Midterm Joy
Greetings in the Lord!
Watching American politics these days is anything but peaceful. The constant criticism, strife, and treachery is enough to exhaust even the most apathetic of observers. And for most of us, we are not used to this kind of politics in the United States, for it has been a long time since we've had this kind of division and raucousness from Washington DC...but it is in our history, though I'll not go into that today. Instead, today's word comes from 2 Samuel 16, a chapter that tells of a similar time in Israel.
The reign of King David was hallmarked by his love and devotion to the Lord, and of his enemies' constant betrayal, criticism, and treachery towards him. And this doesn't even include his enemies outside of Israel! In this particular chapter, King David was fleeing the throne because of the uprising of Absalom, his son, who was trying to depose/kill him. Talk about betrayal! (King David was not relinquishing the throne, but wanted to avoid a major battle with his son's army in Jerusalem that would have surely resulted in many needless deaths. So, instead, he chose to hide out with his men to allow the rebellion fervor to whittle down to his main adversaries and give time for his son to come to his senses--to no avail.) However, on his way out of town, David and his men were met by two people: Ziba, a servant of Mephibosheth, and later on, Shimei a man from Saul's clan.
Ziba was looking to better himself by falsely accusing Mephibosheth of waiting for the kingdom to be returned back to him (he was Saul's grandson) so as to curry favor with David. As a result, David mistakenly gives Ziba the wealth of Mephibosheth. The second person to meet David was Shimei, a man from Saul's clan. Shimei followed David and his men out of town and verbally attacked them with a prolonged tirade of criticism while pelting them with stones. They endured the unjustified criticism, for David would not let his men kill Shimei and instead called on God to bless him for enduring this trouble. Sound familiar? Even though President Trump certainly does not hold his tongue much, he has to endure far more contempt and mockery from his adversaries than anyone can imagine. Only God could sustain a person in a situation like that (and any who are brave enough to stand with him). But just like we see with King David, the Lord has surrounded Donald Trump with unsurpassed loyalty from supporters (many from other countries, at that), and blesses him abundantly with victory, strength, and shalom. Later on, Shimei bows before King David begging for forgiveness and confesses that he had wronged him by cursing and criticizing him....hmmm.
Lastly, we read in 2 Samuel 16 about two of David's advisers: Ahithophel and Hushai. Ahithophel decides to leave David and become an adviser for Absalom, while Hushai pretends to be an adviser for Absalom, but remains loyal to David. Crazy, huh?! Yes, it is a time of secret alliances and misplaced loyalties--but still the Lord's plans and purposes will be accomplished. David prayed to God that Ahithophel would give Absalom bad advice and he does so, ultimately leading to the demise and death of both Absalom and Ahithophel.
Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the godly person gives good advice, but the tongue that deceives will be cut off.
Proverbs 10:28 The hopes of the godly results in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.
So, all in all, for the midterm elections, expect that the Lord will have His way. Contrary to the shady "expectations of the wicked," there will be more potential usurpers to be rooted out of office, changes in unscrupulous advisers and people in decision-making positions, and also public scrutiny of those looking to selfishly better themselves in all of the chaos by throwing people under the bus, politically speaking. We pray, God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Watching American politics these days is anything but peaceful. The constant criticism, strife, and treachery is enough to exhaust even the most apathetic of observers. And for most of us, we are not used to this kind of politics in the United States, for it has been a long time since we've had this kind of division and raucousness from Washington DC...but it is in our history, though I'll not go into that today. Instead, today's word comes from 2 Samuel 16, a chapter that tells of a similar time in Israel.
The reign of King David was hallmarked by his love and devotion to the Lord, and of his enemies' constant betrayal, criticism, and treachery towards him. And this doesn't even include his enemies outside of Israel! In this particular chapter, King David was fleeing the throne because of the uprising of Absalom, his son, who was trying to depose/kill him. Talk about betrayal! (King David was not relinquishing the throne, but wanted to avoid a major battle with his son's army in Jerusalem that would have surely resulted in many needless deaths. So, instead, he chose to hide out with his men to allow the rebellion fervor to whittle down to his main adversaries and give time for his son to come to his senses--to no avail.) However, on his way out of town, David and his men were met by two people: Ziba, a servant of Mephibosheth, and later on, Shimei a man from Saul's clan.
Ziba was looking to better himself by falsely accusing Mephibosheth of waiting for the kingdom to be returned back to him (he was Saul's grandson) so as to curry favor with David. As a result, David mistakenly gives Ziba the wealth of Mephibosheth. The second person to meet David was Shimei, a man from Saul's clan. Shimei followed David and his men out of town and verbally attacked them with a prolonged tirade of criticism while pelting them with stones. They endured the unjustified criticism, for David would not let his men kill Shimei and instead called on God to bless him for enduring this trouble. Sound familiar? Even though President Trump certainly does not hold his tongue much, he has to endure far more contempt and mockery from his adversaries than anyone can imagine. Only God could sustain a person in a situation like that (and any who are brave enough to stand with him). But just like we see with King David, the Lord has surrounded Donald Trump with unsurpassed loyalty from supporters (many from other countries, at that), and blesses him abundantly with victory, strength, and shalom. Later on, Shimei bows before King David begging for forgiveness and confesses that he had wronged him by cursing and criticizing him....hmmm.
Lastly, we read in 2 Samuel 16 about two of David's advisers: Ahithophel and Hushai. Ahithophel decides to leave David and become an adviser for Absalom, while Hushai pretends to be an adviser for Absalom, but remains loyal to David. Crazy, huh?! Yes, it is a time of secret alliances and misplaced loyalties--but still the Lord's plans and purposes will be accomplished. David prayed to God that Ahithophel would give Absalom bad advice and he does so, ultimately leading to the demise and death of both Absalom and Ahithophel.
Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the godly person gives good advice, but the tongue that deceives will be cut off.
Proverbs 10:28 The hopes of the godly results in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.
So, all in all, for the midterm elections, expect that the Lord will have His way. Contrary to the shady "expectations of the wicked," there will be more potential usurpers to be rooted out of office, changes in unscrupulous advisers and people in decision-making positions, and also public scrutiny of those looking to selfishly better themselves in all of the chaos by throwing people under the bus, politically speaking. We pray, God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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