Thursday, June 13
Read 1 Chronicles 19
Think About It:
- David was the dominate ruler of his region, but he was not a cruel tyrant. Here he showed kindness towards a pagan king because he was in mourning for the loss of his father. David wasn’t content to feelkindness towards Hanun. He did something to bring the grieving man comfort. What is the difference between feeling sympathetic for someone and doing something to comfort them?
- Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle … and sent them away: This was a disgraceful insult to these ambassadors from Israel. To insult the ambassador is to insult the king. It was just as if they had done this to David himself. The same principle is true with King Jesus and His ambassadors. Jesus reminded His disciples,“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18) How did David respond to the treatment of his servants? How do you respond to the world when it treats you hatefully because you follow Christ?
Family Time:
- Do you think David’s intentions are honorable?
- Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, our actions are misunderstood. Has this ever happened to you?
- Everything is happening because of a misunderstanding. Not only have the Ammonites misunderstood David’s reason for sending ambassadors, but now they’ve taken the misunderstanding up a notch into total war. When you face misunderstanding, you have a choice in the way you handle it. Is there a time when you faced misunderstanding and handled it honorably?
