1760.) 1 Samuel 19

“David and Saul” by contemporary Chinese artist He Qi

1 Samuel 19   (NRSV)

Jonathan Intercedes for David

Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David.

David is a marked man!  Already Saul has tried to get rid of him in various ways:  throwing a spear at him, giving his promised bride to someone else, sending him out to kill a hundred Philistines . . . but David is still around, and Saul is more and more afraid of him.

But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David. ²Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.”

⁴Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you; ⁵for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?”

⁶Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.”

⁷So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

Jonathan, out of love for David, helps him and — at no small risk to himself — speaks well of David to Saul.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Michal Helps David Escape from Saul

⁸Again there was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack on them, so that they fled before him.

David’s success against the enemies of Israel aroused Saul’s jealousy earlier . . .

⁹Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music. ¹⁰Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall.

“Saul Attempts the Life of David” by Gustave Dore, 1865.

David fled and escaped that night.

David never returned to the palace until he was the king of Israel — some 20 years later! From now until the day Saul dies David lives as a fugitive.

–David Guzik

¹¹Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ¹²So Michal let David down through the window; he fled away and escaped.

“Michal Saves David from Saul,” lithograph by Marc Chagall, 1960.

¹³Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats’ hair on its head, and covered it with the clothes.

¹⁴When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”

¹⁵Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶When the messengers came in, the idol was in the bed, with the covering of goats’ hair on its head.

¹⁷Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?”

Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you?’”

Michal/David’s wife has helped him escape.  But now Michal/Saul’s daughter blames David for making her do it.  Tough to blame her for putting a self-protective spin on it when she knows her father is obsessed with killing her husband.

David Joins Samuel in Ramah

¹⁸Now David fled and escaped;

During this night, when men watched his house and David escaped he composed a song unto the Lord found in Psalm 59. The introduction of that Psalm says, when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him. In a time of danger David could sing unto the Lord. We will read that Psalm in our next post.

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Music:

HERE  Todd Fields, the worship leader at North Point Church in Atlanta, sings his “Breathe On Me.”

Find me here, in this place
Son of God, Saving Grace
At this hour, all my days
Breathe on me, breathe on me

Morning star, shine Your light
As I walk through this life
God of power God of might
Breathe on me, breathe on me

Forever, you are the reason for living
Merciful Savior unending
Breathe on me

When I’m weak, You are strong
Your breath in me will be my song
In You my King, I belong
Breathe on me, breathe on me

Forever, You are the God of my story
Write every line for Your glory
Breathe on me

Breathe on me, breathe on me
When I am weak, You are strong
Your breath in me, be my song
When I am weak, You are strong
You are strong

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David came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth.

Wise David.  When he is troubled, he goes to a person of God and discusses the situation.

¹⁹Saul was told, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰Then Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a frenzy, with Samuel standing in charge of them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy.

This was the Holy Spirit’s warning to these men and to Saul. It is as if the Spirit said, “I don’t want David captured. I am sending these men home empty handed. Instead of seeking to kill David, you should seek to be filled with the Spirit of God.”

–David Guzik

²¹When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they also fell into a frenzy. Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also fell into a frenzy. ²²Then he himself went to Ramah. He came to the great well that is in Secu; he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”

And someone said, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.”

²³He went there, toward Naioth in Ramah; and the spirit of God came upon him. As he was going, he fell into a prophetic frenzy, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴He too stripped off his clothes, and he too fell into a frenzy before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

God protects David (and you and me)  in most amazing ways!

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

He Qi.    http://saulsilasfathi.com/images/heqi7.jpg

Dore.    http://www.creationism.org/images/DoreBibleIllus/g1Sa1811Dore_SaulAttemptsTheLifeOfDavid.jpg

Chagall.    http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Media/Chagall/Chagall_60Bible_David_Micha.jpg

1759.) 1 Samuel 18

two friends

1 Samuel 18   (NRSV)

Jonathan’s Covenant with David

When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ²Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. ³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.

We have already met Jonathan — he single-handedly warred against the Philistines in 1 Samuel 14!  When he heard David tell his father about his faith in God during the Goliath episode, Jonathan knew David and he  were one in the spirit.  Yet on other counts, how different!  Jonathan was the first-born son of King Saul, the crown prince.  David was the last-born son of a farmer.  But Jonathan understood, I think, and by giving David his robe and his armor, he was saying, “These belong to you, David.” Jonathan had a pure love for God, for Israel, and for David.

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Music:

David and Jonathan had such a remarkable friendship, each so faithful to the other.  As I have been considering that, this song from Twila Paris came to mind.  She and Steven Curtis Chapman sing “Faithful Friend.”  The video  HERE  is from the 1996 Dove Awards.

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⁵David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

⁶As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷And the women sang to one another as they made merry,

“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”

⁸Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹So Saul eyed David from that day on.

The old saying, Like father, like son, doesn’t seem to apply to Saul and Jonathan.  Jonathan loved David.  But Saul is jealous of him, afraid of him,  angry at him, as the Scriptures say over and over.

from Experiencing God Day-by-Day
by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

WHEN GOD BLESSES OTHERS

Jealousy is a destructive attitude that poisons the way you view life.  It is so harmful that God condemned jealousy in the Ten Commandments.   King Saul was a jealous and insecure man.  He had been elevated to the highest position in Israel.  He had been blessed in numerous ways.  But Saul saw that David was gaining the attention and praise of the Israelites.  The Israelites recognized Saul’s accomplishments, but they also praised David, whom God was using to accomplish even more.  Rather than rejoicing that God had empowered another to defeat their enemies, Saul became murderously jealous and sought to destroy David.

Jealousy is an abomination in the life of a Christian.  God has made us His children.  None of us deserves to be God’s child, so there is no need to compare our blessings with those of other children of God.  Jealousy is self-centeredness at its worst.  Jealousy robs us of joy and chokes our contentment.  Jealousy hardens the heart and stifles gratitude.  Jealousy assumes that God’s resources are too limited for Him to bless another and still bless us.

Watch over your heart!  If you find yourself unable to rejoice in the success of others, beware!  Do not let jealousy taint your heart.  Repent before it robs you of any more of the joy and contentment God desires for you.  When you are tempted to compare your success in life to that of another, ask God to remind you of all the ways He has blessed you undeservedly.

Saul Tries to Kill David

When the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14), this evil spirit found its way in. 

¹⁰The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; ¹¹and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

¹²Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. ¹³So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army. ¹⁴David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I will not raise a hand against him; let the Philistines deal with him.”

This was a trap because of the dowry that Saul would demand. In that day, a dowry was required whenever a man married. The dowry was paid to the bride’s father, and the more important and prestigious the bride and her family, the higher the dowry price. Since David was from a humble family, there was no way he could pay the dowry for the daughter of a king. Saul knew this and will demand that David kill 100 Philistines as a dowry. Saul figured that the job was too big and too dangerous for David, and he would be killed gaining the dowry to marry a king’s daughter. Yes, Saul thinks, I want David to be valiant for me and to fight the Lord’s battles for me.  But more than that, I want David dead.

¹⁸David said to Saul, “Who am I and who are my kinsfolk, my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹But at the time when Saul’s daughter Merab should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

A slap in the face to David.

²⁰Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. Saul was told, and the thing pleased him. ²¹Saul thought, “Let me give her to him that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.”

²²Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘See, the king is delighted with you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’”

²³So Saul’s servants reported these words to David in private. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?”

²⁴The servants of Saul told him, “This is what David said.” ²⁵Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged on the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶When his servants told David these words, David was well pleased to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired, ²⁷David rose and went, along with his men, and killed one hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.

The NIV says David and his men killed TWO hundred Philistines, and presented the king with twice as many foreskins as he had requested.  (You can be grateful that I am deliberately omitting any accompanying picture!)

²⁸But when Saul realized that the Lord was with David, and that Saul’s daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy from that time forward.

Proverbs 11:17 (NIV)

A kind man benefits himself,
but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.

³⁰Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle; and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his fame became very great.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

fist bump.   http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1971628/images/o-FIST-BUMP-facebook.jpg

green eye of jealousy.     http://media.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2007/09/20070907_jealousy.jpg

wedding rings.    http://www.reception-wedding.com/wedding%20rings.jpg

Jewish bride and groom, stained glass by Susan Fullenbaum.    http://www.stainedglassdesigns.net/sc/scimages/4710.jpg

1758.) 1 Samuel 17

“David,” a 17-foot tall marble statue, was finished by Michelangelo (age 29!) in 1504 and now stands in the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy.  Some viewers believe it shows David before his fight with Goliath, tense and ready for combat, his sling in his left hand.

1 Samuel 17   (NRSV)

David and Goliath

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. ²Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. ³The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

⁴And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span (that is, between 8 and a half to 9 feet). ⁵He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. ⁶He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. ⁷The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him (that is, his armor and weapons weighed somewhere between 150 and 200 pounds).

I have read that the word champion comes to English from Old French by way of Latin and is related to the Hebrew word meaning “the middle man.” The idea is that this man stood between his army and the enemy’s army, and fought as a representative of his side. Of course, we usually remember the winners instead of the losers, so champion carries a victorious connotation.

