Saturday, November 15, 2014

Year 4, Day 319: 2 Samuel 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here


Discipleship Focus: Ambition

  • Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

2 Samuel 2 is really all about ambition.  In one sense, we have the ambition of the godly.  David is anointed as king over the Hebrew people when Saul is dead.  Most of the Hebrew people submit to the ambition of God.

However, there is also the ambition of the people of Benjamin.  These people are led by Abner.  Rather than submit to the will of God, they follow their own ambition.  They want a king on the throne that comes from their own tribe.  Thus, they set up one of Saul’s sons as king.

What happens when human ambition meets up with divine ambition?  Conflict ensues.  There is a civil war among the Hebrew people.  Conflict is the natural consequence when human will butts its head against God’s will.  Of course, the conflict doesn’t have to be external among people.  Often the conflict is internal within people, too.  We can feel conflict within ourselves when our own ambition puts forth a rival opinion over God’s will for our life.

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