DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY APRIL 4:
WORD OF WISDOM
Life comes with voices. Voices lead to choices. And choices have
consequences.
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DAILY DEVOTION
No Place to Stand
"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour:
for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun
go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole
steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing
which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth."
Ephesians 4:25-28
Archimedes was one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists of the
ancient world. Many of his discoveries and principles are still in use today
even after thousands of years. Archimedes focused much of his effort on
discoveries related to improving the way people work. He developed new
pulley systems to move heavy objects, a screw system to raise water uphill,
and weapons to defend his home city of Syracuse. One of his most famous
insights related to working with levers and their power. Archimedes said,
"Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth." Simply put, though
a lever offers great increase in strength to move objects, it will not work
unless the person using it has a place for his feet.
When Paul warns us not to give the devil room to work in our lives, he is
speaking of a similar concept. When we do not immediately fight and resist
temptation, we are allowing the devil room to operate in our lives, and he
will take full advantage of it. The horrible sin that characterized the end
of Lot's life began with what seemed like a very small decision. "Abram
dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain,
and pitched his tent toward Sodom" (Genesis 13:12). The reality is that
Satan needs very little room to operate in our lives and destroy our
testimony and effectiveness for God's service. We must not give him a place
to stand.
Giving the devil even one inch is too much, and left unchecked will lead to
destruction.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
2 Samuel 19-21New King James Version (NKJV)
19 And Joab was told, "Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for
Absalom." 2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the
people. For the people heard it said that day, "The king is grieved for his
son." 3 And the people stole back into the city that day, as people who are
ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But the king covered his
face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, "O my son Absalom! O
Absalom, my son, my son!"
5 Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, "Today you have
disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of
your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your
concubines, 6 in that you love your enemies and hate your friends. For you
have declared today that you regard neither princes nor servants; for today
I perceive that if Absalom had lived and all of us had died today, then it
would have pleased you well. 7 Now therefore, arise, go out and speak
comfort to your servants. For I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, not
one will stay with you this night. And that will be worse for you than all
the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now." 8 Then the king
arose and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, "There is
the king, sitting in the gate." So all the people came before the king.
For everyone of Israel had fled to his tent.
David Returns to Jerusalem
9 Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel,
saying, "The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered us
from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because
of Absalom. 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle.
Now therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?"
11 So King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, "Speak to
the elders of Judah, saying, 'Why are you the last to bring the king back to
his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very
house? 12 You are my brethren, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are
you the last to bring back the king?' 13 And say to Amasa, 'Are you not my
bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander
of the army before me continually in place of Joab.'" 14 So he swayed the
hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they
sent this word to the king: "Return, you and all your servants!"
15 Then the king returned and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal,
to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan. 16 And Shimei
the son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down
with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 There were a thousand men of
Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his
fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over the Jordan
before the king. 18 Then a ferryboat went across to carry over the king's
household, and to do what he thought good.
David's Mercy to Shimei
Now Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king when he had crossed the
Jordan. 19 Then he said to the king, "Do not let my lord impute iniquity to
me, or remember what wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king
left Jerusalem, that the king should take it to heart. 20 For I, your
servant, know that I have sinned. Therefore here I am, the first to come
today of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king."
21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, "Shall not Shimei be
put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord's anointed?"
22 And David said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that
you should be adversaries to me today? Shall any man be put to death today
in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?" 23
Therefore the king said to Shimei, "You shall not die." And the king swore
to him.
David and Mephibosheth Meet
24 Now Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. And he had
not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes,
from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace. 25 So it
was, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to
him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?"
26 And he answered, "My lord, O king, my servant deceived me. For your
servant said, 'I will saddle a donkey for myself, that I may ride on it and
go to the king,' because your servant is lame. 27 And he has slandered your
servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God.
Therefore do what is good in your eyes. 28 For all my father's house were
but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those
who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out
anymore to the king?"
29 So the king said to him, "Why do you speak anymore of your matters? I
have said, 'You and Ziba divide the land.'"
30 Then Mephibosheth said to the king, "Rather, let him take it all,
inasmuch as my lord the king has come back in peace to his own house."
David's Kindness to Barzillai
31 And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and went across the
Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was
a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had provided the king with
supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man. 33 And
the king said to Barzillai, "Come across with me, and I will provide for you
while you are with me in Jerusalem."
34 But Barzillai said to the king, "How long have I to live, that I should
go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am today eighty years old. Can I
discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what
I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women?
Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king? 36
Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. And why
should the king repay me with such a reward? 37 Please let your servant
turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father
and mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him cross over with my
lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you."
38 And the king answered, "Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do
for him what seems good to you. Now whatever you request of me, I will do
for you." 39 Then all the people went over the Jordan. And when the king
had crossed over, the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned
to his own place.
