Depending on the Will of God

II Samuel Ch. 2 : 1-7  " In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?" he asked, The Lord said, " Go Up," David asked, "Where shall I go?" "To Hebron", the Lord answered...."

The battles fought by Israelites as described in Old Testament times, were all unique in themselves.  It was so consoling when they heard,  "The Lord will fight for you."  As we meditate on the way the Lord fought for His people, we observe that each time the fight against the enemy was in a different and a unique way. In fighting against Moabites, the Lord caused the waters to appear red as blood, eventually causing terror in the minds of the enemies and made them to suffer (II Kings. 3 22-25). In a battle that King Jehoshaphat fought against the Moabites, the Ammonites and the children of mount Seir, the Lord caused the enemies to rise against one another and thus destroyed them. When He fought for Hezekiah, He sent an angel to the enemy camp who smote an hundred fourscore and five thousand.  2 Kings 19:35 "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. Every time God adopted a new strategy of putting the enemies to flight".

Before David ventured any battle with his enemy, he sought the counsel of the Lord and guidance on any move that he had to take.  It was sure that God Himself fought all his battles.  As a young lad, David brought down Goliath, the Philistine champion, with a pebble. After he was made king, according to God's counsel, he fought the Philistines directly and returned victorious. the next time, as directed by God, he withdrew from the front line of the battle and went from behind the mulberry trees, as per the commandment of God, who said, He will walk before David, and that can be felt by the sound on top of the mulberry trees. David did as the Lord commanded, fought and won the battle with the help of God.

II Samuel 5:22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 23And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. 24And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. 25And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer. In the few verses cited above, it is evident that God's presence will be with his children who depend upon him for victory. David faced victories in his life. This time, when Philistines came upon yet again to fight agaist David, God tells him that his presence will be with him, but David should withdraw from the front line of battle field and compass them from behind the mulberry trees, for God promises that He will be in the front line for battle for him. God tells David that He will walk before him and when David hears the sound of God walking before him on the top of mulberry trees, he should bestir himself and then smite the host of the philistines. David did as the Lord commanded him and smote the Philistines from Geba until Gazer. In verse 19 we read the dependance of David on God, when he inquired of the Lord, “And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines?” After the victory over Philistines David acknowledges the leadership of God. “...The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim...”    He once tore apart a lion and had slain a bear with courage, but this time the strategy he had to adopt was a different one. Had he acted on his own reasoning and judgment of the past victory, he would have faced utter defeat. But in every instance David knew what God wanted of him and how His plan differed each time. Since David had his mind receptive to knowing God's will, he did not find it cumbersome to work in compliance with His will, each time. He continued doing His will. And every time he did it, he proved himself a victor. Therefore, God could testify of him even before his ordination as king of Israel,..." I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will" (Acts,. 13:22)

Though Saul had now died and David had easy access to the throne that was rightfully his now, he did not hastily grab the opportunity. He determined to know the will of God, even at this point of time. So he enquired of the Lord if he could go into any of the cities of Judah. The answer from the Lord was a simple 'Go up'. But David persisted. He waited to know God's mind for his next move. He made no attempt of the choice of a city himself. So was his next question to the Lord, "Whither shall I go up" (II Sam 2:1). The Lord must have been delighted in his child-like dependence on Him to know His will for every step he took in his life. His answer was instant. "Unto Hebron". 'Hebron' means 'fellowship'. David had fellowship with God, and so was able to know His will.

As has been meditated so far, discerning the will of God for our personal lives each day becomes inevitable for us, if we are to stand before the Lord as those who have done the will of the Father in heaven. Besides knowing His will through the Word of God and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can know His will through several other ways too.

