Saturday, August 5: “Marching Orders”

“Marching Orders”

2 Samuel 5: 22-25: “Now the Philistines came up once again and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired of the Lord, He said, ‘You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and cme at them in front of the balsam trees. It shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the Philistines.’ Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.”

Do you believe you can know the Lord’s voice? You should, because Jesus said, “My sheep know My voice.” (John 10: 27). Did the Philistines hear marching in the top of the balsam trees? Maybe yes, maybe no; but they didn’t know the meaning of it, for they were not the Lord’s sheep. David, who knew all about shepherd’s voices and sheep, recognized it immediately, and won the day.