Psalms 8:1 and 31:1-4

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in 2 Samuel 5. David had been crowned king over all of Israel, and when the Philistines heard of it, they gathered their army in the Valley of Rephaim (2 Samuel 5:18), at the southwestern doorstep of Jerusalem.*

The Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind at verse 20:

2Samuel 5:20 And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.

Baalperazim refers to waters springing forth from the head of a stream. David likened this image to how his army broke forth upon the Philistines and overwhelmed them.

Along the still waters, I reflected on our enemies gathered in the valley of “giants,” threatening us with angry, vengeful words and threats. They have “heard” that God has raised a champion for this “nation under God” and they’ve gathered around their giant boasting any challenger to meet them in Elah. Their giant is the “Christian” killers: Islam, and Marxism, in league with a common purpose: drive this nation out from “under God,” and into Hell.

I remembered Ephesians 6:12-21 and Revelation 1:5-6, Ephesians 1:12-21, and Matthew 28:18. I remembered John 16:7-13, and then paused at John 7:38-39:

John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

O, my Father, wilt not the mighty “waters” break forth upon our enemies today as then; in honor of the “son of David,” heir to David’s throne (Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:33), our great King? I pray for this unto thee, O Father, in the name of Jesus, Your Son (John 16:23-28).

In the valley, I knelt in the shadow of His Cross, the scene of the mighty battle won, and where we find the “head” of the waters: where He “Cried with a loud voice,” and said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46). What opens the spout for the mighty waters to break forth from our belly? “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, my Shepherd anointed me with His oil and filled my cup, mingled with His grace. Goodness and mercy appeared and we went together into the harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

https://rumble.com/v7g7k8s-shepherds-pasture-god-breaks-forth-upon-our-enemies.html

[*The conventional location of the valley of Rephaim is just southwest of Jerusalem. However, 2 Samuel 23:13, where we find the record of David’s might men who accompanied David during his exile, suggests the valley of Rephaim was near the cave of Adullam: “And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.” This would put Raphaim near Elah, the scene if the famous story of David and Goliath. The word Raphaim is generally understood to be the name of a Philistine family known for great warriors, even giants.

Why would the Spirit tell us David was at the Adullam cave at a time when the Philistines were in a valley 20+ miles to the northeast, without explaining why it mattered. Maybe these three of David’s mighty men came to him at Adullam at a time, coincidentally, that the Philistines were in Rephaim. If the valley is near Adullam, David would need to be apprised of enemy movements into a nearby valley. However, such enemy movement encroaching so deeply into Israel’s land would also be concerning, even alarming to David.

Archaeologist Aren Mair, has  extensive research into the area of Gath (the Philistine’s primary homeland in Canaan). Sabine Kleiman is field director of the Tel Azekah Excavation, and a member of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near East Cultures at the Tel Aviv University. She used Mair’s research, to prepare an argument that the valley of Rephaim was located near Adullam. She published her study in the Biblical Archaeology Society. In the interests of disclosure, you should know that Kleiman dismisses the idea that Rephaim means Giants, insists this is a myth, and argues the term Rapha refers to a notable Philistine family. As for me, the biblical text supplies sufficient reason to place the valley near Elah, near Gath, but that will be a matter for further study.]