Hi all,
The longer I live the more I see the Father God weaving together all the elements of life to reveal His involvement in every detail.
It is as if He 'winks' at us in subtle ways which if noticed, is like He is saying 'I am here'. These 'God winks' give us assurance and confidence in His ability to weave together the fabric of our lives.
Meant it for evil?
This series examines the lives of 4 situations the Lord used to get His will done, sometimes in spite of themselves. Sometimes it isn't until after the event(s) that we are able to look back in review and see His hand at work.
An example is Joseph who we first see as an arrogant 17 year old. In Genesis 37 he has the nerve to share prophetic dreams with his family, including his jealous older brothers. Though much younger, he was their boss and clearly their father's favorite. They sold him into slavery, lied to their father telling him he had been killed, and then went about their business for the next 13 years.
You know the story:Sold to Potiphar, promoted to run his household, falsely accused, imprisoned, promoted to run the prison, interpreted dreams, brought before Pharaoh, put in charge of securing Egypt for the famine foretold to arrive 7 years later.
When his brothers came to Egypt to buy food in year 2 of the famine*, Joseph revealed who he was. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph comments as he looks back over these events:"You thought it for evil, but God meant it for good." *45:6
The Hebrew is more clear and can be translated this way:"You thought evil but God overruled your plans with His own thoughts, turning it for good." Another translation puts it this way:"You meant it for evil, but God wove it together to make it good."
This series is about how God weaves things together
My hope is that it will cause us to pause and look back, then look at the present, to see His hand at work weaving together the elements of our lives.
Situation 1:David and Bathsheba
In II Samuel 11:1 we are told 'in the spring when kings go out to war' David sent his army out, but he stayed in the city. This is the first clue something is about to go wrong - he was not where he should have been, not doing what he should have been doing.
The result was that he had some leisure time on his hands, and as happens with many men when they are bored, his thoughts turned to women. He saw Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, bathing on her roof top.
You know the story I'm sure:He took Bathsheba, after their tryst that got her pregnant, had her husband put in the front of the army so he would be killed. This freed him to marry the widowed wife. Nathan confronted him, and his sin was forgiven - we have Psalm 51 that he wrote in his repentance. Verse 10 in particular stands out:"Create in me a clean heart in my O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Who is watching?
At this time King David had several royal advisors, chief among them was Ahithophel. Ahithophel's wisdom was legendary and he was deeply trusted by King David.
David's son Absalom rebelled as II Samuel chapters 15-17 tell us. Ahithophel became involved in the plot against David, purposely giving him bad counsel that played right into the hands of the rebels. Eventually however, the rebels did not follow his advice and knowing the cause was lost, committed suicide by hanging himself.
He had helped start the whole thing by encouraging Absalom to rebel, counseled him on how to do it, planned the killing of the king, and ruined any possibility at reconciliation. Why?
The devil is in the details
There is an American phrase that other nations have also have, or something similar:The devil is in the details. That expression is used to explain that a plan looks great, but the real work and real troubles come in the implementation of the plan. In this case the saying is quite literal:The devil really was in the details of the plot against David.
We are told in II Samuel 11:3 that Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam. That's interesting enough, but when we read II Samuel 23:34 we read Eliam's father was none other than David's favorite counselor, Ahithophel. That means Bathsheba was Ahithophel's granddaughter.
Why did Ahithophel rebel against King David?
Because he was right there to see the whole ugly truth. His boss the king taking his granddaughter for his own, destroying any respect he held for him. His granddaughter's husband murdered so that the king could hide his affair and her pregnancy. He carried that offense in his heart where it became hatred, eventually plotting the death of his boss the king.
The point of each of the 4 situations we will examine is how God weaves things together to get His larger will done, sometimes in spite of ourselves. It isn't about Ahithophel and Absalom and their plot.
No, it is about God the Father's ability to give us Solomon, the wisest of all men of the Old Testament. It's about how in spite of David's sin, in spite of his deceit, the Father God still gave us Solomon from a marriage begun in the worst of circumstance.
That Solomon had a close and loving relationship with his father (David) and mother (Bathsheba) is evident in the first 9 chapters of Proverbs.
In those first 9 chapters Solomon is quoting what his father told him. Proverbs 1:1-8 make it clear:
"My son, hear the instruction of your father, don't forsake the law (torah) of your mother." (He repeated the command not to forget the words of his mother in 6:20)
Throughout the first 3 chapters he says 'My son' repeatedly, as he quotes his father King David. And in chapter 4:3-5 Solomon wrote:"I was my father's son, tender and beloved in the sight of my mother (Bathsheba)....He taught me saying...my son...get wisdom and with wisdom get understanding..."
Is it any wonder growing up in this loving family with such devoted parents telling him to get wisdom, that when the Lord appeared to the young king asking him what he wanted, Solomon said he wanted wisdom and understanding? (I Kings 3:1-10)
Let us be encouraged that no matter how badly we mess things up, no matter how bad the circumstances were that we caused and what came of those circumstances, the Lord is still capable of accomplishing His will.
More than that, to bring blessing out of our mess!
Look for the Father weaving the threads of your life together, and remember that David died before he saw his son ascend to the throne of Israel. The Lord was faithful in spite of David's carnality, in spite of his sins, to accomplish His will. It took longer than David's life to bring it to pass, but He did in fact bring His will to fulfillment.
Get our eyes off ourselves, praying 'bless this mess', and tackle life trusting in the Father's ability to weave things together to be a blessing.
