Daily Manna

Key Verse

“And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer”
(2 Samuel 5:25).

Text: 2 Samuel 5:19-25

The passage of today relays two of the several episodes of war between Israel and one of her many enemies. The Philistines had been a persistent and dogged enemy of Israel. Its one aim is to defeat and subjugate God’s chosen nation. In each of these two instances in this passage, David did not simply depend on the arms of flesh, but sought the Lord, and won resounding victories. It is instructive to note that God answered David on the two occasions, but He gave different instructions in each case. David’s obedience to God’s command earned him and the nation of Israel total triumph in the battles.
Life is a battle. We struggle to make progress; unseen forces battle us to deter or slow down our progress, take away what we have and enslave us. Being a child of God does not insulate us from facing attack from the enemy. It indeed actually makes us to be the target of the enemy. “the thief cometh not, but to steal, to kill and to destroy”. Being resilient and heady, the enemy does not easily give up in the face of one or two defeats as we saw in our passage today. But as David did, we have the option of always seeking the face of the Lord to know the right steps to take.
From experience, David had realised that the arms of flesh cannot give resounding victory (Psalm 20:7,8). Like him, we can boldly confess daily, “Through thee will we push down our enemies…” (Psalm 44:5).
The enemies will always seek to rise like a flood, often times, unprovoked. They would not necessarily withdraw as a result of defeat. But God is always there to fight for us. The strategies of God vary each time; hence, the reason to seek His face at all times. In the end, total obedience to God’s instructions is the key to complete triumph in every battle.

Thought for the day

He that kneels before God will stand against any enemy, no matter how formidable.