POSITIONED FOR A DIVINE ENCOUNTER (PART 2)

DECEMBER 23^RD.   
TEXT: 1 Chronicles 13:1-5King James Version (KJV)

 13 And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader.

² And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the Lord our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:

³ And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul.

⁴ And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

⁵ So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjathjearim.

 

Very often we observe that people go through a lot of trouble to put together an event and then wonder why nothing extraordinary happens, but the truth is that most of the time our plans are devoid of divine inspiration. Like we can observe in our text today, in the planning of this significant worship ceremony God was completely sidetracked. There was not one mention of a call to pray or even a look at the scripture for them to know what the will of the Lord is. Many of the time when we embark on an assignment or project, we just go ahead depending on our “wonderful idea,” it is only when things are not working out the way we have expected that we see the need for divine guidance.

 

² And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the Lord our God…”  When you read this statement, you may think that it implies that David sought for divine guidance but if you look at it carefully in the order of priority, it is obvious that there is a big problem there. Here, the number one in his order of priority was the people, “If it seem good unto you,”. If you want to see the glory of the Lord in everything you do, then make Him your number one priority. Don’t spend time consulting with men and then turn to God to endorse it. God will never play the second fiddle role, for He is always he first before any other.

 

Another look at that statement will reveal to you that it implies that “If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the Lord our God” point to the erroneous mistake we make by assuming that the opinion of men reflects the will of God. Don’t assume that because an individual occupies a significant position in life, then when they speak they have heard from God.  Don’t assume or ask them about what they think, instead ask them to tell you what the Lord is saying about the issue (even at that, you still need to be sensitive to be sure it is the Lord). The voice of the people is not always the voice of God.