Reading With the People of God #10 Kingdomنموونە

Focus of the month: (Kingdom)

7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’ ”.

- 1 Chronicles 17:7-14

Siding with God

Today’s chapters permit us a sobering moment to personally reflect on judgment, repentance, and our view of God amid this. In 2 Samuel 10, David repays loyalty to the son of Nahash, the now deceased King of the Ammonites, who supported him while he was running from Saul. However, this kindness is not taken as intended and ultimately leads to war and God’s significant intervention. While we personally relate to this feeling of being wronged, it’s what we do next that defines us. We are called to kindness and mercy as believers, even when the outcome is far from what we hoped. Moreover, how are we viewing ourselves against those who wronged us?

In Romans 2, we are reminded that all are lost. (Case in point, the next chapter of 2 Samuel finds David admiring Bathsheba!) Here, Paul speaks to self-righteous moralists, Jews, and Gentiles – us. When we are fiercely honest with ourselves, the things we judge in the lives of others, we explain away as rational in our own lives. But, judging in its very essence shows we can differentiate right and wrong. We know and see sin clearly. So, considering this, what do we do? We repent.

Paul clearly spells out the consequence in verse 5: you’re storing up wrath and judgment with each moment you avoid repentance. This can be a hard one to sit with - God’s judgment. Aren’t we all sinners? But the heart of God is to lead us to repentance (verse 4). Repenting is choosing to side with God instead of our sin. We run to him not to be scolded but understood, embraced, and guided out of our earthly struggles and temptations. The goodness of God is very real and is observable in his provision, protection, and promises. In Dane Ortland’s Gentle and Lowly, he writes,

“If you are part of Christ’s own body, your sins evoke his deepest heart, his compassion and pity. He ‘takes part with you’ – that is, he’s on your side. He sides with you against your sin, not against you because of your sin. He hates sin. But he loves you.”

Remember today that practicing repentance is a choice to come to the Father who responds in love (Hosea 14:4-8). We, therefore, choose kindness, mercy, and forgiveness in light of the One who graciously bestows it upon us.

* Primer contributed by Liz Williams, Joyfully Consecrated to God