May 20, 2021 CAC Living Water Devotional : Topic – DAVID BECOMES WEAK
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Thursday, May 20, 2021 – Autoimmune/ Autoinflammatory Arthritis Day
DAVID BECOMES WEAK
Read: 2 Samuel 21:15-22
2 Samuel 21:15-22 The Philistines had war again with Israel. And David went down and his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David became faint.
Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giants, the weight of whose spear was 300 shekels of bronze, was girded with a new sword, and thought to kill David.
But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s aid, and smote and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men charged him, You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.
After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob (Gezer). Then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph (Sippai), who was a descendant of the giant.
There was again war at Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam.
And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he also was a descendant of the giants.
And when he defied Israel, Jonathan son of Shimei, brother of David, slew him.
These four were descended from the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hands of David and his servants.
MEMORISE:
The Philistines had war again with Israel. And David went down and his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David became faint. (2 Samuel 21:15).
EXPOSITION
This chapter of 2 Samuel concludes with the final words about David’s hostility towards the Philistines. He was no longer the robust young warrior of former days. David had become old and weak. A philistine giant, Ishbi-Benob, advance on David with a spear and a new sword, ready to kill him, if not for the timely intervention of Abishai who came to his rescue and killed the giant. How life changes! Let’s look at few things about David’s past.
1. David the Warrior (1 Sam.17:34ff). Is this the same David who defeated lion, bear, and the mighty Goliath?
2. David the womanizer. The man who risked his life to kill 200 philistines in order to get Saul’s daughter, Michal, as His wife, and reclaimed her several years later after she had been given to another man! (1 Sam.18v27, 2 Sam.3:13ff). The man who wasted no time in getting Abigail, Nabals widow, as wife (1 Sam.25:39-41). David, the man who, though had several wives, still was not contented with them until he violently snatched Bathsheba from Uriah, her husband, and silenced the man with death! In the end, a very beautiful virgin was brought to this same David, it was said that the most beautiful girl in Israel was her, but the king did not know her (1 Kgs.1:4).
3. David the Weak! David the conqueror of lion, bear, and giant became weak! Ishbi-Benob (meaning my seat at Nob), a descendant of the giants, most likely younger than David, equipped himself with a new sword and perhaps with new war strategies, determined to take advantage of David’s weakness (2 Sam.21:15ff).
4. David the wise. Having discovered the meaninglessness of life, David had acquired enough wisdom to pass onto his son, Solomon (1 Kgs.2:3).
5. Receive the grace to be in God, and for God all through your life.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Pray that your heart will not be enticed and drawn away from Christ by the meaninglessness things of life.
2. Ask for a wise heart that clings to the Law of the Lord and walks obediently in the way of the Lord.
3. Intercede for brethren in hospitals, or at home, who are being weakened by sicknesses and diseases.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: 1 Kings 5:18 – 7:25, John 4:47 – 5:14