Quick Note – 1 Kings 2:15 – The Final Word

I Kings 2:15 – “He [Adonijah] said, ‘You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign.  However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the LORD.’”

My parents are timeshare owners, so we get invited to a lot of resorts, where we are given great deals to stay and relax.  The only catch is that my parents have to listen to a two hour sales pitch trying to convince them to buy the timeshare.  Fortunately, I never have to listen in on them, since I’m not their target audience.  They could try all they want to appeal to me by offering me cookies, free meals, and other perks, but the final decision of buying the timeshare doesn’t come down to me but my parents.  That is why the salesmen never go after me but after them.  They have the final word.

In our passage today, we also find a person who knew who had the final word but refused to follow it.  To understand this passage, one needs to know some background of what had happened in the chapter before (1 Kings 1).  Adonijah, the fourth son of David, tried to make a play for the throne.  He had won over the priest Abiathar, the commander of David’s army Joab, the elders of Israel, and even many of the kings’ sons.  But the throne had already been promised to Solomon.  David had chosen Solomon to succeed him, because the Lord had already told David that Solomon would follow him and would build the Temple for the Lord.  Surely, Adonijah knew that the throne belonged to Solomon, but instead of humbly choosing to serve, he tried to lead a coup and take over.  Instead of allowing this to happen, David called for Solomon’s coronation and transferred the kingdom to him.  All those who joined Adonijah then fled, leaving Adonijah begging for his life to Solomon.  Instead of killing him though, Solomon told him that as long as he showed himself a worthy man, he would be protected, but if wickedness was found, he would die.  After King David had passed away, Adonijah then tried again to rule but used a more subtle method to try to get the throne (1 Kings 2).  This time he approached Solomon’s mother Bathsheba and asked for the hand of Abishag in marriage.  Abishag was an attendant to King David before he died and marrying her would legitamize his position as an upcoming ruler, so he tried to use deceit to win over the throne.  It was during this request, that Adonijah stated the words found in our verse today, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel fully expected me to reign.  However, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the LORD.”  Clearly, we can tell from this verse that Adonijah knew that the LORD had the final word and had selected Solomon to be king.  It didn’t matter what the people wanted.  It didn’t matter how he felt about Solomon.  All that mattered was that God had chosen Solomon to be king.  But instead of choosing to follow and obey the Lord’s Word, Adonijah continued to rebel against Solomon, eventually causing Solomon to put him to death (1 Kings 2:19-25).  Adonijah knew who had the final word, he just refused to listen.

Whether you are a Christian or not, God has the final word on everything that goes on in the universe.  He has control of everything from the rocks and trees to our lives.  But He has given each of us the free choice to recognize His sovereignty or not, just as He gave Adonijah the choice to recognize His sovereignty on the decision to make Solomon king.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must always recognize and give God the final word in every decision we make whether it be for our careers, our relationships, or even our hobbies.  We may consider the advice of friends and family; we may consider the logical next steps; we may even consider how we feel about a certain situation; but we must never place those considerations over God’s decision for us.  If God has told us to do or not do something, His Word must be final, even if it may not make sense.  There have been many stories in the Bible where that has been the case – Noah building an ark to prevent a world-wide flood, Joshua walking around the walls of Jericho to bring them down, Jesus waiting a couple more days before going to Bethany when He heard His friend Lazarus was deathly ill.  Even when it didn’t make sense, these men chose to obey God and let Him have the final word, and God was glorified in it.  There should be no if’s, and’s, or but’s; there should only be simple, immediate obedience.  When we as Christians gave our lives to Christ, we recognized Him as both Savior and Lord, which meant that He would have the final decision in each part of our lives.  Let us hold true to our choice to give Him our lives and let Him always have the final word.

Quick Note – 2 Samuel 15:19-22 – Ittai the Gittite

2 Samuel 15:19-22 – “19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, ‘Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.’ 21 But Ittai answered the king, ‘As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.’ 22 And David said to Ittai, ‘Go then, pass on.’ So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.”

Ever since I was a kid I have been a dog owner.  I have owned multiple breeds of dogs ranging from a greyhound Labrador to a pure-bred golden retriever to my current German shepherd lab.  Although their ability to do a number of interesting tricks (like turning off lights and shaking hands) and their cute smiles are certainly reasons to adore them, the reason why I love(d) my dogs so much is their loyalty.  After years of training, a dog will stay by his master’s side without question; no piece of food can shake its undying loyalty.  I cannot say that my dogs ever got to that point, but I believe, that they have definitely leaned towards that end.  But this type of unquestioning, undying loyalty comes with years of relationship building and love.  It takes a huge investment of time and energy to train a dog to become that loyal.  And if we want that same loyalty in our relationships with people, we must invest that same amount of time and energy.  Honestly, we expect that loyalty must be earned with time; therefore, if we ever fell into a situation where a stranger pledged his loyalty to us, we would question his intentions.

