Ask! Wait! Watch! Listen! Obey! by Beth

“When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David; and when David heard of it, he went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines came and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. Then David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘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.’ So David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there; and he said, ‘The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters.’ Therefore he named that place Baal-perazim. They abandoned their idols there, so David and his men carried them away. Now the Philistines came up once again and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired of the Lord, He said, ‘You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. It shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.’ Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer. (2 Samuel 5:17-25 NASB)

I love how David inquires of the Lord what to do in this passage. “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You give them into my hands?”  I love how specific the Lord is with David. “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” Look what the Lord did! He defeated the Philistines — all for His glory, His purposes, and David’s good. “Now the Philistines came up again…” Wait, did we not just read that David inquired of the Lord, the Lord gave instruction, and David followed what the Lord said do and there was victory? Yet, the enemy comes again. What does David do? What he knows to do. He inquires of the Lord again. The Lord once again is very specific with David, “You shall not go directly up, circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees, it shall be when you hear the marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the LORD will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

Like David, may we never move forward without inquiring of the Lord and may we trust the instructions He gives us — no matter how unusual or foreign they may seem. Isaiah 55:8 says, “His ways are not our ways and His thoughts not our thoughts.”  May we be listening for the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees knowing our Lord has gone before us.

What is my take away from this passage?  As a child of His, I am to ask, petition and seek His counsel and will for my life. Then, I am to wait on Him. He is always at work. I am to watch for Him. He is moving! Then I am to listen and obey whatever He tells me to do.

What is your take away?