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撒母耳记下［第21章］
Book of 2 Samuel 21

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撒母耳记下［第21章］|Book of 2 Samuel 21

【守约施慈爱的神】

主讲:丘均发传道

10/10/2023


引言：

申命记7:9 所以，你要知道耶和华你的神，他是神，是信实的神。向爱他，守他诫命的人守约，施慈爱，直到千代。

一、守约除去违约的咒诅 (V1-14)

1. 发错热心 扫罗违约 (V1-2)

当时基遍人为了能留在以色列，用诡计欺骗了约书亚与他们立了约。但是 V2…扫罗却为以色列人和犹大人发热心，违约杀害他们，因此神咒诅这地，让以色列饥荒三年！

我们会否有时候也会大发热心，但却是违背了神的旨意? 做了不合神心意、不该做事呢？

2. 大卫守约 赎罪修好（V3-9）

大卫求问神知道了饥荒是因为扫罗的毁，就把基遍人找来，问他们该怎么做才能赎罪修好这件事。大卫知道神是十分看重誓约的，所以完全接纳基遍人的条件。

我们不清楚神为何要等到扫罗死后，才让以色列得饥荒；但神让我们知道，祂并没有忽视这个罪！所以我们要明白神的延迟，是祂恩典的体现，而不是人可以犯罪却不用面对审判。所以，当有灾祸发生时，不一定是我们的问题，但我们要去处理。当我们愿意去面对时，就是赎回原本的祝福！

二、一切归正神就听祈求（V10-14）

这段经文记载，一直到大卫处理好扫罗家族的后事，众人行了王所吩咐的，在大卫的带领下百姓都归正，把一切事情都做对了，神就‘垂听国民所求的’，结束了这次管教。

神是十分看重约的，神与我们的约是一生之久，虽然有时候我们会面对艰难，但当我们愿意像大卫一样去求问神如何处理，愿意去承担，该做的事时将事情归正，神就与我们恢复关系，因为神的约是永恒的！

三、神使大卫得胜得团队 (V15-22)

这时的大卫是年老软弱了，没有以前那样威武。面对敌人时会软弱和疲乏，但神仍然守约帮助大卫，让他与非利士人这四场仗都得胜。神不单单让大卫得胜，还成就了四个英雄，就是亚比筛、西比该、伊勒哈难和约拿单，他们都胜过了非利士伟人，神兴起这四个领袖来帮助大卫，使大卫争战得胜得团队！这是神对大卫的信实与恩慈！

大卫现在可以自由地退位了，他已经很好地完成了自己的工作，并建立了一个可以接替他的领导班子。带领人的任务不是做完所有的事情，而是要培训、装备和鼓励其他人，让他们取代我们的位置！做得比我们更好！

总结：

守约施慈爱的神是信实的，在约中我们要持守和坚定。当问题临到时，可能不一定是自己的问题，但我们要去承担和面对，去做该做的事，神就会信实地以慈爱恩待我们！

2 Samuel 21 A God who keeps covenant and shows mercy
GK611 Morning Devotion
10/10/2023
The Morning Devotion Speaker: Ps. Daniel Kew

Introduction:

Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

1. Keeping the promise removes the curse of breach of covenant (V1-14)

(1) Wrong zeal leads to Saul’s breach of covenant (V1-2)

At that time, to stay in Israel, the Gibeonites deceived Joshua into making a covenant with them. But V2...Saul was zealous for the Israelites and Judah, broke the covenant and killed them, so God cursed the land and made Israel famine for three years!

Do we sometimes feel very zealous but disobey God’s will? Do we do things that are not in line with God’s will and should not be done?

(2) David kept the promise, atonement, and reconciliation (V3-9)

David asked God and found out that the famine was due to Saul's destruction, so he called the Gibeonites and asked them what he could do to atone for the sins and fix the matter. David knew that God valued vows very much, so he fully accepted the conditions of the Gibeonites.

We don’t know why God waited until Saul died before allowing Israel to suffer famine, but God lets us know that He did not ignore this sin! Therefore, we must understand that God’s delay is a manifestation of His grace, not that people can sin without facing judgment. So, when a disaster occurs, it is not necessarily our problem, but we shall deal with it. When we are willing to face it, we redeem the original blessing!

2. God will listen to prayers if everything is realigned (V10-14)

This passage records that until David settled the affairs of Saul's family, everyone did what the king commanded, and under the leadership of David, the people realigned themselves and did everything right, and so God "heard the people’s prayer” which ended the discipline.

God values the importance of covenants greatly. The covenant between God and us lasts a lifetime. Although sometimes we will face difficulties, when we are willing to ask God how to deal with it like David and are willing to take on what we should do, by setting things right, God will restore our relationship with us because God’s covenant is eternal!

3. God enabled David to win and build a team (V15-22)

At this time, David was old and weak and was not as powerful as before. He would be weak and tired when facing his enemies, but God kept His promise to help David, allowing him to win all four battles against the Philistines. God not only allowed David to win, but also accomplished four heroes, namely Abishai, Sibbechai, Elhanan, and Jonathan. They all defeated the Philistine giants. God raised up these four leaders to help David, make David win the battle and win the team! This is God’s faithfulness and kindness to David!

David is now free to step down, having done his job well and establishing a leadership team that can succeed him. The role of a leader is not to do it all, but to train, equip and encourage others to take our place! Do better than us!

Conclusion：

The God who keeps covenants and shows love is faithful, and we must hold fast and be steadfast in our covenants. When a problem comes, it may not necessarily be our own problem, but we shall bear it and face it, do what we should do, and God will be faithful and be graceful to us!