2 Samuel 13:30 (KJV) Almost Never

2 Samuel 13:30 (KJV)

And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left.

Word got out that Absalom had murdered Amnon. But the word got out wrong. Reports were exaggerated that every one of the King’s children was dead. What’s more the king believed it. 

I have learned over the years, and in part because of this text, to try not to accept negative reports, and to attempt not to respond, until the reports are verified. I do not always succeed, but I do try. 

I have also learned that, if a negative thing has happened, the people quickest to report it are almost always the same ones that will assume the very worst and to exaggerate the negative. 

It’s too bad, but anymore that’s how even the news reporters are. 

• They want to be first out with the news,
• They want to get their new report heard, so very often 
• They assume the worst and sensationalize it to boot 

Almost never, I repeat, almost never are things as bad as they are initially reported.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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2 Samuel 13:30 (KJV) Almost Never

2 Samuel 12:10 (KJV) Despising God

2 Samuel 12:10 (KJV)

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

God Himself chose David as a man after His own heart.[1] And yet here God Himself accused David of despising Him. 

A Christian can love God and despise Him at the same time. 

What a contradiction, when one who has tasted the blessing of the Lord, enjoyed His love, and expressed love toward Him, demonstrates that he also despises God through an act of gross sin. 

The man after God’s own heart might not be a description of the heart of the man but of the heart of God. This would be consistent with the doctrine of salvation which is entirely a product of the love of God. If the man ever loves God it is because He first loved us. 

All who are saved might be called men after God’s own heart because it was His heart that saved us. 

---

[1] 1 Samuel 13:14 (KJV)
But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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2 Samuel 12:10 (KJV) Despising God

2 Samuel 10:19 (KJV) If Only

2 Samuel 10:19 (KJV)

And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

Terrible things happened in this chapter. None of them were necessary. 

• 
  
  If only Hanun had asked the men of Israel why they had come instead of believing a false report about them
• If only he had apologized and sought peace instead of calling in others to reinforce him
• If only the other kings had counseled to make peace with David

Every death that happened was the result of pride and the refusal to humble self. 

In the end peace was made, but it was through surrender. 

• If only they had surrendered first

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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2 Samuel 10:19 (KJV) If Only

Luke 2:1 (KJV) All The World

Luke 2:1 (KJV)

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Consider the phrase, “all the world.” There are a number of perspectives one can consider 

Caesar thought he ruled the world
What arrogance man possesses. Give him just a little bit of power and he thinks he rules all the world. 

The people felt like all the world was under his rule
Their world was only as big as what affected them. It may have been the whole world as far and they knew and as far as they were concerned.

All the world is a reference to that part which pertains to this account. 
God began His work of redemption in that part of the world. He has

coordinated that spread of the Gospel from there, through Europe to the Americas and the rest of the world. No wonder the liberal world wishes to change history. It is indeed, “His-story.”

God’s Word is for all the world
And so, what happened so long ago in Israel has a direct application to all the world. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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Luke 2:1 (KJV) All The World

Luke 1:21 (KJV) The People Waited

Luke 1:21 (KJV)

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

The people were waiting on him, so they wished him to hurry. 
Perhaps he had never before stayed so long in the temple This was not

his custom, so they were not accustomed to waited upon him. People do get used to things. Being used to something is not the same as being OK with it. A habit is not the same as a quality of character. 

He had good reason to tarry so long
It is certain he had never received such a message as this. We are not used to waiting. If waiting is the price of God’s message, then wait on!

They did wait
Perhaps with indignation. Mostly out of duty. But they did wait. And, in waiting, they saw what they had never seen before. 

Zacharias preached a message without saying a Word. 
I think maybe the best preachers are those who know they can’t speak. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Luke 1:21 (KJV) The People Waited

Mark 16:4 (KJV) When They Looked

Mark 16:4 (KJV)

And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

All their questions were answered when they looked.  
Any objections, any obstacles were removed simply for the looking. 

Their question was not answered by any man, but by the Lord. They were not yet aware of this truth, but it was the truth. We do not need any of the answers men provide. What we need is that which God provides. 

If they had not gone to look, they might never have known
I see this so often in men and women today. All of their objections concerning 

• The existence of God
• The truthfulness of the Scriptures
• The reality of the Gospel and 
• The effectiveness of salvation 

would be answered if they would come to look. 

