In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its surrounding villages from the control of the Philistines. – 1 Chronicles 18:3

Today's Scripture Reading (July 19, 2025): 1 Chronicles 18

Several years ago, when I was in Hawaii, my wife and I wanted to do some sightseeing (not a lot of sightseeing, I just wanted to lie in the sun and read, but some sightseeing would be okay). One evening, we had gone into a local mall food court for supper, and on the way out, we stopped at a kiosk with travel information. The lady working the kiosk was friendly and provided us with some great information. She told us about the "must do's" and the "should do's" and the "don't bother doings," but her last category was the "please never do." It was at this stage of the conversation that she took her pen and the map she was giving to us, and she circled an area of the Island with the instructions, "Don't go here."

I was a little curious. Is this where the Hawaiian gangs roam, or is this where all the dangerous Hawaiian animals live? Why shouldn't we go there? And the answer was that the road was narrow, great cliffs that went down into the ocean bordered the highway, and there were no guardrails. If you're not accustomed to driving in those conditions, just don't go there.

Guardrails are weird things. No one wants to hit a guardrail, but they serve a critically important purpose. These guardians of the highway are planted on safe ground, but just beyond them is danger. Their purpose is to form a barrier on safe ground that will keep us from the threat that exists just beyond their reach. And that danger is far worse than hitting the guardrail.

David was a great military commander, but all he is doing here is setting up the guardrails for Israel. One of the problems facing any ancient nation was the frequent occurrence of border raids. For generations, Israel had taken possession of the Promised Land, but those living close to the edges of the nation had to learn to put up with these all too common border strikes. So, one of the first things that David does as king is to take over the neighboring countries with the purpose, not of enlarging his kingdom, but of building a buffer zone so that his country would no longer be raided, or at least, not as often.

It is the reason why God has set his expectations for us. They are guardrails, outlying nations, planted firmly on safe ground, and yet keeping us from dangers that lie just beyond. Sometimes, we think, "I don't understand why God doesn't want me to do this because this looks like safe ground." And it might be, but God knows that there are cliffs just on the other side.  God isn't a God who hopes to catch us in something. He is a God who wants to keep us away from the cliffs that threaten to hurt us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 9