Lessons from the Wilderness

1 Samuel 18-20

“Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David.” 1 Samuel 19:1a  

After David killed Goliath, the Israelite women sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7) Saul became jealous of David, and the next day he tried to kill David twice with his spear. Later he tried to spear David again, and when he was unsuccessful, he sent men to David’s house to kill him.  But David escaped and became a fugitive, running and hiding from Saul for ten years.  About 400 men gathered around him, and he became their leader. This was the nucleus of his loyal army when he became king. We need to be thankful for the people God gives to stand beside us.

David served Israel even while he was in exile. The Philistines were raiding the Israelites in Keilah, and David attacked the Philistines and delivered the people of Keilah. We can help others even when we are having a difficult time ourselves.

Notice who was in complete control of the whole situation.  1 Samuel 23:14b, “Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.” God protects those who belong to Him. Irving Jensen, “Saul might as well have hoped to stop the sun in its course as to cut short David’s life until God’s time came. A hedge is set around God’s children, and nothing can touch them unless God permits.” Whatever our situation, God knows exactly what is happening and is sovereign over all circumstances. He will take us either around or through whatever we are facing and will teach us valuable lessons along the way if we just keep our eyes on Him and wait for His timing.

One time David and his men were hiding in the back of a cave, and Saul came into that same cave.  David’s men urged him to kill Saul, but David refused to harm the king, the Lord’s anointed. David trusted God to repay Saul in due time. He based his attitudes and actions on his faith rather than on his circumstances--a good example for us.

David’s best friend, Jonathan, Saul’s son, came to Horesh to encourage David. He told David not to be afraid, that Saul would not lay a hand on him. He said, “You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you.” In a time when men murdered members of their own families to gain the throne, Jonathan’s words to David are amazing. Jonathan was the king’s oldest son and was in line to inherit the throne. But there was no jealousy or selfish ambition in Jonathan because he loved his friend David so much. This is probably the last time the two friends ever saw each other. The time we spend with those we love is precious, and it’s important to take time to spend with them while we have the opportunity.

Father, You eventually take many of your children through a wilderness of sorts, where You remove many of the crutches on which we lean until we learn to lean on You. Thank You that nothing and no one can ever remove You from our lives, that Your love and power are always available to give us stability.  Amen.

David Fights Goliath

1 Samuel 17

“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”  1 Samuel 17:37a

Charles Swindoll wrote, “Goliath reminded me of a cross-eyed discus thrower.  He didn’t set records, but he kept the crowd awake.”

The Philistines gathered for yet another battle with the Israelites.  Three of David’s brothers were soldiers in Saul’s army.  David’s father, Jesse, sent David to the Israelite camp to take some food to his brothers and bring back a report on how they were.

When David arrived at the camp, a Philistine giant named Goliath came out and challenged the Israelite army to send a soldier to fight him. Goliath was over nine feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of armor that weighed about 125 pounds.  Not surprisingly, none of Saul’s soldiers wanted to face him.

David was indignant because Goliath was defying the army of the living God.  He volunteered to fight the giant.  When Saul heard that, he said it would be an unequal battle between the lad, David, and the experienced, gigantic soldier.  However, God had already prepared David for this battle.  Both a lion and a bear had tried to carry off sheep from David’s flock, and David had killed them both.  He realized that God had delivered him from these wild beasts, and David trusted God to deliver him from Goliath as well.

David approached Goliath with five smooth stones in his shepherd’s bag and his sling in his hand.  When Goliath saw young David facing him, the giant began to taunt the lad. David confidently replied, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  The battle is the Lord’s and He will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45b, 47b

David slung one of the stones with his sling and hit Goliath in his forehead, causing the giant to fall forward on the ground.  A note of explanation in my Bible says the stones in these slings were “...usually somewhat larger than a baseball.  When hurled by a master slinger, they probably traveled close to 100 miles per hour.” David then drew Goliath’s sword and cut off the giant’s head.

Has God been faithful to fight your battles in the past?  Do you trust Him to fight any that face you at the present or any that may arise in the future?

Father, thank you for Your faithfulness to me over and over in the past.  I trust You for today and all the tomorrows of my life.  Amen.

David at the Palace

1 Samuel 16:14-23

“ Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.”  1 Samuel 16:14

God took Saul from obscurity in the least clan of the smallest tribe, Benjamin.  He had been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be the ruler of God’s chosen people.  And he blew it!  Like so many people, power and position went to his head.  His failure to wait on God and obey Him, and his tendency to take things into his own hands and do them his way were his undoing.  As a result of his disobedience, Saul lost his inner peace.  Peace is too valuable to exchange for anything else.  The expression “peace at any price” reminds us that, without peace, we cannot enjoy anything we have.  If we have lost our peace, we can regain it by sincerely confessing and repenting of each sin we have committed.  Then God will cleanse us and restore us to fellowship with Him.

