Jesse Tree December 11 Crown
Crown reading: 2 Samuel 5:2-3
David has been anointed king over Judah at Hebron. Now he will be made king of all Israel, just as God promised.
Just because Saul dies doesn’t mean David automatically becomes king. The nation was torn. The people of Judah believed in David. He had kept them safe and fought for them the years he was on the run from Saul. While king, Saul had ignored the nation’s needs for the most part. He hunted David instead of defending the borders.
Abner took Saul’s remaining son and made him king in Gilead in his father’s place. I don’t believe it was because the people thought Saul was such a great king. They were going along with what they were told to do by those who closest to the king.
There was war between Saul’s house and David. Saul’s house was led by Abner and Saul’s remaining son, Ish-bosheth. In the end, Abner pulled the kingdom from Ish-bosheth’s hands and prepared to hand it to David but both he and Ish-bosheth were killed before David was made king of all Israel.
David was about 15 years old when Samuel anointed him to be king over Israel. He is 30 when he is anointed as king over ALL Israel. Fifteen years he waited. Most of those years he was running from Saul. In all that time he NEVER gave up. He believed God’s promises and he held fast to them in both good and bad times.
MANY people didn’t live to see the promises of God fulfilled. Eve would not meet her Redeemer in person. Abraham would not live in the land as the owner. Joseph would not see the Promised Land while among the living. Abraham DID see the promise of a son but by the time Abraham died his descendants were FAR below the number of the stars. David would see himself made king but not see his kingdom receive the Messiah; the King of kings. This too, he would take on faith. We are still waiting for the return of Jesus.
ALL the promises God has made WILL be fulfilled! The timing isn’t ours to determine. David could have ‘shortened’ his time running from Saul on two separate occasions by striking him dead. But that wasn’t God’s plan. God matured David through the 15 years. He brought him to a point where he relied on God for everything. NO. He was not perfect. But he put himself in God’s hands and let Him determine the timing of His promises.
I, personally, find waiting hard! Ask anyone who knows me about this and they can probably tell you hundreds of stories. Yet I too am learning to wait. It does me NO GOOD to try and hurry God. He seems to be immune to my methods and complaints. And His methods are stretching me and teaching me how to wait. I wonder how many of David’s psalms were initially a complaint to God to get Him to hurry up but wound up teaching David how to wait instead. Songs do that for me and so do many of the psalms.
As we march towards the day we commemorate the fulfillment of one of God’s promises, take the time to look at the rest of His promises. His faithfulness in one assures us of His faithfulness in ALL!
Thank You Father God for Your faithfulness! I can trust each of Your promises to be fulfilled. It doesn’t have to happen in my lifetime for me to KNOW that You will complete all You have begun. I praise You for the promises I have already received; especially the promise of Jesus. Help me hold fast like David did. I have even more proof than he did of Your faithfulness!
