The purpose of 1Sam is to record
the life of Samuel, Israel’s last judge;
the reign & decline of Saul, the first
king; and the choice & preparation
of David, Israel’s greatest king.
The purpose of 2Sam is to record
the history of David’s reign; to reveal
the qualities that please God; and
to depict David as an ideal leader
of an imperfect kingdom and to
fore-shadow Christ who will be the
ideal leader of a perfect kingdom.
On Monday, we learn from 1Sam 1
that God Cares about Our Concern.
On Tuesday, we learn from 1Sam 7
that God Is Our Mighty Helper.
On Wednesday, we learn fr 1Sam 17
that God Delivers the Faithful.
On Thursday, we learn from
1Sam 30 that God Is Our Strength.
On Friday, we learn from 2Sam 8-10
that Cooperation Brings Success.
On Sat, we learn from 2Sam 22
that God Secures His People.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face. Help us O God
be Christ’s disciples who trust You;
for You truly keep Your promises;
for You’re mighty helper & strength;
for You care about our concerns,
as well as deliver and secure us.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
God Secures His People (May 4)
The last four chapters of 2 Samuel
form an appendix to the main
body of the book and includes
a beautiful psalm of deliverance,
a listing of David’s mighty men
of valour, a sinful census and the
severe punishment that followed.
The closing paragraph of the book
portrays David in his natural posture:
worshipping the Lord in humility.
Lord, You will make me Secure:
Lord, we Praise You for being
Our Strength and Our Rock:
For who is God except the Lord?
And who is a rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with
strength & keep my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet
of a deer; he causes me to stand
on the heights (2 Sam 22:32-34).
Blessed be The Rock of my
salvation! He delivers me and
lifts me up above those who rise
against me (2 Sam 22:47-48).
Therefore I will give thanks to You,
O Lord… and sing praises to
Your name (2 Sam 22:50).
Lord, some challenges we face
in life can make us feel insecure.
Our fears tell us that if we take a
wrong step, we’ll fall into danger.
David used the feet of the nimble
deer as a reminder of the strength
and assurance God provides.
Lord, in Your grace and mercy
exchange our slippery feet
and our doubts for the deerlike
feet of the overcomer. And we
will give You all the glory. Amen.
Lord, thank You for Your offer
to arm us with strength and
offer to help us stand Secure.
I crave for these Your assurances
and appropriate them by faith.
Please put a spring in my step
like the deer as I follow where
You lead and do what I may think
is impossible. For apart from You
God, I can do nothing; but with
God nothing is impossible. Amen.
Lord, thank You for providing
stability and for being our rock,
and the God of our salvation.I may
enter each day with the intention
to trust in Your great power.
Yet when the winds blow and
the waves rise, I may forget to
look at You. Forgive me each time
I have not sought refuge in You.
As my rock & my salvation, be my
stability when things are not stable.
Help me focus on U my solid rock!
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Once the internal opposition against
his rule has been silenced, David
is free to secure his new kingdom
against foreign invasion. In quick
succession the Moabites, Syrians,
Edomites and Ammonites fall to
David’s troops, causing the other
neighbouring powers to surrender
without a fight. Extensive new
territories are added to David’s
kingdom. But David nurses no
spirit of revenge, as evidence in
his dealings with Mephibosheth.
Lord, we’ll Show Justice & Kindness:
And David made himself a name
when he returned from killing 18,000
Syrians… Throughout all Edom
he put garrisons… And the Lord
preserved David wherever he went.
So David reigned over all Israel; and
David administered judgment and
justice to all his pple(2Sam8:13-15)
One day David began wondering
if anyone in Saul’s family was
still alive, for he had promised
Jonathan that he would show
kindness to them. He summoned
Ziba, who had been Saul’s servant…
The king asked Ziba: Is anyone still
alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want
to show God’s kindness(2Sam 9:1-3)
When Joab saw that he would have
to fight on both the front & the rear,
he Choose Some Israel’s elite troops
and placed them under his personal
command to fight the Arameans…
He Left The Rest of the army under
the command of his brother Abishai,
who was to attack the Ammonites.
Joab told his brother: if Arameans
are too strong for me,come help me.
And if the Ammonites are too strong
for you, I will come and help you…
Let Us Fight bravely for our people
and the cities of our God. May the
Lord’s Will Be Done (2 Sam 10:9-12)
Lord, You are a just God and You
want us to show justice to everyone
like what David did in his country.
Help us Lord when we are
placed in a leadership position,
that we will be fair to everyone.
Help us not show favouritism to
people who have similar opinions
or similar backgrounds to ourselves.
Help us to defend and care for
especially the disadvantaged, the
weak and the downtrodden. Amen.
Lord, bring to my remembrance
people I have forgotten and those
You want me to show kindness.
Help me be generous to others;
for one kind act can lift up a
person and strengthen his faith.
