DAY 131: 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20

Welcome to five minute Bible your daily guide for your daily reading today's May 11th

Then we'll be looking at 2nd Samuel 10 1st Chronicles 19 and Psalm 20 Now today we see the kingdom of David facing international hostility and military conflict 2nd

Samuel 10 and 1st Chronicles 19 recount a war that begins through Humiliation suspicion and pride while Psalm 20 gives us the theological perspective behind the battle

Now together these passages show that the victories of God do not ultimately rest on military might

But trust in the name of the Lord and in that way 2nd Samuel 10 and 1st

Chronicles 19 We see David seeking to show covenant Kindness to Hainan the new king of the

Ammonites because of the kindness once shown to Hainan's father But suspicion and pride poison the well and the situation goes south

Hainan's advisors convince him that David's servants are spies and the Ammonites Publicly humiliate them by shaving their beards and cutting their garments and turning diplomacy into disgrace

Realizing that war is now inevitable the Ammonites hire Aramean mercenaries and prepare for battle against Israel Joab the commander of David's armies leads

Israel's forces into a dangerous conflict that is on multiple fronts and yet calls the people to courage and Entrust the outcome to the

Lord and God grants victory and the enemies of Israel are driven back

Then Psalm 20 fits naturally alongside of these events as a royal psalm prayed before battle the people cry out for God to defend his anointed king and grant victory and Remember the sacrifices offered before him the psalm itself

Climaxes was one of the great declarations of covenant trust and fidelity and all of Scripture while some may trust in Chariots and horses the people of God trust in the name of the

Lord So as you read today, I want you to ask the following question What do we trust in conflict and pressure and opposition when those things arise?

And these passages show us that the kingdom of God advances not through human strength alone But through confidence in the

Lord who is the only one who guarantees or gives victory and in that way the central pattern in these passages is the collision between the visible power of Military nations and covenant dependence upon God the nation surrounding

Israel are trusting in their military forces in their alliances and in the Intimidation that they can engender through numbers and weaponry and their confidence rests in what can be counted and displayed and controlled but Israel on the other hand is repeatedly reminded that victory comes from something deeper and Joab tells the people to fight courageously for the cities of God and yet he refuses to pretend that the outcome

Ultimately rests in human hands The battle must be fought but the victory belongs to the

Lord and Psalm 20 then sharpens this contrast even further Horses and chariots represented the peak of military technology in the national security in the ancient world

They were symbols of visible power and earthly certainty And yet the Psalms insists that God's people stand on an entirely different foundation

This tension presses directly into our lives as well today because human beings

Extinctively trust what looks strong what is wealthier influential or institutions or numbers or strategy or political power?

Personal ability America itself often trusts in its military might instead of trusting the

Lord But the kingdom of God advances through dependence on Jesus and God not in our visible strength, which may impress the world

But only God can sustain victory and preserve a kingdom and establish Whatever endures and in that way these passages point us straight to Jesus Because the true king who secures victory for his people is not

David David's kingdom faces opposition from hostile nations Anticipating a broader rebellion of the world against God's anointed

King Described throughout the Psalms and Psalm 20 finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ Whose victory doesn't just come through earthly weapons and fighting but through perfect obedience

Sacrificial death and resurrection power the nation's rage against him and yet God establishes him securely upon his throne in Zion where earthly Kings trust in military might

Christ is gonna triumph through what appears to be foolishness in the eyes of the world The cross becomes the decisive victory through which sin death

Satan and all of the nation's will be placed Underneath his feet it is the cross and his resurrection that gave him all authority in heaven and on earth

And now the kingdom of Christ is continuing to advance across that same earth not through worldly coercion and nuclear weapons, but through the unstoppable power of the gospel which will prevail until every tribe tongue nation have heard and until all

The nation's on earth remember and turn to the Lord as we see in Psalm 22 So as you read these passages watch out

David's kingdom is strengthened through covenant trust and through divine victory and tomorrow

The greatest threat to the kingdom is not going to come from foreign armies outside of the camp

But actually from David's heart within the camp and with that read your

Bible carefully Devotionally and joyfully and may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely and we will continue our journey tomorrow.