Interestingly, King David fell into just that situation as he was fleeing Jerusalem and his traitorous son Absalom.  Abaslom was David’s third son who tried to take the throne from him by leading a rebellion in Israel.  In fear, David and many of his faithful subjects fled Jerusalem into the wilderness like exiles.  Most of the people who joined David had likely spent years in service for him, but one of his subjects Ittai the Gittite was brand-new.  In actuality, he had only come to Jerusalem the day before, yet without question, Ittai the Gittite pledged his loyalty to David saying, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be…”  Even after being told by David that he had no obligation to stay, Ittai chose to be faithful to David and to follow him to a place without guarantees of food and shelter.  This faithfulness all coming from a man of Gath (a city of the Philistines, an enemy to the people of Israel).  Ittai was faithful to his new king, as recent as his relationship with him might have begun.

While reading this story, I was both amazed and convicted at the same time, for it caused me to think about my own faithfulness to my King, Jesus Christ.  So often, I am afraid to share the Gospel or to invite someone to church, because I don’t want people to look at me funny for being an outspoken Christian.  Instead of being a faithful disciple of His, unashamed to share His Word, I cower and back down so that I will have no trouble.  But look at this servant of David, Ittai, who even without knowing David very well personally, chose to follow him even if it resulted in death.  As Christians, we have a greater King, One who does not make a mistake, One who gave Himself for us, One who loved us so much that He died for us.  How can we not be faithful to Him?  Let us follow Him to the depths of the earth.  Let us follow Him to the ends of the seas.  Let us follow Him anywhere and everywhere, for He is our God and King.  Let us be like Ittai, unwilling to leave our King, for as we get to know Him more and more, we will find out that God deserves our loyalty, our love, and our all.  Christ said that if you want to be His disciple, you must hate your father, mother, sisters, brothers, children, and own life (This did not mean “hate a person” like oppose them, but in comparison to your love for Christ, your love for them looks like hate) (Luke 14:26).  Christ demanded that you forsake all for Him.  Ittai did so for an earthly king; let us do so for our Heavenly King.

Quick Note – Luke 16:27-28 – Hell, a Truly Awful Destination

Luke 16:27-28 – “27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’”

There are certain things in life we would never wish on anyone, even our enemies.  These are things that are so horrible, so awful, so unbearable that it would be inhumane for even those we dislike to experience them.  These are things that even if you had vowed revenge on someone, you would never want to happen to them.  One example of these things is gout.  My dad suffers from gout, which is a build-up of uric acid in the joints that eventually leads to massive swelling.  These crystals, as well as, the inflammation then cause sharp, prolonged pains in that joint; the pain can be so bad that some people are temporarily bed-ridden because of it.  Fortunately, gout can be treated; but from how my dad describes it and acts when he has it, I would never wish it on anyone.  Another example of these things is a loss of a child.  Only a parent who has lost a child knows the pain, agony, and emotional turmoil it brings.  It is a situation that no parent would wish on any other parent, even if that person was as cruel and vindictive as could be.  It is even worse than gout.  These two examples are only a few of the numerous things that should never be used to curse another, for doing so would be crossing a line and a cause for society to ostracize.

Interestingly, even though we take matters that deal with those remarks very seriously, we don’t do anything about people who wish others hell.  People throw around the phrase, “Go to hell!” as if it was nothing.  But they don’t realize that hell is really an awful place that cannot be easily described by words.  Their view of hell is a place of fire and brimstone, where people suffer from heat and flames and nothing else.  But hell is much worse than that.  It is a place of loneliness and torment, where one’s pain is his alone and cannot be shared by others.  It is a place of utter humiliation and defeat, where there is no hope of escape or freedom.  It is a place of punishment and judgment, where one will receive his due for his sin.  It is a place without relief and without God.  There is nothing worse a person can experience than hell.  Just look at the rich man in our passage today.  This rich man enjoyed the wonderful goodies of earth all the way up until his death, but because he never gave his life to the Lord, when he died he was cast into hell.  There he wanted nothing more than a drop of water to cool his parched lips, but he would not even receive that.  Realizing how awful that place was, he petitioned Abraham to warn his brothers about this upcoming judgment unless they repent.  He would hate for anyone, especially his own flesh and blood, to suffer the way he was suffering.  He saw hell for the truly dreadful place it is.

