| “Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; Circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.” – 2 Samuel 5:23 |
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| **On a personal note, 2 Samuel 5 has been a go-to for me for making decisions since I first heard a Bible study on 2 Samuel 5 taught in the early ’80s! With the Philistines invading the valley of Rephaim AGAIN King David knows he must go out and battle them again. But before he goes, he INQUIRES of the Lord what direction the Lord would have him take. We see this practice of inquiring of the Lord a few verses earlier in 2 Samuel 5:18-20 where we read “Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 19 And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” 20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” David inquired of the Lord and God gave the answer and because of the Lord, David experienced victory. Now we come to verse 22 and read, “The Philistines came up again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.” AGAIN – you see the word, right? AGAIN. So again, David has to deal with the Philistines. Thus David AGAIN INQUIRES of the Lord. (1 Samuel 5:23a) But this time God says, “YOU SHALL NOT GO UP.” (1 Sam. 5:23b) Please don’t miss this. To David’s prayer, God said “YOU SHALL NOT GO UP” as you did before. This time, God tells David he is to “Circle behind them.” (1 Samuel 5:23c) The Lord tells David that his approach will be different. Please don’t miss how specifically God is as He tells David to circle around. He tells David to COME UPON THEM IN FRONT of the mulberry trees.” (1 Samuel 5:23d) King David inquired of the Lord and God gave him an answer, a different answer than before. And God gave him another victory. We read in verse 24 “And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” 25 And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.” What might we learn here? First, it is foolish to think because God gave a victory one time, He will just give it again (Think Ai after Jericho). It is also foolish to think that God will work the same way even as you face the same temptation or problems. We must be ready for God to change our direction as well as even our methods. NOW, you need to ask yourself if GOD can say to you, “YOU SHALL NOT.” David was victorious twice in 2 Samuel 5 because he inquired of the Lord and he DID WHAT GOD SAID, doing the battles DIFFERENTLY! One time they GO UP. One time they GO AROUND! (Can’t you just hear the soldiers as they moved in front of the mulberry trees saying, “We’ve never done it this way before.”) Verse to DATE the Word on May 23 (5/23) is 2 Samuel 5:23. It says, “Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.” Are you FLEXIBLE with God to allow Him to say YOU SHALL NOT so that He can get you into the right position to be victorious again? Continue Strong inquiring of the Lord, And remember to DATE the Word |