⁸He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. ⁹If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” ¹⁰And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.” ¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

DISADVANTAGE:  Saul is afraid. Yet Saul has won notable military victories. And we remember that Saul stands taller than any other Israelite — head and shoulders above the rest. Logically, this is his battle; he is the reasonable choice to stand up for Israel. But he is “dismayed and greatly afraid.”

¹²Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. ¹³The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, ¹⁵but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

¹⁶For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

Forty— days or years — is a number consistently used in Scripture for testing. Noah sat in the ark while it rained for 40 days. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus was tested by the devil after 40 days of fasting. Here Goliath mocks Israel and their God for 40 days.

¹⁷Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; ¹⁸also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.” ¹⁹Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. ²¹Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. ²²David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. ²³As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. ²⁴All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid.

²⁵The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.”

²⁶David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

The situation is desperate! Saul offers a bribe, as well as a bride and a tax exemption, to entice someone into fighting the giant! But David sees the battle in spiritual terms. We remember that in Acts, God calls David “a man after my own heart.”

²⁷The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.”

²⁹David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.” ³⁰He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.

³¹When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him.

This is good news and bad news for King Saul. Good news:  finally someone is willing to fight the giant! Bad news:  it’s a kid!

³²David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

³³Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

“Immediately before the encounter with the Philistine he fought a battle which cost him far more thought, prudence, and patience. The word-battle in which he had to engage with his brothers and with king Saul, was a more trying ordeal to him than going forth in the strength of the Lord to smite the uncircumcised boaster. Many a man meets with more trouble from his friends than from his enemies; and when he has learned to overcome the depressing influence of prudent friends, he makes short work of the opposition of avowed adversaries.”

— Charles Haddon Spurgeon

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.

God had been preparing David, and now David understood that. Goliath is a dead man right now!!

So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

2 Timothy 2:1 (Contemporary English Version)

My child, Christ Jesus is kind, and you must let him make you strong.

³⁸Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them.

David did not face Goliath unarmed. He had much better armor than Saul’s. Saul had a bronze helmet,  but David had the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17). Saul had a coat of mail, but David had a breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14). Saul had a sword, but David had the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). David had the whole armor of God! (Ephesians 6:11).

–David Guzik

⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

Why did David choose five stones? He only needed one to kill Goliath. Perhaps it was because Goliath had four brothers (1 Samuel 21:18-22).

⁴¹The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴²When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. ⁴³The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.”

⁴⁵But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.”

⁴⁸When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly

“David ran” — so far was he from fear!

–from John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes

toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

Ecclesiastes 3:5 (NASB)

There is  . . . a time to throw stones . . .

The Israelites thought:  Goliath is so big, I can’t fight him.
David thought:  Goliath is so big, I can’t miss him!

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand.

_________________________

Music:

Do you remember this song from your childhood?  HERE  is “Only a Boy Named David.”

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⁵¹Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. ⁵²The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. ⁵⁴David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.

David will use Goliath’s sword later.  But the giant’s head? — a hunting trophy on his living room wall?! At least one commentator has suggested that David had Goliath’s head pickled and eventually hung it in his banqueting hall!

⁵⁵When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”

Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

⁵⁶The king said, “Inquire whose son the stripling is.”

⁵⁷On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

“David,” by Caravaggio, 1607 (Kinsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria)

⁵⁸Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

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Music:

What impossible situations are in front of you, situations that call for victory?  Let this story  HERE  renew your faith!  Along with David, and Steve Green — “We Trust in the Name of the Lord our God.”

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Michelangelo.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelos_David.jpg

Valley of Elah.    http://www.generationword.com/images/israel_pictures/elah_valley/elah.jpg

champion.    http://www.montana.edu/wwwextec/images/champion.jpg

40.     http://kidmin1124.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/40.jpg

David kills a lion.   http://biblelessonsite.org/flash/images46/slides/p_0003.jpg

David throws a stone.    http://www.banklawyersblog.com/.a/6a00d8341c652b53ef015432d30cc9970c-800wi

Rally in the Valley.    http://churchrelevance.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/sermon-series-1-samuel.jpg

armor of God.   http://www.preschool-plan-it.com/images/armor-of-god.png

David and Goliath.    http://www.epilogue.net/art/9992-david-goliath

mounted animal head.    http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabelas/s7_614863_999_02

Caravaggio.    http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=3860&size=large

1757.) Psalm 23

Psalm 23 (New King James Version)

A Psalm of David.

A psalm about Jesus.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

_________________________

Music:

David never forgot his shepherd roots. And this psalm is surely one of the most familiar and most loved passages in all of Scripture.  HERE  is a beautiful musical arrangement of Psalm 23: “The Lord’s My Shepherd” sung in a Celtic rendition by Sheila Walsh.

