Devotionals

Temptation…Guard Your Hearts, Eyes and Minds {the book of 2 samuel}

we all fall to temptation. even a man like David, who truly desired to follow God and was richly blessed by God,  fell to temptation. with God as your rock, guard your hearts, eyes and minds. 

completed reading 2 Samuel on November 10th.

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.” {2 Samuel 22:2-3}

my 2 samuel summary: 

2 Samual actually takes place after the death of Samuel and mostly focuses on the reign of King David; who’s been known as the greatest king of Israel, but not without his own failures and flaws.

In fact, this book can be divided into two main sections —David’s triumphs {chapters 1-10} and David’s troubles {chapters 11-20}. And then there are some additional details of David’s reign in the last part of the book {chapters 21-24}.

David’s Triumphs

When King Saul and his son, Isshbosheth, die David becomes king of Israel. David chooses to establish a new capital, Jerusalem, and through a tragic process, brings the Ark of the Covenant there.

God promises David that his throne will be established forever {2 Samuel 7:16}:

1. David would have a son to rule after him
2. David’s son would build the temple {that David wanted to build}
3. God would never take His mercy from David’s house {2 Samuel 7:4-16}

And the icing on the cake, David leads Israel to a series of military victories over enemy nations making Israel strong.

David’s Troubles

Then David falls. He commits adultery with beautiful woman named Bathsheba, and has her husband murdered. When confronted by Nathan David confesses his sins, and God graciously forgives him. However, David suffers many consequences, primarily his family falling apart. His own son, Absalom even leads a revolt against him; but it’s not long before David is mourning the death of Absalom.

In the end a general feeling of unrest follows the remainder of David’s reign as King.

my favorite 2 samuel story: 

David’s Song of Praise {2 samuel 22}

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” {2 Samuel 22:2-4}

In the end, after all the up’s and down’s David experienced he sings a song of praise to the Lord; showing glory to God and giving him praise for his successes. 

“In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice: my cry came to his ears.” {2 Samuel 22:7}

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” {2 Samuel 22:17}

“You, the Lord are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” {2 Samuel 22:29}

“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” {2 Samuel 22:31}

biggest take-a-way: 

we all fall to temptation.

Even a man like David, who truly desired to follow God and was richly blessed by God, fell to temptation. Whether it be adultery, greed, envy, gossip, or dishonesty, it is important to guard our hearts, eyes and minds against temptation.

And the best way I know how to safeguard against temptation is to immerse myself in God’s word daily; so easy to do, yet so hard to actually do on a daily basis. Ultimately we were all created to know God, love God and share God’s love. So how can we be too busy for such a great thing he has called us to do?

Wishing you time in scripture in one of God’s beautiful places on earth today.

“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” {2 Samuel 7:22}