What's mine is His...

"he would not drink it, 

but poured it out before the Lord'

2 Samuel 23:16

This is just one of the mentions of "pouring out water before the Lord" in the Bible.  I think the concept is so interesting.  It has different intentions, though, depending on who's doing the pouring.  In 1 Samuel 7, the children of Israel pour out water before the Lord as a way of confessing their sins.  But the first time I ever saw the act (well, read about it...) was this one in 2 Samuel.

David was in battle against the mighty Philistines, and he said longingly, "Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem!"  So his three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem and took it and brought it to David.  But instead of drinking it, he poured it out to before the Lord.

When I read that, many years ago, I couldn't believe it.  These warriors of David had risked their lives to get him that water, and he just poured it out on the ground!  I could just imagine these guys, still panting from their daring mission, handing him this jug of water that they had smuggled past the Philistines, and I'm expecting him to take a long refreshing drink of this wonderful water from Bethlehem, and then he'd turn to them, and he'd say, "Hey, kid" and then he'd toss his game-worn jersey at them, and they'd say, "Thanks, King David!" and it would be this really touching moment.

But no, it was no Mean Joe Greene moment.  It was far more beautiful than that.  David was honoring the risk those men had gone through.  He said in verse 17, "Is this not the blood of the men who sent, in jeopardy of their lives?"  Because they had risked their lives, he considered it as blood, and he poured it out, this water he had wanted, as a sacrifice to the Lord.

That's an amazing offering ~ giving something back.  And it makes me think about what the Lord has given me, and what I've offered back to Him.

What has the Lord provided for you, that you wanted... that you needed.... and have you offered it back to Him?

~ "he who waters will also be watered himself" ~

Proverbs 11:25

Oh, and yesterday's trivia question?  About the two words in the English language that change pronunciation when you capitalize their first letter:  job (Job) and polish (Polish).  Fun, right?  :)