So I started reading through 1 Chronicles this week. Just read chapter 11 today...about David's Mighty Men. It is a really cool chapter...talking about the legendary men who followed David and accomplished great feats because God was with them and because they remained loyal to what David was doing.
The one that stuck out to me was the three men who heard that David was thirsty during a battle with the Philistines. They were pinned in by the Philistines, but three men, after hearing of their leader's need, broke through enemy lines and got to the well, drew water and carried it back to David.
When the water arrived, David, seeing the dedication of his men, refused to drink the water and actually offered it to God.
I can't imagine the scene...These men...risking their lives...taking the lives of enemies to bring a little refreshment to their king...and then their king choosing not to drink...I wonder if there was questioning, frustration, resentment.
But David is making a powerful point. If their loyalty, fierce as it is, is to David and not to God, it is misguided. David wants it known clearly that wholehearted devotion to the wrong thing is a waste of time.
In an era when there are any number of 'good causes' that you can endorse, take on, applaud, stand for, walk for, run for, donate to...if you have not centered yourself on the Uncaused Cause...namely the sovereign God who has raised us from the dead and offers forgiveness of sin...then you will not be a person of renown.
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