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

My soul He doth restore again
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for His own name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk in darkness veiled,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For Thou art with me, and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

My table Thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy, all my life,
Shall surely follow me;
And in God’s house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be.

_________________________

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1

–from Daily Readings from Luther’s Writings
by Martin Luther, ed. by Barbara Owen

In this passage you hear that you lost sheep cannot find your way to the Shepherd yourself but can only roam around in the wilderness.  If Christ, your Shepherd, did not seek you and bring you back, you would simply have to fall prey to the wolf.

But now he comes, seeks, and finds you.  He takes you into His flock, that is, into Christendom, through the Word and Sacrament.  He gives His life for you, keeps you always on the right path, so that you may not fall into error.  You hear nothing at all about your powers, good works, and merits—unless you would say that it is strength, good works, and merit when you run around in the wilderness and are defenseless and lost.

No, Christ alone is active here, merits things, manifests His power; He seeks, carries, and directs you.  He earns life for you through His death.  He alone is strong and keeps you from perishing, from being snatched out of His hand.

And for all of this you can do nothing at all but only lend your ears, hear, and with thanksgiving receive the inexpressible treasure.  Learn to know well the voice of your Shepherd, follow Him and avoid the voice of the stranger.

.

The Lord is my shepherd — that’s RELATIONSHIP!

.

I shall not be in want — that’s SUPPLY!

.

He makes me lie down in green pastures — that’s REST!

.

He leads me beside quiet waters — that’s REFRESHMENT!

.

He restores my soul — that’s HEALING!

.

He leads me in paths of righteousness — that’s GUIDANCE!

.

for his name’s sake — that’s PURPOSE!

.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death — that’s TESTING!

.

I will fear no evil — that’s PROTECTION!

.

for you are with me — that’s FAITHFULNESS!

.

your rod and your staff, they comfort me — that’s DISCIPLINE!

.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies — that’s HOPE!

.

You anoint my head with oil — that’s CONSECRATION!

.

My cup overflows — that’s ABUNDANCE!

.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life — that’s BLESSING!

.

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord — that’s SECURITY!

.

forever — that’s ETERNITY!

_________________________

New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Images courtesy of:

lamb on green grass.     http://betterphotojim.com/uploads/processed/0019/0412221635309crw_5335littlelamb_lordmy.jpg

Jesus holding a lamb.    http://bedlam1020.deviantart.com/art/The-Lord-is-my-shepherd-I-shall-not-want-470387879

father with daughter.     http://secondadventchristian.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/bigstockphoto_father_and_daughter_250481.jpg

fruit salad.    http://seasonedfork.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/fruit-salad.jpg

green grass.    http://www.seekerstrove.com/i/email-art/psalm23/a_004.jpg

quiet waters.    https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/85/232221150_8c2d184661_b.jpg

path of righteousness.    http://www.turnbacktogod.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/right-path.jpg

one way.    http://www.cksignsplus.com/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/One_Way_Jesus_4e82b87d9c797.jpg

ambulance.    http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/Hospital,%20Ambulance,%20Emergency%20Room.jpg

lighthouse.   http://www.soulseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/lighthouse-fog.jpg

skydiving.     http://archives.deccanchronicle.com/sites/default/files/mediaimages/gallery/2013/Jan/Skydiving.jpg

right way-wrong way.    http://itorganization2017.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/student_discipline_head_photo.jpg

dinner table.    http://peggyparks.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/dinnerpartyetiquette1.jpg

Holy Spirit dove.     https://curthreecurthrea.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ruach-the-holy-spirit-descends-like-a-dove-upon-yehshua.jpg?w=470&h=311

overflow.     https://www.flickr.com/photos/vshioshvili/388221237

footprints in the sand.    http://www.magic-city-news.com/artman2/uploads/1/14_Blessing.JPG

infinity sign.    http://karpus.files.wordpress.com/2006/06/infinity-sign.jpg

1756.) 1 Samuel 16

“David and Saul” by Philippe Chery, 1808 (Musee de Soissons)

1 Samuel 16   (NRSV)

Samuel Anoints David

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

Jesse is the grandson of Ruth and Boaz.

²Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.”

And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.”

⁴Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”

Considering what Samuel had just done with the Amalekite king, Agag (1 Samuel 15:33), it is no wonder the elders of Bethlehem were afraid.

⁵He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When an animal was sacrificed to atone for sin none of it was eaten and it was all burned before the LORD. But when an animal was sacrificed as a peace offering, a fellowship offering, or a consecration offering, then part of the animal was burnt before the LORD, and part of it was eaten in a special ceremonial meal.

