we unfortunately sow some seeds and hope their fruits never appear.
David grew stronger while the house of Saul grew weaker--so opens our study for today. As Christians, we can rest assured that we can continue to grow spiritually regardless of becoming weaker physically in the flesh. God promises in Philippians 1:6, that we can also be "confident that He who has begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ". Regardless of our age, we can rejoice in the fact that although our outward man is perishing, yet our inward man is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Emotional trauma can spread to others when actions stem from vengeance. Saul gave his daughter Michal--David's wife, to Paltiel. Now we read that David demanded Michal back as a term of his covenant with Abner. Paltiel was evidently heart broken at losing his wife and "went along with her. . ., weeping behind her". (Abner told Paltiel, "Go, return". It was probably to Paltiel's advantage that he stopped following his wife as Abner had killed a young soldier previously when he persisted in following Abner.) Tracing the source of unpleasant consequences perhaps always reveals sin at the source, even years previously. Abner showed no compassion or mercy for the husband as Abner was carrying out his own agenda. Jesus always took time to feel someone's pain or listen to their need. Hopefully, we are growing in becoming more Christ-like in our dealings with others.
Abner's loyalty evidently changed when it was to his advantage. He was Saul's commander-in-chief, supported Saul's son, then switched to David's side. He had killed Joab's brother as he relentlessly followed Abner after he fled in a battle years earlier. Abner was killed by Joab and his brother--they avenged the blood of their brother Asahel. Once again, we see that sin--in this case, murder--played a part in an undesirable outcome. God would have brought David to Israel as their king, however, Abner was carrying out his own plan. I can envision God watching as Abner attempted to bring this about in his own way.
David obviously highly respected Abner and referred to him as "a prince and a great man". Zeruiah was David's older sister, the mother of Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. David made the statement that Zeruiah's sons were too harsh for him and added that the Lord would repay the evildoer according to his wickedness (I Sam. 3:39). In my observation, our culture is short on respect; many unfortunate situations could be avoided today by showing respect to others. When we respect God, without a doubt, it increases our respect for our fellow man, who is made in God's image.
There are several accounts of people attempting to impress David by killing his enemies. Chapter 4, brings another such incident to our attention. Perhaps these men saw David as a man of war and believed he would applaud the killing of his enemies. However, this was not the case. David was a man after God's own heart and although he was a warrior, he respected what is right. It was not right for Saul's two sons to kill Ishbosheth in his own house, in his own bed. These were brutal men. David was not a brutal man.
Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, is introduced in chapter 4 of I Samuel. David loved Jonathan and we will read later how David was blessed with the opportunity to care for Jonathan's son--perhaps an example of God's kindness to David.
Psalm 62:5, To be able to "wait silently for God alone" is quite difficult. I became aware of this during a recent illness. I began to panic as I realized I could possibly be facing the end of my life. However, I held on to the verse that says, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). I now have a new appreciation for stilling my mind and my thoughts and waiting on God. Verse 8 of Psalm 62: "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us". This is a Psalm of David and reminds us to pour out our hearts to God about things that concern us.
Oh, to come to the place that we would rather do God's work than to eat! Jesus said His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him, and to finish His work. There's plenty for us to do before Jesus returns. He told His disciples, "lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest" (John 4:35). When people saw and heard Jesus, many believed. Pray that our love for God will bring light to someone in darkness and that we will look for opportunities to point others to Jesus.
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