KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Samuel 7:2 ” That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains”.

When the Lord had given David peace all around him, he thought about God and where the Ark of God dwelt. Good thoughts about others are always appreciated. It is a grand nature of men to be selfish, especially when things go well with them. In such times they forget about the plight of the under privileged. Many people get engrossed in their pleasure when all is well with them. Some Christians backslide because they have a good job, good marriage, a fashionable house, and what have you? They hardly think about God ,or go to church services regularly. Remember, what can a man give in exchange for His Soul?

 For king David, it was at the height of his comfort and stability that he thought about God and His house. How much are you concerned about God and His work? David said he dwells in a Cedar wood house and God lives in curtains (2nd Sam 7:2)

When King David discussed this issue with Nathan the prophet, he said to him go ahead and do all that is in your heart. In Nathan’s dream God said a lot of good things about David, yet he would not want him to build the house for him. His son would rather build it. Before the Lord spoke to Nathan, he told David to go ahead and do that which was in his heart, but after the encounter with God, he knew what God really wanted. It is always proper to be sure of what God is saying than to assume anything for Him.

God normally addresses people by their names. It is only those who have won His heart that he qualifies them by the term ‘MY SERVANT’. (2nd Sam 7;5) Many men of God seek to pride themselves with all kinds of titles Please note, there is only one tittle that God loves to address those who are dear unto Him. It is the word SERVANT. The word servant implies a slave, one who lives to please his master. Strive to be called a servant by God Himself. Men may see you as a servant of God, or you may call yourself that way, yet it is only God who can tell whether a man is His servant or not.

David’s desire to honor God with a house moved God to say so many wonderful things about him. God spoke about establishing his Kingdom forever (2nd Sam 7:13&16) He even added that if his son who will succeed him sins, He will chastise him with the rod of men.

Dear child of God you can also attract a great favor to yourself. Delight yourself in the things of God and take pleasure in honoring Him. Go out of your way and make great sacrifices for Him, and seek the establishment of His Kingdom There is no way your life would not be singled out for an uncommon blessing if you live this way.

  PRAYER

Oh! Father open the understanding of all Christians to the realities of honoring God with their lives and the uncommon favors that go with it. Let the church take its rightful place on the earth.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Matthew 6:33 ” But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

1 Samuel 2:30 “Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the LORD saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed”.

KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Samuel 6:21 “And David said unto Michal, it was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore, will I play before the LORD”.

The ark of the Lord finally got to Jerusalem amidst praises, songs with instrumentation. King David wore a linen Ephod. The linen material was very light and so could not easily generate sweat which normally created a foul smell. This garment was worn by the priest as a symbol of purity.

King David was totally given to God. He only focused on the Lord and how to express his praise and worship to the highest degree. The king danced, praised God to the degree that he was almost naked, yet he cared less about it.

In 2nd Samuel 6:16 the scriptures said Michal David’s wife looked through the window seeing, how David was dancing and leaping before the Lord, despised him in her heart.

In the church of God many people just go as spectators and not participators. They stare at those who are “crazily” dancing or prostrating on the floor and they castigate such people in their minds. This is rather dangerous, as we studied in our previous lesson that the power of God does not determine who to blessed or who is to be cursed. It is always the condition of your heart that determines. Michal was not praising the Lord. She rather despised a man who was busily praising the Lord.

When David finally settled at home, Michal did not keep her thoughts in her head but went ahead and expressed them to David. Thoughts could be our own creation, suggestions from demons or from the Spirit of God that we feed on. Thoughts in the head do not become authentic or something established in the realms of the spirit until they are spoken out of the mouth. (Romans 10:9-10). She said the king uncovered himself in the eyes of the hand maidens of his own servants as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovered himself. Her words seriously implicated her. (2nd Samuel 6:20). This woman was very fleshly or carnally minded. She saw nothing spiritual about all that transpired. Note carnality is always death and spirituality is always life. David answered her that God choose him in place of his father and all Israel and so he will “play” before the Lord. To play means he would make himself nothing. Dear child of God never make yourself somebody before God. Whenever you stand to worship Him, acknowledge that It is the Lord alone that matters. Your goal in worship must only to please Him and not you or another person.

*God’s anger came on Michal and was barren till death. Never despise a deed done for the Lord.

 CONFESSION

I am committed to lifting His name in all I do. My life is for the Lord and would give my praise and worship to honor Him alone.