–David Guzik

Jesse presents his sons to Samuel — Lucile Butel, 1989

⁶When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.”

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?”

And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.”

The youngest one was out keeping the herd — Lucile Butel, 1989.

And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” ¹²He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.

How old was David? The ancient Jewish historian Josephus says that David was ten years old.

The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.”

David’s years keeping the sheep were not waiting time; they were training time. David was a great man and a great king over Israel because he never lost his shepherd’s heart. Psalm 78:70-72 speaks of the connection between David the king and David the shepherd: He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

–David Guzik

¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.

Samuel anoints David — Lucile Butel, 1989.

Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

David Plays the Lyre for Saul

¹⁴Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

¹⁵And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.”

¹⁷So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.”

¹⁸One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep.” ²⁰Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul.

²¹And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.

This was an important time in David’s life and training for God’s destiny for him. For the first time he lived in a royal court and began to learn the customs and manners he needed to know to be a good king later in life.

²²Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.”

Acts 13:22 (New Living Translation)

. . . David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’

²³And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

from Daily Readings from Luther’s Writings,
edited by Barbara Owen

Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. She is a mistress and governess of those human emotions which, as masters, govern mortals or more often overwhelm them. No greater commendation than this can be found—at least not by us. For whether you wish to comfort the sad, to terrify the happy, to encourage the despairing, to humble the proud, to calm the passionate, or to appease those full of hate—and who could number all the masters of the human heart, namely, the emotions, inclinations, and affections that impel people to evil or good?—what more effective means than music could you find?

The Holy Ghost himself honors music as an instrument for his proper work when in his Holy Scriptures he asserts that through her his gifts were instilled in the prophets, namely, the inclination to all virtues, as can be seen in Elisha (2 Kings 3:15). On the other hand, she serves to cast out Satan, the instigator of all sins, as is shown in Saul, the king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:23).

_________________________

Music:

Close your eyes and imagine you are King Saul, feeling pretty upset. You call in young David, who plays this song  HERE  for you on his harp. Such a soothing sound. . . the demons seem to fade away. And if he sings the words, they go like this:

The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
And he is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow,
My ransomed soul he leadeth
And, where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me
And on his shoulder gently laid
And home rejoicing brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With thee, dear Lord, beside me,
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spredst a table in my sight;
Thine unction grace bestoweth;
And, oh, what transport of delight
From thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never.
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house forever.

Performed on the harp by Ray Pool.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Chery.    http://www.culture.gouv.fr/Wave/image/joconde/0379/m079404_00304_p.jpg

Butel paintings.   https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/355-1-samuel-16/

David under the stars.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/16-david-harp-stars.jpg

King David playing the harp — church window from Fringford, UK.    http://previews.123rf.com/images/hospitalera/hospitalera0709/hospitalera070900039/1622401-detail-of-victorian-stained-glass-church-window-in-Fringford-depicting-King-David-the-author-fo-the–Stock-Photo.jpg

piano keys.    http://www.kidsonkeyboards.com/267826037?i=85280922

1755.) 1 Samuel 15

“All kings is mostly rapscallions.” –The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

1 Samuel 15   (NRSV)

Saul Defeats the Amalekites but Spares Their King

Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. ²Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. ³Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

Think that command is clear enough?  Anything Saul couldn’t understand?

⁴So Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers, and ten thousand soldiers of Judah. ⁵Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶Saul said to the Kenites, “Go! Leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.

⁷Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. ⁸He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.

But it seems that Saul thought he knew better than God what to save and what to destroy.

Saul Rejected as King

¹⁰The word of the Lord came to Samuel: ¹¹“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry; and he cried out to the Lord all night.

¹²Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal.”

¹³When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord.”

¹⁴But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?”

Saul is BUSTED!! — Samuel hears and sees (and probably smells) Saul’s disobedience.

¹⁵Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

As it turned out, not even this was true. There were still Amalekites left alive. David later had to deal with the Amalekites (1 Samuel 27:8, 30:1, 2 Samuel 8:12). Haman, the evil man who tried to wipe out all the Jewish people in the days of Esther, was a descendant of Agag (Esther 3:1). Most ironic of all, when Saul was killed on the field of battle, an Amalekite claimed to deliver the final thrust of the sword (2 Samuel 1:8-10). When we don’t obey God completely, the “left over” portion will surely come back and trouble us, if not kill us.

–David Guzik

¹⁶Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

He replied, “Speak.”

¹⁷Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ ¹⁹Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

²⁰Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

Poor Saul. He is living in his own world of self-deception. He tells Samuel “I have obeyed the Lord” and then goes on to explain how he did NOT obey the Lord!

