Psalm 70, 71; 2 Sam 4:1-12; Acts 16:25-40; Mark 7:1-23
What were you thinking? That is David’s reaction to these two men who have murdered Ish-bosheth. Surely they knew the story about what happened to the messenger who gave David word about Saul and Jonathan and claimed some part in Saul’s death. Why would these two have believed that David would reward them for their treachery against Saul’s son? David was a man who trusted the Lord to establish what He had promised. He had not taken action against Saul nor had he taken arms against Ish-bosheth during the two years of his reign as king over Israel, he had waited on the Lord to act. In this, David is a model for us in waiting patiently for the Lord and trusting Him to bring about His will for our lives. Also in this passage we meet Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth who is heir to the covenant between David and Jonathan.
Jesus teaches that true cleanliness is a matter of the heart. The Pharisees concerned themselves with external observances and were careful to keep all the law concerning these external things and yet within they were seething and we know that because they were primarily responsible for the crucifixion. Unlike David, their anger at the one they perceived as their enemy, Jesus, caused them to take matters into their own hands and deal with Jesus rather than allowing God to do so. Too often we judge only by appearances rather than by the heart. We can make a show of being good and religious but our hearts can be far from the Lord. It is easier to manage my conduct in public than it is to manage my heart, that requires prayer, honesty, and a work of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord uses the arrest of Paul and Silas to bring their jailer to Himself. The missionaries are praying and singing praises to God in spite of the fact that they have been beaten and thrown into jail although they are innocent of any crime. Is that our reaction to persecution? They experience the deliverance of the Lord in the opening of the prison doors yet they do not leave the cell. The jailer is prepared to kill himself in the mistaken belief that the prisoners have surely escaped and death at his own hand is preferable to what the Romans will do to him for dereliction of duty. Paul reassures the jailer that all the prisoners are present and accounted for and the man takes the missionaries home, cleanses their wounds and instead of dying this night receives the gift of eternal life through belief in Jesus. The sovereignty of God is a marvelous reality not simply a doctrine but it requires us to have the mind of Christ that seeks the glory of God in all things in order to appreciate this reality. Paul and Silas trusted in the Lord, rejoiced in Him in persecution and saw Him do a wonderful thing through them. How often do we miss such opportunities because we take matters into our own hands?
Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side,
Those wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.
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