May the mumbling commence!
What legacy will we leave our
children? It’s an important
question. Let’s look today at the final
instructions that David gave to his son Solomon, who was ascending to the
throne of Israel. Read from First Kings
chapter two:
As the time of King David's death approached, he gave
this charge to his son Solomon: "I
am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. Observe
the requirements of the Lord your
God and follow all his ways. Keep each of the laws, commands,
regulations, and stipulations written in the law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and
wherever you go. If you do this,
then the Lord will keep the
promise he made to me: 'If your
descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart
and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.'
And there is something else. You know that Joab son of Zeruiah murdered
my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but
it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with the blood of
war. Do with him what you think best,
but don't let him die in peace.
Be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Make them
permanent guests of the king, for they took care of me when I fled from your
brother Absalom.
And remember
Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me with a
terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me
at the Jordan River, I swore by the Lord
that I would not kill him. But that oath
does not make him innocent. You are a
wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him." (Verses 1-9)
How does David start? Take courage.
Be a man. These are words that
all young people need to hear. Take
courage. Act with maturity and wisdom.
But,
how are we to do that? David told
Solomon and the answer is no different for us.
Observe all the ways of the Lord.
Then, success will come – not success as defined by the world, mind you,
but success in relationship with the Kingdom of God.
What a great way to start! But, then, it seems like mostly a downer from
there on. David talks about revenge for
a couple of people in his life – Joab and Shimei. Don’t let him die in peace… give to Joab what
he has given others. Arrange a bloody
death for Shimei, for he cursed the Lord’s anointed.
These are harsh words, indeed. But, when we take into account that David was
king with all the power associated with it, David did not seek immediate
execution for these men shows something.
Many kings before and after David did not hesitate to kill those who
they thought were standing in their way.
David allowed these heated issues
to cool down for a generation. I wonder
what our world would look like today if people did as much as David did for his
rivals and enemies. Likely, the world
would be a better place.
And David also
asked Solomon to continue to honor the people that honored him in his
life. Basically, start with God’s
guidance and decide relationships through that divine guidance. The roots of wisdom!
And let us be wary of passing along a burden
to others that we could not carry ourselves.
Read from Acts chapter fifteen:
When they arrived in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were
welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported
on what God had been doing through their ministry. But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before
their conversion stood up and declared that all Gentile converts must be
circumcised and be required to follow the law of Moses.
So the apostles and church elders got together to decide
this question. At the meeting, after a
long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: "Brothers, you
all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the
Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. God,
who knows people's hearts, confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them
the Holy Spirit, just as he gave him to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he also cleansed their hearts through faith. Why
are you now questioning God's way by burdening the Gentile believers with a
yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same
way, by the special favor of the Lord Jesus." (Verses 4-11)
The Law is fulfilled through Christ
Jesus. We need only to have faith in him
and seek to follow him. Indeed, we aren’t
saved by the Law, we are saved through the special favor of Jesus.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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