2 Samuel 2: Personal Courage

"So they got up and were counted off - 12 for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and 12 from David's soldiers."

2 Samuel 2:15

All twenty four of these men, along with many others who followed, gave their lives in the service of their kings.  Some fought for a man whose father had been the king - these men were willing to give their lives for a pagan practice of passing kingship on from father to son.  The others fought for a man who had led by Godly example ever since he left his sheep to be Israel's champion against a giant - these men were willing to give their lives for a man who was anointed by their God and led with righteousness.  The first group were cowards who feared change.  The latter group were men of courage, literally giving their all to protect righteousness.

Personal courage is the seventh and final core value of the US Army.  I think it's fitting to make courage the last on the list, especially because the Army's understanding of courage includes the idea I mentioned above.  Courage isn't just facing fear, danger, or adversity.  Courage is the willingness to face all of those things in order to protect right.  Any man can get in a fight.  A courageous man will only fight for the right cause.

Question of the Day:

When was the last time you faced fear, danger, or adversity as a part of protecting righteousness?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, give me the strength to be courageous in Your name.  Do not let me fight or argue unjustly, but instead give me the wisdom to know which causes are worth fighting for.  Help me to lead others by this example and teach those around me to show righteous courage in all that they do.  Amen.

2 Samuel 1: Integrity

"For David had said to the Amalekite, 'Your blood is on your own head because your own mouth testified against you by saying, "I killed the Lord's anointed."'"

2 Samuel 1:16

Here's an interesting little parable.  The last chapter of 1 Samuel narrates the suicide of King Saul, showing us his weakness and lack of honor.  Then, the first chapter of 2 Samuel brings us an obscure character claiming that he killed Saul by the king's own orders.  This strikes many readers as being an obvious contradiction, but I see an interesting correlation that helps keep the man's claims in perspective.  The very first paragraph of the chapter gives us some necessary information, like who the man is and when he came to David.  After David defeated the Amalekites who had taken his people's families captive, this Amalekite man shows up with torn clothes and dust on his head.  He says he's come from the battle on Mount Gilboa (where Saul perished), but I think it's more likely that he's one of the survivors of David's raid, coming back to try and trick him.  My guess is that he'd heard that Saul was run through by his own sword and assumed he'd ordered a servant to do this for him; he thought he'd claim to be that servant, assuming that this would be viewed as an act of mercy.  His plan backfired horribly.  David ordered the Amalekite slain on the spot for his claim of attacking the king.

The sixth core value of the US Army is integrity.  The Amalekite in this story, whether my assumptions about his motives are correct or not, shows a significant lack of integrity.  If he's being honest, and the account at the end of 1 Samuel is wrong, he lost his integrity when he murdered the king.  If my fabrications are correct, he lost his integrity before he even spoke his lie - when he first started thinking of this crazy scheme.  In either case, David shows integrity in his response to this man: he does what's right, even when (as far as he knows) this man might have really been following the king's orders.  Integrity means doing what's morally right, no matter the consequences and no matter who's going to find out (or not going to find out).

Question of the Day:

Do you have the integrity to speak the truth when it will get you in trouble or make you unpopular?  Do you have the integrity to speak out or act out against wrongdoing?  Do you have the integrity to act righteously even when you are alone?  Do you have the integrity to keep even your deepest subconscious thoughts pure?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, You know the depths of my heart and yet You have the integrity to love me anyway, not because You need to but because it's the right (and righteous) thing to do.  Help me to follow Your example by living a life of integrity - a life which honors You at all times, no matter what the cost is.  Amen.

1 Samuel 31: Honor

"When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their brave men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan.  When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there."

1 Samuel 31:11-12

Saul, wounded in battle, chooses to fall on his own sword instead of being run-through by the Philistines.  His sons and all his men perish with him.  The Philistines decapitate Saul's dead body and hang it up along with his sons on the wall of Beth-shan, bringing even further disgrace to his name.  However, the people of Jabesh-gilead rescue the king's remains and give him a proper funeral pyre.  Even though his kingship didn't display honor, and he died in a dishonorable fashion, the men of Jabesh choose to bring honor to his name.  Honor is the fifth core value of the US Army.

What is honor?  How must we act in order to be considered honorable?  What can we do to bring honor to other people (such as honoring our fathers and mothers)?  Honor can be defined as living according to virtue.  Put a different way, honor is the action-verb form of the noun virtue, or the adjective used to describe someone who makes the verb-form a part of his daily life.

