1 Chronicles 29:9 “Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.”

A CHEERFUL GIVER

David, Solomon and the leaders of Israel are celebrating.  Why?  Because they had just pledged to give generously to build the temple.  Can you just picture the scene?  They are all gathered.  David announces the challenge gift he is giving and asks them to step up to the challenge.  They do, and everyone rejoices. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 28;20 “Then David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.’”

DÉJÀ VU

When my dad got up in years I would call him often for advice.  Now, I admit I really didn’t need his advice on the topic I was asking about, but he needed to give it.  Do you understand?  My father needed to be a father.  He needed to know he could still impart wisdom and advice to his son. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 25:6-7 “6 All these were under the direction of their father to sing in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, harps and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the direction of the king. 7 Their number who were trained in singing to the Lord, with their relatives, all who were skillful, was 288.”

WHAT A HE-MAN

As a singer myself, I noticed these verses today.  Heman had fourteen sons and three daughters.  They had the privilege of being the musicians and singers for the Lord.  Can you imagine?  288 voices and instruments singing and playing for the Lord in worship?  I had the privilege once to direct a choir of over 100 voices.  I cannot imagine one almost 3 times that size.  The sound must have been…well…heavenly. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 23:26 “‘Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.’”

NEW ASSIGNMENTS

How many times have you had a job with a job description and that job description changes?  New duties are added.  Others are taken away.  Revisions are made in your duties.  Sometimes those come with more compensation or less compensation.  Regardless, those who are your authorities are the ones who have the power to make those changes. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 19:3 “But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, ‘Do you think that David is honoring your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Have not his servants come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?’”

BAD ADVICE

There’s a saying that goes, “You had better look before you leap, still waters run deep.”  I bet Hanun wished he had done that.  Instead he takes the bad advice of these men and humiliates David’s ambassadors he had sent to mourn the loss of Hanun’s father.  Sometimes grief can make us do some stupid things.  Let’s blame Hanun’s actions on that. Continue reading →

Psalm 96:11-12 “11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; 12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.”

ALL CREATION

Have you ever wondered why sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful?  Have you ever been on the beach or on a boat and remark how gorgeous the ocean looks?  How about a view of a valley full of fields or forests?  You see, these verses tell you why.  They just can’t help but proclaim the majesty of the One Who created them. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 13:14 “Thus the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the family of Obed-edom with all that he had.”

BLESSED

I just love the fact that the Lord blessed Obed-edom merely for keeping the ark at his house.  Can you imagine?  The very seat of God in your house.  We don’t know where he kept it, but I am sure it was in a very safe place and treated with honor and respect.  He probably put “DO NOT TOUCH” signs all around it.  He knew what had happened to Uzza when he just reached out to steady the ark.  He was struck dead. Obed-edom didn’t want that to happen to anyone in his family. Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 11:19 “and he said, ‘Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.’ Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.”

SACRIFICE

This story is one of the intriguing ones to me in all the Old Testament.  David and his men were fighting the Philistines, and David gets a craving – for water.  Not just any water either.  He was craving water from the well at Bethlehem, which was in Philistine control.  Three of his mighty men go down, fight their way to the well and bring back water for their king.  As Adam Sandler said in the movie Waterboy, “That must be some fine H2O.”

David is so moved he offers it as a sacrifice to God and pours it out.  It seems David was almost embarrassed that these men had overheard his selfish craving and sought to meet it.  He is humbled at their loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for him.

TEACHING MOMENT

Loyalty and sacrifice are hard to teach to children. They can only learn that by observing others.  Being loyal to friends or family is so important, though.  We need to do all we can to help them learn how to do that.  Sacrificing for others is even harder to teach.  Children are naturally selfish (well, at least most of them).  Just try to get a two-year-old to share their toys with someone.

But loyalty and sacrifice are admirable traits in anyone.  When children learn to be loyal and to sacrifice their desires for the benefit of others, they will have learned true maturity.  Selfishness and maturity are complete opposites.  You cannot be mature and demand your own way.  You cannot be mature and be disloyal.

How are you doing with these two maturity traits?  To whom are you loyal?  For whom are you willing to sacrifice?  Think about those questions for just a minute.  Write down a list of five people you thought of.  Now pray for each of them.  Ask the Lord to allow you to show your loyalty this week.  Ask the Lord to show you how you  could sacrifice something you desire for their benefit.

Father, You sacrificed the greatest gift for me – one I could never repay.  I owe You everything.  Help me today to show You my loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for You and others.

1 Chronicles 9:27 “They spent the night around the house of God, because the watch was committed to them; and they were in charge of opening it morning by morning.”

COMMITTED

When I read this verse my first thought was, “How boring!”  I mean, come on, every day their job was to open the doors of the temple.  That’s it!  I immediately had the image of the guys you see at the door of a fancy hotel opening the door for people.  Continue reading →

1 Chronicles 5:20 “They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him.”

CRYING OUT

1 Chronicles is full of genealogies, which could seem to be a bit boring.  But hold on.  You need to read them slowly and see what hidden gems are in those lists.  Today for instance, in the genealogy of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, this little gem pops out. Continue reading →