Article:’No to Banquet but to Bethlehem’ | Pastor John Konni
1 Samuel 20:27, 28
And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?”
David’s anointing as the king of Israel by the prophet Samuel and the killing of Goliat made young David so popular. As a result of this, David now got an invitation to dine with the king of the land, Saul.
David as a young man had all the reasons to think that he got such an opportunity to dine with the king of the nation where others don’t get. The meal, king Saul prepared was a grand one and in anyway that was a great opportunity for David.
David even could think this as a shortcut to be the king as he was anointed to be the king of Israel.
But David, son of Jesse, “refused the banquet of the king and left his seat empty”. That’s why Saul with his astonishment asked the reason why David did not come on yesterday and today.
WHY ‘NO’ TO THE BANQUET OF THE KING?
Ofcourse Saul’s banquet was a grand one. But David realized that it won’t be resulted for his good. He discerned some dangers through that and it was true. Saul planned to destroy him if he comes for the meal. See here is a notable speciality of God’s people that ‘discern the enemy and his strategies’. In Psalms 51:10 David prays to God that “renew a steadfast Spirit within me”. As an Old Testament man of God he used the Spirit’s discerning gift to realize the dangers of the enemy and prayed for the steadfastness of this Spirit. In New Testament, as we are the children of God we have Holy Spirit in us. Sometimes we fail in many areas to discern the enemy through the Spirit though we recieved a steadfast Spirit which the Old testament saints couldn’t recieve. Shall we realize the dangers in the banquets brought by
short time pleasures, sins,people etc. The main goal of the enemy is to destroy one’s anointing and calling.
Here David didn’t go yesterday and today. If he would have gone there Saul could have killed him. He knew that this was the plan of the enemy which he tried in yesterdays and continues even today. What is our life situation here? Did we go in our yesterdays when we received such invitations? Even if we went after these pleasures in yesterdays, shall we realize the dangers and avoid going today.
BUT TO BETHLEHEM
Saul’s banquet hall is the place of the snare of the enemy whereas Bethlehem is the place of God’s plans for a brightest future. Saul’s banquet hall causes the destruction whereas Bethlehem will construct you for God’s purposes may be fulfilled in you. Bethlehem is the house of bread. And it is the place of God’s fulfillments -David’s throne shall be established forever in this Bethlehem. Jesus will come from this small Bethlehem. David didn’t loose his blessings for a meal just like Esau in the book of Genesis. He sold his blessings for a meal. David could see the greatness of God’s plans and seriousness of today’s decisions.
What are we going to choose when sin invites us for a banquet? What do we do when positions call us?
Don’t loose our offices for the offers brought by enemy.
Don’t loose our everlasting blessings for today’s deceiving opportunities.
SEE THE OFFICES OF GOD FOR US NOT THE OFFERS OF THE ENEMY.
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