Author: Calleen Hough

In the beginning

We usually think of beginnings and endings as fixed points in time where something exists or doesn’t exist. The first verse in the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). I think one of the most controversial aspects of theology is that God existed before the beginning. He had to or he couldn’t have created the heaven and the earth.

Thinking about what the beginning is may be the best way to unravel the mystery of life. What if the beginning is not a fixed point in time, but a fixed point in space? What if existence is not about what something is, but about where it is? God said to David through the prophet Nathan, “Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning” (1 Chronicles 17:9).

The beginning that I believe the LORD is referring to is the Israelites’ entrance into the Promised Land. Although the people had been in the Promised Land for hundreds of years before David became king, their existence as the nation of Israel was not established until David began to dwell in Zion, what was then referred to as the city of David and is now known as Jerusalem.

The phrase “ordain a place” means to put or place someone in a place in society, a position or role that will fulfill his or her destiny, the inevitable occurrence of something predicted or prearranged. The nation of Israel actually came into existence much later than David’s reign as king, but from a time perspective, the establishment of the people in a geographical location is what enabled it to exist.

I could be wrong, but one of the ways I think we know we are in the place where our destiny is or will be fulfilled is it feels like home. There is a sense that we belong and at times it may feel as if we have always been there even though we have not. I think the key to existence is the reality that you did not end up in your place, but were placed there by the hand of God.

It is interesting that the LORD said he would plant his people and they would be moved no more (1 Chronicles 17:9) because often times when people intend to stay in a particular location for an extended period of time, they refer to it as putting down roots. The principle of sowing and reaping can be applied here in the context of having a fruitful life. When we arrive at the place God ordains for us, it will be obvious to everyone around us. They will see a difference and know that God has been at work.

Make it happen

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). Not everything a person believes is true. Even though everything God says is true, not every person believes it. What Jesus was saying in this statement was that when we believe what is true, we give that truth the power to work in our lives.

In 2 Samuel chapter 7 it is recorded that the prophet Nathan delivered a message to king David about the establishment of his kingdom. Afterwards, David prayed and said, “And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant” (2 Samuel 7:28). The word translated true, ’emeth (eh´ – meth) is derived from the word ’âman (aw – man´) which means to trust or believe (539). The word aman is found in Genesis 15:7 where it says that Abraham “believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”

The transaction that occurs when we believe what God says is called imputation. Basically, what happens is that God is free to make it happen. God’s blessings do not flow freely from heaven because of the choice or free will God has given us to live our lives without his help. He does not interfere or intercede unless we ask him to. When God speaks to us personally, it is as if he is saying, I can do this, but I only will if you want me to. It is within our power to say yes or no.

David said in 2 Samuel 7:25, “And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.” David was agreeing with God’s word and making it possible for him to make it happen without any interference from the devil. If David had not agreed, what God said would still be true, but David’s resistance (unbelief) would have hindered the process.

The word translated established, qûwm (koom) refers to destiny and can signify empowering or strengthening. “It is also used to denote the inevitable occurrence of something predicted or prearranged” (6965). The word translated promised in 2 Samuel 7:28, dâbar (daw – bar´) actually means to arrange. When God spoke to David through the prophet Nathan, what he said had already been arranged. It was possible, but it wasn’t assured of happening until David believed it was true.

God’s desire

An aspect of God’s character that doesn’t seem to be discussed much is his desire. God has desires, much the same way we do and his desires affect his behavior. It says in Psalm 132, “For the LORD hath chosen Zion: He hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever, here I will dwell; for I have desired it” (Psalm 132:15).

Desire is closely tied to emotion, but it is really the driving force behind our will. Desire and will are sometimes interchangeable as descriptions of what we want to do. The definitions of these words reveal things like pleasure and lust (183, 7522), so it is hard for us to connect these words with God. The difference between God’s desire and our desire is that God’s desire is always for good things because his heart is perfect.

