Psalms 89:3-4 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. [Selah in Hebrew means “pause and ponder this!”]
Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David [in the Hebrew New Testament it’s written – Yeshua HaMashiach ben David], the son of Abraham.
New Testament genealogies of Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Christ) all identify Him as the son of king David. It was universally understood from the Tenach (OT) that the messiah would be descended from David and that he would restore the Davidic monarchy to its ultimate and most universal expression, even that this king would reign and sit on the throne forever.
Why was Yeshua’s identification with David so significant? One reason is that David is the only man in the Bible about whom the Lord said, this is “a man after My own heart”. Yet we know well David’s imperfections … adultery and murder — so why would God say this about him? I believe it was David’s lifelong love for and abandoned worship of the Lord, and also his contrite heart (Ps. 51) and the depth of his sorrow and repentance which showed this relationship to be the most important and precious in his life.
God isn’t expecting perfection from us — His Son has provided that. Yeshua alone is the Man whose heart and actions are flawless. But David exemplified a man whose love and respect for his God were constant, if imperfect, a man after God’s own heart. And this is the heart that God is seeking today, contrite, worshipful, and filled with respect and love for our God.
David provides a wonderful example for us who are as imperfect as he was. We may fall and fail miserably – but its how we get up that makes the difference. Our constant desire to preserve this most precious of all relationships will show that we too have a heart after God. I know I want to hear Him say, “Yes, you are truly someone after my own heart!”
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Historian Shelby Foote tells of a soldier who was wounded at the battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War and was ordered to go to the rear. The fighting was fierce and within minutes he returned to his commanding officer. "Captain, give me a gun!" he shouted. "This fight ain't got any rear!"
I recently arrived back in Israel last week, and upon my arrival, there were severe thunderstorms, something unusual for this time of year. In these thunderstorms, rivers are often created in the desert, and the highway road along the Dead Sea is often closed during this time. Last week, a few people died traveling along this road as its car was carried away by a flash flood. This reminded me of another incident in my own life.
Let's consider Daniel for a moment. Here is one of the great rulers of the Persian empire, in charge of the King's affairs and of the affairs of the entire government. If anyone is really busy -- it's Daniel! But in spite of all this responsibility, he makes it a point to set himself apart from the world and pray three times a day.
Studying some remarkable events in the history of World War 2, we find the deliverance of the allied armies at Dunkirk; a true story of Divine providence in modern history. It was on May 10, 1940, that Hitler unleashed his armies against France and Belgium. Within days, the British army found itself outmaneuvered and unprepared for the German blitzkrieg assault led by General Rommel and his 7th Panzer division.
How often, in all the issues we have to deal with talking with people, we know or we feel we are right; our idea, our position, our interpretation is it, and we're ready to fight for it...
The first king of Israel, King Saul,was told by God to utterly slay Amalek and his descendants. In blatant disobedience Saul allowed Agag, the king of the Amalekites and the best of the cattle to remain alive. The following day, Saul tried to remedy his disobedience by attempting to sacrifice the best of the cattle to the Lord.
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee flames by jumping to the ground from the roof. His father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." But the boy was afraid -- he couldn't see his father -- all he could see was flame, smoke, and blackness. He was afraid. Still, his father kept yelling: "Jump son! I will catch you!" But the boy refused, crying, "Daddy, I can't see you!" His father replied, "It's ok son -- I can see you -- and that's all that matters!"