The servants of God too serve as a means to help us discern the will of God. this they do through their messages and counsel. God made known His will to the congregation of Israel through His servant Moses, later, when the kings ruled over Israel, many of them who feared God and walked in His way, enquired the prophets before they went forth for a battle against their enemies, or for matters relating to their kingdom. Huldah, the prophetess revealed God's secret message to national leaders (II Kgs. 22:14), thus leading them in the way of His will. Nathan the prophet, revealed the mind of God to David, regarding his desire to build a dwelling palace for God (II Sam. Ch 7), and prevented him from embarking on a project that was not in the divine will for him; when Israel wet into captivity in Babylon, the remnant them in the land of Judah enquired the prophet Jeremiah to let them know of God's plan concerning them and about their plan of going into Egypt for refuge (Jer. 42:6,7). Jeremiah tarried in the presence of God for ten days to know His will. He waited till God spoke to him and then delivered God's message to the remnant of Judah Similarly, in the New Testament too, the Lord reveals His will to His servants who have consecrated their all and wait at His feet. They are spoken of as ambassadors who make known the will of Christ to the Church (II Cor 5.20). To manifest the will of God Who is in heaven to the Church on earth, God had appointed His servants as His ambassadors to the Church and God reveals His will through them to all those who earnestly seek to do His will and strive to fulfill in all points of their life.

NUMBERS 22:5-12 (Balak and Balaam):

Vs 4b: So Balak son Zippor, who was the king..."A people has come...curse ...
Vs. 12 But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, becuase they are blessed."
Vs. 19 Now stay here tonight as others did, and I will find out what else the Lord will tell me.
Vs. 20. That night God came to Balaam and said, "since thsee men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."

Balaam's Donkey:
Vs. 21 "Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. "But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him.
--- 23 - When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in the hand, she turned off the road into a field, Balaam beat her to get her back to the road.
--- 24 - Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it, so he beat again.
---26 - Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What I have done?.."
--- 32 - The angel of the Lord asked him,... your path is reckless one before me.

LOT'S OWN DESIRE AGAINST GOD'S WILL:
Genesis Ch. 19: The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was.....
Vs. 15 With the coming of the dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."
Vs.16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.
Vs. 17 ... "Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"
Vs18 ..."But Lord said to them, "No, my Lords, please! Your servant has found ..."
Vs.20 " Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it - it is - it very small, isn't it? then my life will be spared."
Vs. 21 "Very well, ......(That is why the town is called Zoar.)
The consequence was that he could not bring forth holy nation, but became the patriarch of two carnal, accursed nations viz., Moabites, Ammonites.

God's chosen:
Luke 1: 26-37
We are also reminded of the instance where God's message came to a woman through an angel. The angel's first message to Mary was full of blessings. His second message was about Jesus, the Son of God. Mary questioned angel, "How shall this be seeing I know not a man?" When the angel said, "Thou shalt ... bring forth a son, " many questioned raced through her mind. Her point was, "How can this be?" The angel gives her the answer and this was his third message to her. But this was by no means easy. According to the Old Testament law, if a woman who is unmarried conceives, she should be stoned to death. This was Mary's ordeal. Next, she wondered as to what the man to whom she had been betrothed, would think. And again, she would be ringing shame to her parents. Hence, was her question, "How can this be?" Like Lot shee too could have said, Oh, not so, my Lord", Nay, but in all humble submission she replied, "Be it unto me according to they word." As for us, can we take our stand boldly with Mary, when God's will is being revealed to us?

I Samuel 3: 11-10 The Lord calls Samuel
Then the Lord called samuel. samuel answered, "Here I am"


We are redeemed from our sins and have obtained forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ.

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Colossians 1:14

Jesus died upon the cross of Calvary so that we may be reconciled unto Him. There is no difference, whether we are Jews or Gentiles; He died for all of us, and rose from the dead and ascended in to heaven. We, who were His enemies, are made His children. The opposition that was caused between Heaven and Earth by our committing sins is removed once and for all, by the appeasement of our sins by Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sake. We are reconciled unto God through His blood that was shed upon the cross of Calvary.

Today is the day of Salvation. Please accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and your Lord, to enter in to the Kingdom of God.  Jesus Christ, who bore our sins and died for our sake is resurrected and He is living God. He will come soon to receive the saved ones in to the Kingdom of God. Please do not lose this opportunity but confess your sins to him and be saved.

God bless you.
Leslie M. John