David finally becomes king over all of the Israelites.

Until this point, the redemptive plan of God has focused on the Covenant that God made with Israel through Abraham and then through Moses. In today's study, we see God reveal the next phase of His redemptive plan ... His covenant with David As we consider today's passage, we are reminded that God's ways are always above our ways!

David finally becomes king over all of the Israelites.

Message from 26 June 2016

Today, we will pick up the storyline where we ended two weeks ago and consider the final day of Saul's life. Also today, we will begin to consider at the same both Biblical accounts of the history of Israel - that which is found in 1 Samuel through 2 Kings and that which is found in 1 and 2 Chronicles.

Today, the scope of our examination of Israel's history in the land begins to widen as we prepare to enter into the Davidic Kingdom phase of Israel. As we transition from 1 Samuel into 2 Samuel, and then, Lord willing, into the accounts of 1 and 2 Kings ... we will be including the parallel accounts recorded in the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles. As we enter this phase, we will pause to look a the Genealogies recorded in 1 Chronicles 1 through 9. Why did God find it important to include this listing of genealogies? Why are there more details in certain areas than in others? Let us consider some of important truths that are contained in these seemingly tedious chapters.

David has been on the run. During this time, we have seen David struggle and triumph. We have seen David exhibit character traits of a godly leader in the midst of trials and tribulations - accepting responsibility and honoring the LORD, and those the LORD has placed in authority. Last week, we saw how David continued to struggle with impatience. David was very reactionary. Like many of us, he struggled between his faith and his emotions. Many times, those two (faith and emotions) will lead you in opposite directions. Today, we see how fear affects our decision-making process.

Over the past couple of weeks we have seen David exhibit character traits of a godly leader in the midst of trials and tribulations - accepting responsibility and honoring the LORD, and those the LORD has placed in authority. This week we consider lessons from David's interactions with Nabal and Abigail

From the perspective of man, David's life is hanging on by a thread. However, as we began to see last week, God is using this time to exhibit and hone the character of a godly leader. As Paul told Timothy, "... exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having a promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." (1 Timothy 4:7-8) Last week we saw David accept responsibility. Today, we see him display another trait of a godly leader - He honors God and those whom God has placed

in authority.

We have watched David transition as well from a youth to a warrior. However, as a part of that transition David seemingly had lost his focus on God. Last week, we saw that as the weight of the battle grew heavier, David struggled with anxiety. Yet, God was faithful even as David wobbled in his faith. Today, we see that David learned his lesson and regained his focus. As well, he demonstrates for us a key ingredient in the character of a godly leader - the willingness to accept responsibility. Too many people want the power but they do not want the responsibility that goes along with it!