Marching Orders
Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?” “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and outran the Cushite. 2 Samuel 18:21-23, ESV
Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king's servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still. And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.” The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man.” 2 Samuel 18:28-31, ESV
When we receive our marching orders from God it will come with opposition. The opposition can be from within our own mind, or from outside sources. In the scriptures above, King David’s son Absalom had gone up against him in war. He was literally fighting to take over his father’s throne and destroy him. This reminded me of Satan, who tried to take over heaven, with God being his father. King David had given instructions about his son Absalom. He asked his soldiers to deal gently with the young man Absalom for his sake. The people had heard that the king had given this order, but regardless his son was murdered in the battle.
Joab was one of the commanders in charge of David’s army. After killing Absalom and gaining victory in the war, he told a Cushite to go and tell the king what he had seen. Even before Joab had given the instruction to the Cushite, a soldier named Ahimaaz asked Joab if he could run and tell the king the news. Joab told Ahimaaz, “no,” but sent the Cushite instead. The Cushite started running to deliver the message, but Ahimaaz once again asked Joab if he could go to the king. Joab finally relented and Ahimaaz took off. When Ahimaaz left, he took a different path than the Cushite and arrived earlier to the king.
Although Ahimaaz arrived before the Cushite and gave the king the news, he could not answer his question because he did not have all the information. The king put Ahimaaz aside and waited for the Cushite to arrive. When he spoke to the Cushite, he had all the information he needed.
When given an assignment you may not feel as qualified to handle it in comparison to someone else. One of our ministers at church said, “Comparison is a thief of joy.” Ahimaaz was the messenger who was regularly assigned to run and provide information to the king. The Cushite had no idea why he was chosen to run to the king instead of Ahimaaz. He was given one assignment: go to the king and tell him what he had witnessed. Ahimaaz had not seen what the Cushite witnessed so he lacked the adequate knowledge to go before the king.
Listen! God gives us assignments every day that may appear that we can’t handle! For example, I have several social media accounts and God told me to give the people the message he had put into my spirit on each one of the accounts. I can tell you for the longest time I did not follow that assignment! I felt like there were already too many other people on social media who were better qualified than me in giving God’s word. They had more education and knowledge of the word. But when God says to do something, he does not need us to give him an account of what the circumstances may look like. He only needs us to obey the order that was given! I found this out quickly when God had sent a personal message to me telling me that I was in disobedience to him. I quickly repented and started doing exactly what he said. I had no idea what God put into my spirit, but I know it is was a message from him and he wanted me to give it to the people.
I loved the story about the Cushite because it showed how God expects us to move no matter what we think. The Cushite never wavered from his assignment. He may have had doubts in his mind, the scripture does not say, but he obeyed the instructions that he was given. When he arrived to King David, he was the only one who could answer the king’s question. Stay the course of your marching orders!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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