1 Chronicles 14: Consulting God to Win the Victory

Introduction

On Thursday, September 24, at the dawn service of Osaka Onnuri Christian Church, the meditation was on 1 Chronicles 14:1-17. David has just been established as king, Hiram sends him what he needs to build his house, and then the Philistines come up against him twice.

The thread of the passage comes down to one verb: David "inquired of God." He does it when everything is going well, he does it before the first battle, and he does it again before the second, even though he has just defeated the same enemy.

The preacher draws three marks from it of "the one who consults God and wins the victory." When you have an important decision to make, who do you turn to first?

Outline of the message

1. A question to begin: who do you ask for advice?

• As usual, the preacher opens with a question: when you have a big decision to make, who do you ask for advice? For work, a superior or an experienced colleague. For family, your spouse or a trusted friend. For service in the church, a pastor or an elder in the faith.
• All of that has its value. But the most important question must not be forgotten: "Lord, what do you think? What do you expect of me?"
• In hardship, we pray naturally: illness, money worries, conflicts, everything beyond our strength drives us to cry out "Lord, help me."
• But when all is well, when work is going fine and the family is stable, we tell ourselves: "I have experience, I've been through this before, it will be fine." And we act before praying.
• David, for his part, was established as king and his life was beginning to go well. Yet in that season as in every battle, he never stopped seeking God's will.

2. Consulting God precisely when all is well (vv. 1-2)

• Hiram, king of Tyre, sends messengers to David, along with cedar wood to build him a house. A foreign king acknowledges him, and the foundations of the kingdom are being laid. After years of trials, it is finally a time of blessing for David.
• Verse 2 says: "David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel." David does not see his kingship as the sole fruit of his abilities or his efforts. He recognizes that it is God who established him.
• This is not about denying our efforts, or giving up on using our experience. But behind all of it, there is the grace of God. Forgetting it leads to pride; remembering it makes us humble.
• Spiritual and material blessings, health, family, work, opportunities to serve in the church: looking back, we can say "It is the Lord who has led me this far. It is by his grace that I am what I am."
• But after blessing comes something else that is important: precisely because we are blessed, we must consult God even more. Established as king, David did not think he no longer needed to ask. He knelt before God for the battles to come.
• Not to pray less because we are busier, but to keep communion with God precisely because we are busy. When the work of the church grows: "Lord, what should I do in this important season?" When the family is stable: "Lord, how do I lead this household?"
• The blessings God gives us are not a reason to move away from him. They are a reason to draw even closer to him.

3. Not relying on past victory, consulting God at every battle (vv. 8-12)

• As soon as the Philistines learn that David has been anointed king over all Israel, they all come up to attack him. Being blessed does not make battles disappear. On the contrary, entering a new stage often means facing a new fight.
• It is the same for us: when we begin a new ministry, when our faith grows a notch, when we make a decision for God, not everything necessarily goes smoothly. Blessing does not last by itself, and the risk of spiritual battle is very real.
• Verse 10: David does not rush into battle on his own judgment alone. He first comes before God: "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?" This is the defining mark of his faith.
• David is king, he no doubt has an army and above all a long experience of battle. But neither kingship nor experience excuses anyone from consulting God.
• God answers: "Go up; for I will deliver them into your hand." David obeys and defeats the Philistines at Baal Perazim.
• Verse 11: David does not say "my army was strong" or "my strategy was the best." He says: "God has broken my enemies by my hand." The subject of the sentence is God. The one who consults God also gives him all the glory in victory. David rejoices at having been used, but he does not forget that the Lord of victory is God himself.

4. The same enemy, but a different method (vv. 13-15)

• Verse 13: the Philistines come back to the same valley. Same enemy, same place, and a victory already won. David could have told himself: "I know the tactic, I know their weak points, I've already beaten them, I just have to do it again."
• But verse 14: "David inquired again of God." For the preacher, this is the heart of this morning's message. We tend to rely on our past successes: "It worked last time, it will work again."
• Experience is precious and it is good to make use of it. But yesterday's victory is not a reason not to consult God today. The grace received yesterday was for yesterday; today, we again need God's grace, and we must ask for it.
• Our surroundings change, our situations change, the people around us change. God does not change. But what he asks of us may change.
• The first time, God had simply said "Go up." This time, he gives precise instructions: do not go up head-on, make a detour, come up opposite the trees, and attack when you hear the sound of marching in their tops, because God goes out before David to strike the army of the Philistines. The same God, but a different method.
• What matters is not the difference in strategy, but that David keeps asking. How often do we pray with everything already decided: "Lord, here is what I am going to do, is that fine with you? Bless my plan, make it succeed."
• True prayer, the kind that pleases God, does not seek to get our plans approved. It seeks his will, and once it knows it, it sets aside our ideas, our desires and our plans, in self-denial, to bring our steps into line with his.

