to regard God’s Word as small as a mustard seed and the yeast. But what a great effect it will make in us if we believe it by faith. When David truly listened and obeyed God’s Word, he gave out the source of sins—seven descendants of Saul. He acted in justice in this way. He continued to keep God’s words to bury the bones of Saul. This was an act of mercy to Rizpah. David did not use other methods or great knowledge to solve a national disaster. He simply kept God’s words with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind and with all his strength. And he loved his neighbor as himself. God changed a famine into a great harvest. David has left us a good example about how to change cursing into blessing.
2 Samuel 21/15-17:
Once again there was a war between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the enemy. He became exhausted. One descendant of the giants wanted to kill David. This giant held a bronze spearhead and a new sword. But Abishai came to David’s rescue and killed this strong enemy. Then David’s men swore to David that he should never go out to fight, lest the lamp of Israel be put out.
Here we learn that even David who loved God so much and had such a faith in God still needed to fight a Spiritual war for his very life. This enemy was as strong as before and was equipped with a new weapon. He wanted to kill David when he was exhausted. What was a new weapon? David had been careful in the desert when a jealous Saul was seeking for his life. But when David was in the palace, he became relaxed and overslept. Therefore, he almost fell into hell when the enemy used a woman, a new weapon, to seduce him to sin.
Praise the Lord! This time in the face of the enemy’s new weapon, David was rescued by the warrior Abishai. Therefore, a second lesson is: Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. But let us encourage, advise and pray for one another. Our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. If one is alone, he may be overpowered. But two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4/12) This is also one of the goals that God wants to set up churches, out-reach centers, and Home of Grace for His servants all over the world. He wants us to join together in reading the Bible and praying at the House of God. We are to assemble for protection in the House of God so that we will not be killed by the enemies and fall into the hell.
Luke 13/23-27:
Someone asked Jesus whether there would be only few people to be saved. Jesus told them not to lose any chance for making every effort to enter through the narrow door of salvation. Many would try to enter and would not be able to because they had missed the chance.
Indeed, many people are wasting their lives in eating, drinking and having fun everyday. They refuse to enter into the door of salvation. They will end up in hell and suffer a great deal. It will be too late for them to repent and believe in Jesus. It will be impossible for them to go to heaven by then.
Now the door of salvation is open widely. People can came and believe in Jesus Christ everyday. This is a period of grace. Everyone is welcome to enter into the narrow door of salvation.
This is also a very important time for the believer to grow into the victory and holy life of Jesus Christ. We must take this chance and make every effort to enter through the narrow door. Cleanse ourselves to be instruments for noble purposes. Sanctify ourselves and be useful to God for any good work. Many nations and peoples will be blessed through those who take the narrow way. King David was regarded as the lamp of his nation. He led the whole nation walking in the light of God. If we are lazy and relax in the grace, we might be deceived by the world. If we fail to keep God’s words in the face of temptations, how can we fight for our Lord and snatch the souls from sins?
Let us wake up! Be careful how you spend the days of your life. Let us pray now before it is too late. Pray—watch and pray. Seek—seek in the pure truth, in the most holy Bible. Do not run after nonsense here and there. Do not fancy wild thoughts in our mind. Pray that the Lord give us the Spirit of truth to lead us into all truth. Knock—be sure to make effort to enter through the narrow door. If we keep all of God’s commands, we will live with the Lord and walk with Him. We will be fellow workers of God. Do not miss this good chance. If we fail to keep God’s words everyday, we have no strength to save others. If we commit sins and do evil, we make people stumbled. There is no more chance for us to save the souls when we die. The door of grace will be closed when our Lord comes again. Enter the narrow door now, or we will be too ashamed to see our Lord on that Day because we bear no fruit.
2 Samuel 21/18-22:
All four descendants of the giant of Gath fell at the hands of David and his men.
Luke 13/28-35:
Come and enter through the narrow gate now, or we will weep in darkness forever when Jesus Christ comes again. Whoever does not believe in Jesus now will end up weeping forever. There will also be weeping for those who do not make effort to keep God’s commands or love the Lord now. They will see many people come from all directions and take their places to enjoy at the feast in God’s kingdom with the victorious saints and all the prophets. At that time they will weep forever because they have lost their own places.
Indeed there are those who are last who will be first. It is because they make a bee-line toward the goal. The goal is what God says to us everyday by reading the Bible. But those who are first will be last. There are several reasons for that: 1) they are distracted by worries or things around them. 2) They slow down or circle around at the same spot. 3) They are entangled with personal affairs or sins. Therefore, they become last. Let us pray that we will fix our eye on the Lord. See no one except Jesus. Listen only to the Lord our God and to the His beloved Son Jesus. All the prophets in the Bible, angles, apostles, missionaries, and brothers and sisters in Jesus are used to witness for the Lord. We are to follow and worship the only true God–God of trinity, the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son. Pray to God to help us to follow what the Lord says closely to the very end. Our Lord is Lord of lords and King of kings. He has overcome all of the enemies. Those who are faithful and keep the Lord’s commands will also overcome with Him. It is just as what had happened to David’s strong enemies. He loved God and made effort to keep God’s words so that all of the strong enemies fell at the hand of David and his men.
Our Lord Jesus was a better example than David. Though Herod wanted to kill him, he kept marching forward without fear. Jesus insisted in carrying out God’s will in spite of the threat of a strong enemy. By the strength of the Holy Spirit, Jesus committed Himself to God and continued to do good. He laid down His life on the cross. There was a better resurrection prepared for Him. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. Jesus Christ has become the source of eternal salvation for all who take refuge in Him. Therefore, anyone who refuses to shelter in His salvation will end up in desolation and misery.
Arise! Arise! Repent humbly before the Lord everyday. Forsake our ways and our thoughts. Ask the Lord to give us strength so that we can make every effort to keep God’s words. Make every effort to do God’s will and keep on marching forward. Preach the gospel and snatch the souls from sins. Be a Christian that honors God and is beneficial to people. We will sure to have peace and joy in the Lord. God will reward us fully on that Day!
Mary Xu