2 Kings 3:14–15 (HCSB)

Elisha responded, "As the LORD of Hosts lives, I stand before Him. If I did not have respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would not look at you; I wouldn’t take notice of you.

Elisha said this to King Joram of Israel. Joram was a wicked man. He said these words about King Jehoshaphat of Judah. Jehoshaphat was a good man and a good king. The word “respect” here is actually a phrase in Hebrew. It could mean a couple of things. It could mean, “I hold in high esteem” (or “high regard”); or it could mean, “I stand up when I see his face.” Both would mean the same thing: “I honor this man.”

When I read this I thought of some people I respect—I would stand up if they entered the room—because I regard them highly. They have set the pattern in my estimation. I would like to be like them. They have lived a godly, pure, holy life.

Then I thought, “Why don’t I tell them how I feel?” After all, they probably could use the encouragement. So I wrote down some names and I intend to make some phone calls and send some emails today.

If I don’t get around to you today, don’t get offended. I’m going to have a long list!

Who do you respect? Why not tell them—soon.

The Power of A Wife

1 Kings 11:1–3 (HCSB)

King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations that the LORD had told the Israelites about, "Do not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn you away ‹from Me› to their gods." Solomon was deeply attached to these women and loved ‹them›. He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines, and they turned his heart away ‹from the LORD›.

A lot of good men, strong and capable men, have become useless because they had a weakness for the opposite sex. Many a man, even a strong man, has had his heart turned away from God because of a woman. I don’t mean this to be a slam on women… and I hope my lady readers won’t take it that way. Women have great power over men. A woman can use this power to get what she wants. This is no secret. I’m not saying anything that every woman does not already know. Blessed is that man who has a woman who encourages him in his walk with God. She will be a blessing to him all the days of his life. She will make him stronger and better.

I just returned from a mission trip to Peru. While I was there my wife wrote a card for me every day. I carried those cards with me each day. Each card was a gem of wisdom for me. She gave me Scripture and she gave me encouragement. She made me a better leader. I do not know how much of a man of God I am, but what I am I owe in large degree to the support, encouragement, and admonishment of my wife. She uses her power to help me, and I recognize that I am a blessed man.

Ladies, I guess what I want to say is, use your power to build up your man and make him a man after God’s own heart. Men, if you are single, search for such a woman. Married men, bless your wife if she is such a woman. If she is not, have a talk with her. She will respond to your words if they are presented lovingly. You cannot succeed as a godly man without the support and encouragement of a godly wife.

The LORD Is Our Lamp!

LORD, You are my lamp; the LORD illuminates my darkness.

2 Samuel 22:29 (HCSB)

2 Samuel is one of those great chapters. If you cannot find something here to bless you and help you then something is wrong!

A lot in this chapter speaks to me personally, but this verse is the one I want to share. So often in my life I’m looking for direction. It seems a lot of my prayer time is spent asking God to “show me the way” He wants me to go. I feel I’m not alone in this. Our lives are filled with decisions we have to make. Some of these decisions are thrust upon us suddenly. Some are decisions we have postponed because we either don’t know what to do or we don’t like doing it. Choices! Sometimes they come at us like waves at the ocean, engulfing us without mercy. We barely pull ourselves to our feet before another slams into us. Making decisions sometimes can be exhausting!

But we are not without guidance. The LORD is our lamp: lighting the way at our feet and dispelling the darkness. Lean on Him. Trust in Him. Wait on Him. Listen to Him. He will show you the way.

Ending Courageously for God

The Philistines again waged war against Israel. David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted.

Then Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giant, whose bronze spear weighed about eight pounds and who wore new armor, intended to kill David.

But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him: "You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel."

After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giant.

Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam.

At Gath there was still another battle. A huge man was there with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—24 in all. He, too, was descended from the giant.

When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him.

These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.

2 Samuel 21:15–22 (HCSB)

David had learned his lesson. This time he did not send his troops into battle. This time he led his troops into battle.

David had become old. Happens to all of us. His men loved him. They referred to him as “the lamp of Israel.” What a tribute to a man! They recognized that David had been a guiding light to his people. Would to God this could be said of all of us!—and it could be, if we lived our lives for God.

Isn’t it interesting that David’s career ended like it began, killing giants? He burst on the scene killing one giant; he departed killing four. Now it was not David personally who killed these four giants. He had become old. His followers and family killed them. But in a sense David did kill them… by his reputation.

They had heard the stories of David’s courage. Those stories inspired them. They admired David greatly and wanted to be just like him.

Isn’t this how all our lives should end, slaying giants—and slaying more giants—than we did at the beginning?

Should we not leave behind us in this world a reputation of courage for God? May the inheritance we leave to those who follow us be an example that inspires them to live boldly for God and do exploits for His name!