FURTHER STUDIES.

2 Samuel 6:22 “And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.”

2 Samuel 6:23 “Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Chronicles 13:3 ” And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul”.

David brought various leaders and commanders of thousands and suggested to them the need to bring back the Ark of God to where the king dwelt. Please note great leadership in the affairs of God is to be focused on that which exalts the name of God. David was exceedingly committed to doing things that pleased and honoured God.

David rallied together about thirty thousand people. The large number of people is a sign of how serious David recongnises this step as well as showing to the Lord his desire to honour and exalt Him.

The Ark was carried by a cart driven by two oxen and was guarded by two men, Uzzah and Ahio.  The rest of Israel rejoiced and praised the Lord, singing dancing with music. When the ‘oxen decided to take some grass’ at the threshing floor the Ark nearly fell and so Uzzah stretched his hand to support the Ark but God’s anger burnt against him and slew him. David was angry with God and was also very afraid of Him Beloved our God is a fearful God. Uzzah was not a priest or a Levite. Why was he allowed to take care of the ark in the first place? Always know the right thing and do it.  God works with principles not with the faces of men.

David out of fear took the Ark to the house of Obededom, who was a Levite. The Bible said, Obededom’ s house was blessed because of the presence of the Ark. To Uzzah he was slain but to Obededom he and his household were blessed. To the fleshly person it is death, but to the spiritual man it is life and blessings. It is not God who determines whether His power becomes life or death to a man, it is the heart condition of the individual. In the dispensation of grace, faith is the only ground that justifies us.

In 2nd Samuel 6:13, King David now went for the Ark from Obededom’ s house. David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf whenever the bearers of the ark took six steps. This time the bearers of the ark were Levites and it was not put on a cart. Since the days of Moses and Joshua the ark had always been borne by the Levites and never on a cart. It was the Philistines who first placed the Ark on a cart driven by oxen. (1st Sam 6:11) NEVER USE WORLDLY WAYS FOR GOD’S THINGS.

The Levites were people set apart to serve the things of God. They were symbols of holiness. Everything about God must be approached in Holiness. Please note HOLINESS UNTO GOD IS NOT JUST WHAT YOU DO BUT WHAT YOU DO AS A RESULT OF YOUR FAITH IN GOD.  One may do without believing and misses God, but the man who believes what God has said has his influence from God.

  CONFESSION

I live in the Spirit by faith, and therefore receive an abundance of God’s blessings. I do not struggle to experience His favors for as I live in the spirit the blessings come from the Spirit.

FURTHER STUDIES.

1 Chronicles 13:12 “And David was afraid of God that day, saying, how shall I bring the ark of God home to me?”

Romans 8:1 ” There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 4:10  When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:

Two gentlemen who were captains for Ishbosheth went into his chamber one afternoon and killed him. (2nd Sam.4:7& 8)They cut off his head and brought it to David thinking King David would praise them for their effort.

King David never condoned wickedness. He asked his young men to slay these two men (2 Samuel 4:11-12)

All these deaths were God’s judgement on the household of Saul. They happened so the throne of David could be fully established without any resistance. The life of David teaches us something amazing. He never rejoiced over the death of any of the family members of Saul. David kept a clean heart devoid of bitterness. He allowed God to do what He the Lord would do, yet he (David) never gave room for bitterness. Dear child of God your kind heartedness towards your enemies would not stop God’s judgement and punishment for them if they don’t repent. Bitterness always places you cheaply in the hands of the enemy. Hebrews 12:15 reads “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled”

Bitterness in your heart will cause you to fail of the grace of God. This implies devoid of supernatural assistance and provision. The man who expresses true love and kindness towards all men, even when he has been wrongly treated, always receives grace or divine supply to continue excelling.

In 2nd Samuel 5:3 all the tribes of Israel came to David and anointed him king for the third time. He was anointed king by Samuel in the house of Jesse (1st Sam 16:13).For the second time, the tribes of Judah anointed him king in Hebron (2 Samuel 2:4). The other tribes of Judah could not have anointed David if people like, Ishbosheth were still around.

David had a lot of good will from his people and some neighbors like the king of Tyre, who brought cedar wood, carpenters and masons for David’s house. In the midst of all these good will the Philistines came up against Israel. David enquired of the Lord and defeated them. They came a second time but the Lord showed David a new approach to fight this time. God does not have one way in doing his things. We need to consult him each step of the way. Don’t assume he would use the last approach.

