Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: 2 Samuel
Promotion by Degrees

Promotion by Degrees

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Promotion by Degrees

And David brought up the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

2 Samuel 2:3-4a

There are times when God does things which seem to occur all of a sudden. Even those things, if we understand His Ways, have been a long time coming. They all fall within the larger scheme of His Eternal Decree. More often though, we observe Him working to effect His Plan by degrees. Our text today, is an example of that in the life of David. Samuel had anointed David to be king when David was a youth. The fulfillment of this expectation would not occur for years. Not only that, but when it did occur, it would only happen by degrees. Our text tells us that David and his people moved into Hebron. The people of Judah anointed him as their king, after the death of Saul. So God gave David what He had for him by degrees. He developed David as the wise, Christlike person He wanted him to be in order for him to be the king of Israel. David was becoming the great prefigurement of Christ, the King. So God does with us. He develops us in Christlikeness towards the larger purpose He has for us. He puts us in different situations to form us into that tool which suits His purpose most and best. He brings us, by degrees, to the full realization of what larger purpose we serve in His Plan. This enables us to make sense of much of our most difficult experiences. He has made no errors. He brings us along, by degrees into the fullness of His Purpose.

Our Gracious, Ruling, and Reigning God,
we praise You, that You have given us great expectations.
We rejoice, that You will infallibly bring us,
into the place where You intend for us to be,
and enable us to fulfill Your divine purpose for us.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
‘And They Mourned and Wept’

‘And They Mourned and Wept’

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‘And They Mourned and Wept’

 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

II Samuel 1:11-12

Christlike behavior is not natural. It behaves in a way which is utterly contrary to human nature. The Philistines defeated Saul at Mount Gilboa. Saul came, in God’s Time, to his appointed end. All his plots against David failed.  For his part, David did nothing to bring Saul down. His reaction to the news of the death of Saul, his enemy, is very instructive for its’ Christlikeness. This is a reaction born of the work of the Holy Spirit, working Christlikeness in David. It is utterly in keeping with the spirit of the Scripture, ‘Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.’ It reflects the Spirit of God, even toward those whom He judges. ‘For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God.”‘  We understand that Christ is ‘The Judge of all the earth.’ We furthermore understand that He will, as ‘the Judge of all the earth,’ infallibly, unerringly ‘do right.’ When He does, it means that some people will inevitably fall. Those may be our enemies. For us to imitate Christ in this matter means that we will not rejoice in their failure and demise. David had this Christlike spirit. The demise of Saul was inevitable and necessary in order for David to fulfill God’s Purpose for Him to be the king of Israel. Having said that, when Saul fell, David deported himself in a wise, holy, and truly Christlike manner. Let us desire that God would so work this Christlikeness in us, that even when our enemies fall, we will imitate Him.

Our most Holy and Wise God,
we rejoice that You do all things well.
Make us both wise and Holy,
that we may deal in a Christlike manner, with both friend and foe.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
At the King’s Table

At the King’s Table

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“Have you ever observed, witnessed a relationship and thought: ‘How on earth did that relationship ever happen?’ “  – Tomm Tice

2 Samuel 9:13 (NKJV)

“So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.”

 

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