I am now preparing for a trip to the USA next week, in September for what will be an interesting venture. Preparing something objective when what is whirling around the spiritual realm is an intense transitional process is not easy.

David is pivotal with Jesus. Jesus is both root and Offspring of David. What is more is David himself is a pursuer of God’s heart.

This in itself should be pivotal because if Jesus is David’s root then David should live knowing the things that are dear to God’s heart.

There are two extremes which David would have known to be those to avoid. They are those which drive people to destruction.

The extremes are those which David would have experienced close by.

The first is the religious extreme. It can only be demonstrated in the priestly line of Eli. When we examine the religious aspects of the family of Eli we get a fuller picture.

Eli was approached twice by prophets, one being Samuel the other not being named. It was concerning the corruption in the Tabernacle. No longer was the sacrifices sanctified and treated with care but they profitted out of them by deceitfully serving themselves to the best parts of the animals offered. They were also prostituting themselves at the Tabernacle door.

Eli had become deaf and blind and had also benefited from the corruption so his voice for God had all been silenced. So what they were doing was paying lip service to the law of Moses concerning priests and Levites.

When we consider that the Shekinah glory rested in the inner place,and yet they all participated in the corruption, is shocking. But if we look across our generation we see the same, the lip service in the midst of God’s move amongst His People. We see that our theology has become so light that our respect and our awe of God has disappeared. Shiloh had become a Tabernacle of license.

David’s response was to raise up his own tabernacle.

In this Tabernacle was an access to the Glory which did not exist in Shiloh. David as a man who sought after God’s heart completely had a meeting place for God and himself in the top priority in his life.

One thing have I desired of the Lord , that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord , and to enquire in his temple.
Psalms 27:4 KJV

This typifies the heart of David. His desire became the object of his seeking, his desire became the House of the Lord.

The Lord shows us that we like David become seekers of God’s heart we will set our affections in such a way that it manifests as a Tabernacle of glory.

In that Tabernacle praise, worship and prayer were a 24 hour constant. The glory was cared for and respected. Especially as Obed-Edom and his family were called specifically by God to be “carers” of the Glory. They had 3 months with the Ark in their home.

Shiloh therefore became a mere tent for the Priests who would wait until Solomon called for them to be present in the new Temple.

The religious are those who live deaf and blind to the compromise in their midst. Not even repentance was ever considered when the unnamed prophet prophesied death of Eli’s house. All Eli thought was to continue to live the same way because God was no longer a delight but living a life that he had grown accustomed to.

More and more we see in the ministry this mindset, that to maintain the activity is better than pass through financial difficulty.

David’s only pursuit was God Himself, even when he was king. He never changed, the same devotion when he was with the sheep, and now with the kingship.

How many change when they are given a ministry, become an elder, or any other task in the local Body.

To be a person after God’s heart must mean be in pursuit of God alone.

The other extreme is radicalism. When I considered this I thought of three occasions when this reared its head. First time was Uzzah who saw the Ark stumble, and reached out his hand to steady it. He was struck down.

Many times in the life of the Church it seems the “Ark stumbles”, our temptation is to “steady” yet is fatal. The thing today which is very prevalent, in an age of social media to defend a “stumbling Church” in the midst of scandal and unbelief. Many found ministries to defend and to call out false doctrine. This only leads to endless controversy, and spiritual death.

The other time comes in 1 Samuel 26, as David is near Saul, Saul being a great persecutor of David. David’s men seeing oppportunity to kill Saul.

David says to them that it would be great sin to kill the Lord’s anointed.

This shows that David knows that it would be God who would give him the Throne of the nation. It would also be in God’s time.

The throne of David is not only his, but also Christ’s eternal throne. As such different principles govern how the authority is conferred and how it happens in the correct season. The man after God’s heart has this concept well defined in the preparation.

Today many assume position from character assassination, or by direct attack to move the man in authority, but this is not God’s way.

Whatever God promises to us, in our pursuit of Him, will come to us miraculously without needing our help or efforts.

There are many aspect to David which we need to take note, in our pursuit of God, one we must fear and respect Him, respect His Presence, not presume.

We must discern His times and His ways, discern the seasons, and have one pursuit only; Him.

Shalom.

Please pray for me as I fly on the 5th September for the USA. This will be to participate in a Roundtable concerning Romans 8.