The Lord Shall Preserve Thee

2 Samuel 20:14–21:22; Acts 1:1-26; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 16:18

The Lord Shall Preserve Thee
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. – Psalm 121:7-8

Atonement and Oaths
Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you. And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel, let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. – 2 Samuel 21:3-7

God told David there was famine because Saul killed many Gibeonites unjustly. So, David goes to the Gibeonites and asks them what he can do to make atonement. They didn’t ask for silver or gold but for seven of Saul’s sons to be delivered to them. David agreed but spared Mephibosheth because of his love for his father, Jonathon, and the oath they had taken before the Lord.

It is Not for You to Know the Times or the Seasons
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. – Acts 1:7-9

It is not for us to know the times or the seasons, BUT ye shall receive power. This says to me – focus on what God is doing instead of trying to figure out what He is going to do (even in the next moment).

Pride and an Haughty Spirit
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18

Pride – high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority.

Haughty – having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior