Good reason why I keep on reading—1 week after reading that David breaks the revenge cycle, I read this:
“O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth.
You make your adversaries and the revengeful cease….
What is man that You regard him?
You made him a little lower than God,
You cause him to rule over all creation
You have put all things under his feet,“ (Psalm 8)
Why does God hate revenge? He values us—the ones He made. He counts us as his allies.
The Bible continually gives the whole picture, not just one side. In today’s Bible reading, King David publicly and emphatically acts three times to break the revenge cycle continued by fellow Israelis.
(1) He publicly mourns King Saul’s death in battle and executes Saul’s professed killer.
(2) He publicly mourns Saul’s general’s death and condemns those who took revenge on him.
(3) He mourns his rival king’s death and executes those who assassinated him (2 Samuel 1, 3 & 4). Sometimes leadership just has to act decisively. New beginnings are possible. Will I be that guy?
#Leadership #AncientWisdom #Daily Bible Reading #92
Giving priority to God and his Word in the decision-making process.
What does “God is the blessed controller of all things” have to do with you the leader facing a challenge? You can’t not make a choice. Wisdom from an ancient Israeli king 3,400 years ago: Saul felt pressured to act in the face of an immediate threat (think: cyber threat or the client will choose your competitor if you don’t make an offer today). Actually, he felt squeezed between that threat and Judge Samuel’s warning: “Don’t act until I get there.” Saul didn’t wait, and suffered tragic consequences. I don’t want to be like Saul (1 Samuel 13; quote by Joyce Landorf)
Sound Familiar?
Daily Bible Reading #85
Story Three: the Garden https://creatingalternatives.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/biblestorythree.pdf
Story One: Creation
The ‘Big Picture’ for those who want the whole year at a glance: https://creatingalternatives.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/yrlybiblereadthrurev2021.numbers.pdf
Try ‘chronological’ reading, I think you’ll like it:
Bible reading note page (blank) for your use:
Introduction to Reading the Bible https://creatingalternatives.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/introtobiblestories.pdf
Prologue: Story One https://creatingalternatives.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/biblestoryprologue.pdf
Who do I trust? The ‘good guy’ we know coerces a prominent influencer to do something that is contrary to God’s word right after a seemingly ‘bad guy’ acknowledges God and frees this influencer to do what he thinks best. A good lesson in discernment, the role of government, and ‘self-control.
creatingalternatives 