relationships (1 Chronicles 23:1-32) Finding Meaningful Purpose

(1 Chronicles 23:1-32) Now when David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites.

3 Now the Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward, and their number by head count of men was thirty-eight thousand. 4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges, 5 and four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand were praising the Lord with the instruments which David made for giving praise. 6 David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 Of the Gershonites there were Ladan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan were Jehiel the first, and Zetham and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. 10 The sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they became a father’s household, one group for duty.

12 The sons of Kohath were four in number: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 13 The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, to serve Him and bless in His name forever. 14 But as for Moses, the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The son of Gershom was Shebuel the chief. 17 The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The son of Izhar was Shelomith the chief. 19 The sons of Hebron were Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 The sons of Uzziel were Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

21 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. 22 Eleazar died and had no sons, but only daughters; so their relatives, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. 23 The sons of Mushi were three: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

24 These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, the heads of the fathers’ households of those among them who were counted, in the number of names by their head count, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward. 25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David, the sons of Levi were counted from twenty years old and upward. 28 For their office is to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord, in the courtyards and in the chambers, and in the purification of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, 29 and with the showbread, and the fine flour for a grain offering, and unleavened wafers, or what is baked in the pan or what is well-mixed, and all measures of volume and size. 30 They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and to offer all burnt offerings to the Lord, on the Sabbaths, the new moons and the appointed festivals, in the number determined by the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord. 32 So they are to perform the duties of the tent of meeting, the holy place, and of assisting the sons of Aaron their relatives, for the service of the house of the Lord.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

We can see the value in organizing and planning out tasks within a church in order to serve God and others.  This definitely can be applied to marriages and families!  Although the day-to-day chores can seem tedious, these always need to be done.  In an interview with a Christian music artist who had "a lot" of children, she was asked how she managed everything?  She said, "I put the Glory into the mundane."

Life is work.  Relationships (with God and people) are work!  But instead of just going through boring, dreary motions, we have the power to make it so much more by tapping into God's power.  In everything we do, for the Lord, for others, for our spouses and children... our menial tasks can give us fulfilling, meaningful purpose when we ask God to be part of it, to give us guidance, strength, inspiration and thankful motivation in His love, patience and joy.

relationships (1 Chronicles 22:1-19) Real Success in Life

(1 Chronicles 22:1-19)  Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

2 So David gave orders to gather the strangers who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to cut out stones to build the house of God. 3 And David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed; 4 and timbers of cedar beyond number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. 5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous, and glorious throughout the lands. Therefore I now will make preparations for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.

6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for his name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 Now, my son, the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and put you in charge of Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will prosper, if you are careful to follow the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold and a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond measure, for they are in great quantity; I have also prepared timber and stone, and you may add to that. 15 Moreover there are many workmen with you, stonecutters, masons of stone, and carpenters; and all of them are skillful in every kind of work. 16 Of the gold, silver, bronze, and iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may the Lord be with you.”

17 David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, 18 “Is the Lord your God not with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has handed over to me the inhabitants of the land, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. 19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; then arise, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

David wanted to set his son up for success, to do things better than he had done and to have things better than he had managed.  These intentions weren't the same as what a lot of parents say today, who want their children to have a better life than they did - with better jobs, better clothes, better cars, bigger homes, more money and more things.  Some parents will even give all those things to their children without expecting them to work for any of it, which only creates, fosters and enables entitled attitudes.

David's idea of success was for Solomon to honor God.  Therefore, to help him towards accomplishing that, David not only got some of the physical building blocks underway, but David taught Solomon about God and His will, and how to draw closer to Him, as well as the value of striving to be obedient to the Lord.  David even asked the leaders be there to help guide his son, and encouraged the leaders themselves to continue seeking after the Lord.

Like David, laying a solid foundation to build upon (which is the love, peace and knowledge of our Lord) is what we should be doing for our families.  As parents, we have to be there for our children, as living examples.  A person first has to know the Lord personally.  Then to study and understand His will, wisdom and guidance, we can arise and build.  It is an important lesson to let our children know that real success in life is being a steadfast believer, who is involved in building God's kingdom in His will, all to His glory!!!

relationships (1 Chronicles 20:1-21:30) Finding Confidence

(1 Chronicles 20:1-8)  Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the sons of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed in Jerusalem. And Joab struck Rabbah and overthrew it. 2 David took the crown of their king from his head, and he found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoils of the city, a very great amount. 3 He brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work at saws, iron picks, and axes. And David did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

4 Now it came about after this, that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued. 5 And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 6 Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants. 7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. 8 These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

(1 Chronicles 21:1-30)  Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to count Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me word so that I may know their number.” 3 But Joab said, “May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore, Joab departed and went throughout Israel, and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then Joab gave the number of the census of the people to David. Israel was 1,100,000 men in all who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. 6 But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, because the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab.

7 Now God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel. 8 David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, by doing this thing. But now, please overlook Your servant’s guilt, for I have behaved very foolishly.”

9 The Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, 10 “Go and speak to David, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I extend to you three choices; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take for yourself 12 three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord: a plague in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout the territory of Israel.’ Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall bring back to Him who sent me.” 13 David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into human hands.”