When I make a commitment to
someone, help me fulfil it quickly
so that I don’t forget to do it.
Remind me often that You never
fail to fulfil Your promises. Amen.
Lord, we need to keep our actions
and our faith in You God in balance.
For we know that You expect us to
use our minds and our muscles even
while we depend on You for help.
Help us learn on the fair sharing
of resources in doing Your work.
So we purpose to use our resources
to obey God, while at the same time
trusting You for the outcome. Amen.
After months of running for his life,
David concludes that leaving
Israel entirely is the only way to
escape Saul’s relentless pursuit.
By convincing the Philistines he is
a defector, David is given the city
of Ziklag as his base of operations.
But instead of aiding the enemy,
David and his army methodically
destroy Philistine strongholds.
Meanwhile, Saul’s desperate
attempts to counter the Philistine
threat lead him to consult a medium.
And instead of promise of victory,
Saul heard frightening prediction of
defeat and death, forecasts which
came true the very next day as he
& his sons die on the field of battle.
Lord, You are God of My Strength:
It happened when David and his men
came to Ziglag, on the third day that
the Amalekites invaded the South…
burned it… and had taken captives…
Then David and the people who
were with him… wept until they
had no more power to weep Now
David was greatly distressed for
the people spoke of stoning him…
But David Strengthen himself
in the Lord his God (1Sam 30:1-6).
Then David said to Abiathar the
priest… Bring the ephod to me…
So David inquired of the Lord:
Shall I pursue this troop?…
And He answered him: Pursue,
for you shall surely overtake them
and without fail Recover all (v7-8).
Then David attacked them from
twilight until the evening of the next
day. Not a man of them escaped,
except 400 young man… who fled.
So David recovered all that the
Amalekites had carried away(v17-18)
Lord, we learnt from David that
we can strengthen ourselves in You.
For You are our strong fortress and
You are the God of my strength.
In You Lord are power and might;
and in You we find all that we need
when we are weary or go out of gas.
Forgive us for doubting Yr strength
and failing to access it in our life.
As Your children we claim access
to Your strength, rather than walk
in our own limited power. Amen.
Lord, some challenges we face can
make us feel insecure & doubtful.
Our fears tell us that if we take a
wrong step, we will fall into danger.
Help us learn from David to inquire
of You Lord; and remember of
Your assurance to provide us
strength as the feet of a deer.
Grant us direction and strength
to do what we are called to do.
And put Lord a spring in our steps
as we follow where You lead. Amen.
Lord, I need You for my strength is
limited but Your strength is endless.
Gird me with Your great strength
for I am weak but You are strong.
Strengthen my heart and resolve
when life seems so challenging.
Strengthen my mind to think
big because I serve a big God.
Strengthen my hands to do all
that You have called me to do;
for You are My Strength!! Amen.
The rejection of a king after the
people’s heart (Saul) sets the stage
for the choice of a king after God’s
own heart (David).A young shepherd
with a disposition more suited to
the pasture than the palace, David
possesses few claims to fame.
He is a good marksman with a sling,
an excellent lyre player and the
youngest of eight sons from an
insignificant family in Bethlehem.
But his heart attitude is one of
undivided devotion; a quality readily
visible in the way David dispatches
the Philistine giant Goliath and
handles Saul’s jealous attacks.
Lord,we Remember Yr Deliverance:
Saul said to David: You are not
able to go against this Philistine;
for you are a youth, and he a
man of war from his youth…(But)
David said: The Lord Who Delivered
me from the paw of the bear,
He Will Deliver me from the hand
of this Philistine (1 Sam 17:33-37).
Then David said to the Philistine,
You came to me with a sword,
with a spear and with a javelin.
But I come to You in the name
of the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel whom you have defiled…
So David prevailed over the
Philistine with a sling and a stone
and… killed him (1 Sam 17:45-50)
Father God, just as You taught
David to trust You when he killed
the bear and the lion, prepare me
for the battles I will face one day.
And when I reach those battles,
remind me I had overcome in other
situations and that as You were with
me then, You will be with me again.
Give me the courage of David to
take up the armour of God, for with
it I can overcome anything. Amen.
Lord, help us remember our past
deliverance and know that You
will continue to be our Deliverer.
Help us have the same perspective
of David where size of the giant
is irrelevant, for Goliath was puny
when compared with almighty God.
Help us to be trained in the power
of God, fixing our eyes on You God,
then we’ll not fear the giant. Amen.
Lord, remind us that prayer is
not something that only happens
in the quietness of a moment.
Prompt us to cry out to You whilst
in battle & desperate moments for
deliverance may be a prayer away.
Strengthen our faith in You so that
we’ll not forget or give up praying.
And enable us to stand strong
in prayer, giving thanks for Your
presence and deliverance. Amen.
