David seeks the Lord before battle, obeys his commands and destroys the abandoned idols. The Lord establishes his reign and points us to Jesus Christ, whose kingdom will triumph fully when he returns.
Prepare
Opening Prayer
God, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for giving us a true and historical account. Lord, we know that it was composed for a reason, to show the mighty works of your hand. And Father, we pray that we might understand it. We pray that it would affect our lives, that it would teach us, Lord, how we are to follow you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Read
Scripture Passage
1 Chronicles 14:8-17
A. About
What Is This Passage About?
The Lord gives David victory as he seeks and obeys God, establishing his reign and bringing fear of him upon the nations.
B. Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
1 Chronicles 14:17
Then the fame of David went out into all lands and Jehovah brought the fear of him upon all the nations.
The speaker explicitly chooses verse 17 because God establishes David’s kingdom and brings stability to his people, pointing ahead to Christ’s reign.
C. Called or Christ
C. Called to Do
Bow to Jesus Christ now and long for his return, resurrection and final victory over death.
Additional Notes
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are
going to finish up 1 Chronicles chapter 14. How is God establishing the reign of David?
Also, I need to correct something I said. I forgot about a verse in this chapter when
we were going through its parallel story in 2 Samuel. So when we get there, I'm going to
say what I got wrong. Maybe a little uncharitable towards David. Let's have some coffee, we'll
pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for this day.
We thank you for your Word. We thank you for giving us a true and historical account. Lord,
we know that it was composed for a reason, to show the mighty works of your hand. And Father,
we pray that we might understand it. We pray that it would affect our lives, that it would
teach us, Lord, how we are to follow you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Here we go.
1 Chronicles chapter 14, beginning at verse 8. Now when the Philistines heard that David had
been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And
David heard of it and went out against them. Then the Philistines went and made a raid on
the valley of Raphaim. And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines?
Will you deliver them into my hand? The Lord said to him, Go up, for I will deliver them
into your hand. So they went up to Baal-parazim. And David defeated them there. Then David said,
God has broken through my enemies by the hand like a breakthrough of water. Therefore, they
called the name of that place Baal-parazim. And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment
of that place. And they were burned with fire. Then the Philistines once again made a raid on
the valley. Therefore, David inquired again of God. And God said to him, You shall not go up after
them. Or is that you? Yeah, you shall not go up after them. Circle around them and come upon them
in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the
mulberry trees. Then you shall go out to battle. For God has gone out before you to strike the camp
of the Philistines. So David did as God commanded him. And they drove back the army of the Philistines
from Gibeon as far as Gezer. Then the fame of David went out into all lands. The Lord brought fear
of him upon all nations. Well, we need to ask ourselves our three questions. A, what is this
about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do in response to these
words? So A, what is this about? Right? This is the parallel story of the Philistines rising up and
they're going to fight against David. They find out he's king. He's in Jerusalem. He's established.
We're going to go get that guy. Right? Well, David inquires of the Lord and the Lord gives him
victory. Right? The Lord is establishing David's throne. This is what we're seeing again and again
as we go through this. But there's something I got wrong last time when we were going through
its parallel account in 2 Samuel. And that's when I said, well, I don't really know what they did
with the idols. You know, Israel's track record. Maybe they kept them. I hope that they would burn
them. Well, the question is answered here. And maybe I was being uncharitable. I honestly forgot
about this verse. In verse 12, and when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment and
they were burned with fire. Right? This is an interesting thing that I was trying to get at
with yesterday's coffee and devotions. David's not a perfect guy. There's many times that he does
amazing and remarkable things and other times that he doesn't follow the Lord's law. But here's one of
those instances that he does. Right? They come upon the idols and it may have been tempting to them to
even pocket them, keep them. But David says, burn them, destroy them, get rid of them.
And then he's going to go up and he inquires of the Lord a second time. Right? These are things that
Saul was failing to do. And yet here David is accomplishing it. David's doing it. David is
following after the Lord. And as he gets the victory, the Lord gives him the victory.
The best verse to summarize this, I think, is verse 17. Actually, in my Bible, I have verse 8
underlined in verse 17. But I have a star next to verse 17. Right? Then the fame of David went out
into all lands and Jehovah brought the fear of him upon all the nations. Right? The Lord was bringing
the fear of David upon the nations. God was blessing his people through David, giving them a period of
nation building and stability and of peace. And that is going to pay dividends for hundreds of years into
the future. So, that's the best verse, I think. Verse 17. What are we called to do? Right? Or where
does this point us to the covenant of grace? Or how does it show us Jesus Christ? Right? I used three
different C's for covenant Christ calling. Right? So, where are we going with this? Well, I think once
again, God is establishing his kingdom. God is doing his will, even though we may not understand what
he's doing or who he's doing it through or why he's doing it. Right? There were people who didn't like
David. There are people who wouldn't like Solomon. There are people who don't like the leaders who are
on top of them. And yet, God is using people to do things for his sovereign purposes. And we know
that even today, Jesus Christ is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. And even though not
everybody recognizes or bows the knee to Jesus Christ, that's the final day. Every knee will bow and
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The fear of the Lord will come upon them.
And so, we get to bow now, knowing that our King is great, knowing that our King has defeated
even death. But will someday, someday come an absolute victory and triumphing over all of his foes
and even putting a final blow, a final end to death itself. So, we long for the day of the resurrection.
We long for the day of Christ's return. We long for the day that we get to see him face to face.
Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for giving us the hope of Jesus Christ. Thank you that you have
established his kingdom far above all rulers and principalities and powers. Lord, we thank you.
we thank you for giving us Jesus Christ, the one who is your exact image and who reigns eternally as King.
Lord, we pray that we would please have comfort and strength as we follow you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Well, may you joyfully follow your King and Lord Jesus. I'll see you next time. Bye.