In Psalm 32, David wrote how he felt about his sin with Bathsheba, saying, “There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration. All day and all night your hand was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess them to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone...What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record.” (Psalm 32:3-5, 1  The Living Bible)

God used Saul’s situation to David’s advantage--Saul’s attendants suggested getting someone to play the harp for Saul to make him feel better, and one of the servants recommended David.  The servant described David in 1 Samuel 16:18 saying that he “knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man.” And the servant saved the best for last:  “And the Lord is with him.”  David so loved God that it was obvious even to this servant in the palace.  Hopefully, we so love God that it shows everywhere we go and is like a sweet aroma to all the people we meet.

Saul sent for David, the young shepherd, and gave him an opportunity to come to the king’s palace...and learn how to rule a nation.  He also learned how to lead an army--lessons David would need when he became Israel’s king.  His gifts as a musician and soldier and his heart for God endeared him to the people as their spiritual leader as well as their political leader.  We would do well to pray that the political leaders of our own country today would be spiritual leaders as well.

Father, I pray today for all the leaders in every position in our world.  Infuse them with Your Spirit and guide them in their decisions with Your wisdom. Amen.

The Risen Christ

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them,  'Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!'"  Luke 24:1-6a

There was good news on Palm Sunday.  Jesus received some of the praise and honor due Him when He entered Jerusalem triumphantly a week before His crucifixion.  Then there was the unbelievably horrible news when He, the Creator, was put to death in a humiliating and excruciating manner.  It was seemingly the darkest day in history.  Creation itself mourned this ignoble act with a three hour darkness over the land.  It was as though creation could not bear to look upon Jesus' suffering.

In great irony, the day of Jesus' crucifixion is called Good Friday.  But it really isn't an ironic title at all.  That was the day that Jesus became victorious over sin and death in our behalf.  He paid the penalty for all the sins of mankind so that whoever looks to Him can have victory over both the penalty and the power of sin.  After the cross, death could not hold Jesus in the grave, and neither can it hold us.  The empty tomb and Jesus' appearances after His resurrection attested to the fact that all Jesus had claimed was, indeed, true. Because Jesus lives today, we too shall live eternally with Him and share in His glory.  This is the greatest good news we could ever possibly hear.  No wonder we celebrate the resurrection on Easter!

Hallelujah!  I praise You, Lord Jesus.  Amen.

Good Friday

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."  Isaiah 53:5

Sometimes people will ask,  "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"  During the Easter season we have good news, then terrible news, then incredibly great news.

The first scene opens on what we call Palm Sunday, the Sunday before the resurrection.  Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey.  Donkeys were highly regarded in Jesus' day.  A donkey was a symbol of peace and royalty.  Kings and conquerors rode horses if they came for war, but they rode donkeys if they came in peace.

Cloaks were laid on the donkey, and Jesus sat on top of the cloaks.  Matthew 21:8 says,  "A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road."  Laying garments on animals and on the road, and waving and spreading palm branches, were all part of the traditional Jewish reception for royalty.

Matthew 21:9 tells us,  "The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest.'"

The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was an object lesson on who He is.  Detail after detail underscored the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.  This is a preview of the worship and adulation due Jesus that will one day culminate when every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord.

The terrible news came one week later.  Jesus was tried, condemned, abused, humiliated, and put to death on a Roman cross.  Where were the worshipers of the week before?  Were some of them fickle enough to join the mob that shouted,  "Crucify Him?"

Even nature mourned the death of its Creator with an unnatural darkness that lasted for three hours.  It was the darkest day the world had ever known.  None of the people at the cross would have possibly been able to imagine that this day would eventually be called Good Friday.  But just wait!  The incredibly great news is coming, and it's coming because Good Friday took place!!!

Father, thank You for the day we call Good Friday when Jesus paid the sin debt for all of us.  You and He knew the glory that was to come.  During the hard times in our lives, may we trust that You will bring good from them as well. Amen.

The New King

1 Samuel 16:1-13

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"  Jeremiah 29:11

Saul disobeyed God twice.  First, he offered the burnt offering, and only priests were allowed to offer the sacrifices.  Then God clearly instructed Saul to destroy all the Ammonites and everything that belonged to them, specifically citing the people and the livestock.  Saul spared Agag the king and the best of the sheep and cattle.  God sent Samuel to rebuke Saul for his disobedience.  Samuel told Saul,  "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king."  1 Samuel 15:23b

Saul actually served as king over Israel for forty two years, but shortly after he disobeyed God a new king was designated and anointed.  God told Samuel to quit grieving for Saul, to fill his horn with oil, and go to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as king.

