Bestir Thyself

BESTIR THYSELF

B.R.: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; 5:17-25

TEXT: 2Sa 5:24 And 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.

INTRODUCTION: In the first 3 verses of 2 Samuel 5, we find some compelling events.

When the representatives of all the tribes gathered to ask David to be their king, they had three compelling reasons.

First, they were family. In the larger sense they were all children of Jacob. To be specific, David was Saul’s son-in-law. It didn’t make sense for people who were family to continue to be at war with each other.

In essence, we are the family of God. Sons and daughters of the king. It would behoove us not to be at odds with each other. That’s all the enemy of your soul wants.

Rev. 12:10 says:…. Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

The devil is the one who accuses each one of us. Most of the time, the devils lies are mixed in with some truth to make it believable.

Second, David was already a proven leader of Israel.

The people remembered the times when David had led Saul’s army into battle and defeated their enemies. Saul’s jealousy had been fed by the people’s love for David and a fear that they would turn to him as their king.

Third, they felt that the Lord had chosen David.

Some may have known of Samuel’s anointing of David (1Sa_16:13) but more of them probably witnessed God’s blessings upon David and accepted that as a sign of God’s anointing. Everything seemed right in their request.

There was a very simple principle at work in the logic of the elders. They turned their back on all of their differences and focused on the things they had in common, the things that could unite them.

The cause of Christ’s kingdom would be helped if Christians could learn to come together rather than arguing over differences.

David made a covenant with the elders that stipulated the nature of the kingship. There were two aspects of David’s covenant with the elders that are key to understanding this story and which apply to us today.

First, it was a covenant that laid out the obligations of both parties. While there may have been things that David wanted the people to agree concerning their commitments to him, there were also his obligations to the people.

A wise attorney once said that both parties win in any good agreement.

There are too many people in the world today who have forgotten the mutual aspect of covenant relationships and this continually undermines businesses, international relationships, and relationships between people.

The second element in David’s covenant with the elders was that it was made as verse 3 says "before the LORD".

They made a religious ceremony out of the agreement. This was a serious commitment.

It acknowledged God’s part in bringing them together.

It sought God’s continued leadership in the affairs of Israel.

Our lives are given their meaning by the covenants we make and keep.

Becoming a follower of Jesus Christ means entering into a covenant with God. It is a relationship with obligations not only on God’s part, but also ours.

Getting married is entering into a sacred covenant.

All of us need to learn to see the covenants that we make as "before God" and to find resources in God for keeping those covenants.

David’s anointing as king was probably done by a priest— although none is mentioned—at the instruction of the elders of Israel.

That ceremony brought to fruition what had been anticipated when Samuel had visited the house of Jesse and anointed David while he was just a kid in the presence of his brothers.

This should be a reminder to us that there is a great distance between the beginning of a dream and its fulfillment.

From the first day to tonights church service, his dream of building a church in this city is being fulfilled.

Paul said in 1Co_3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

There must have been times when David doubted that he was God’s anointed because of the trials he went through as a fugitive and an exile.

We live in a society that is obsessed with instant everything.

This mentality has also affected how we view the Christian life.

We often want now what it takes God time to create.

The Fruit of the Spirit don’t come from a hurried-up, crash course on Christian living.