Tag: Promise

David and the Gibeonites: On Guard over Your Sacrifice

Guarding Your Promise and Contribution

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A promise creates expectation in someone that goods or service will be available to provide for a need. The beneficiary relies on and can enter into commitments based on the expectation. A promise to a person conveys the same level of commitment as a promise to God. Therefore, God guards every promise and may step in to redress failure of a promise if he so desires. Similarly, a contribution is a delivery of goods or service with an implied promise to guard the goods/service to an appropriate hand-off point. Throwing in and abandoning the contribution prior to the hand-off point is similar to the Samaritan in the parable of the Good Samaritan abandoning the wounded man at the treatment center without further commitment. As we recall, the Samaritan made a commitment to return.

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David and Bathsheba: Birth of Solomon

No Trade-off between Earned Blessing and Incurred Punishment

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Any blessing earned by a person remains effective until fulfilled at its time. Also, any incurred punishment, unless forgiven, remains effective until fulfilled at its time. Earned blessing and incurred punishment are parallel promises. There is no trade-off of one against the other.

We learn this through this week’s bible study on interactions between David and Bathsheba. King David had an affair with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, while Uriah was at the war front fighting for Israel. She became pregnant from the affair. David tried to cover up the affair, first by attempting to trick Uriah into sleeping with his wife. When he realized Uriah would not fall for the trick, David ordered that he be over-exposed at the war front so he would be killed by the enemy. The plot was successful. Uriah was killed in the battle. David married Bathsheba thereafter and she gave birth to a son from the affair. But God was not deceived.

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