2 Samuel 1:12
“And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for
Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of
Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.”
The deaths of Saul and Jonathan were tragic. Saul died a premature death because of his unwillingness to repent, and Jonathan died as a direct result of his father’s sin. These were needless deaths.
2 Samuel 8:15
“And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.”
Every person, leader and organization need to have core values. Core values are the guiding principles which decide what you do and don’t do. These core values define who you are so that others know how you conduct yourself and how you conduct business. A person, leader or organization without core values will fall to every whim of people and to every passion that a situation dictates. Without core values, you are bound to destroy yourself, those you lead, and the organization you run.
2 Samuel 16:10
“And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah?
so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who
shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?”
One of the men in David’s life that I detest is Shimei. Shimei was a man who never got over his past, and he turned into a bitter man because of this. His bitterness turned to hatred, and it caused him to never accept the will of God for Israel.
1 Kings 2:33
“Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon
the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and
upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from
the LORD.”
Solomon made a dangerous mistake that many second generation Christians and ministry leaders make. He said in the verse above, “…but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.” There is almost a sense of disdain for battles in this statement.
1 Kings 8:11
“So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the
cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.”
An amazing thing happened when Solomon dedicated the temple to God. Solomon had the priest bring the ark of God into the holy place. When the priests came out of the most holy place, the Scriptures say that “the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” There was such a presence of God that the priests could not stand to minister. In other words, they had fallen prostrate on their faces because of God’s presence.
1 Kings 11:28
“And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing
the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the
charge of the house of Joseph.”
One of the most lacking things in this present generation are industrious people. I was recently talking to a person who is successful in the business world, and they said that one of the hardest things to find anymore are dependable, hard-working people to employ. They told me that any industrious person they hire moves up the chain of authority quickly because it is so hard to find people who are hard-working.
Deuteronomy 1:42
“And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight;
for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.”
After Israel had refused to go into the Promised Land, God pronounced His judgment against the generation that refused to follow His Word by faith. When God told them that they would die in the wilderness, they changed their tune from refusing to go forward to wanting to go forward to conquer the Amorites as an attempt to show God that they would obey Him. However, sometimes it is a little late to choose obedience. They had already refused God’s will to go forward, so God refused to let them go into the Promised Land.
Deuteronomy 23:11
“But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with
water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.”
God was very clear about His people being clean from sin. Israel is a picture of the believer, and God doesn’t want any uncleanness in the believer’s life. The verse above is a dialogue about what a person was to do if they touched something that was unclean when they were in battle. God said that a person who found themselves unclean was to “go abroad out of the camp…”
Joshua 1:9
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.”
Before my wife goes grocery shopping, she compiles a list of groceries that we need. That list helps her to know what to purchase while she is at the grocery store, and it also helps her to keep us from spending money frivolously. She could certainly go shopping without the list, but she will never completely get what we need without it.
Joshua 7:10
“And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?”
Israel had enjoyed the blessings of God for some time. They experienced victory after victory, and it seemed that nothing was going to stop them. However, something did stop them. What stopped them was like running into a brick wall. They conquered the great city of Jericho, but they experienced defeat at the Battle of Ai. This army should have been no contest for the army of Israel, but something caused the blessings of God to stop and instead bring defeat.