       CONFESSION

I have the Spirit of God and I am free of bitterness towards all persons. God’s favor abounds towards me and my life is a stream of success because I continually depend on the Lord.

Further Studies:

2 Samuel 5:19 “And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand”.

2 Samuel 5:22-23 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Samuel 3:14 ” And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth Saul’s son, saying, deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines “

 In chapter 3 the Bible spoke about the six sons of David. Each one had his own mother. In the key scripture David requests for Michal to be taken from her present husband and given to him. When he requested for Michal meant he was going for wife number seven. David apparently loved lots of women. Can you believe that when Abner came to him to assist him reign over the whole of Israel, David said, he should put that aside and then bring Michal to him as. wife, before the issue of the throne could be discussed. Because of a woman, this reign which nearly caused his life was to be on hold. This was an area the devil was going to use to attack him and his kingdom. From the accounts of scripture, it does not appear he realized the love for many women was a problem and could seriously affect him. Why did David never become aware of this shortcoming? We learnt from his life that David always enquired of the Lord before taking any major step. Marrying a woman or women is a very major step and he should have enquired from the Spirit of the Lord before embarking on such a thing. There was no account from the scriptures that he sought the face of God before embarking on this venture.

Dear child of God is there any area of your life that the Lord has no control? Has the light of God not permeated some aspect of your life? Satan will only capitalize on that dark area of your life to pull you down. Make sure the Lord has a perfect control over every aspect of your life.

In the story of 2nd Samuel 3 Abner who was the main force behind the Saul faction had a hitch with Ishbosheth Saul’s son, who had been made king in Israel. (2nd Samuel 3:7-9). This little strive brought a rift between the two and so Abner decided to go into a league with David to make all Israel accept his kingship. Why the confusion between Abner and Ishbosheth at this time? It was God who allowed this confusion to come about so David could become the king without any resistance. God will always work out conditions to bring to pass what he has said. (Rom 8:28) All you need to do is to trust and obey his instructions. Dear woman.; that another woman is trying to snatch your husband, don’t keep worrying., continue praying and live with your husband as a submissive obedient wife and soon a big confusion would break out between your husband and that strange woman. God will fight for you. Whatever your case is just trust the Lord and He will fight for you.

  PRAYER

I pray that all children of God would learn to trust in Lord in trying moments as the Lord works out all things for their good.

FURTHER STUDIES.

2 Samuel 3:18 ” Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies”.

Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

KEY SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 2:1 ” And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron”.

After the death of Saul David decided to go back into Israel (Judah). He needed to get God’s approval before he went. He also needed to know the particular town in Judah to go. The Lord asked him to go to Hebron. Once again David reveals to us the foundation of His successful life: that is an absolute dependence on the instructions of the Holy Spirit.

In Hebron the men of Judah, that is the very tribe from which David hailed, came, and anointed him king. The people of Judah told David that it was the people of Jabesh Gilead that buried Saul. This turn of events speaks volumes. Everyone knew that King Saul had been pursuing David to kill him, implying that natural, Saul should not be one man they would like, yet these people knew from David’s actions that he loved king Saul; and so they were bold to talk about those who had showed kindness to Saul. The brethren from Judah would have hated Saul, yet because David loved Saul, they likewise accepted him. Dear leader your dispositions ultimately affects the general state of thinking of your members and the people who stay close to you. A leader who talks bad about other men of God would have his immediate associates doing likewise. They would always pick up on the way this leader goes about relating with others.

The next thought to consider is that whatever attitude and lifestyle you implant in your associates would be given to you or demonstrated to you also. Dear leader gives your associates only good example and never think you are castigating another man of God before them. They would one day, do the same things to you.

In Israel there was war between the house of David and Saul. (2nd Samuel 3:1) The amazing thing was that David never fought in any of these battles, yet David’s house won. Why didn’t David fight in this war? David knew that God had made him king and there was no need fighting his own countrymen. He allowed Joab and his other men to fight. This was a case of faith rest life. There are times when we have to trust the Lord and rest on his word. David was a great warrior yet he was never moved to fight. He trusted God to bring His word to pass.

Psalms 119:89-90 Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.  Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth “.