Samuel told the elders of Bethlehem that he had come to make a sacrifice, and he invited Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice.  Samuel looked at Jesse's son Eliab and thought he must be the one, but God said no.  1 Samuel 16:7 gives great advice for us to apply,  "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'"   Kenneth Chafin wrote,  “Like Samuel, we are too impressed by the things that can be seen with the physical eyes.  Consequently we live in a world where physical beauty outranks spiritual depth, where success in business tends to be defined in materialistic terms, and where charisma is prized above character…”

Then Jesse had six more of his sons parade before Samuel, one at a time, but each time God told Samuel this was not the one for him to anoint king.  Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons, and Jesse said there was the youngest son who was tending the sheep. Samuel instructed Saul to send for that son, David, and when David arrived God told Samuel this was His choice. Then Samuel anointed David in the presence of his father and brothers.

David was a young shepherd.  Although he had been anointed king, he was unprepared to fulfill that position.  God took many years to prepared David for the throne before he allowed him to reign over Israel.

Notice that David didn’t have a press conference or make an official announcement of his anointing.  He didn’t gather an army and try to take over the throne.  He simply went home and kept tending his sheep, waiting on God’s timing and God’s method of putting him on the throne.  

God has plans for each of our lives just as he did for David's life, but often it takes many years of preparation to make us usable.  Think of Joseph and all his hardships in Egypt before he was promoted to second in command in Egypt.  Think of Moses tending sheep on the back side of the desert for forty years before he led Israel out of Egypt.  God prepares us and fulfills His plans for us if we obey His word and walk in His will.

Father, I don't want to miss Your best for my life.  May I walk daily in obedience to Your word and Your will so Your plans for me will be fulfilled. Amen.

Is Partial Obedience Disobedience?

1 Samuel 13:1-14; 15:1-2

"To obey is better than sacrifice."  Part of I Samuel 15:22

Since the Israelites insisted that they wanted a king like all the other nations, God gave them one.  Samuel introduced Saul as the new king to the Israelites.  He looked the part.  He was very handsome and was a head taller than all the other Israelite men.  The people were pleased and had a great celebration at Saul's coronation in Gilgal.

Samuel had given Saul these instructions before the coronation celebration,  "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal.  I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do."  I Samuel 10:8.

After he was crowned king, Saul attacked the Philistines who had been enemies of Israel for a long time.  The Philistines gathered a large army for a counter attack, and Saul's soldiers became frightened and began to scatter.  Saul became impatient.  Samuel had not appeared at Gilgal, so Saul took it upon himself to offer the burnt offering, a ministry only the priests were allowed to perform.  Just as he finished, Samuel arrived and asked Saul what he was doing.  Saul explained that Samuel had not yet come, and he didn't want to go into battle without God's favor.  But Samuel said to him,  "You have not kept the Lord's command."  Saul yielded to the temptation to take things into his own hands rather than trusting God and waiting on Him.  This is an ever present temptation for us all.

Later Samuel was preparing to battle the Amalekites, and he received these very specific instructions from God through Samuel,  "This is what the Lord Almighty says:  I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.  Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them.  Do not spare them; put them to death, men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."  I Samuel 15:2-3  Saul was victorious over the Amalekites. but he spared Agag the king and the best of the livestock.  When Samuel found the new king, Saul greeted him with these words,  "The Lord bless you.  I have carried out the Lord's instruction."  I Samuel 15:13b  "But Samuel said,  "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears?  What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"  I Samuel 1514.  Saul played the blame game and gave an excuse.  He told Samuel that the soldiers brought the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord but destroyed the rest.  PARTIAL OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE!  If we do not obey God in everything, we have disobeyed God.  And there is nothing that we can do that will make God satisfied with our disobedience.  Samuel's words to Saul should be seared into our memory banks, "To obey is better than sacrifice."  In fact, to obey is better than anything else!  There is no substitute for obedience.

After Saul disobeyed, he asked Samuel to come with him to worship God so he wouldn’t lose face before the people.  He was more concerned about his reputation than his character.  He was more interested in being popular than pleasing God.  He was sorry he got caught, but he didn’t have that Godly sorrow for sinning that leads to true repentance.

Father, obedience is not an option but an essential if we want to walk in fellowship with You.  May we confess and repent of any disobedience in our lives as soon as we are aware of it.  Amen.