In the case of Saul, his kingship and his death were sorely lacking in honor.  He failed to follow the will of his Father - failed to do what was virtuous and right.  He regularly acted with malice and strife, and generally lived a hard-hearted and selfish life.  Even his death shows his selfishness - cowardly begging his bodyguard to kill him so that he won't die by enemy hands, and then killing himself when his bodyguard refuses.  Yet, a portion of his people choose to honor their undeserving, deceased king.  They risk their lives to do what is right for their king's body.  They treat Saul with respect, even though he doesn't deserve it.  They honor their king.

Question of the Day:

Do you walk through life with virtue as your focus for all that you do?  Do you treat yourself and others with respect?  Do you constantly seek God's will for your life and obey it?  Do you try to find ways to help others around you with all their needs?  Do you give of yourself in order to benefit others?  Do you do what's right, even when nobody is looking?  Do you risk your own safety or security in order to benefit others?  If you do these things, you are honorable and you honor others.

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, help me to become a more honorable person.  Help me to focus more each day on the needs of others, and less on my own desires.  Guide me towards the path You have set aside for me, and help me choose to stay on it no matter how treacherous it becomes.  Take my heart, and make it model Your beauty and grace.  Prevent me from acting dishonorably towards myself or any other.  Amen.

1 Samuel 29-30: Selfless Service

"David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters.  But David found strength in the Lord his God... The Lord replied to him, 'Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people.'"

1 Samuel 30:6,8b

David was not allowed to fight alongside the Philistines, for fear that he would turn against them and fight with king Saul.  When he went back to his home in the Philistine lands, he found an empty, burned-down village.  All of the women and children had been kidnapped, along with all their flocks and other goods.  Even though his people were outraged against him and threatening to stone him for allowing their families to perish, David consulted the Lord for guidance.  The Lord recommended a path of selfless service, which is the fourth core value of the US Army.

What reaction did David have to his people's plight?  He led 600 men in pursuit of their families' abductors, annihilated them, and took back their plunder.  He risked his life and the lives of all his men in order to ensure the safety of the women, children, and flocks.  Afterwards, rather than take all the plunder for himself and the men who fought beside him, David established a new statute for all of Israel - the man who stays behind with the supplies gets an equal share of the plunder with the soldiers who fight the battle.  David spreads the wealth equally between all of his men, and he even gives portions to people who had nothing to do with this particular conflict - the elders and all the people of all the villages where he had roamed since he went to live in the Philistine lands.  He didn't keep what he took, only what belonged to him (his family).  The rest, he gave away.

Question of the Day:

Do you have a selfless enough heart to give even a small percentage of the mountains of blessings the Lord heaps upon you?  If you give only a little, do you have the heart to give more?  At what point do you stop being charitable?  What factors determine the quantity of your charities?  Do you give 10% because that's what you've been taught to give?  Do you give more, or less, because that's what you feel Called to give?  Are you willing or able to follow the Word of Jesus and give everything away, and follow Him?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, I am ready to give my all to You, and let You be the director of my finances.  In all the financial decisions which come up in my life, lead me towards choices which include ever-increasing amounts of charity.  Help me to provide for the needs of my family and my self in such a way that the leftovers may be abundantly poured out to the needy in Your name.  Amen.

1 Samuel 28: Respect

"Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed his face to the ground and paid homage."

1 Samuel 28:14b

Saul consults a medium to bring forth the spirit of the deceased priest, Samuel.  When his spirit arrives, Saul bows down in respect for the holy man's ghost.  The third core value of the US Army is respect.

It's easy to respect people who are truly deserving of it.  However, respecting strong men of character is not good enough.  How can we respect all people?  Doing this requires a more detailed definition of what respect really means.

Respect is all about appreciating others' strengths.  Even the most foolhardy person has at least a few good, positive traits which could (and should) be respected.  Respect also involves viewing others as worthwhile, deserving of your time and effort.

Did Saul treat others with respect?  Even the most deserving man, David, didn't get any respect from Saul whatsoever.  The king chased David until he fled the country to save his life.  He disobeyed God's commands, shunning the teachings of Samuel (the priest who anointed him king).  He disrespected his whole country by wasting his time on his own selfish desires instead of focusing on the people's needs.