Desires are personal and therefore, sometimes difficult to reveal. God does not have a problem revealing his desires to us because everything he wants is for our benefit. In order for us to trust him, God often tells us his desires. It is something he does to build our relationship and can be a way of gaining our affection.

Psalm 105 reveals two areas where God’s desire was communicated to the Israelites. Speaking of his covenant, it says in Psalm 105:11, “Saying, unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot for your inheritance.” And in Psalm 105:15, “He suffered no man to do them wrong, Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”

God cares about his people and wants the to be happy. It is his desire that we love him and rely on him as a child does his father. In order for us to put our trust in God, we must understand that our desires and God’s desires are not the same, but they will never contradict each other. God approves of the desires we have that are good and will give us everything we desire that brings about a good outcome. If all we ever wanted was good, then our desires and God’s desires for us would be the same.

Good Intentions

At the beginning of David’s reign as king of Israel, he said, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way…I will walk within my house with a perfect heart…He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me” (Psalm 101:2,6). David expressed what most perfectionists believe, that it is possible to live life without making any mistakes. David’s statements make sense, considering he was only 30 years old when he began his reign.

The two words translated perfect in Psalm 101:2 are both derived from the same root word, tâmam (taw – mam´) which means to complete. “The basic meaning of this word is that of being complete or finished with nothing else expected or intended” (8552). To behave in a perfect way, means that you think things through completely before making a decision or taking action. To walk with a perfect heart, means that you are completely free from offense toward those around you.

David expectations were remarkable for a 30 year old, but may have been naïve for a man that had never been in a position of power before. I’m sure it was true at the time David wrote this psalm that he a had a perfect heart and behaved in a perfect way, but like everyone else, David made mistakes.

It says about the LORD in Psalm 100:3, “It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” I think every successful person tends to forget what he was like before he became successful. There is a tendency in human behavior to think that we never change, we have always acted the way we do now and always will.

The world around us does affect us, whether we realize it or not. Today we refer to this as the nature versus nurture syndrome. God created us to be a certain way and that way is perfect. Living in a fallen world means that we do not always achieve the perfection that God intended for us, but we should strive for that perfection with the knowledge that no matter how hard we try, we will always miss the mark in one way or another and that is why we need to, “Be thankful unto him, and bless his name for the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:4-5).

A taste of eternity

“O sing unto the LORD a new song…shew forth his salvation from day to day” (Psalm 96:1). Salvation is only mentioned a few times in the Bible before David became king of Israel. Many personal names contain a form of the word that is translated salvation or yeshuw’ah (yesh – oo´ – aw), such as Joshua, Isaiah, and Jesus which is a Greek form of yeshu’ah (3444). When David speaks of salvation, I believe he is referring to the Messiah. Before David, there was not a focus on God’s eternal plan of salvation, the main focus of the Israelites was getting settled in the Promised Land.

In Psalm 89, it says “I have sworn unto David my servant, thy seed will I stablish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations, Selah” (Psalm 89:3-4). The words for ever signifies eternity. The literal translation of the Hebrew, ad olam, is “into the indefinite future” (5769). The concept of eternity was new in David’s time. People did not talk about life beyond death, their attention was on things that were temporal.

The psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 89:

Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people…With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him…Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. (Psalm 89:19, 21, 27-29)

It’s not easy to focus on eternity when you are wrapped up in the day to day activities of life. David had the ability to focus on both at the same time, he saw his accomplishments from an eternal perspective and was able to worship the LORD as if he was already in heaven.

The Hebrew word olam is properly translated as concealed. It represents the vanishing point when we are no longer aware of time. Even though we are currently bound by time, God has given man the ability to live “above time” (i.e. to remember yesterday, plan for tomorrow, and consider abstract principles)” (5769). It takes a conscious effort, but when we show forth God’s salvation from day to day, live in the moment and focus our attention on what is happening now, the awareness of time disappears and we get a taste of eternity.

We all fall down

One way to know if someone is a Christian is if he gets back up after he falls down. It is God’s strength that makes it possible for Christians to rebound from adversity. David said in Psalm 68:35, “The God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people.”

