Day #104 | "Learning About Loyalty"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read 2 Samuel 10:1-11:1; 12:26-31; 1 Chronicles 19:1-20:3

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

It seems like a lot of this particular reading revolves around loyalty, or the lack thereof. David shows loyalty to Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, by sending a delegation to his son after he died. David shows loyalty to his own men by meeting with them personally and allowing them to wait until the beards have grown back, before they return home from their mistreatment. Joab also displays loyalty to David when he allows David to take a city and be named the victor rather than himself. On the other hand, Nahash's son Hanun shows disloyalty to David by capturing David's men and returning them back to their own land in a state of dishonor. And the Syrians show their disloyalty by abandoning the Ammonites. So what does it look like to be loyal? It looks like considering someone when they are going through a tough time, as David did for Hanun. It looks like making the other person look good, as David did when he met personally with his returned men and had them rest and regrow their beards before returning home--and like Joab did when he called to David before taking the city. It looks like returning kindness for a kindness, unlike Hanun who met David's show of loyalty with dishonor. And it looks like sticking with those who you have committed to, unlike the Syrians who turned on their Ammonite companions when the going got tough. We can be loyal to God first, our spouses second, to our kids third, and to others that God has brought into our lives after that.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? IN OUR ACTIONS we can apply this reading by imitating the sort of actions that show loyalty, and by choosing not to imitate the actions that show disloyalty.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean