{"id":34028,"date":"2024-12-31T22:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T05:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-samuel_17_15-29-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-12-25T00:34:43","modified_gmt":"2024-12-25T07:34:43","slug":"2-samuel_18_1-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-samuel_18_1-18\/","title":{"rendered":"The Edge of Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Samuel 18:1-18\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Samuel 18:1-18.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 18:1-4 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0David sent the troops out–a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-4: \u00a0David organizes his troops and volunteers to personally march out with them, but David’s men tell David, “You must not go out…Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand to us.”\u00a0(v3) \u00a0So David stands beside the gate while his troops go out and fight Absalom’s army in the forest, many of them giving their lives for David’s cause (v4-8).<\/p>\n

Why did David’s men insist that David stay behind and not go fight with them?\u00a0 They wanted to protect their leader.\u00a0 What lesson can we learn from this? \u00a0Protect your God-given leaders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be a leader in God\u2019s kingdom is to serve God and others.\u00a0 However, too many churchgoers treat their God-given leaders poorly.\u00a0 Rather than protect them or treat them with special care, they will be quick to criticize them and quick to make many demands of them, as if their leaders have nothing better to do than to answer their beck and call. \u00a0Let’s learn to protect our God-given leaders, to be willing to take the hit ourselves than to let our leaders take the hit.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When you need some help from a leader in your life, go ahead and ask, but be sensitive and respectful of their schedule, and be patient and understanding if they cannot meet your needs right away.\u00a0 That is the Christ-like thing to do.<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 18:5 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 5:\u00a0 Even after all that Absalom had put his father David through, David\u2019s heart was still for Absalom.\u00a0 The same goes for God your heavenly Father.\u00a0 God\u2019s heart is always for you. Even when we are at our worst, God still cares for us and doesn\u2019t want to see us perish.<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 18:6-8 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The army marched into the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0There the army of Israel was defeated by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great–twenty thousand men.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 6-8:\u00a0 Here we see the experience of David\u2019s men paying off.\u00a0 A number of David\u2019s most senior officials were with David decades ago when David was running for his life from Saul.\u00a0 They were used to hiding and fending for themselves in the forest.\u00a0 In contrast, it appears that Absalom\u2019s army was not as experienced in this environment so they were defeated by David\u2019s troops despite greatly outnumbering them.
\nWhat can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Having experience in the environment you\u2019re in makes a huge difference.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0You can read and study things in a textbook, but nothing replaces real life experience.<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 18:9-18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.”
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Joab said to the man who had told him this, “What! You saw him? Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? Then I would have had to give you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt.”
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king’s son. In our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And if I had put my life in jeopardy–and nothing is hidden from the king–you would have kept your distance from me.”
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-18: \u00a0While riding a mule, Absalom’s hair gets caught in a tree.\u00a0 Absalom had the most coveted hair in all of Israel (2\u00a0Samuel\u00a014:25-26), but now his hair had put him in great danger.\u00a0 Then in one of the most horrendous, tragic acts in the Bible, Joab brutally kills Absalom.\u00a0 Joab plunges not one but three javelins into Absalom’s heart (v14).\u00a0 Then Joab’s 10 armor bearers strike Absalom (v15), throw him into a pit and pile rocks over him (v17).\u00a0 The killing of Absalom was totally against the orders of King David, who insisted that they be gentle with Absalom and protect him (v5, 12).<\/p>\n

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What can we learn from this? \u00a0 Centuries after Absalom the son of David was killed while hanging from a tree,\u00a0another son of David would also be killed while hanging on a tree.\u00a0 But what kept that later son of David on the tree was not his hair, but his love for you and me.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Like Absalom, Jesus hung on a tree and his body was pierced with a spear.\u00a0 But unlike Absalom, this son of David was not killed for his own sins, but for our sins.\u00a0 Unlike Absalom, this son of David would rise again.\u00a0 Unlike Absalom who, at the time that he set up a monument to himself, had no child to carry on the memory of his name (v18), this son of David would leave many sons and daughters to carry on his name, including you and me.<\/p>\n

Thank You Lord Jesus for dying on a tree to save me from my sins.\u00a0 It was not your hair that kept you on the tree, but my sins and your love for me.\u00a0 Just as David’s men told David to stay behind while they went ahead and gave their lives for him, so You went ahead and gave your life for me so that I could be protected.\u00a0 Thank You for Your love like no other.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

opyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Samuel 18:1-18.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 18:1-4 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0David mustered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0David sent the troops out–a third under the command of Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, “I myself will surely march out with you.”
\n3\u00a0\u00a0But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.”
\n4\u00a0\u00a0The king answered, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” So the king stood beside the gate while all the men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands.<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-4: \u00a0David organizes his troops and volunteers to personally march out with them, but David’s men tell David, “You must not go out…Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand to us.”\u00a0(v3) \u00a0So David stands beside the gate while his troops go out and fight Absalom’s army in the forest, many of them giving their lives for David’s cause (v4-8). \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34028"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34031,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34028\/revisions\/34031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}