Question of the Day:

Do you have what it takes to respect yourself and all living things (and nonliving things, too)?  Will you choose to be like Saul, who disrespected everyone (even himself)?  Will you choose instead to be like David, who showed respect for everyone (even the king who tried to have him killed)?  Are you filled with the Spirit enough that you can be as respectful as Jesus, who spent his time teaching the least-deserving individuals instead of prancing with the "elite" leaders of the time?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, give me the insight to be a more respectful and respectable person.  Help me to always look for the good in others, and to treat others like the best that they can be instead of the lesser beings they might sometimes act like.  Do not let me be disrespectful of any individual or group, but instead help me become empathetic towards all people and their unique backgrounds.  Amen.

1 Samuel 27: Duty

"David did not let a man or woman live to be brought to Gath, for he said, 'Or they will inform on us and say, "This is what David did."'  This was David's custom during the whole time he stayed in the Philistine territory."

1 Samuel 27:11

This is an interesting situation David has put himself in.  He fled to the land of the Philistines in order to stop Saul from pursuing him, but while he was living near Gath he was still doing his duty as a soldier of Israel - as a commander in God's earthly army.  He was still raiding against the Philistines and other enemies of Israel, even while they were sheltering him from Israel's king.  The second core value of the US Army is duty.

What was David's duty?  Duty is the fulfillment of one's obligations, no matter the cost.  As a commander of God's troops, David's duty was to eradicate those who worshiped false idols or oppressed His people in any way.  As a member of the Israelite family, his duty was to protect his people.  In order to do both of these at the same time, he had to be 100% efficient in his raids, leaving no survivors to tell the tale of his actions to the king of Gath.

Question of the Day:

Do you do your duty to God and your country?  Do you do your duty to all those around you, who God has brought into your life?  Do you do your duty to yourself?  Do you stand up for what's right, even when it means you're unpopular?  Do you teach righteousness to those around you and spread the good news of Salvation, even when it means being ridiculed or losing a position of respect?  Do you treat your mind, body, and spirit as property of God by keeping them healthy and pure, even when that means going against your own strongest desires?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, help me do my duty to You.  In doing so, show me what duties I have towards my country, my family, my neighbors, and every person who You bring into my life.  Help me to know the best ways to take care of my own self in a dutiful manner.  Convict me of obligations I do not fulfill, and help me to meet the needs You have for me.  Amen.

1 Samuel 26: Loyalty

"May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his loyalty.  I wasn't willing to lift my hand against the Lord's anointed, even though the Lord handed you over to me today."

1 Samuel 26:23

My brother-in-law just graduated from Army Basic Training, and during our visit with him this weekend we had a rather enlightening family discussion about the parallels between the Army's core values and the ways Jesus showed those values during Holy Week, or during the "last 100 yards" of His battle against evil.  The first character pillars which gives a soldier his strength is - loyalty.

David's story thus far shows a strong understanding of the concept of loyalty.  He was loyal to God's calling in the fight against the Philistines, where even though he'd never before acted as a soldier he was Called to fight a giant.  He loyally followed his king's orders for many years, fighting and winning dozens of battles against many different foes.  Even when his king betrayed him and sought to kill him, he could not lift a hand to strike against the evil man.

But where did David's loyalty lie?  Was he loyal to the king?  Was he loyal to his people, his culture, his family?  David was loyal to his God.  He fought Goliath because the Lord Called him to do so.  He won all his battles because he followed the Lord's guidance in them.  He couldn't raise a hand against his king because God had anointed Saul.  This is now the second time David has spared Saul's life, and both times he gave this reason.

Question of the Day:

Are you loyal to your Lord?  Are you obeying when He Calls you?  Do you raise up those He anoints as leaders in your life, even when you see their flaws?  Are you willing to do whatever He asks of you, even when it's something you'd really rather not do?  Are you willing to be as loyal as David, who spared the life of a man who has wanted to kill him?  Do you have what it takes to be as loyal as Jesus, who endured lashings, a crown of thorns, a long walk with a cross, and crucifixion because His Father asked Him to?

Prayer of the Day:

Lord, help me to understand what loyalty to You really means for my life.  Guide me through each day and help me make all of my thoughts and actions loyal to You and Your plan for me, even when that loyalty requires hardship, pain, and sacrifice on my part.  Give me a heart that seeks to praise You in all that I do.  Amen.