²²And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than the fat of rams.
²³For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”

Saul is REJECTED!! — God will find another man to rule his people.

²⁴Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

It’s not really my fault, Samuel!  I was just doing what the people wanted!

“This was the best excuse he could make for himself, but had he feared GOD more, he could have feared the PEOPLE less.”
–Adam Clarke

²⁵Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

But it will be over 20 years before God has finished training the new king to take the throne.

²⁷As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. ²⁹Moreover the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.”

³⁰Then Saul said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.”

Here is Saul’s real problem:   his honor before others is of more importance to him than his obedience to God.

³¹So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³²Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.”

Watch the old prophet take care of unfinished business!

And Agag came to him haltingly. Agag said, “Surely this is the bitterness of death.”

³³But Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother shall be childless among women.”

And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

Not that Samuel ever butchered a pig — or like this —

All those priestly sacrifices had taught Samuel very well how to kill and butcher a living animal.  He did it in front of the Israelites, and in front of Saul, for their instruction — but more importantly, he did it before the Lord as obedience.

³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

_________________________

Music:

Martin Luther said, “I had rather be obedient, than able to work miracles.”

HERE  is a kind of modern-day prophet:  Keith Green (1953-1982) in a live performance of “To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice.”

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

king of spades card.    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Poker-sm-212-Ks.png

rejected.   http://media.photobucket.com/image/rejected%20stamp/FrostbiteInWinter/rejected.gif

excuses.    http://www.bariatriccookery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/excuses.gif

pig in an Okinawa butcher shop.    http://everystockphoto.s3.amazonaws.com/pork_meat_butcher_674827_l.jpg

1754.) 1 Samuel 14

Jonathan and his armor-bearer attack the Philistines — unknown artist, 1928.

1 Samuel 14   (NRSV)

Jonathan Surprises and Routs the Philistines

Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash.

One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

“Armor-bearers in ancient times had to be unusually brave and loyal, since the lives of their masters often depended on them.”

–Ronald F. Youngblood

²Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is at Migron; the troops that were with him were about six hundred men, ³along with Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, carrying an ephod. Now the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

Frankly, this chapter does not present Saul in an altogether flattering light.  King Saul is lolling under a fruit tree while his son Jonathan goes out to fight the enemy.  As per Shakespeare, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

⁴In the pass, by which Jonathan tried to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on one side and a rocky crag on the other; the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵One crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

⁶Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will act for us; for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

Jonathan never read the New Testament, but he had a Romans 8:31 heart: If God is for us, who can be against us?

⁷His armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that your mind inclines to. I am with you; as your mind is, so is mine.”

The encouragement of a friend! 

⁸Then Jonathan said, “Now we will cross over to those men and will show ourselves to them. ⁹If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up; for the Lord has given them into our hand. That will be the sign for us.”

¹¹So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹²The men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer, saying, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.”

At this time of crisis the Israelites hid anywhere they could (1 Samuel 13:6). It was reasonable for the Philistines to think these were Hebrew deserters surrendering to the Philistines because they thought it was better than hiding in a hole. But really, their words were giving Jonathan the go-ahead!

Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me; for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.”

¹³Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer following after him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer, coming after him, killed them. ¹⁴In that first slaughter Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men within an area about half a furrow long in an acre of land. ¹⁵There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.

Jonathan is not willing to simply hang around while God was perfectly able to defeat the Philistines!  He and his armor-bearer bravely went forward in the name of the Lord and oh, look!  The enemy army panicked and God sent an earthquake!  Thank you, Jonathan!  You have illustrated perfectly the truth of 2 Chronicles 16:9 —

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

_______________

The Sunday before David and I left Orlando and moved to St. Simons Island, GA, we went to service at First Baptist Church and heard this sermon by Ben Mandrell, based on this story of Jonathan’s bravery. It was such an encouragement to us! We were not Ben’s intended audience, but the Holy Spirit gave it to us, for courage and inspiration. You might enjoy it too.  HERE is Ben Mandrell (currently Lead Pastor of Storyline Fellowship, Arvada, CO) and “Becoming a Brave Heart.”

¹⁶Saul’s lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin were watching as the multitude was surging back and forth. ¹⁷Then Saul said to the troops that were with him, “Call the roll and see who has gone from us.”

Whatever for?!  Just go fight the enemy!

When they had called the roll, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.

¹⁸Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.”

Whatever for?!  Just go fight the enemy!

For at that time the ark of God went with the Israelites. ¹⁹While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more; and Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”

²⁰Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle;

At last!

and every sword was against the other, so that there was very great confusion. ²¹Now the Hebrews who previously had been with the Philistines and had gone up with them into the camp turned and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²²Likewise, when all the Israelites who had gone into hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed closely after them in the battle. ²³So the Lord gave Israel the victory that day. The battle passed beyond Beth-aven, and the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten thousand men. The battle spread out over the hill country of Ephraim.

_________________________

Music:

“Let God Arise”  by Chris Tomlin.  HERE  is a song of victory!

_________________________

Saul’s Rash Oath

²⁴Now Saul committed a very rash act on that day. He had laid an oath on the troops, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before it is evening and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted food.

honeycomb

Oh, Saul, stop and think!

Denying troops food?  They will get hungry and weak.  They will disobey and eat something else — in this case, something against God’s food laws for them.  And if one of the troops who eats food is his son — well, will we have another Jephthah on our hands, sacrificing a child for an unwise vow?

²⁵All the troops came upon a honeycomb; and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶When the troops came upon the honeycomb, the honey was dripping out; but they did not put their hands to their mouths, for they feared the oath. ²⁷But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the troops with the oath; so he extended the staff that was in his hand, and dipped the tip of it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened. ²⁸Then one of the soldiers said, “Your father strictly charged the troops with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food this day.’ And so the troops are faint.”

²⁹Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land; see how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰How much better if today the troops had eaten freely of the spoil taken from their enemies; for now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹After they had struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon, the troops were very faint; ³²so the troops flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the troops ate them with the blood. ³³Then it was reported to Saul, “Look, the troops are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.”

The Lord said to Moses, “You must not eat the blood of any bird or animal . . . ”   –Leviticus 7:26

And he said, “You have dealt treacherously;

Saul blames the others instead of acknowledging that he had made a mistake with that curse.

roll a large stone before me here.” ³⁴Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the troops, and say to them, ‘Let all bring their oxen or their sheep, and slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’”

So all of the troops brought their oxen with them that night, and slaughtered them there. ³⁵And Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

Jonathan in Danger of Death

³⁶Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and despoil them until the morning light; let us not leave one of them.”

They said, “Do whatever seems good to you.”

But the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.”

³⁷So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.

³⁸Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people; and let us find out how this sin has arisen today. ³⁹For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, even if it is in my son Jonathan, he shall surely die!” But there was no one among all the people who answered him.

Of course not!  No one is blaming Jonathan, who was unaware of the command!

⁴⁰He said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”

The people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”

⁴¹Then Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim; but if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were indicated by the lot, but the people were cleared. ⁴²Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”

Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand; here I am, I will die.”

⁴⁴Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan!”

⁴⁵Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground; for he has worked with God today.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, and he did not die. ⁴⁶Then Saul withdrew from pursuing the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.

Should Jonathan have been killed?  No!  Saul made a foolish vow, one that weakened his army and dishonored the Lord; it was a bad law.  And Jonathan broke it out of ignorance.  Besides, the Lord’s favor was clearly on Jonathan, since he was in effect the leader of the victory!

Saul’s Continuing Wars

⁴⁷When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever he turned he routed them. ⁴⁸He did valiantly, and struck down the Amalekites, and rescued Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

⁴⁹Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger, Michal. ⁵⁰The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle; ⁵¹Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

⁵²There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any strong or valiant warrior, he took him into his service.

Remember what Samuel had told the people when they demanded a king?  In chapter 8, he said that the king would “take your sons and make them serve with chariots and horses . . . others will make weapons of war and equipments for his chariots . . .”

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Jonathan and his armor-bearer.   https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Rxglamckn-4/hqdefault.jpg

pomegranate tree.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/14-pomegranate-tree.jpg

honeycomb.    http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/honeycomb2.jpg

bloody steak.    http://media.photobucket.com/image/bloody%20steak/iamrad123/stuff%2520i%2520like/bloodySteak.jpg

1753.) 1 Samuel 13

A lesson today for all of us who are feeling pressured . . . to do something, anything . . .

1 Samuel 13   (NRSV)

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

Saul was…years old when he began to reign; and he reigned…and two years over Israel.

The numbers are lacking in the Hebrew texts; NIV has that Saul was 30 years old and reigned 42 years. The ESV puts it this way: Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel . . . 

²Saul chose three thousand out of Israel; two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the rest of the people he sent home to their tents.

Jonathan.  What’s not to love about brave and kind-hearted Jonathan?  Let’s watch him these next chapters.

³Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba; and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴When all Israel heard that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines, the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

Jonathan’s gracious soul — he had won the battle, but he allows his father to take the credit.

