On Whom Do You Depend?
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth son of Saul and . . . made him king over all Israel (2 Samuel 2:8-9).
During the war between the House of Saul and the House of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in House of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah . . . and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, "Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?"
Abner was very angry . . . so he answered, . . . "May God deal with Abner, be it so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the House of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel . . . Ishbosheth did not dare say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him. 2 Samuel 3:6-11
During the war between the House of Saul and the House of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in House of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah . . . and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, "Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?"
Abner was very angry . . . so he answered, . . . "May God deal with Abner, be it so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD promised him on oath and transfer the kingdom from the House of Saul and establish David's throne over Israel . . . Ishbosheth did not dare say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him. 2 Samuel 3:6-11
Abner was a powerful person. He strengthened himself through political maneuverings. After King Saul died, Abner exercised his political and military power and made Ish-bosheth king. Ish-bosheth ruled at the pleasure of Abner; not through divine promotion and appointment. When Abner was accused of wrongdoing by the king, he threatened to throw him off the throne. The king had to keep his mouth shut because he was totally dependent on Abner for his position.
There is an important lesson here: When you depend on godless intrigue and human favor to attain a position, you will remain in that position only at the pleasure of man. You will have no grounds to decry any ungodliness because you will be afraid of the consequences. When man promotes you, you will depend on man to sustain you. But when you allow God to promote you in His own time, you can always stand up for what is right because your dependence is on God, not humans.
May God be our king-maker and not man. May we wait solely for God's timing and not human maneuverings. May God grant you discernment to know what is of Him and what is of man.
So question: "On whom do you depend? On God or man?
There is an important lesson here: When you depend on godless intrigue and human favor to attain a position, you will remain in that position only at the pleasure of man. You will have no grounds to decry any ungodliness because you will be afraid of the consequences. When man promotes you, you will depend on man to sustain you. But when you allow God to promote you in His own time, you can always stand up for what is right because your dependence is on God, not humans.
May God be our king-maker and not man. May we wait solely for God's timing and not human maneuverings. May God grant you discernment to know what is of Him and what is of man.
So question: "On whom do you depend? On God or man?
Prayer: Father, I confess that there are times when the desire to move ahead can be so strong that I am tempted to succumb to what might not be of you. Please help me to know and choose only that which you have ordained for my life. Help me to depend solely on you. Amen.