14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel; seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and was sorry about the catastrophe, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough; now relax your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 Then David raised his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, “Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? Lord, my God, just let Your hand be against me and my father’s household, and not against Your people as a plague.”

18 Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David was to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Lord. 20 Now Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat. 21 As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from the threshing floor and prostrated himself to David with his face to the ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of this threshing floor, so that I may build on it an altar to the Lord; you shall give it to me for the full price, so that the plague may be brought to a halt from the people.” 23 But Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself, and may my lord the king do what is good in his sight. See, I am giving the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain offering; I am giving it all.” 24 Nevertheless, King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will certainly buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” 25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the site. 26 Then David built an altar there to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Lord, and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. 27 The Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there. 29 For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were on the high place at Gibeon at that time. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the Lord.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Not just in the over-the-top-difficult times, but in times of peace, we can be very vulnerable to falling into temptation.  Comfort and pride is a big enemy, because we can so easily forget about God and start depending on ourselves and depending in our own strength and wisdom.  This will never go well.  So it benefits us to wake up to the sins that we have committed, and confess them as soon as we realize.

Knowing that God is patient and full of grace, we can be confident in our relationship with Him, that it is 100% secure.  And knowing that God is faithful and good, we can be confident in obediently trusting in the Lord always, in everything.  So when struggles come up, and they will, we can confidently be thankful in this, and ask the Lord to fight our battles for us, as well as to help us do and say the things that He asks of us.

relationships (1 Chronicles 19:1-19) Striving Together

(1 Chronicles 19:1-19)  Now it came about after this, that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son became king in his place. 2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to console him. 3 But the commanders among the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David is honoring your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Have his servants not come to you to search, to demolish, and to spy out the land?” 4 So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved them, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 Then certain people went and told David about the men. And he sent messengers to meet them, because the men were very humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow back, then return.”

6 When the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, Aram-maacah, and Zobah. 7 So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped opposite Medeba. And the sons of Ammon gathered together from their cities and came to the battle. 8 When David heard about it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. 9 The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the city; and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

10 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel and lined them up against the Arameans. 11 But the remainder of the people he placed under the command of Abshai his brother; and they lined up against the sons of Ammon. 12 He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the benefit of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” 14 So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to battle against the Arameans, and they fled from him. 15 When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from his brother Abshai and entered the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

16 When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer leading them. 17 When it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came upon them and drew up in formation against them. And when David drew up in battle formation against the Arameans, they fought against him. 18 And the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed of the Arameans seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers; and he put Shophach the commander of the army to death. 19 So when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Obviously we need to be careful whom we trust to have as "allies" outside of the church.  Within a church, one hopes we can work together well and help each other when we need it, with love, compassion and understanding.  When God is at the center of a group of believers, and all are striving together in the Lord's wisdom and strength, to serve, and bring honor and glory to the Lord, then there will be unity and good things will be accomplished in His will.

relationships (1 Chronicles 18:1-17) True Wealth

(1 Chronicles 18:1-17)   Now after this it came about that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

3 David also defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his rule to the river Euphrates. 4 David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung almost all the chariot horses, but left enough of them for a hundred chariots.

5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans. 6 Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus; and the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a very large amount of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze Sea and the pillars and the bronze utensils.

9 Now when Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and had defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the Lord, with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek.

12 Moreover, Abishai the son of Zeruiah defeated eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And the Lord helped David wherever he went.

14 So David reigned over all Israel; and he administered justice and righteousness for all his people. 15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was secretary; 16 and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavsha was secretary; 17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of David were chiefs at the king’s side.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The Lord helped David wherever he went - because David loved the Lord and honored Him wherever he went.  And when God gave David success, he dedicated everything he got to the Lord.  All that we have is because of the Lord.   It benefits us to keep in mind that everything belongs to God!  Not only does He deserves it, but God will take better care and make better use of everything FOR us.  Afterall, God is all-powerful, all-knowing, faithful and caring!  Us... not so much.

Having a mindset of humility and generosity is very liberating!  It is opposite of how the world thinks, which is - IF - YOU - do this for me - THEN - I'll do something for you...  But, once we "give" everything that we have to God - we do not have to worry about what we have, or do not have (because it is all God's anyway), and we can then be content with what we do have.  If God wants us to remain in a lower income bracket, He will make sure we have everything we need.  And if God wants us to have more earthly wealth, God can make the bread multiply.  

Let's keep this in perspective, though.  Life is not about being rich, monetarily.  God is our greatest treasure, which we should share with everyone.  And whatever we have as far as earthly possessions, we are to share and give generously with those in need, who cannot "repay" us.  Actually, God tells us that when we give to those in need, HE will repay us.  He will reward our good deeds done with right motives in heaven, and here on earth, He will see to it that we have what we need.

All things are possible with God!  All things work together for good to those who LOVE GOD, to those who are called according to His purpose.  So, our concern should not be about how much material things we can collect here on earth, our concern should be about how we love and honor God!  The best riches we can experience is the peace and the joy of the Lord!!!