Being reminded of how awful hell is, I seek to impart some words of wisdom to two groups.  To the first group which consists of those who have never received Jesus Chris as Savior and Lord, I urge you to put your place and trust in Him right now.  Hell is a terrible place, reserved for the Devil and his demons, but it is also your final destination if you have never given your life to Jesus Christ.  Place your trust in Him today (Trusting Christ means that you trust that His death on the cross paid the penalty for your sin and that He, the only Son of God, has rescued you from sin, death, and hell.). It is no matter that can be put off, for you don’t want to risk the possibility of hell.  There is no time for postponement, for your life could end at this very moment.  You would never risk the danger of failing a test or being caught in a natural disaster, so why would you risk the danger of something even worse – hell?  Do not wait!  Hell is a truly, awful place!  But Christ is here to rescue you if you will let Him.  (Remember though that Christ’s primary purpose is not to save you from hell but from sin.  He will save you from both, but He is here primarily to change your life and make you a new creation; getting out of hell is just a bonus.)  Christ has guaranteed that those who believe in Him will be saved but those who reject Him are condemned already, so place your trust in Him today.

To the second group which consists of those who are disciples of Jesus Christ, I urge you to take heed of how awful hell is and do something about it.  We can’t change how hell is, but we can definitely change who will go there.  As Christians we tend to get lukewarm when we know we are saved and are in no threat of going to hell, but remember that those around you still are.  Around you are thousands of people, who are dangling between the precipice of eternal life and heaven and eternal death and hell.  Why then are we wasting so much time lounging around instead of sharing the Good News with them?  If we know how awful hell is, why aren’t we doing everything in our power to stop people from going there?  Wouldn’t we do so if we knew a danger like a criminal or a natural disaster was approaching?  We wouldn’t care what other people think, we would just do everything in our power to warn them.  So why are we not doing so?  I reproach you, fellow Christians, for being lazy and afraid.  Take confidence and initiative to share the Gospel with others, for they cannot be saved without hearing, and they cannot hear without being told about it (Romans 10:14).  Let us gird ourselves with shoes ready to share the Gospel of peace whenever that opportunity arises.  Let us recognize the urgency there is to share the Gospel, for every minute wasted is a minute that inches someone closer to hell and farther away from God.  Do your duty to share the Gospel, my fellow disciples, for hell is a truly, awful place that we should hate to see anybody in.  So let out the warning!

Quick Note – 1 Samuel 30:6 – Strengthened in God

1 Samuel 30:6 – “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters.  But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.”

How do you handle a large amount of stress?  Do you go out for a walk to cool down, clear your head, and come back to solve the problem?  Do you meditate and pray?  Do you exercise to get the endorphins pumping so that your problem is seen in a “happy” light?  There are many ways people try to cope with stress.  Some will talk about it with another person, sharing the heavy burden and lightening the emotional load.  Some people take a deep breath and count to ten to prevent any rash reactions.  Some people just allow themselves to have a big cry.  These are just a few of the ways people try to deal with their stress.  I, for example, tend to hoard it in, until suddenly, when it can’t be held in any longer, I unload it on someone unfairly.  I then have to do a lot of apologizing for my temper.  I definitely would not recommend that anybody follow my example for handling stress.  But one thing I do advise you to do is to follow David’s example in our passage today, for by turning to the Lord, David not only found strength and encouragement but a solution to his problem.

1 Samuel 30 starts with David and his men returning from the front lines in an upcoming battle to their homes in Ziklag.  They had left their wives, their children, and their possessions there.  But when they returned, they were not greeted by the cheers and applause of their families instead they found their whole city burned and their families and possessions taken by the Amalekites.  This situation caused the men to weep uncontrollably (to the point where they had no more strength (vs.5)) and act impulsively.  They were so distraught that they even considered putting David, their leader, to death by stoning.  Finding himself in this situation, David, like any normal human being, was in great distress.  He not only had to deal with the loss of his own family members, but he also had to figure out a way to calm the people down so that they would not kill him.  This was definitely a high-stress situation that could have pushed anybody over the edge.  But instead of wrapping himself up like a little ball and crawling into a corner, David went straight to God; he sought the LORD his God for strength, and God provided.  David did not try to find comfort in his own wisdom.  He did not try to find comfort in his friends or advisors.  And he certainly did not seek comfort in a bottle of alcohol.  No!  He sought strength from the only true Source of infinite strength – the LORD God.  He knew who his God was – the Creator of the universe, the Lover of mankind, the Lord of lords and King of kings, the caring Father, the Shield, the Rock, and the Deliver, and of course, his Friend.  He knew that God would not leave him or forsake him even in a situation as bleak as this was, so he sought Him and found Him.  He was strengthened in the Lord his God.

