Heralds Digest

  “So Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than the advice of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalom. Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father’s tomb.” II Samuel‬ ‭17‬:‭14‬, ‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The story of Ahithophel establishes the caution with the pursuit of physical and material breakthroughs in life. When the scriptures confirmed that “ Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one had inquired at the oracle of God ”, it became clear that Ahithophel was professionally successful and a celebrated counsellor. But at this point in his career, the purpose of Ahithophel ran against the Will of God. While he wanted David down to estab...

  “Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place.” II Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When Absaloam’s challenge escalated from revenge to revolt, king David knew that the remote cause was that he had lost favour in the sight of God. And in finding favour, he has to learn again how to (1) fall down on his face in faith, (2) appreciate the company of associates and adversaries without losing attention, (3) vow to uphold virtue in people without vengeance, (4) obey the ordinances of the Lord with no offense, (5) understand the unchanging value of uprightness, and (6) repent fully and return to the Lord alone, despite His retribution. Therefore, David told the priest Zadok to refrain from the subtle art of crying foul, whenever a disobedient disciple falls out of God’s favour. Unfortunately, disfavoured disciples in contemporary times would prefer to continue wit...

  “To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my Lord is wise, according to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth” (II Samuel‬ ‭14‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬) “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬) There is no doubt about the effectiveness of disagreement among people and parties towards the destruction of good course in life. Also, it is proven that the use of wise word has limited application in bringing about the expected change in a deplorable state of family, work, and social affairs. But we can all learn from the superiority of wise way, as deplored by Joab and the hired widow, towards effecting a change of affairs in the administration of king David. The simple principle is that the presentation of the truth or ‘wise word’ by the woman was made in a piecemeal way and by the king’s specific request. Joab knew the troubled mind of king concerning the state of Absaloam...

  “Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, be gone!”” ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Unless in our contemporary world, where losers are celebrated with deceptive praise-singing and celebration of waywardness, sexual immorality has always been an open expression of emotional weakness, intellectual shame, and social disgrace. Therefore, after Amnon has displayed his weakness, shame, and disgrace, Amnon hated Tamar exceedingly and accordingly, as if she was the source of his character flaws. Since losers do not truly love themselves, they lack the capacity to express the right emotion of love for others. Unfortunately, Amnon lost everything that the prince's rights entailed; and eventually lost his life, after 2 years of coverups, humiliation, and shame. Likewise, losers’ love in today’s world is a smokescreen and the expression of popular war against rejection an...

  “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is noteworthy that while David’s first wilderness experience was triggered by the incidence of the Holy Spirit’s Impaction, his second wilderness experience was self-propelled by idle indulgence. At the time when kings go out to battle, David was roaming or idling in the palace attics turned into Satan’s workshop. Unfortunately, no one has ever dined with the Devil and escaped without a scratch on his face; and David wouldn’t be an exception. A man who was singled out as the epitome of God’s abiding presence suddenly turned out as adulterer, murderer, and abuser of God’s grace. Through idle indulgence, “ And the Lord preserved David wherever he went ” became “ But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord...

  “And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.” ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ After David experienced rest from the storms in his life, he desired to reciprocate the abiding presence of God with the building of a cedar house for the Ark of the Lord - the representation of God’s presence. But instead of getting God’s approval of his good gesture, he got a new concept of a lasting shield. A shield from God Himself, instead of the most beautiful shield that the hands of man can build. Actually, we all know that the shield we labour to build here on earth for ourselves and legacies doesn’t last forever. God said to David, apparently, ‘How about this, let me build you a house that will last forever ’. The most adorable essence of God’s abiding presence in the life and affairs of His beloved is the building of a lasting house through us and for His o...

  “But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news.” II Samuel‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The enthronement of David confirmed the fact that the redemption story is not complete without extolling the virtue of righteousness. And whoever will share a righteous story must be prepared to stop the robbers on the redemption highway. Such were the likes of the Amalekite who lied about killing Saul for David, and these two brothers (Rechab and Baanah) who actually killed Ishbosheth for David. They were all stopped by David from taking the glory of the righteous Redeemer. When David said “ As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity “, he testified to the sufficiency of...