ABOUT TEMPTATIONS (Part 3)
“Rejoice
not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness,
the LORD shall be a light unto me”.
(Mic 7:8)
When Satan
set out to make a mess of God’s anointed man Samson, God (with Samson’s
cooperation) turned it round and made Samson an example of faith, much to the
devil’s chagrin.
God always
has a way to make the devil shut up; it’s our job to cooperate with Him rather
than let the devil try to have the final say.
The story of
David and Bathsheba is one of the most scandalous in scripture; scandalous not
just on David’s side but also on God’s side. Out of all of David’s 19 odd sons,
God chose Jedidiah, a product of David and Bathsheba and the 10th
born son, to be King!
This little
fact caused a big stir in a Bible Study that I attended several years ago. A
member took issues with this act of God and went as far as to insinuate that
God was practically endorsing the adultery of David and Bathsheba. (The pastor,
unfortunately, took this personal and went on to shout and threaten curses on
the member for casting aspersions on God).
Scandalous,
innit?
Most people
would not even be familiar with that said “King Jedidiah”. But I guess they
would know him by his more popular name, SOLOMON. “Jedidiah” was God’s personal
name for him.
To the best
of my knowledge, Solomon is the only normal (i.e. not by prophecy) child in
scripture that God named. Like a loving grandmother who hears her daughter has
given birth to a baby, the Almighty sent His own name through a prophet to the
parents of the baby (2Sa 12:24-25).
And, yes,
Jedidiah means “Beloved of Jehovah”!
Scandalous?
Maybe. But I
believe that, just like with Samson’s story of
yesterday, God was trying to send a message to Satan:
“If you try
to mess up the life of my children, I’ll bless them so much you’ll wish you
didn’t.”
‘Jedidiah’
went on to be the richest king of all time with a kingdom greater than even his
father’s.
Our LORD
Jesus was not just the descendant of David through His adopted father Joseph
(royal line leading up to King Solomon); he was physically descended from David
by blood through Mary, (Lk 1:31,32; 3:23-38). King David had at least 8 wives.
The Virgin Mary could have been a descendant of any of their sons; but Bible
chronology tells us she came from David through a certain son called Nathan.
Nathan was the son of Bathsheba! AGAIN.
I guess you
already see the picture.
When the
devil causes you to fall, your duty is to run back to your Heavenly Father’s
arms to receive His unconditional forgiveness purchased by the blood of His Son
Jesus.
But know
this for sure, the devil will not have the last laugh over your life in Jesus
name. Who knows, the LORD might even use your life to send a reply back to the
devil... by blessing you scandalously.
AMEN.
More
Blessings await you today, you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.
GREG
ELKAN
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