5. Obeying God and counting on him: he fights before us (vv. 15-17)

• End of verse 15: "God has gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines." David receives precise instructions and goes to battle, but it is God who goes ahead of him. David acts, and it is God who gives the victory.
• We sometimes confuse trusting God with doing nothing: "Since God is at work, I have nothing to do." That is not the case. God acts, but he also expects action from us.
• Verse 16: "David did as God commanded him." He did not only consult God, he put into practice what God had told him. Prayer and obedience go together.
• Asking God is important. But if, after learning his will, we do not obey, it is as if we had not listened. Prayer then bears no fruit.
• If God says "advance," we must advance. If he says "stop, wait," we must not move. If he says "change how you fight," we must not cling to our habits saying "I prefer to do it the way I know," but follow the way he shows. That is when he gives the victory.
• Battles in the family, at work, conflicts in relationships, spiritual battles in the work of the church: what should we base our decisions on? Our experience, the advice of those around us, the common sense of the world? It is not about ignoring everything, since these can serve as landmarks. But in the end, the reference is always the Lord and his will: "Lord, should I advance or wait? Not my thought, nor my plan, but your will be done."
• God is looking today for people who pray like this. Through those who walk according to his directions, he accomplishes amazing works, and the blessing does not stop with them: it spreads, through them, to many others.

6. Conclusion: asking God in the middle of every day

• David was established as king. Blessed, he kept consulting God. Attacked, he consulted him. Attacked again after a victory, he consulted him once more, received a new method and followed it. God went out before him and gave him the victory.
• We do not know what problems we will meet today. But one thing is sure: if we consult the Lord and walk according to his will, he will lead us with power, and we can count on him, who already goes before us in the battle.
• The preacher invites each person, at the moment of an important decision, to pray in their heart: "Lord, what do you think? What do you expect of me? Guide my steps."
• Not resting on yesterday's victory, but consulting the Lord again today and following his voice: this is the walk of the one who consults God and wins the victory.

Key takeaways

• David recognizes that it is the LORD who established him as king: remembering the grace of God behind our successes keeps us from pride.
• God's blessings are not a reason to move away from him, but a reason to draw closer to him, especially when all is well.
• A past victory does not excuse us from consulting God today: same enemy, same place, but God may give a different method.
• True prayer does not seek approval of our plans, it seeks God's will in order to conform to it.
• Prayer and obedience go together: David acts, but it is God who goes before him and gives the victory.

Personal application

1. In which area of your life is everything going well right now? Do you still consult God there, or do you act before praying?
2. Which recent success do you mostly attribute to your abilities or your efforts? What would change if you said, like David, "it is the LORD who established me"?
3. On which "method that worked last time" do you rely without asking God what he wants now?
4. When you pray, do you ask for his will, or for his blessing on a decision already made?
5. What has God already shown you that you have not yet put into practice: advancing, waiting, or changing how you do things?

Verses cited

• 1 Chronicles 14:1-17
• 1 Chronicles 14:1-2
• 1 Chronicles 14:8-12
• 1 Chronicles 14:13-15
• 1 Chronicles 14:16-17

Frequently asked questions

Why consult God when all is well?

When life is easy, we rely on our experience and act before praying. David, though established as king, kept consulting God. God's blessings are not a reason to move away from him, but a reason to draw closer to him.

Why does David consult God a second time against the same Philistines?

Same enemy, same place, and a very recent victory: David could have used the same tactic again. Yet he asks again, and this time God gives him a different, detailed method (1 Chronicles 14:14-15). A past victory does not excuse us from consulting God today.

Is trusting God the same as doing nothing?

No. David acted: he did as God had commanded him (1 Chronicles 14:16). But it was God who went before him and who gave the victory. Prayer and obedience go together: a prayer that is not followed by obedience bears no fruit.