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- Apr 25, 2006
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1 August 2007
2 Samuel 8 v 5-12
Arameans from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David killed twenty-two thousand of them. Then David put groups of soldiers in Damascus in Aram. The Arameans became David's servants and gave him the payment he demanded. The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.
David took the shields of gold that had belonged to Hadadezer's officers and brought them to Jerusalem. David also took many things made of bronze from Tebah and Berothai, which had been cities under Hadadezer's control. Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer. So Toi sent his son Joram to greet and congratulate King David for defeating Hadadezer. (Hadadezer had been at war with Toi.) Joram brought items made of silver, gold, and bronze. King David gave them to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had taken from the other nations he had defeated. These nations were Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek. David also gave the LORD what he had taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
At the end of a long military campaign, during which David has defeated the five nations of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia and Amalek, David returns home to Jerusalem. On returning home, we see that he brings items of gold, silver and bronze to the temple and gives them to God.
Why does he do this? God does not seem to have ordered David to do this and God certainly doesn't need gold, silver and bronze. Rather, David is freely giving these things to God as a demonstration that his victory could only have been gained through God and that David does not value these items over God's faithfulness. It is an act of worship.
When I came to faith in my late teens, I had many misunderstandings of Christianity. However, I did grasp that my actions could be acts of worship, which led to me moving away from home to serve a church as a gap year youth worker. I was decidedly against taking a gap year, but I can remember thinking "If it's what you want God, then I'll do it." Indeed, it turned out to be the best year I could imagine, and set me very much on the way to working full time as a church youth worker.
Has God been faithful to you? Then, I challenge you to worship Him in response, in thought, in word and in deed.
"Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise" (Matt Redman). Spend some time thinking about the blessings that God has poured out on you. Then turn them back to praise, acknowledging God for all that He has done for you.
Written by Matt Chessum
2 Samuel 8 v 5-12
Arameans from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David killed twenty-two thousand of them. Then David put groups of soldiers in Damascus in Aram. The Arameans became David's servants and gave him the payment he demanded. The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.
David took the shields of gold that had belonged to Hadadezer's officers and brought them to Jerusalem. David also took many things made of bronze from Tebah and Berothai, which had been cities under Hadadezer's control. Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer. So Toi sent his son Joram to greet and congratulate King David for defeating Hadadezer. (Hadadezer had been at war with Toi.) Joram brought items made of silver, gold, and bronze. King David gave them to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had taken from the other nations he had defeated. These nations were Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek. David also gave the LORD what he had taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
At the end of a long military campaign, during which David has defeated the five nations of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia and Amalek, David returns home to Jerusalem. On returning home, we see that he brings items of gold, silver and bronze to the temple and gives them to God.
Why does he do this? God does not seem to have ordered David to do this and God certainly doesn't need gold, silver and bronze. Rather, David is freely giving these things to God as a demonstration that his victory could only have been gained through God and that David does not value these items over God's faithfulness. It is an act of worship.
When I came to faith in my late teens, I had many misunderstandings of Christianity. However, I did grasp that my actions could be acts of worship, which led to me moving away from home to serve a church as a gap year youth worker. I was decidedly against taking a gap year, but I can remember thinking "If it's what you want God, then I'll do it." Indeed, it turned out to be the best year I could imagine, and set me very much on the way to working full time as a church youth worker.
Has God been faithful to you? Then, I challenge you to worship Him in response, in thought, in word and in deed.
"Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise" (Matt Redman). Spend some time thinking about the blessings that God has poured out on you. Then turn them back to praise, acknowledging God for all that He has done for you.
Written by Matt Chessum