The Quarrel About the King
40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham[a] went on with him. And all
the people of Judah escorted the king, and also half the people of Israel.
41 Just then all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king,
"Why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the
king, his household, and all David's men with him across the Jordan?"
42 So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, "Because the king is
a close relative of ours. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we
ever eaten at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift?"
43 And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, "We have ten
shares in the king; therefore we also have more right to David than you. Why
then do you despise us-were we not the first to advise bringing back our
king?"
Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of
Israel.
The Rebellion of Sheba
20 And there happened to be there a rebel,[b] whose name was Sheba the son
of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said:
"We have no share in David,
Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse;
Every man to his tents, O Israel!"
2 So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of
Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained
loyal to their king.
3 Now David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women,
his concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion
and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the
day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 And the king said to Amasa, "Assemble the men of Judah for me within three
days, and be present here yourself." 5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of
Judah. But he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed
him. 6 And David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us
more harm than Absalom. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he
find for himself fortified cities, and escape us." 7 So Joab's men, with
the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after him.
And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When
they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now
Joab was dressed in battle armor; on it was a belt with a sword fastened in
its sheath at his hips; and as he was going forward, it fell out. 9 Then
Joab said to Amasa, "Are you in health, my brother?" And Joab took Amasa by
the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not notice the
sword that was in Joab's hand. And he struck him with it in the stomach, and
his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus
he died.
Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11
Meanwhile one of Joab's men stood near Amasa, and said, "Whoever favors Joab
and whoever is for David-follow Joab!" 12 But Amasa wallowed in his blood
in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood
still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over
him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted. 13 When he was
removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba
the son of Bichri.
14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maachah and
all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after
Sheba.[c] 15 Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and
they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart.
And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
16 Then a wise woman cried out from the city, "Hear, hear! Please say to
Joab, 'Come nearby, that I may speak with you.'" 17 When he had come near
to her, the woman said, "Are you Joab?"
He answered, "I am."
Then she said to him, "Hear the words of your maidservant."
And he answered, "I am listening."
18 So she spoke, saying, "They used to talk in former times, saying, 'They
shall surely seek guidance at Abel,' and so they would end disputes. 19 I
am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city
and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the
Lord?"
20 And Joab answered and said, "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should
swallow up or destroy! 21 That is not so. But a man from the mountains of
Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the
king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city."
So the woman said to Joab, "Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the
wall." 22 Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut
off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he
blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So
Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
David's Government Officers
23 And Joab was over all the army of Israel; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was
over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 Adoram was in charge of
revenue; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 25 Sheva was scribe;
Zadok and Abiathar were the priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was a chief
minister under David.
David Avenges the Gibeonites
21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after
year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, "It is because
of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites." 2 So
the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were
not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the
children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill
them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And with
what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the
Lord?"
4 And the Gibeonites said to him, "We will have no silver or gold from Saul
or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us."
So he said, "Whatever you say, I will do for you."
5 Then they answered the king, "As for the man who consumed us and plotted
against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the
territories of Israel, 6 let seven men of his descendants be delivered to
us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord
chose."
And the king said, "I will give them."
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul,
because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan
the son of Saul. 8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons
of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of
Michal[d] the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of
Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he delivered them into the hands of the
Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the Lord. So they fell,
all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the
first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
10 Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself
on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on
them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them
by day nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of
Saul, had done. 12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the
bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them
from the street of Beth Shan,[e] where the Philistines had hung them up,
after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13 So he brought up
the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they
gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. 14 They buried the bones
of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the
tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And
after that God heeded the prayer for the land.
Philistine Giants Destroyed
15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his
servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David
grew faint. 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the
weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a
new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah
came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of
David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle,
lest you quench the lamp of Israel."
18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the
Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph,[f] who was
one of the sons of the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the
Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim[g] the Bethlehemite
killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like
a weaver's beam.
20 Yet again there was 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; and he also was born to the giant. 21 So when he defied Israel,
Jonathan the son of Shimea,[h] David's brother, killed him.
22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David
and by the hand of his servants.
Footnotes:
a.2 Samuel 19:40 Masoretic Text reads Chimhan.
b.2 Samuel 20:1 Literally man of Belial
c.2 Samuel 20:14 Literally him
d.2 Samuel 21:8 Or Merab (compare 1 Samuel 18:19 and 25:44; 2 Samuel 3:14
and 6:23)
e.2 Samuel 21:12 Spelled Beth Shean in Joshua 17:11 and elsewhere
f.2 Samuel 21:18 Spelled Sippai in 1 Chronicles 20:4
g.2 Samuel 21:19 Spelled Jair in 1 Chronicles 20:5
h.2 Samuel 21:21 Spelled Shammah in 1 Samuel 16:9 and elsewhere
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James VersionR. Copyright C 1982 by Thomas
Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