New example next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
The longer I live the more I see the Father God weaving together all the elements of life to reveal His involvement in every detail.
It is as if He 'winks' at us in subtle ways which if noticed, is like He is saying 'I am here'. These 'God winks' give us assurance and confidence in His ability to weave together the fabric of our lives.
Meant it for evil?
This series examines the lives of 4 situations the Lord used to get His will done, sometimes in spite of themselves. Sometimes it isn't until after the event(s) that we are able to look back in review and see His hand at work.
An example is Joseph who we first see as an arrogant 17 year old. In Genesis 37 he has the nerve to share prophetic dreams with his family, including his jealous older brothers. Though much younger, he was their boss and clearly their father's favorite. They sold him into slavery, lied to their father telling him he had been killed, and then went about their business for the next 13 years.
You know the story:Sold to Potiphar, promoted to run his household, falsely accused, imprisoned, promoted to run the prison, interpreted dreams, brought before Pharaoh, put in charge of securing Egypt for the famine foretold to arrive 7 years later.
When his brothers came to Egypt to buy food in year 2 of the famine*, Joseph revealed who he was. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph comments as he looks back over these events:"You thought it for evil, but God meant it for good." *45:6
The Hebrew is more clear and can be translated this way:"You thought evil but God overruled your plans with His own thoughts, turning it for good." Another translation puts it this way:"You meant it for evil, but God wove it together to make it good."
This series is about how God weaves things together
My hope is that it will cause us to pause and look back, then look at the present, to see His hand at work weaving together the elements of our lives.
Situation 1:David and Bathsheba
In II Samuel 11:1 we are told 'in the spring when kings go out to war' David sent his army out, but he stayed in the city. This is the first clue something is about to go wrong - he was not where he should have been, not doing what he should have been doing.
The result was that he had some leisure time on his hands, and as happens with many men when they are bored, his thoughts turned to women. He saw Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, bathing on her roof top.
You know the story I'm sure:He took Bathsheba, after their tryst that got her pregnant, had her husband put in the front of the army so he would be killed. This freed him to marry the widowed wife. Nathan confronted him, and his sin was forgiven - we have Psalm 51 that he wrote in his repentance. Verse 10 in particular stands out:"Create in me a clean heart in my O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Who is watching?
At this time King David had several royal advisors, chief among them was Ahithophel. Ahithophel's wisdom was legendary and he was deeply trusted by King David.
David's son Absalom rebelled as II Samuel chapters 15-17 tell us. Ahithophel became involved in the plot against David, purposely giving him bad counsel that played right into the hands of the rebels. Eventually however, the rebels did not follow his advice and knowing the cause was lost, committed suicide by hanging himself.
He had helped start the whole thing by encouraging Absalom to rebel, counseled him on how to do it, planned the killing of the king, and ruined any possibility at reconciliation. Why?
The devil is in the details
There is an American phrase that other nations have also have, or something similar:The devil is in the details. That expression is used to explain that a plan looks great, but the real work and real troubles come in the implementation of the plan. In this case the saying is quite literal:The devil really was in the details of the plot against David.
We are told in II Samuel 11:3 that Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam. That's interesting enough, but when we read II Samuel 23:34 we read Eliam's father was none other than David's favorite counselor, Ahithophel. That means Bathsheba was Ahithophel's granddaughter.
Why did Ahithophel rebel against King David?
Because he was right there to see the whole ugly truth. His boss the king taking his granddaughter for his own, destroying any respect he held for him. His granddaughter's husband murdered so that the king could hide his affair and her pregnancy. He carried that offense in his heart where it became hatred, eventually plotting the death of his boss the king.
The point of each of the 4 situations we will examine is how God weaves things together to get His larger will done, sometimes in spite of ourselves. It isn't about Ahithophel and Absalom and their plot.
No, it is about God the Father's ability to give us Solomon, the wisest of all men of the Old Testament. It's about how in spite of David's sin, in spite of his deceit, the Father God still gave us Solomon from a marriage begun in the worst of circumstance.
That Solomon had a close and loving relationship with his father (David) and mother (Bathsheba) is evident in the first 9 chapters of Proverbs.
In those first 9 chapters Solomon is quoting what his father told him. Proverbs 1:1-8 make it clear:
"My son, hear the instruction of your father, don't forsake the law (torah) of your mother." (He repeated the command not to forget the words of his mother in 6:20)
Throughout the first 3 chapters he says 'My son' repeatedly, as he quotes his father King David. And in chapter 4:3-5 Solomon wrote:"I was my father's son, tender and beloved in the sight of my mother (Bathsheba)....He taught me saying...my son...get wisdom and with wisdom get understanding..."
Is it any wonder growing up in this loving family with such devoted parents telling him to get wisdom, that when the Lord appeared to the young king asking him what he wanted, Solomon said he wanted wisdom and understanding? (I Kings 3:1-10)
Let us be encouraged that no matter how badly we mess things up, no matter how bad the circumstances were that we caused and what came of those circumstances, the Lord is still capable of accomplishing His will.
More than that, to bring blessing out of our mess!
Look for the Father weaving the threads of your life together, and remember that David died before he saw his son ascend to the throne of Israel. The Lord was faithful in spite of David's carnality, in spite of his sins, to accomplish His will. It took longer than David's life to bring it to pass, but He did in fact bring His will to fulfillment.
Get our eyes off ourselves, praying 'bless this mess', and tackle life trusting in the Father's ability to weave things together to be a blessing.
New example next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
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