David Anointed King

King David was able to accomplish much in his reign over Israel. The Lord had blessed him abundantly and he was able to defeat the Philistines, the Syrians, Ammonites and any others that came up against him. He also showed great compassion and ruled wisely. He avenged the murder of Ish-bosheth, obtained the ark of God, and showed mercy to Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son. He returned to him the lands of Saul. Throughout chapters 1-10 he did many great things and gave thanks to Lord continually.

David even offered to build a house to the Lord. His heart was in the right place but the Lord wouldn't let him build it. The Lord loved David and continued to bless him.  He was denied permission to build a temple because of the bloodshed he wrought for the Lord and his people.

If we look at 2 Sam. 7:12-17 the Lord promises David, through Nathan, that the house of David will forever be blessed and be shown mercy by the Lord. If I were to receive these promises I would react a lot liked David did in verses 18-29. David was astounded by this blessing from the Lord. He didn't feel as though he was worthy to receive such a great blessing. He thanked the Lord profusely and told him that He would continue to serve the Lord.

An important verse is also held in chapter 7. Verse 16 reads, "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."
This is considered a Messianic prophecy. David ruled over the Israel and as we know, Christ was a descendant of David's. This was a prophecy of the coming Messiah and his rule over Israel forever.

Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go

I love Ruth! I think she is an incredible woman and her story always makes me feel good. As I studied Ruth chapters 1 and 2 I was able to make connections with my own life. During the story of Ruth, she went through many trails. There was a famine in the land and she lost her husband. Unlike Orpah, Ruth stayed with her mother-in-law, Naomi, and left her family behind. She loved her husband and Naomi so much that she was willing to sacrifice all that she knew to follow Naomi where ever she went. 

This reminds me of leaving for college. It was really hard for me to leave my family and try to live on my own and take care of myself. Luckily, my sister was also attending school here so I had someone to lean on while I got settled. I couldn't imagine not being able to talk to my family on a regular basis. 

Ruth and Naomi traveled to Bethlehem and there Ruth met Boaz, a wealthy kinsman. Boaz was impressed by Ruth for leaving all that she knew to stay with and serve Naomi. 

Ruth was brave and kind through the challenges she faced. She turned to the Lord and thanked Him for helping her through troubling times. This is something that I can certainly apply to my life. I think a sacrifice that I've made in my life is paying my tithing. I see blessing all the time financially when I keep up with paying it. I remember when I was about to get married we wanted to go to Ohio to visit my family but we didn't have enough money to do that and pay tithing. So, we paid our tithing and a week later my mom found two scholarship bonds from my graduation. It was a wonderful blessing to be able to visit!