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Word of the Lord - 3

I Chronicles 14:10 'And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto him,

Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand.'

In the above passage we see David seeks the counselling of God. David enquired with the Lord when the Philistines came against him. When David reached out to the Lord

the word of the Lord commanded him to proceed. When we read I Chronicles 14:8 'And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the

Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them.' From this verse we understand, the Philistines heard that David was anointed as

a King over all Israel. This was the time when David had his chance to establish his kingdom. The Philistines planned to destroy David before he establishes himself as

the successor of Saul. Previously, the war between David and Saul's family had come to a closure and he faces another problem from the Philistines immediately. During

this time, David enquired of the Lord to deliver him from Philistines. We read in I Chronicles 14:15 'for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the

Philistines.' This passage clearly explains the departure of the Lord for his children. The Lord himself went before them and the enemies were destroyed. Today, let us

meditate on the three things associated with the life of David and how the word of the Lord guided his servant David.

Determination

I Chronicles 14:2 'And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.'

Here we see David has perceived about his position for his Kingdom. David had a determination to check with the Lord God to go against the Philistines. Even though

David was the King of Israel, he inclined to the Lord. David had all massive armies, counsellors and power to fight against his enemies yet he enquired with the Lord.

David did not unleash his self-power in his difficult situation. When David saw the Philistines in the valley of Rephaim, he enquired with the Lord to take a decision.

He receives a divine victory from the Lord as a result of his determination. Even in our lives, are we consulting our decisions with the Lord ? Are we doing certain

things with our self-power and skills ? Today, the Lord expects us to consult with the Lord. We should submit ourselves to have a determination to collaborate with

the Lord and act according to his guidance.

Inclination

I Chronicles 14:13-14 'And the Philistines yet again spread themselves abroad in the valley.Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up

after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.'

Earlier we saw David enquiried withthe Lord and received a divine victory. In verse eleven, David was happy witnessing the closure and victory from the war. But in

verse thirteen, we see the Philistines came again to the valley. David faces the Philistines again. When David had just finished a war, he faces another trial. Even

during that time, David inclined to the Lord. Practicall, when we face similar kind of trials, we will try to handle them in the way how we dealt the previous time.

But David did not go by this theory. We see David enquired again with the Lord. In I Chronicles 14:11 'So they came up to Baalperazim; and David smote them there.

Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baalperazim.' Here

David explains how the Lord helped him destroy his enemies with his own hands. David acknowledges the Lord God and gives the entire credit to the Lord alone. When

he had this previous experience, David was not carried away. He did not handle the new situation like he handled the previous one. He chose to incline to the Lord God.

Similarly we read in Exodus 17:6 'Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it,

that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.' We see when the word of the Lord commanded Moses to beat the rock. When he hit the

rock, he witnessed a miracle.

When Moses faces a similar situation, he handled by his own will. This we read Numbers 20:8,11 'Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron

thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt

give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the

congregation drank, and their beasts also.' Moses relied on his previous experience where he hit the rock twice. He failed to check with the Lord. He did not handle

the situation like David.

In Joshua 7:3-4'And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not

all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.' The Lord

commanded a great victory in the battle of Jericho. But when they faced a small city of Ai, they failed to get the counsel from the Lord. It was a great failure to

Joshua. We read in Joshua 8:1 'And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I

have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:' They received a victory when they relied upon the Lord.

Even in our lives, we need to take a resolution to rely upon the Lord. We should not deal with our problems with our previous experiences. May the Lord lead us into

his new ways.

Change

I Chronicles 14:14 'Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the

mulberry trees.'

When David enquires with the Lord for the second time, the Lord reveals certain things. The Lord changes the approach and asks David to turn away and come upon them

over against the mulberry trees. This approach can be a test to David to see if obeys to his words. When the Lord reveals a change of plan, we need to act accordingly.

These chnage of plans are something which are not calcualted by the human minds. We need to agree to change that the Lord brings in our lives. Change is the gateway to

all the goodness of the Lord. We read in I Chronicles 14:16 'David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to

Gazer.' David accepted the change of plans and he did as per the command of the Lord. This marks the unconditional submission of David. This made the Lord God destroy

his enemies from Gibeon to Gazer. Today, the Lord has desired to change and transform our situations. The hands of the Lord will battle it out for us. He will descend

to change our current situations. Therefore, let us all serve the Lord with determination, inclination and submit ourselves to the change of situations in our lives.

Amen.

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Word of the Lord - 3