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2 Samuel 21:15-18 – God Keeps His Promises

If you’ve been a Christian for a long time, and particularly if you’ve been plodding on in an area of service to Christ without seeing much fruit, one of the exhortations of Scripture which you may need to keep coming back to is: ‘do not grow weary in doing good’. That command actually appears a couple of times in Scripture, which suggests how important it is. But how can you do that? How can you stop yourself growing weary in doing good? You’ll only be able to do it if you let the promises of God sustain you. Even when things seem bleak and discouraging, hold on to the promises of God. And remind yourself of the promises of God that have already been fulfilled.

We see one such promise being fulfilled in these verses. Way back in 2nd Samuel 3:18, we are told of God’s promise about David: ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines’. What do we have in verse 15? ‘War again between the Philistines and Israel’. And because of God’s promise, there can be no doubt about the result. In verse 17, the first Philistine giant is killed. Then in verse 18 there is again war with the Philistines, and a second giant is struck down. In verse 19, again there’s war with the Philistines, and a third giant bites the dust. And in verse 20 there’s war at Gath, one of five key Philistine cities, and the fourth and final giant is struck down. God keeps his promises. God keeps his promises despite the weariness of his servant. In verse 15 David is weary. Perhaps through getting older. Perhaps he’s simply exhausted from many battles. On the verge of burnout, we might say. And yet despite the exhaustion of God’s servant, God keeps his promises. Perhaps we feel that if some of us had to take a step back, or take some time out, that God’s purposes would be thwarted. But as someone once put it: ‘God can send us off to bed like little children and his kingdom will still grow’. God kept his promises in these verses. And he’ll keep his promises today. Despite the size of our enemies. And despite our weakness. Salvation means you are set free to serve the God who doesn’t need you, but will graciously use you anyway.

Question

  1. How can God keeping His promises encourage us?

Prayer Points

  1. Give thanks that God keeps His promises.
  2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
  3. Pray for family matters.