May 14th, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

The Fruit of Faithfulness

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Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, this Ascension Day reminds me that You rose victorious and ascended to Your rightful place at God’s right hand.

Read 2 Samuel 5:1-12

[1] All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. [2] In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.'” [3] When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. [4] David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. [5] In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. [6] The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” [7] Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion-which is the City of David. [8] On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.” [9] David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. [10] And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him. [11] Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. [12] Then David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Meditate

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). A demanding challenge from our Lord.

Think Further

The Lord kept his promise. The ten northern tribes, represented by their elders, came to David, made a covenant with him, and anointed him king over Israel, as Judah’s two tribes had done before. For the first time, David was king over a united kingdom made up of Judah and Israel. Jerusalem, God’s appointed city, was still under the Canaanite rule of the Jebusites. The new national capital awaited conquest. In ritual fashion, the inhabitants of Jebus taunted David, saying that he could not even defeat people with disabilities. But David conquered Jerusalem effortlessly by going up a water shaft and into the city. As he built the city, the border kingdoms recognized his prowess. In an act of submission, the Phoenician king sent David renowned craftsmen as well as some of Lebanon’s coveted cedar timbers to build his palace. Although fiercely resolute, David preferred a peaceful resolution to conflict.

Jesus told the multitudes that he blesses those who seek peace. Although a warrior, David knew how to nurture peace among rival nations. Some critics might view David’s tactics as manipulative or cunning toward Israel. But after many hard-won battles, a day came when the leaders of Israel chose to unite with David as the legitimate and worthy king of Judah and Israel. They said to David, “We are your bone and your flesh” (1), an amazing echo of Adam’s union with his beloved wife, Eve. But David understood that the Lord had done it all for the sake of his people, Israel (12).

God gives success to those who submit their efforts to him. A good outcome may come through hard labor and personal opposition, or it may come effortlessly. Whatever the case, it will come to those who are faithful and who put their trust for success in God’s wise and strong hands.

Apply

Take a look at the success in your life and ask where you might be seeking the right things in life in the wrong ways.

Closing prayer

Lord, I struggle with achieving success in ways that are pleasing to You. Help me to do Your work, in Your ways, to accomplish Your will.

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