Dave N_ spoke on a passage from the Old Testament, the story of Ahimaaz in 2 Samuel chapter 18, verses 19 - 32.
'Are you a person of good report?', Dave asked us. He read a couple of extracts from the school reports of two well-known Beacon ladies and invited us to guess who they were.
Dave explained some of the background to the reading: Absalom was a much-loved son of King David, yet had set himself up as an enemy of the King. Despite this, King David issued instructions that his troops be gentle with Absalom when they went into battle against Absalom's troops. Nonetheless, Absalom is killed by Joab, one of David's Generals. In those days the only way of getting news from one place to another was by runner. Ahimaaz was considered by David to be a good man. He brought good reports. Ahimaaz wanted to run to David with the news that the Lord had delivered him from the hand of his enemies - yet Joab knew that David would be upset by the death of his son and didn't want Ahimaaz to run. Instead he sent another man to take the news to the King. Nonetheless Ahimaaz persisted and so Joab allows him to go. He outruns the other newsbearer and for a while as the King learns that a runner has been spotted in the distance bringing news, his hopes are raised. Ahimaaz arrives and delivers his news with a positive spin (not mentioning Absalom's fate). Then the other runner arrives and clarifies the position and David becomes downcast.
Dave's teaching points are that we learn to:
- Focus on the Big Picture
- Speak from our beliefs, not from our circumstances
Elsewhere in the Bible we are told that King David was a man 'after God's own heart'. If we look a little deeper into this story, we can learn something more about God's perspective. If you have time, you might find it interesting and instructive to read this article by Ray C. Stedman. (Click on the link and it will take you to another website).
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