  CONFESSION

I believe in the word of God. I refuse to fret and be anxious for God’s word prevails always.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Hebrews 4:3. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Hebrews 4:11 ” Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: 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.

When David heard about the death of King Saul and Jonathan, he rent his clothes, mourned, wept and fasted till even for Saul and Jonathan.

Please note Saul had pursued David out of the land of Israel and caused him to stay in the Land of the Philistines, yet he did not “pop champagne” but burst into tears and wept for him. The man who claimed he killed Saul, although that was not true, rather he was seeking for David’s commendation to him for killing his enemy, David said “How were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed? (2 Samuel 1:14)

He asked that this man must die for his utterances. Be careful about what you say. It could lead you to big trouble. Why could David not be taken over with anger and vengeance for Saul? Many people would have really jubilated on hearing of Saul’s death. David did not relate to people according to who they were or what they did, but what God’s word said about them. David had a great reverence for God and what God approves. To him God had approved and anointed Saul to be king and no one had any right to attack him.

I believe we must all apply this principle to do everything in this life. We must respond to people not according to what they do or who they are but what God word says we must do to them. He said do unto others what you want others to do unto you. He never said do unto others what they do to you. Many marriages would have been saved if they had worked with this principle. What we see in most homes is that couples play by tooth for tooth. This is the very thing the Lord asked us not to do. Wife, the Lord instructs you to be submissive to your own husband. Eph. 5:22

If your husband is not the loving man that you would like.  The Lord says submit to him. Your submission must only be in obedience to the Lord. If the wife does not respect her husband, the man must likewise love his wife irrespective of the fact that she does not respect him. That is God’s instruction. There can never be any marriage that would run into deep marital stress if couples live by this rule. David rendered to Saul what God would want him to do. Because David lived by this rule the Lord made sure that David had a very successful reign.

He crowned his successor king in his life time before he died. Faithfulness to God pays.

    CONFESSION

I am committed to honouring God’s word all the days of my life. I do not live by what people do, but what God says I must do for them

Further Studies:

2 Samuel 1:19. The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!

2 Samuel 1:23 ” Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death, they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions”

KEY SCRIPTURE : 1 Samuel 29:6 ” Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not”.

A war between the Israelites and the Philistines was to be fought. David had wanted to fight on behalf of the Philistines but the lords of the Philistines did not permit Him. It would have been a very big mistake. Never fight against the body of Christ. David had been with Achish the Philistine king,’ and has been making errands for him. In this occasion too, David distinguished himself creditably. Achish who is a heathen king remarked about David and said”… surely as the Lord lives, you have been upright and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight, for I have not found evil in you since the day of thy coming unto me…”

In the verse 9 he said, “…I know thou art good and in my sight as an angel of God. David publicised his God so much that when Achish was speaking he said “…As the Lord lives… “. This means David never stopped talking about his God even before the king. Dear child of God, our father calls on us to propagate the gospel through preaching, yet, our day to day actions of placing Jesus Christ first as well as living a very upright life also speaks volumes about our faith. Let your light shine so much that men will glorify God for your good deeds.

In the next chapter the Amalekites came to Ziglag where David had camped with his six hundred men including their wives and children. The Amalekites attacked the camp in the absence of David and his fighting men. They took the women and children hostage, set fire to the camp and made away with the goods and the prisoners they had.

David and his men returned to Ziglag and their wives and children were gone. The whole camp was burnt down. All the men including David wept so much. The people were so distressed that they spoke of stoning David. The Bible said David encouraged himself in the Lord. In a time of adversity, every leader must quickly turn away from the negative situation and encourage himself and also encourage his people. David’s men did not hold to the idea of stoning him because he encouraged them too.  He called for the ephod. The ephod was a linen priestly garment that the priest wore in which he made enquiries from God and received responses from Him.

He enquired from the Lord, who said David must pursue them and without fail will recover all. Don’t guess in life always seek the Lord’s counsel before you embark on any major step. On their way to go after the Amalekites, they found a boy lying on the ground looking very weak. They attended to him and gave him some bread that revived him. This boy led them to the raiders. Don’t stop giving assistance to people you meet who needs your help. Our modern times have become very sophisticated with a lot if imposters but always ask God to lead you. David and his men got back everything that was stolen. If you follow God’s instructions you would always recover whatever you lost. 

 PRAYER

I pray for all leaders to effectively play their roles as leaders in influencing the people to do great things..

Further Studies

1 Samuel 30:6. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

1 Samuel 30:8 ” And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all”.

KEY SCRIPTURE : 1 Samuel 27:1  “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand”.

Saul’s continual pursuit of David made him to say that Saul will one day lay hold on him. He decided to leave the land of Israel and go to the Philistines to stay there. What did this decision imply?  It meant he was giving himself over to the enemies of Israel. In spite of these dangers he went and was accepted by King Achish. (God will always make a way for those who trust Him.) Now take this thought of wisdom; whenever you are thorn between two views as the following: Your present state offers no hope but destruction in view and the second option has a fifty-fifty chance of survival, please choose the second option. In.2nd kings 7 …. there were some four lepers in Samaria who were torn between staying in Samaria and dying of hunger or going to the camp of the Assyrians, where they would either be killed or accepted and given some food to eat. They decided to take the second option, and went forward only to see no enemy present but an abundance of food. If you find yourself in such a situation choose the second option that has a fifty percent chance of survival, than to remain in the old state and die.

The Bible describes a vivid picture of all the men with David who went to live in Philistine. 1st Samuel 27:3 says “And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives Ahinoam and Abigail.

At this stage David had two wives. Was it the will of God to have two wives? It was not wrong at that time; is it right for the child of God to have two wives now? A number of the Patriarchs had two wives or more. Does God allow for two wives?  We can understand every doctrine in its right way when we look at how and why God started it. In Genesis 2:24, the scripture said “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh”.

It takes only two people, a man and a woman to become one flesh. If there is a third person can it be said to be one flesh?  In Matthew 19, the Lord speaking on divorce said, whosoever shall put away his wife except it be for fornication and shall marry another commit adultery. Does this implies marrying a second wife makes you commit adultery? From what the Lord said it implies so. Why did God allow it?  The bible reveals a progressive revelation of how God has been dealing with His people. At some point in his dealings with men some siblings married each other, and gave birth. Adam’s children married each other to increase the human race. Later on, incest was no more allowed. (Lev.20:17) Coming to our discussion polygamy, The Lord Jesus emphasised that two becomes one flesh. A third person can’t make it one flesh, meanwhile God has intended that marriage should always make two people, a man and a woman one flesh.

   PRAYER

I pray for all children of God to humbly submit themselves to the revelation of God’s truth.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Matthew 19:9. And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

1 Timothy 3:2 ” A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;”

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 26:7 ” So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.”

Saul received a tip off from the Zephites that David was hiding in the hill of Hachilah. Saul immediately left with his three thousand choice soldiers to pursue David. David sent out spices to know whether Saul had come indeed and also to know where King Saul was. David decided to go where Saul was. One may ask, how could David do such a thing? Saul was looking for you and you decide to go where he was, are you not giving your life into his hands?   The Bible says in Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delights in his way”. David is a good man and sincere man, there is no evil found in him. His steps are therefore ordered by the Lord.

When David got to where Saul dwelt, Saul and all his three thousand soldiers were sleeping. Not even one person was awake to see David. God had sent a deep sleep on Saul and all his men. Dear child of God, do not fight the evil man who is scheming to put you down. Just maintain your uprightness. Keep being faithful to the Lord and He will fight your enemies for you. How could an army unit of three thousand men sleep together at one time without even one soldier seeing that somebody had entered their camp? Let’s consider some of the utterances of David in Psalm 37:12-13 “The wicked plotteth against the just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is coming”.

When David found Saul sleeping with his spear stack to the ground, Abishai, David’s aide said shall I strike him dead?  David said to Abishai “And David said to Abishai destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?  The word anointed means appointed or consecrated. He is not an ordinary individual. In the case of Saul, he had fallen out of favour with God, yet He was the reigning King at the time. It will be wrong on the part of any man to judge and attempt to dethrone him. Dear   brother, do not attack or rebel against your pastor. Don’t say he is out of touch with God and so you would not be submissive to him. Wife, do not say your husband is a drunkard and so you would not be submissive. Submit to all authorities over you. It is a submission to God. Citizens stop insulting the president of your nations. David lived long because he never lifted his hand, tongue or desire against King Saul.

PRAYER

Father help me to be submissive to all authorities you have placed over me.

FURTHER STUDIES:

1 Samuel 26:10 ” David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish”.

1 Samuel 26:11 ” The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go”.