READING FOR MAY 12, 2025: 1 CHRONICLES 15, 2 CORINTHIANS 11, PSALM 40:9-17 1 CHRONICLES 15 After having experienced a double victory over the Philistines by inquiring of the Lord both times, David now has the confidence to bring the ark to Jerusalem if he follows God’s commands from 400 years before. Here is his observation to the priest and Levites: “Because you did not carry it at the first, the Lord our God made an outburst against us, since we did not seek Him according to the ordinance” (vs. 13). Have we learned from our past mistakes so that we are neither paralyzed by inaction nor still trying to move ahead without following God’s commands precisely?
This time David chose the right people (Levites) to serve in the right way (carrying the ark with poles). Here are a few areas where God has given us precise directions: getting saved (Rom. 10: 9), praying (Luke 11:1-5), telling others about Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20), human sexuality (Matt. 19:4-12), family relationships (Eph. 5:21-6:4), church meetings (1 Cor. 14:23-38), and interpersonal relationships (Matt. 5:21-48).
A concern is often raised that, if we submit ourselves to God’s directions above precisely, we will be ridiculously out of step with our culture and live rigid and joyless lives. That wasn’t David’s experience: “When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating” (vs. 29). Thus, David instructs us in Psalm 16:11: You [God] will make known to me the way of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Looking for pleasure? Open the Bible.
2 CORINTHIANS 11 Paul asks the Corinthians to bear with him in this chapter while he expresses some rather personal feelings. Do we have friends with whom we can share like this? It seems increasingly rare these days. Paul thinks of himself as a spiritual matchmaker between the Corinthians and God. He confesses, though, he fears Satan might trick them away from their relationship with the Lord, just as he did with Eve so long ago. We should take Paul’s concern seriously. Satan has not lost any of his subtilty. Just as then, he is able to make what God has clearly called sin to appear good and acceptable. Paul is pleading with us not to deviate from what he has taught about Jesus. It would be hard to build a case that salvation can’t be lost from his letter. Lester Holt signs off each NBC nightly newscast with a comment appropriate to holding onto our salvation: “Take care of yourself and each other.”
Perhaps for the first time, Paul informs them that he subsisted on the donations from other churches in order to preach the Gospel to them for free. He somewhat sarcastically asks, is this proof that he did not love them? He again warns that false teachers are hard to spot. Do we
READINGS FOR MAY 12, 2025 CONTINUED: 2 CORINTHIANS 11, PSALM 40:9-17 know the truth given to us through the apostles’ teachings or are we only vaguely familiar?
As evidence of his almost desperation that they not fall away, he reluctantly recounts his credentials as a credible spokesman for God—a spiritual resume. On a related issue, let’s ask ourselves, why would Paul undergo such tumultuous hardships if he thought all people would go to heaven whether they heard and accepted the Gospel or not? What are we willing to do to share the Gospel with those loved ones who still don’t know or don’t believe?
PSALM 40:9-17 David makes a great point in verse 9: he proclaims the good news of righteousness among God’s people. We must keep in the front of our minds that righteousness is connected with gladness, not the drab existence sometimes portrayed in popular culture. In Brian Tabb’s article about the book of Philippians, he writes, “The Apostle Paul uses the Greek words for joy and rejoicing sixteen times in only 104 verses. And yet he writes from a dingy Roman prison.” David says, don’t hide this little-known truth from others. Be verbal about our salvation. Yes, evils without number surround us (vs. 12). Yes, our sins are many (vs. 12). Satan tells us we are thus too flawed to talk about our faith. David instead prays for God’s deliverance and victory over Satan’s forces. David tells those of us who truly seek God (and we wouldn’t be studying this if we weren’t) and those who love God’s salvation (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) to REPEAT CONTINUALLY THE FOLLOWING WORDS AFTER HIM:
“THE LORD BE MAGNIFIED.”
