Nothing stops the glory of God

A man once said, “I’ve forsaken the Lord. I have disobeyed the Almighty God. His glory will not come upon me.”

Scripture advocates that God is no respecter of persons. We will see how evident this is in examples taken from 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel.

1 Samuel 16:14 quotes that the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and in verse 18, the Lord was with David. Though Saul had forsaken the Lord’s ways and sinned against Him as mentioned in the earlier chapters, the glory of God did not leave him. Verse 22 says Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, ‘Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.’ David was close to Saul, and because the Spirit of the Lord was with David, whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play and the evil spirit would leave Saul (1 Samuel 16:23). Saul’s sin could not stop the glory of God in this manner.

Saul knew that the Lord was with David (1 Samuel 18:12). Saul became jealous of David (V8 – 9) and attempted to kill David. David was anointed by the Lord, and since Saul plotted against David, he was going against the Almighty God. Man would think Saul didn’t deserve God’s glory but his actions did not stop God’s glory from manifesting. The Spirit of God came upon Saul and he began to prophesy too (1 Samuel 

19:23 – 24).

Twice David spared Saul’s life though the Lord delivered Saul into his hands. In 1 Samuel 24:5 – 7, David recognized that even though Saul had sinned against the Lord and was his enemy, he was still the Lord’s anointed and David could not lift a finger on Saul. There was such righteousness in David and the glory of God was shown in how he treated Saul his enemy, well though Saul treated him badly (1 Samuel 24:16 – 18). This brought about a conviction in Saul and he dropped the thought of taking David’s life. Again in chapter 26, the Lord delivered Saul into David’s hands. The Lord had put them into a deep sleep (v12). David could have killed Saul easily but he acknowledged that Saul was the Lord’s anointed (v11). If God hadn’t put Saul and his army into a deep sleep, upon seeing David and his men, Saul might have attacked him out of fear. And in defense, David might have disregarded the thought that Saul was the Lord’s anointed killed him. But God’s glory was not inhibited in that He put them into a deep sleep and kept David from sinning against the Lord.

Chapter 25 records a man Nabal, who offended David such that David wanted to kill him. Through Nabal’s wife, Abigail, God’s glory was manifested. God kept David from killing Nabal but avenged for David. He struck Nabal dead and vindicated David (v39). At that point, I believe David did not seek the Lord about killing Nabal and avenging because it is certainly not what God wanted to happen (v22). Otherwise, David should have known that he shouldn’t kill Nabal even before Abigail met with him. But this did not stop God from manifesting His glory by vindicating David and keeping him from sinning.

In 2 Samuel 6 – 8, God’s glory was manifested again and again despite certain decisions David made. In 2 Samuel 6: 9 – 11, though David didn’t take the ark of God with him, this didn’t stop God from blessing Obed-Edom and his household, where the ark of God was. And even though the ark of God was not with David, God’s glory was still upon David and He gave David victory wherever he went (2 Samuel 8: 6, 14). God cannot be restricted. Hence, nothing can stop the glory of God because He is omnipotent and omnipresent – all powerful and is everywhere.

God’s glory was also manifested in the smallest things. In 2 Samuel 2:9, though Saul treated David as an enemy and wanted to kill him, David was still merciful and gracious to Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of Saul. He was lame in both legs yet was taken into good care in David’s house because of the oath David swore to Saul in 1 Samuel 24:22. God’s glory was manifested because His Spirit was with David and because God was merciful and gracious to David, He knew how to be merciful and gracious to his enemy as well.

God’s glory could not be stopped even when David committed a huge sin against the Lord. In 2 Samuel 11 – 12, David fell in love with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite. He asked Joab to put Uriah in the frontline in the battle where fighting is fiercest. Uriah was killed in the battle and David successfully made Bathsheba his own and this displeased the Lord. Their first son had to die (2 Samuel 12:14). Despite David’s sin, Bathsheba gave birth to a second son, Solomon, but the Lord did not despise him. Conversely, the Lord loved him and gave him the name Jedidiah – loved by the Lord. God’s glory was shown in the name Jedidiah. Nothing could stop Him, not even David’s foolish act.

These examples are what the Lord highlighted to me when He commanded me to read 1 and 2 Samuel. Disobedience which results in forsaking the Lord’s commands and ways doesn’t stop God’s glory from being revealed. The Lord is able and still glorifies Himself in these situations because He is a God of incomparable power and strength, of incomparable wisdom and of incomparable person. He is BIG. Never put God in a box because He is BIGGER than that.

Got it? Or, rather, done it?