As Christians, we can find strength in David’s God, for He is our God as well.  All that God was to David, He is still to us, for He is also our Shield, our Provider, our Rock, our Lord, and our Savior.  David did not find strength in just the knowledge of who God was but in God Himself, for he had a deep and loving relationship with God, one that allowed him to be intimate with God.  It was not a strength founded in knowledge but a strength founded in trust; it was not a peace springing from what he would hope would be done but a peace coming from knowing Who would do it.  It was not God, the source of strength, but God the strength.  David encouraged himself by reminding himself about who God is to the world and to him personally.  When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He opened the door for us to have that same intimate relationship with Him; all we need to do is to place our faith and trust in Him as Lord and Savior.  When we do, we start that personal relationship with Him that allows us to draw on Him for strength, for He becomes our Strength, our Hope, our Comforter, and our Deliverer.  Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that those “who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  Place your hope in Christ, and the next time you are stressed, lean on Him, for He will be your Strength.

Quick Note – 1 Samuel 22:4-5 – Leaving a Place of Comfort to Follow God

1 Samuel 22:4-5 – “And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.  Then the prophet Gad said to David, ‘Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.’ So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.”

About two-three years ago, I made one of the hardest moves in my life – I went to live in Bethesda, Maryland.  Now, certainly, Bethesda itself was not the reason the move was hard, for that city is a high-profile area for the wealthy and a great place for scientific and medical research (a perfect place for a scientific researcher like me), since it is the home of the National Institutes of Health.  So Bethesda was not the problem; what was difficult was that this move was the first time I ever lived away from my parents in Los Angeles, CA for an extended period of time.  I had done two ten week sessions out in Boston some summers previous, but I had never lived away from them for a year’s length of time.  I would be away from my parents, my family, my friends, and everything I ever knew to stay in a place halfway across the United States alone.  It definitely was a new experience that brought both fear and adventure, both anticipation and sadness, both loneliness and independence.  The move brought on a great big ball of various emotions, because I would be leaving a place where I felt comfortable and safe and entering into the unknown.

David was challenged with a similar ordeal in our passage today.  In 1 Samuel 22, we find David on the run from King Saul, who was looking to end David’s life for being anointed the next king of Israel.  He had found a stronghold to hide out in for the time, but without warning or explanation, the prophet Gad told David to move from this safe place to the land of Judah (vs.4-5).  There was no reason given to him why; there was no guarantee of safety somewhere else; all he was told was that God wanted him to leave the stronghold and go into Judah.  This must have been a difficult decision for David, being that he had found a safe place where he could likely settle into for the time being.  But instead of setting up shop there, David was called to wander back into Judah, where he could be captured and killed by Saul.  God was asking David to give up his newfound comfort to wander and be at risk of death again.  The funny thing is that we don’t see David question God’s plan, ask for a sign, or disobey by staying in that same place.  David immediately departed and went into the forest of Hereth.  David trusted God’s words and left a place of comfort for the unknown.  He trusted God to safely lead and guide him, just as Abraham did when he left his home in Ur for a place that God would show him (Genesis 12).  Both these Bible characters chose to trust God, leave their place of comfort, and follow His will.

As Christians, we must do the same.  Who knows where or when or if He will ask us to do so?  But if God calls us to leave a place of comfort and do His will, we must obey.  We must be like David and Abraham, trusting God to supply all our needs and to work all things according to His will.  There is no doubt in my mind that the decision to give up comfort for the unknown will be unbelievably difficult, but if God has called us to do something, the best choice is to obey.  He might call you to leave your family and go out and become a missionary in a foreign land.  He might call you to leave your comfortable high-paying job and begin working in the ministry like he did with Charles G. Finney.  He might call you to move from a growing ministry to one that needs fixing.  Who knows what God will call you from and to?  But our best response is obedience.  My fellow disciples of Christ, if God calls us from our place of security to the unknown, let us obey Him wholeheartedly, for He is faithful and will work all things together for good to them that love Him.  The “where” matters not when you know “Who” is leading.