The purpose of the witness for Christ is not to convince the naysayer with our good answers. All we need to do is to urge them to come see for themselves. 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Mark 16:4 (KJV) When They Looked

2 Samuel 2:6 (KJV) Kindness and Truth

2 Samuel 2:6 (KJV)
And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.

David asked that God bestow upon the people of Jabeshgilead both kindness and truth for their care of the bodies of Saul and his sons. Though their bodies had been mistreated by the enemies, it was an act of kindness, and I think some heroism, to recover them and properly bury them.

David had been unwilling to “touch the Lord’s anointed” so long as Saul was alive. This demonstrates that his loyalty was sincere. Even after Saul was dead and the threat essentially quenched, David desired not retribution but opportunity to express kindness.

But not just kindness. Kindness and truth.

Kindness
In the sense of showing respect, favor and mercy. It is an effort to reach out and show the other good.

Truth
This word comes from the concept of “blood continues”. I am thinking of Genesis one where each thing brought forth after his kind. Truth is that thing that continues. It does not change. It does not develop over time. It is the thing that remains constant from one generation to another.

To pray for God’s favor and goodness upon a person is a thoughtful thing indeed. But it is not a complete gift unless, along with that goodness, comes the eternal.

Truth will assure God’s kindness from one generation after the other eternally.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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2 Samuel 2:6 (KJV) Kindness and Truth

2 Samuel 1:9 (KJV) Who Killed Saul?

2 Samuel 1:9 (KJV)
He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.

Just the other day someone challenged a “Daily Visit with God” I had written on the subject of “death with dignity” and assisted suicide, based on this passage. He was adamant that Saul had killed himself and that David took this man’s life for lying about it and saying he had done it.[1]

My first thought is that the passage is simply not so clear as do make a dogmatic statement one way or the other (a fact that I think I made clear enough in my other Daily Visit). Even John Gill in one place claims that this Amalekite could not have killed Saul and that his armorbearer would not have allowed it, but then later comments as if David believed the claims of the Amalekite. I try to take a dogmatic position when the Bible is clear, but to see lessons in all of the possible interpretations when a passage isn’t as clear. That said, I offer my understanding of what may have transpired the day Saul died.

Saul was wounded by the enemy’s archers
1 Samuel 31:3
Whether the wounds were fatal or not, we are not told. Either way, Saul was confident that he could not escape the battlefield.

Saul requested that his armorbearer kill him to prevent the enemy from capturing and abusing him.
1 Samuel 31:4
His armorbearer refused to do it. I think this indicates perhaps a respect for the office, but more likely a clearer view of the circumstances and the potential that Saul may have survived if he had not taken matters into his own hands.

Saul attempted to take his own life.
1 Samuel 31:4

His armorbearer, seeing this, did the same
1 Samuel 31:5
The Bible does say that his armorbearer died when he fell on his sword. It does not actually say that Saul died. It says his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead. Historically even medical doctors have mistaken people for death who were not.

The Amalekite passed by and Saul, now slightly revived, pled for him to assist him in death
2 Samuel 1:6-10

There are some difficulties in this chain of events. For instance, the Amalekite makes it sound, on the one hand, like Saul was able to stand and perhaps even flee. But on the other hand, like he was sure he couldn’t live. Still, I think this sequence resolves any conflict in the narrative.

[1] https://youtu.be/p06MjcIWdSk

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
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2 Samuel 1:9 (KJV) Who Killed Saul?

 

1 Samuel 29:6 (KJV) A Miserable Man

1 Samuel 29:6 (KJV)

Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.

I tend to think that David was on a sort of “undercover mission” from the Lord at this period in his life. 

Except for the one phrase where he said he thought Saul would eventually succeed in killing him[1] there is no indication that David was ever out of God’s favor at this period of his life. I think it can be questioned whether he was in a state of sin. Whether this was a mission of the Lord or a mission of his own will, it is evident that, though he was able to win the favor of Achish, he was not able to win the favor of all of the lords of the Philistines.

Here, I think, is a valuable lesson. A believer can never truly be a friend of the world. The very act of attempting it will make him suspect in the eyes of too many. He may be able to convince someone in the world to be his friend, and he may think he has comfort in that, but the world loves its own. There will be those of the world who hate the backslidden Christian, and those same will eventually win in persuading any supposed friends against him.

The backslidden Christian is a miserable man. He is at odds with God, but he has no home in the world.

---

[1] 1 Samuel 27:1

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and, more than 5300 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

1 Samuel 29:6 (KJV) A Miserable Man