A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to support our ministry.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Thursday, November 14, 2013  Cucumber Falls in Ohiopyle State Park, Pennsylvania (photo by Howard Blichfeldt) "Lessons From Uriah"  Listen to this message on your audio player."I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity" (I Chronicles 29:17). "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper" (Proverbs 28:13). "It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God" (I Thessalonians 4:3-5). Today's Study is from 2 Samuel 11. In the course of our work we meet a lot of people and seek to learn their names as soon as possible. After all, don't we all like to be addressed by name! Many people we meet have Bible names, including common ones like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as well as women with names like Mary, Rachel and Elizabeth. But we also meet those with Bible names less commonly used such as Moses, Isaiah, Obadiah, Shadrach and Jeremiah (although Jeremy is rather common).  There are other Bible names we probably do well to avoid using such as Cain and Judas or Delilah and Jezebel! In New Jersey we pass a Delilah Road and we've heard a national syndicated radio program hosted by a woman named Delilah.Several weeks ago we met a man who was working as a temp at one of our companies. He introduced himself as Uriah! We couldn't resist asking him if he was aware of the Biblical origin of his name, which he was. Brooksyne commented, "How wonderful that you were named after a man who was known for his honor!" Uriah is used for several Bible characters but most famously a Hittite, who was an honorable man, thrust from obscurity due to his wife's sin with David. Otherwise it is very unlikely that we would know anything about him. He was a soldier in David's army valiantly serving in the battlefield. While he was away his wife Bathsheba became entangled with David resulting in her pregnancy. David, knowing the facts of life, devised a clever cover-up scheme. He ordered Uriah back home from the battle front and, in a gesture of feigned kindness, expected him to spend some quality time with his wife. Unless Uriah paid close attention to the calendar the unborn child would be reckoned as his and, voila! David was off the hook. After all that was before they had DNA testing! But Uriah felt that such a privilege would be unfair to the other warriors who were fighting it out on the battlefield. Instead he "slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house." When David was told that Uriah didn't go home his plan began to unravel. He must have been ringing his hands as he entreated Uriah, "Why didn’t you go home?” Uriah's answer, his only spoken words in the Bible, revealed the code of honor by which he lived. He explained to the king, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing!” (v. 11). So David became more dastardly. He had Uriah eat in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk (v. 13a). Even in his impaired state of mind Uriah refrained, "And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house" (v. 13b). What happened next is surely one of the most pitiable, disheartening events of the entire Bible, revealing the darkest side of David, one of the Bible's greatest heroes. The Bible's candid forthtelling of its heroes weaknesses is a sign of authenticity and trustworthiness. I recall a point made in Bible College that other sacred literature glosses over or ignores the failings of its heroes. Not so the Bible. David intentionally had Uriah placed in the fiercest part of a battle line to do away with him (which would also do away with the embarrassment and shame once he was exposed for impregnating another man's wife, particularly that of a brave warrior). Joab, his general, was an accomplice in this. Not only was Uriah killed but also several other warriors. Uriah, on this side, never knew the ugly story. Throughout the narrative he seems clueless as to what was really going on. David married Bathsheba and smugly thought all was well. But the chapter ends with these words, "But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD." Lessons from Uriah's life:
Be encouraged today! Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, Your Word is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from You, but everything is uncovered and laid bare before Your eyes. We will give an account of our thoughts, motives and actions to You, our loving Father and Supreme Judge. We want to keep our conscience clear and our character above reproach so that we will give You the honor due Your name. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.See Hebrews 4:12,13 Update from Ester: Thank you for your prayers and concerns about my health problems. I am blessed by reading your notes and knowing that many are praying for me. I'm doing OK with the Lovanox shots and my mom's doing a pretty good job giving them to me, even though she scared me at first. I hope that the blood clot is starting to dissolve so that I can soon have my heart operation when I will have my pacemaker's atrial lead repaired. Thank you again. Ester Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Take My Life/ Holiness" Video Scott Underwood  |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (Click on photo to enlarge) "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/31/12)  Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. We ask you to consider an offering to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. Click here to donate online.2013 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 11/13/13: $17,339.00 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here.These messages are never sent by us unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR it was forwarded to you. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or as an email subscription through Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) Cancel: These messages are only sent from us to people who request it; please accept our apologies if it reached you in error. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time. If you no longer desire to receive these messages you can remove your address from the list by merely using the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email regularly or who may desire less frequent mailings. It is Friday's message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter:  The daily message and prayer on Facebook. The daily message and prayer on Twitter.Reader Survey: Please take a few minutes to assist us in improving our ministry effectiveness by filling out this online reader survey. To take the survey click here. Please feel free to pass these messages on! Our other blogs: "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) (Note: This material is satire!) "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."  How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Other versions are also occasionally used. © Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552   Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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