MONDAY August 26, 2019
Keeping Your Word
“And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore swear now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.” So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
1 Samuel 24:20-22
Incredibly, Saul proclaimed David to be the next King of Israel! He knew David was his replacement! Yet Saul fought against the will of God and came against David––foolish.
Saul asked David to make an allegiance with him. He wanted David to promise not to harm any of his descendants when he came to the throne. David gave his loyal allegiance. David would not destroy any of Saul’s family. When David became King of Israel, he kept his word to Saul. In fact, David would take one of Jonathan’s sons, Mephibosheth, into his care. He was crippled, and David looked after him for the rest of his life.
David remained righteous; he would keep his word, even to someone who sought to do him harm. Saul was nothing like David; Saul was a man who would not keep his word. Let me ask you this, “Do you keep your word?” If a person asks you to help them move, and you have said yes, can they rely on you? When a person asks for prayer, do you pray with them?
Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes about the children of Israel. He told them what God commanded concerning keeping a promise: “When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said” (Numbers 30:2 NIV). Jesus simply taught, “…let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ be ‘No’ ” (Matthew 5:37). We need to have integrity––be men and women of our word––keeping our promises to people.
Men many times eat their words, but God will never eat his.
~Thomas Brooks~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!