Listening For The Wind

2 Samuel 5-8

Saturday was a really windy day up here in the north. Coupled with the dryness of the spring, that "stiff breeze" created whirlwinds of sand that danced across streets and yards. The chimes outside my window marked time until well into the next morning. Trees swayed and flags stiffened as though starched. Marg, my hostess, remarked more than once how much she hated the sound of so much wind. It can be nerve-wracking.

Yesterday I finished reading Dr. David Jeremiah's book, Angels, The Strange and Mysterious Truth. It's part of my research for a series of studies I will be leading at the end of the month. As it happened, (though nothing just "happens") he referred to an incident in David's life that I read this morning in my devotions. Here's the scene.

David is facing the Philistines, a lifelong enemy of Israel's. He asks the Lord for instructions before taking any steps to go into battle. The Lord says: "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army" —2 Samuel 5:23-24.

Angel activity is often associated in the Scriptures with wind, fire and a celestial army. Dr. Jeremiah points out that here, in David's story, we have an example of the angelic army of God marching through the Balsam trees in the Valley of Rephaim in advance of David's troops. His victory was assured because the army of God went into battle first.

I wonder how the Philistines felt about the sound of the wind in those Balsam trees? Did they notice? Were their minds more filled with their own strategies than they were aware of the voice of God in the trees? David was listening. And because he was, he gained yet another important victory over his enemy.

We don't often, if ever, listen for the sound of the angelic host marching through the trees. But we do need to be listening for the voice of God's Spirit as he speaks to us through the Word of Life that the Almighty has given to us. Like David, we need to ask for instructions, trust God to direct us by his Spirit, through the Word. Then we need to follow. The God who was with David and gave him the victory is the same today as he was yesterday.

Listen for the wind.

Comments

  1. Great thoughts! David had a creative/writer's heart. I understand and love his observations.

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