The Burning Barley Field

The woman asked, "Why have you devised something similar against the people of God? When the king spoke as he did about this matter, he has pronounced his own guilt. The king has not brought back his own banished one. For we will certainly die and be like water poured out on the ground, which can’t be recovered. But God would not take away a life; He would devise plans so that the one banished from Him does not remain banished.

2 Samuel 14:13–14 (HCSB)

There is an example of this very thing in this same chapter. Amnon, one of David’s sons, raped Tamar, one of David’s daughters. Absalom, David’s son, took revenge and killed Amnon. Absalom fled and remained in one of the cities of refuge for three years. He was allowed to return to Jerusalem, but not allowed into David’s presence. After two years of this “house arrest” Absalom wanted to see his father. He sent for Joab, David’s friend, in order to send him as an emissary to plead Absalom’s case before the king—but Joab wouldn’t come to him. Absalom sent for Joab a second time, but still he would not come. Then he resorted to a desperate act, he set Joab’s barley field on fire. Joab came now, but furious: “Why have you done this?”

Absalom explained his actions: “I called for you once, and you wouldn’t respond. I sent for you a second time, but still you ignored me. I had to do something to get your attention. That is why I did this thing.”

What Absalom did was wrong. He was a wicked, conniving, self-centered young man. But what Absalom did is an example of the way God sometimes deals with us, but with a gracious intent. We wander from God. He calls to us, but we ignore His overtures. He patiently calls to us again, but once more we turn a deaf ear to His wooing. So God says, “I love you to much to let you continue ignoring Me,” and He does something to get our attention—He sets our barely field on fire. This He does, not to take away our lives, but order to get our attention and restore our lives to Him. He devises plans so that the one banished from Him does not remain banished. This thing He does may hurt us, but it does not destroy us. In fact, it actually blesses us because it returns us to fellowship with Him.

Has God set your barley field on fire? If so, may you say: “I’ve wandered far away from God, but now I’m coming home.”

David's Repentance

Nathan replied to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more. Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing what I consider evil? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife—you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword. Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.’

2 Samuel 12:7–10 (HCSB)

We can be so blinded by our selfishness and self-importance. David had been headed down this road for a long time. He had disobeyed God’s specific instructions that kings not accumulate a number of wives. He was feeding his lust, and his ego. He thought that because he was the king he deserved special treatment. He was above the rules. No one is above God’s rules—especially leaders! People follow the example of their leaders. They do what their leaders do. Therefore leaders should strive to live more pure, more holy, more godly.

David was not only an adulterer and a murderer. He was also a thief! He had stolen something from Uriah other than his life. He had stolen his wife.

Wasn’t Bathsheba somehow culpable? Yes. I think we all are. But remember, before she was a wife to her husband she was a subject to the king. This is always the way it is with monarchies. Watch out America!

There are a lot of things about this story we don’t know. God does give us all the details because they’re not important. This story is not about Bathsheba’s sin. It is about David’s. It takes two to tango, but David shouldn’t have been looking for a partner to dance.

David learned a hard lesson—and we should learn from his example: there are consequences for our sin—even kings. Sin will always take you further than you ever wanted to go, keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay, and make you pay a price higher than you ever wanted to pay. Sin always leads to a lifetime of regret. Don’t go down this road.

“It’s too late! I’ve already messed up.”

God’s good news is that there is forgiveness. God forgives and cleanses. Confess your sin to God and receive His cleansing. Turn from your sin now! But remember, there are still consequences even for forgiven sin. The baby died and hell came to David’s house.

If you are headed in that direction, stop now!

David's Fatal Flaw

In the spring when kings march out ‹to war›, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.

One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.

So David sent someone to inquire about her, and he reported, "This is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite."

David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. Now she had just been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Afterwards, she returned home.

The woman conceived and sent word to inform David: "I am pregnant."

2 Samuel 11:1–5 (HCSB)

David had been setting himself up for this for a long time. He had been accumulating wives for himself, something God had forbidden kings to do. He had gotten too big for his britches. Like many men at the top of the ladder, he thought he was above the rules. After all, he was king—he made the rules! He could do whatever his little heart desired. David’s arrogance and selfishness got him into the worst trouble of this life. He just thought having Saul chasing him was bad. Having an earthly king on your heels may have been tough at times, but having God on your heels is the unbearable—He is relentless! Who is going to protect you from God?

If David had been where he was supposed to be, leading his army, this would not have happened. This is usually what happens to us before a fall, we’re out of position. Idleness is the devil’s workshop. We do not necessarily have to keep ourselves busy all the time, but we do need to keep ourselves in the position of responsibility assigned to us. Keeping our hands and hearts occupied is the best strategy against temptation. A good offense is the best defense. Keep your heart in pursuit of God.