To Encourage You

2 Samuel 5:1-2 “Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, ‘Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.”’”

Perhaps the most tragic kind of earthly conflict is a civil war.  In the Civil War that occurred in our own country, our countrymen found themselves fighting against their own nation and their own families.  Nobody really wins in such bloodshed.  It is loss all around.  

In the passage above we see a discussion of the civil war that raged in the land of Israel immediately following King Saul’s death. In it, the remnants of Saul’s family fought against David and the people of the land of Judah.  However, every person involved in the conflict was a Jew. They were all fighting against themselves, in a sense.  Finally, right after Saul’s son Ish-bosheth died, the part of the nation that had followed him came to their senses and made David their king.  As they turned to David and submitted to him, they confessed three things to him. First, David, against whom they had been fighting, was one of them. They were all of the same flesh and bone.  As such, it made no sense to keep fighting against him. Second, even when Saul had been Israel’s king, David had been the one who “had led out and brought in Israel.” It was a way of saying that David had been the real leader against Israel’s external enemies.  He had done this while he was still in Saul’s good graces, and afterward, he still led many campaigns against Israel’s foes. Finally, the men of Israel acknowledged that David was the leader who had been anointed by God.  Indeed, God had decreed to David, “you shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.” In other words, it was inevitable that David would be king.  

So, what does this have to say to you and me?  For one, before a person becomes a Christian, they find themselves in a foolhardy civil war.  They do not realize that as they struggle against the God Who, incredibly, “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), their real enemy is not “flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).  They find themselves at enmity with the God Who became man so He could save them, while they were all the time being devoured by the one who is at war with both them and God.  And all the while they are fighting, they don’t realize that it is Jesus Who has already won the war for them. Incredibly, as men warred against Christ and hung Him on the cross to die, He was at the same time fulfilling the reason He came to earth, for “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). And finally, men in their natural condition are opposed to the rule of Christ. They are like the servants in Jesus’ parable in Luke 19. There we are told, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.  Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’  But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’” The parable then goes on to say that, regardless of the matter of the rebellion of his servants, the man became king.  And that’s exactly how it is with Christ. You see, no matter man’s rebellion against Christ, the Father has decreed, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.” And, like those in the account of David from the passage above, it is only those who submit to the Prince of Peace who will ever find peace in the end.  

So, what about you?  Have you acknowledged the Good Shepherd as your shepherd? Is the Prince of Peace your King and Lord?  If not, you should be aware that He is God’s king nevertheless, the King before Whom every single person who has ever lived will give an account in the end.