For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Mark 16
Random thought for the day…The women went to the tomb seeking Jesus. They knew there was an obstacle in their way. They discussed this but did not let it stop therm. When they got where they thought they needed to go, they found that obstacle removed and were given a new path to take. And when they finally did find Jesus, they found so much more than they were expecting! They were expecting a body in a tomb. What they found was a risen savior.
I see God still working this way in our lives today. When we seek Jesus in faith, He removes those obstacles that we know we are going to face. He directs our paths, often taking us to places we had not intended to go. And, if we seek faithfully, we find far more than we ever expected. Isn’t it just like God?
2 Sam. 15-16
How is David’s sin in ch. 11 connected with Absalom’s rebellion? (See 12:10-12). How do you think this affected David’s decision to flee? (See v. 25-26) I have no idea how much time passed from the curse God declared on David for his sin with Bathsheba and its fulfillment here. I wonder, though, if it weighed on David the whole time or if it only came back to mind when Absalom made this move. I’ve never really given too much thought as to why David chose to flee from his son. I guess I always supposed he simply didn’t wish to fight his son lest he kill him. Perhaps that is part of it, but I do see some indication of something more.
It seems David was aware that God had, at least for a time, removed His blessing from him. Normally, David was confident, as he was when he stood before Goliath, that God was with him and no mere mortal could stand against God. But this time David knew that God was not with him. He told Abishai, ‘It may be that the LORD will look upon my misery and restore to me His covenant blessing instead of His curse today.” (2 Sam. 16:12). Thus, he knew that standing to fight would lead to his fall. So he fled.
David fully accepted the curse God had pronounced on him. To do otherwise would have been to proudly oppose God. Instead, David remained humble and did what he always did. He turned himself over completely to God’s mercy. “If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, He will bring me back… But if He says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.” (2 Sam. 15:25b,26). This reveals the irony that only in humility can we stand with confidence in God. May God grant me David’s wisdom to never stand in opposition to Him!
Prov. 12
Choose one proverb that speaks to you and create an action step for today. “No one can be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.” (Pr. 12:3). That sure speaks to David’s situation when Absalom rose against him! David knew he was under God’s curse because of his own wickedness. Thus, he knew that his only hope was to humbly accept whatever God threw at him. If God found favor with David’s humbled heart, He would count it as righteousness and restore him. Absalom’s move, on the other hand, though it profited him for a time, was doomed to failure from the start.
This all encourages me to look past temporary situations. There are times when the righteous seem to fall while the wicked stand. But I should not buy into this deception! In the end, as was the case with David and Absalom, “The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm.” (Pr. 12:7).