Sought

2 Samuel 20:23-21:1 – Joab was over Israel’s entire army; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; Adoniram was in charge of forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; Sheva was secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; and Ira the Jairite was David’s priest. During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

Exodus 32:11 - But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?

Isaiah 6:10 – Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

2 Samuel 24:1,12,14,17,25 – Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”… “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”… David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”… When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”… David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

1 Samuel 2:1-2,9-10 – Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God…He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Application:

• ·         Using God’s own words, Moses appeals to God’s special relationship to Israel, then to God’s need to vindicate his name in the eyes of the Egyptians, and finally to the great patriarchal promises.
• ·         Israel’s is deaf and blind. One day, however, the nation will be able to see and hear.
• ·         Although Scripture is clear that God does not cause anyone to sin, it is also clear that the evil acts of people and Satan are under God’s sovereign control.
• ·         The three alternative judgments that David was offered were all included in the curses that Moses said would come on God’s people when they failed to adhere to their covenant obligations.
• ·         David, who knew both God and war, knew that even in his anger God is more merciful than humans let loose in the rampages of war.
• ·         Although the people of Israel were not without guilt, David assumes full blame for his own act and acknowledges his responsibility as king for the well-being of the Lord’s people.
• ·         Reconciliation and restoration of covenant fellowship were obtained by the king’s repentance, intercessory prayer and the offering of sacrifices.
• ·         The supreme source of Hannah’s joy is not in the child but in the God who has answered her prayer.
• ·         Rock was a metaphor to depict the strength and stability of the God of Israel as the unfailing source of security for His people.
• ·         Hannah’s expectation finds fulfillment in Christ and His complete triumph over the enemies of God.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV