David’s Thankfulness To Barzillai

“Be careful for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made know unto God” (Phil. 4:6) This is the memory verse for the week. Our lesson today is about King David and a man most of us would not remember reading about, Barzillai. Read in your Bibles from 2 Sam. 19:31-40. In this record, David offers to bring the old man, Barzillai, to eat and live with him in Jerusalem. You need to read from 2 Sam. 17:27-29 to understand why David is so thankful. Let’s consider a couple of lessons about appreciation and thankfulness from this text.

• We need to be appreciative not matter what position we occupy. David was a king. Still, he did act as if Barzillai had owed him the help he gave during his running battle with Absalom. Rather, he was very thankful. We will never rise so high that we should not be thankful to others. In truth, the higher we rise, the more we will have had the help of others. Let’s be thankful.

• Sometimes, our thankfulness should not only be expressed in words. David wanted to show his thankfulness. He offered Barzillai support for the rest of his life. You may be thinking that you cannot imagine any situation where you would do that, but what about showing honor and appreciation to our parents when they might be in such need. We can do as little as sending a card to show our thanks also. Thankfulness should be said and, sometimes, shown.

• Appreciation should be felt and thanks offered even when it might be rejected. Barzillai graciously turned down David’s physical show of thankfulness. Yet, because it was offered, he became very aware of David’s appreciation. Sometimes, words are all that will be accepted as thanks. Let’s be sure to offer thanks.
   

Mike Glenn