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Keeping the Buzzards Away
Have you let the buzzards eat the things you love?
Your Biblical Groundwork – 2 Samuel 21
We have discussed this famine before but we are coming back to it for Rizpah’s sake. She is the concubine of Saul and the mother of his two sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth.
There was famine in the land (Israel) for three consecutive years before David enquired of the Lord what the issue was. He told him that the Gibeonites had been killed by Saul (read Joshua 9-10 for more information) and his bloodthirsty ways.
For repayment of Saul’s actions they asked for seven of Saul’s sons so they can hang them. David chose the seven sons of which two were Rizpah’s and five from Michal (whom we discussed in the “Bitterness Grows Deep into on Michal” blog).
Rizpah went to where they hung her sons and spent five months shooing away the birds and the animals from devouring their bodies until finally David came and buried their bones. There was no way Rizpah was going to allow the thing she loved to be devoured by buzzards.
A Biblical Lesson the you can live life to: Even though what you love looks dead, the Lord can revive it.
According to the Bible these men where not brought back to life again but the Lord still looked out for these dead men by sending Rizpah to take care of them. Then, He sent someone to tell David what she was doing so he would bury these loved men where they belong.
Have you spend dozens of hours honing your gifts from God only to be have the work related to those gift ripped right out of your hands?
I can relate to this, if you said yes. I am not sure there is a Christian alive today who can say, “I have always been working in my giftings.” Every woman I know has either ignored their gifting or put their heart and soul into perfecting it only to have it ripped away suddenly.
What is up with that?
Join us LIVE in The Bible Gals Monday 2pm EST to discuss the Biblical Power Tools to keep the buzzards from eating the thing you love.
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Bitterness Grows Deep into Michal
When you make a choice, do you plant yourself in the Bible first or do you make it and check later?
We all know it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Michal made her decision regardless of her surroundings and annoyed her daddy who had much to much power over her.
Our Biblical Ground Work: 1 & 2 Samuel
Michal is the younger of Saul’s two daughters. Does she display the younger ones characteristics? Not at the beginning but near the end of our story you will see she does. She got away with deceiving her father and she never had to live up to any standard as her older sister would have to. Although I do have to say that she went through quite a bit because she was used, by her father, as a pawn in his game.
As soon as Saul discovered that David and Michal were in love, the games began. She was offered as reward for battle (1 Samuel 18:27) not thinking that David would succeed where he failed. David and Michal were married, but during their days together Saul was of the mind to kill David. Not knowing what love actually means, Saul was surprised his daughter would save his enemy alive (1 Samuel 19:11-17).
Saul gets angry again at David and gives Michal, his wife, to another man (1 Samuel 25:44). War breaks out between the Philistines and Israel again. Saul is killed and David begins to take ownership of his anointing but before he will take control of Israel he asks for his wife back but he is not getting the same woman back he left.
She moves into the kings castle with all his other wives, going from being the one wife of one man into the harem of wives David has collected (2 Samuel 3:13-14). As she is living in the castle, David is called to bring the Ark into the City of David. She sees him dancing and whirling and despises him in her heart. This would be the end of her life as she knew it (2 Samuel 6:16-23) because he put her away.
O no, that is not all. There was famine in the land so David went to the Lord to inquired about it. Turns out the Gibeonites wanted payment for what Saul had done to them, against their past covenant with the Israelites, and again Michal is thrown under the proverbial bus again (2 Samuel 21:1-14). How much can one queen take?
Our Biblical Life Lesson: Bitterness becomes a deep root because we don’t repent from the very first seed.
There was a lot of things that happened to Michal as you can read rom her story above. Her father taught her well about bitterness. Saul was bitter against David because he stole his accolades. That original weed of bitterness was never repented of, so all the rest of the reasons Saul hated David grew from that one bitter experience.
I can be a Bitter Batilda too. I have had some very nasty stuff happen to me but is that what the Lord wants from me. I say, “NO!” he doesn’t want that for any of His children so He leads you over some pretty big sink holes so when you are at the bottom of one you will realize how deep your bitterness root runs.
Join us in The Bible Gals Sisterhood Wednesday as we discuss the Biblical Power Tools to help you see the root and spray some Weed-X on it.
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What it is like to have a desire met by God
Have you been asking the Lord for something for a long time? Do you believe your Christian life will be fulfilled upon receipt of it?
You and Hannah have something great in common. The Lord has given you a desire that only He can fulfill. He does that with each and every one of us so that we can see clearly what He desires for us. Let’s see how He lead Hannah to Himself and fulfilled His desire for her.
Our Biblical Ground Work: 1 Samuel 1-6
Around 1200 B.C., in the mountains of Ephraim, lived a man named Elkanah. He had two wives and loved one more than the other, Hannah (sound familiar). Pininnah, his second wife, began a rivalry with Hannah because Hannah was barren.
Elkanah brought his family from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. On this particular year Hannah was at her very lowest emotionally and brought her petition to the Lord at the tabernacle. She couldn’t eat and cried bitterly. Her husband was of no consolation and Pininnah was torturing her because of her barrenness.
She went to the tabernacle to pray, alone, to the Lord of Hosts to beg Him for a child, a son. “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” 1 Samuel 1:11
The Lord was indeed gracious to her and she became pregnant with a son. She cared for him and weaned him. She brought him to the tabernacle of God and gave him to the service of the Lord when he was approximately three years old. She continued to care for him by bringing him clothing every year. This child grew in favour of God and man. His name is Samuel, the greatest prophet to God in all of history.
Our Biblical Life Lesson: As His desire for you grows, so will your desperate need for Him.
There is nothing that we desire that the Lord has not put into our heart to desire. He gives us a deeper desire for it and the eyes to see that only He can provide it. He then rewards us with it and many more after that. Hannah was rewarded with three more sons and two daughters (1 Samuel 2:21) for going to the Lord.
Her great work for the Lord has never been forgotten. Hannah’s name means grace and it was God’s grace that brought her to the tabernacle to pray. And His grace that gave her peace as she walk away from Shiloh. He was with her all long. Using Pininnah’s chastisement to want Samuel more. Using her husband to drive her to the tabernacle to pray. Using Eli to bless her.
Every bit of it was God’s grace. I don’t know where you are at today but God is behind it all. What are your desires? Is everything happening right now driving you to desire it more? Come to the throne and boldly ask for it.
I invite you to come in deeper with me in The Bible Gals community this week as we learn the Biblical Power Tools for valuing our integrity while valuing people.
