II Samuel 13:1 – 14:33 (Continued)

July 23, 2010

Absalom – where do you start? His sister was raped! Yet, he tells her to keep quiet about it and not to let it upset her so much because Amnon was a half brother. Exactly the reason why it should have upset her so much. And then for two years he held a grudge. Instead of dealing with Amnon's betrayal of his sister, or going to their father, his anger simmered for two years! He sets a trap. He knows exactly what he is going to do. He devised evil plans in his heart and he waited two years to put it into action. He tells his servants what to do and how to kill Amnon. He even uses spiritual terms in setting it up and as a means to further his own agenda. II Samuel 13:28 - "Be strong and brave... don't be afraid because I have commanded you." Sounds exactly like the words God would use to encourage Moses and Joshua, and Absalom was using God's words for his own selfish purposes and to do evil.

David mourns the death of Amnon and Absalom goes into hiding.

Three years pass and David allows Absalom to return to his homeland but not David's home. Absalom was a prideful man. He was praised for his looks. His hair was his pride and joy. When he wanted something he would devise a plan to get it. Absalom became upset because he felt Joab was ignoring him, so he set Joab's fields on fire. Absalom was finally allowed to go see his father, David the King. He bows down before David. But the heart of the matter is the heart of the matter and he left the king plotting how to get what he wanted— the kingdom for himself. His pride and arrogance were in control. There was no stopping him. 

It was three years ago that God so graciously and miraculously gave us His words of promise through the lips of a most unlikely source—Miss Jane E. Wolfe. (Her Name Was Jane) Jane should not have still been alive. Months earlier she had a bladder infection while under the care of Hospice. Her POA knew "that for some reason" she could not allow the bladder infection to go untreated, so she instructed the staff to remove Jane from Hospice and to treat Jane for the infection, even though her POA knew that by making that decision she was prolonging her responsibilities and making her own life and time commitments more burdensome. But she did just that. Jane E. Wolfe—who the staff couldn't figure out how or why her physical body was still alive; who was in the advanced stages of dementia; who had Parkinson's and could not speak without great difficulty; who had not spoken more than a word or two in months; opened her mouth and succinctly and clearly said: "Read Psalm 150."

PSALM 150

Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary
     praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power,
     praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpets
     praise him with the harp and lyre.
Praise him with the tambourines and dancing
     praise him with the strings and flutes
Praise him with the clash of cymbals
     praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD,
     PRAISE THE LORD!

Oh, how that chapter, the last chapter in the Psalms, has changed our lives. I somehow never fully understood or appreciated the difference between "thanking" God and "praising" God. But oh, what a difference. "Thanking" God is typically referring to something God has done for you. "Praising" God is pure and simple. It is praising God for who HE is and has nothing to do with who we are or what we want. It is about God and God alone; the way it should be. It puts everything in the right perspective. 

God

↓

Man

Listen next time you are in a group and people are asked to spend some time sharing praises. I bet you won't hear a lot of praise being offered for who God is. I bet instead you will hear praises for what God has done. And while it is important to thank Him for what He as done, in order to keep perspective, in order to keep the faith, in order to hang on when the going gets tough—it is vital that we live our lives in praise of God and to God, FIRST! before anything else. When praise is in place, the storms in life can rage around you and it won't matter, because God is God and it is well with my soul.

Then Jane spoke a second time and said to read Psalm 140. When I wasn't sure if she said 40, I asked her, and in a very clear voice she said, "No...140."

PSALM 140

     Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;

protect me from men of violence,

who devise evil plans in their hearts

 and stir up war every day.

They make their tongues as sharp as serpents;

the poison of vipers is on their lips.     Selah

     Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

protect me from men of violence

who plan to trip my feet.

 Proud men have hidden a snare for me;

they have spread out their net

 and have set traps for me along my path.     Selah

     O Lord, I say to you, "You are my God."

Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy.

O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,

 who shields my head in the day of battle --

do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD;

do not let their plans succeed,

or they will become proud.     Selah

     Let the heads of those who surround me

be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.

Let burning coals fall upon them;

may they be thrown into the fire,

into miry pits, never to rise.

Let the slanderers not be established in the land;

may disaster hunt down men of violence.  



     I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor

and upholds the cause of the needy.

Surely the righteous will praise your name

and the upright will live before you.