Some Christians may think that falling down is a bad thing and that God should keep us from falling down, but it is from getting up after we fall down that we gain strength. Life without adversity makes us weak and unable to make progress in our journey through life. The ability to get up after we have been knocked down comes from doing it over and over again.

It is hard to imagine that God plans adversity, actually strategically places it in our pathway so that we will fall down. It seems like cruel and unusual punishment to intentionally trip us up, but it is not the falling down that God takes pleasure in, it is seeing us get up again that makes him happy.

David said, “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive” (Psalm 68:18). Just as God led the Israelites out of Egypt, he led them into captivity. Even while David enjoyed his moments of glory, he knew there were tough times ahead for Israel. David was aware that God’s plan for his people did not stop with them conquering their enemies in the Promised Land. Their Messiah would come after they had returned from captivity.

The word David used for captivity, sh‘biy (sheb – ee´) indicates being exiled or captured (7628). The word ascended, ‘âlâh (aw – law´) means to go up. “The return from Exile, which was a journey from north to south (Palestine) is described as a ‘going up'” (5927).

Getting up after we fall down is difficult because we know we will fall down again and there is a temptation to think, I might as well stay down and avoid the bumps and bruises. What we have to remember is that our inheritance cannot be enjoyed while we are sitting on the ground. In Psalm 47, it says that we are to “Shout unto God with a voice of triumph” (Psalm 47:1). In order to do that, we have to get up.

The process of death

Psalms 22, 23, & 24 portray the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most likely these psalms came to David through divine inspiration while he was praying in the spirit. The interesting thing about these psalms is that when you look at them as a collection, a series of passages that fit together as a single message, you can see what the process of death looks like for a believer.

Death is an agonizing experience because our bodies dominate our attention. We are aware of almost everything that happens to our bodies and can feel physical pain to the point where it causes us to pass out. David said in Psalm 22:14, “I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”

The vivid description David gave made it clear that Jesus’ experienced excruciating pain when he died on the cross and yet he never passed out or lost consciousness before he died; he was fully aware of the pain in his body. Part of Jesus’ victory over death was the conquest of fear. Death is the ultimate fear for a lot of people. Because Jesus was able to contain his fear during the process of dying, Christians can also and many martyrs have proven that it is possible.

Once the body and soul are separated, the experience we have of life changes. David said in Psalm 23:4, “yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” It is believed that when a Christian dies, he immediately goes into the presence of the Lord. In Jesus’ case, I believe his father came to his side as soon as he breathed his last breath. The journey from Earth to Heaven is a mystery, but it is clear that Christians do not travel alone.

Entering into Heaven is likely to involve the passage through a gate or gates that are designed to contain God’s glory. If God’s blessings, righteousness, and power were not contained, they would overflow the entire universe. David said in Psalm 24:9, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” Jesus unlocked the gates of Heaven. Before him, no man could enter in. When Christians die, they will follow in his footsteps and enter into God’s glory.

Do you really believe?

The Mosaic law was a template for success. David modeled how the law could be used to transform a person’s life into the ideal God intended. What David understood was that he needed salvation. A sacrifice had to be made in order for his sins to be permanently blotted out, erased from God’s record book.

Initially, the law was given to the Israelites as a means of understanding the ways of God. It was delivered to Moses by the hand of God and could be the only document that was a personal communication from the creator of the universe to man.

David said, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standith in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). The law or torah in Hebrew, “signifies primarily direction, teaching, instruction” (8451). It wasn’t meant to be a set of rules and regulations. “The law of God is that which points out or indicates His will to man” (8451).

Many people seek the will of God as if it is a mystery, something too difficult for the average person to understand or comprehend. God’s will is plain and simple and can be discovered very easily if you really want to know the truth.

