DCLM Daily Manna Tuesday 19 December 2023
TOPIC: Hold Your Tongue
TEXT: 2 SAMUEL 6:12-23
12 And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.
13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.
17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.
19 And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.
20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.
22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
KEY VERSE
“Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!”
(2 Samuel 6:20).
DCLM Daily Manna Tuesday 19 December 2023 MESSAGE
On a windswept hill in an English country churchyard stands a drab, grey slate tombstone. The quaint stone bears an epitaph not easily seen unless you stoop over and look closely. The faint etchings read, “Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Arabella Young, Who on the twenty-fourth of May, began to hold her tongue”.
READ DCLM Daily Manna Monday 18 December 2023 – Finishing Well Is More Important
From the passage, David and all the house of Israel brought the Ark of the covenant to the city of David, Jerusalem. David, the king, leaped and danced before the Lord with all his strength. Michal, his wife was not pleased as she viewed the procession from her window. When David returned to bless his household, Michal derided the king and called his public dancing shameless and vain. David’s reply was a rebuke to his wife, Michal – the dancing was before the Lord who chose him as a replacement for her father. Michal remained childless till her death; for speaking irreverently to her husband.
The consequences of wrong use of our tongues can be both devastating and destructive. Michal’s speech betrayed the thoughts of an uncircumcised heart.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Physical injuries can heal, but the injury caused by the tongue lingers long. We are not to speak out everything our eyes see, or what our ears hear. Be more ready to hear than to speak. Even a fool, when he holds his tongue is regarded as a wise person (Proverbs 17:28). Hold your tongue and use it wisely to speak words of grace seasoned with salt.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Control your tongue to stay happy.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: ZECHARIAH 1 – 5
