JOY "David's Career Revisited" May 1, 2013

May 1, 2013

David’s Career Revisited

2^nd Samuel 21:1--24:25

I        21:1-14 Famine in Israel     

God Withdraws Blessings From the Unfaithful

II      21:15-22   Victory Over Giants

God Showers Extravagant Blessings on the Faithful

III     22:1-51     David’s Song of Praise

God Is Due All Glory

IV     23:1-39      David’s Last Words and David’s Mighty Men

 God Blesses Those Who Obey Him And God’s Strength, Not Men’s strength, Ensures Victory

V      24:1-25      David’s Sinful Census

God Alone is the Source of All Confidence

From Charles Swindoll’s book, Leadership, comes this excerpt-------“On February 12, 1959, the 150^th anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the distinguished poet and historian Carl Sandburg was invited to Washington, D.C. to speak. 

Before a joint session of Congress and assembled diplomatic corps, the astute, eloquent student of Lincoln held the attention of everyone as he portrayed a very great leader with very human characteristics. Calling his speech, appropriately, “Man of Steele and Velvet,” Sandburg helped everyone see that a respected leader can be both capable and vulnerable. The mixture may be rare, but when it is there, it is truly effective.

Mr. Sandburg said this, ‘ Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as a rock and as soft as a drifting snow, who holds in his heart the paradox of terrible storm and peace, unspeakable and perfect…

While the war winds howled, he insisted that the Mississippi was one river that was meant to belong to one united country…

While the luck of the war wavered and broke and came again, as generals failed and campaigns were lost, he held enough forces…. together to raise new armies and supply them, until generals were found who made war as victorious war as always been made, with terror, frightfulness, destruction…. valor and sacrifice past words of man to tell. 

In the mixed shame and blame of the immense wrongs of two crashing civilizations, often with nothing to say, he said nothing, slept not at all, and on occasions he was seen to weep in a way that made weeping appropriate, decent and majestic.’”

The exact same words that Carl Sandburg wrote about the uncommon leadership of the man, Abraham Lincoln, could have been written about King David, for his uncommon leadership too. The common ingredient that makes the two men so similar, aside from the rod of iron, in each of their backs and their genuine compassion for their people, is that both men loved and feared God more than they did their fellowman. They each dedicated their lives in obedience to Him and they were willing to give their own lives for the good of the people they loved-----Abraham Lincoln ultimately did, through assassination, and David ultimately did,  through a body that was broken and worn out, and aged, from a life of hard and well-fought service.