Knowing something and doing it are two different things. Once a person knows the truth, he must act on it. The key to action is trust. David said, “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psalm 2:12). David was speaking of the Son or heir to his throne, the Messiah that would one day rule over all of God’s kingdom. Christ fulfilled the law by completing God’s plan of salvation. When we put our trust in him, we are saved.

David said, “He that doeth these things shall never be moved” (Psalm 15:5). David was talking about the man that speaks truth in his heart. What David meant was being consistent in what you do and what you say you believe. Our beliefs and actions are always consistent, but sometimes we say we believe something and our actions prove otherwise. When our actions are aligned with God’s law, his will for our lives, we will be blessed, but more important than that, we will not waver in doing what God asks us to do. Jesus believed he was the savior of the world and his death on the cross proved it.

Shared responsibility

“These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom” (1 Chronicles 11:10). Initially when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, their victories over their enemies were miraculous. Beginning with the conquest of Jericho, God did mighty acts on their behalf to ensure they would survive in the land of Canaan.

After David became king, he established a military structure that would enable him to not only defend and protect the areas of the Promised Land that the Israelites controlled, but to root out the remaining foreigners and secure the borders of the Promised Land so that it could operate as a unified nation. David’s mighty men were seasoned warriors that had excelled on the battlefield. They had reputations that struck fear into the hearts of their enemies and made it clear that Israel intended to permanently dwell in the land they had inherited from God.

Synergy was probably not a concept David was familiar with and yet he used it to manage his army. David had thirty captains and of those he chose the three mightiest as chiefs or heads of his military. A single chief would have made the chain of command clear as to who was in charge, but David elected to distribute his authority among three men that would have shared responsibility and accountability for the military’s success.

David’s decision to have three leaders rather than one is similar to what Jesus did with his disciples. James, John, and Peter were often singled out collectively rather than individually. After Jesus died, there was no single leader of the church. Although Peter had a prominent role in transitioning the disciples, he was not considered their leader and did not try to take Jesus’ place as the director of their activities.

A key advantage of shared responsibility is the assurance that if a leader is killed, there will be continuity after he is gone. When responsibility rests on the shoulders of one man, power and control can be taken away or lost if anything happens to him. David wanted to make sure his kingdom would survive for many generations. The fact that the nation of Israel still exists today is confirmation that David laid a good foundation for military leadership and paved the way for Israel to exist in the midst of hostile enemies.

Thank you

It is common courtesy to say thank you when someone gives you a gift or does something kind for you, but saying thank you doesn’t necessarily mean you are grateful. Gratitude is actually the feeling that causes us to respond when we experience something good or pleasant. Saying thank you could be a habit. It doesn’t always express a feeling.

Many of David’s psalms were responses to God’s goodness and blessing in his life. After the ark of the covenant of the LORD was brought to Jerusalem, David wrote a psalm of gratitude that is recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36. In the introduction to the psalm it says that David delivered the psalm to Asaph, the worship leader, to thank the LORD (1 Chronicles 16:7).

David’s psalm instructs us to make known his deeds and talk about his wondrous works as a way of saying thank you to God. There is no greater way to say thank you than to tell the story of what had been done for you so that others will know about it.

God’s works are described as wondrous and marvelous (1 Chronicles 16:9,12). The Hebrew word pâlâ’ (paw – law´) means to be beyond one’s power to do (6381). Everyone has limitations, some more than others. Even David, who had a great army and all the wealth of the Promised Land at his disposal, could not make certain things happen.

The ark of the covenant contained a mercy seat upon which the presence of the LORD dwelt. In his sovereignty, the LORD chose Israel to be his people and he dwelt among them in a way that no other people had ever experienced. He gave the land of Canaan to the Israelites as an eternal inheritance and expelled all the people that had been living there so that the Israelites could live in peace and enjoy their prosperity.

In David’s personal life, the LORD had worked to transform him from a shepherd boy to a king. David knew that what God had done was impossible. There was no way in his own strength, David could have accomplished it. Writing a song may not seem like much of a tribute, but it was David’s way of saying thank you, in response to what he felt in his heart.