It wasn't until much later that we realized the significance of Jane telling us to read Psalm 150 first. As much as the promises of Psalm 140 has blessed our lives, understanding the importance of praising God first and foremost is by far the most important thing we have learned. It has totally changed our lives. It has given us a peace even in the midst of "the storm."

Three years after Jane spoke the words that forever changed our lives, and I am still amazed that God in His Sovereignty chose—chose!—to tell us what He was going to do. He knew what was coming.  We had no idea, but He knew! There will never be enough words to express to the LORD our gratitude. I've said it before, but even Holy, Holy, Holy, is not enough. The act of praising God first and claiming the promises of Psalm 140 is what has absolutely carried us through. We have memorized both chapters, and have quoted them well over a thousand times, and God is still showing us new meanings with new understanding.

Psalm 140 is just a perfect example of how to pray. LORD, here's the problem. Evil men are causing trouble. They have schemed. They have used trickery. They are trying to destroy us. BUT!  You are our God! Hear our cry for mercy. Save us Father. Don't let the wicked succeed. You hold them accountable. Make it so they can't get out of this mess on their own. Vengeance is yours God, not ours. The battle isn't ours, it's Yours. You secure justice. You defend. We will praise You! And, we will live! Not barely survive or eke out an existence, we will live! before you. We will thrive!

Secures justice! My NCV version say, "(He) will get justice for the poor and defend the needy in court." That shows active participation. He is the One that goes out and secures justice. He may use men to accomplish His will, but it is just that—His Will! "The storm" will be over when God decides it is time. There will come a day when he says, "It is finished." Until God releases us we will continue to praise His name and believe His promises.
 

After I finished reading Psalm 140, Jane began to pray. She prayed for every relevant thing in our lives even though she could not have told anyone my name and I had never shared with her our story. She prayed for the meetings coming up—there were lots of lawyer meetings coming up. She prayed for the opportunity to lead someone to Christ—my husband and I strongly felt God put our new lawyer into our lives so we could be a witness to him. She prayed for our Pastor by name—even though Jane had no idea where we went to church or what our Pastor's name was. She prayed for the privilege of teaching young people—I teach young people. Then she closed her prayer by praying for encouragement for "this dear one." Tears were streaming down my face.

During the sixteen months I went to visit Jane, she prayed twice. The first time was when I went to the nursing home when "the storm" first began to brew. During that first meeting Jane prayed the most incredible prayer of blessing on my life that I have ever received. Now it is seven months later and Jane prays for every relevant thing in our lives. Jane praying was not a normal or frequent occurrence. There were a few other times that she tried to pray, but only a few words would come out. I remember her trying to pray just a few days before her death. She had just told me to read Jeremiah 33. It was obvious that she wasn't going to live much longer. When I prayed for her I prayed that she would feel the surrounding love of her Savior and that like Elisha of old she would be able to see that angels were surrounding her. Then Jane tried to pray. She struggled. Puh... Puh... Puh. And then she got out three words. Praise. The. Lord! Those three words said it all and brought everything full circle.

Of the many, many things Jane has underlined in her Bibles she had nothing underlined in Psalm 140 in her NIV version. In her KJV she had two words underlined—I KNOW. That's it. I KNOW. KJV Psalm140:12 - "I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor." NIV Psalm 140:12 - "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." NCV Psalm 140:12 - "I know the LORD will get justice for the poor and will defend the needy in court."

I KNOW:

• I am safe in God's arms.
• I can trust Him.
• Jane was a gift from God.
• God used Jane to speak to us.
• God will deliver us.
• God has used "the storm" to bring honor to His name.
• We have seen the hand of God working in our lives.
• "The storm" is the BEST thing that has ever happened to us.
• We have peace that only God can give.
• God truly does make "all things work together for good for those who trust him."
• God has surpassing greatness.
• HE is in control.
• You do reap what you sow.

Addendum: 3/5/14 ~ Joab sends a wise woman to see David. She says to him, "We will all die some day. We're like water spilled on the ground; no one can gather it back. But God doesn't take away life. Instead, he plans ways that those who have been sent away will not have to stay away from him!" He plans way to bring back to himself those who have turned their backs on him.

There is always hope. There is still time for changed hearts and lives. Thank you for providing a way Father. LORD, thank you for the cross.


Next Entry: II Samuel 15:1 – 16:14