⁵The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. ⁶When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. ⁷Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Probably many of them had previously thought, “What we really need is a king. A king would solve our problems.” Now they have a king and the problems are still there. We often think things will “fix” problems when they won’t at all. “And hereby God intended to teach them the vanity of all carnal confidence in men; and that they did not one jot less need the help and favour of God now than they did before, when they had no king.” (Poole)

–David Guzik

⁸He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. ⁹So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering.

Oh, no!  This is not Saul’s place!  He is not a priest!  He was told to wait for Samuel!

¹⁰As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him.

¹¹Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Saul is BUSTED!! — Samuel could smell his disobedience!

Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, ¹²I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord’; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”

Saul has plenty of excuses!

1. I had to do something — the troops were starting to disburse. And we are already outnumbered!
2. You did not come when you said you would — it’s partly your fault!
3. The Philistines were ready for battle — I couldn’t wait any longer!
4. We need God’s help against the Philistines — and we need it now!

¹³Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, ¹⁴but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Saul is REJECTED!! — Jonathan will not be king after Saul. Saul would actually reign another 20 years but it will never be the same, because the end of his kingdom is certain.

Saul was a man after Israel’s heart. He was all about image, prestige, and the things men look at. But God will now give Israel a man after His own heart, and raise that man up to be the next king. It would be easy to say that the kingdom was taken from Saul because he sinned and on one level, that was true; but it was more than that. David also sinned yet God never took the kingdom from David and his descendants. The issue was bigger than an incident of sin; the issue was being a man after God’s own heart.

So let’s look at Saul, someone who was not a man after God’s heart, and David, a man who was a man after God’s own heart.

• A man after God’s heart honors the LORD. Saul was more concerned with his will than God’s will. David knew God’s will was most important. Even when David didn’t do God’s will, he still knew God’s will was more important. All sin is a disregard of God, but David sinned more out of weakness and Saul more out of a disregard for God.
• A man after God’s heart enthrones God as king. For Saul, Saul was king. For David, the LORD God was king. Both David and Saul knew sacrifice before battle was important. But David thought it was important because it pleased and honored God. Saul thought it was important because it might help him win the battle. Saul thought God would help him achieve his goals. David thought that God was the goal.
• A man after God’s heart has a soft, repentant heart. When Saul was confronted with his sin he offered excuses. When David was confronted with his sin he confessed his sin and repented (2 Samuel 12:13).
• A man after God’s heart loves other people. Saul became increasingly bitter against people and lived more and more unto himself, but David loved people. When David was down and out he still loved and served those who were even more down and out (1 Samuel 22:1-2).

–David Guzik

¹⁵And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal.

ONE MINUTE BEFORE MIDNIGHT

We see in 1 Samuel 13 that Saul faced a crucial moment that every believer must eventually confront. It is a time of crisis when we’re forced to decide whether we’ll wait on God by faith, or get impatient and take matters into our own hands.

Saul’s pivotal moment came when ominous clouds of war were gathering over Israel. The Philistines had amassed a huge army of horsemen, iron chariots and legions of soldiers brandishing the latest weapons. By contrast, the Israelites had only two swords in their entire army—one for Saul and one for his son, Jonathan. Everyone else had to use makeshift weapons, such as wooden spears or crude farm tools.

A week earlier Samuel had warned Saul to wait for him at Gilgal before going into battle. The prophet had said he would arrive after seven days to make the proper sacrifices to the Lord.

When the seventh day came and Samuel hadn’t arrived, Saul’s soldiers began to scatter. Worse, the king didn’t have God’s direction for battle.

What approach did Saul take? Did he stand firm, declaring, “I don’t care if it takes Samuel eight days to arrive, I’m going to stand on God’s Word to me. Live or die, I will obey his command”? No—Saul panicked. He allowed himself to be overwhelmed by his circumstances. And he ended up manipulating his way around God’s Word. He ordered the priest who was present to make the sacrifices without Samuel and in so doing committed a grievous sin against the Lord.

No—God is never too late. All along, the Lord knew each step Samuel was taking toward Gilgal. He had set the prophet on a heavenly navigation system, pinpointing his arrival to the very second. Samuel would be there by day seven, even if it was one minute before midnight.

God has not changed throughout the ages. And he is still concerned with whether his people obey this command: “Obey the voice of the Lord, and [do not] rebel against the commandment of the Lord” (1 Samuel 12:15, paraphrased). It doesn’t matter if our lives are spinning out of control—we are to walk in total confidence in the Lord. Even if things look hopeless, we are not to act in fear. Rather, we are to wait patiently on him to deliver us, as his Word promises.

The fact is, God stood right beside Saul as the massive Philistine army pressed in. He knew the crisis Saul was in and his eye was on every detail.

Our God sees every detail of your crisis. He sees all the life-problems pressing in on you. And he’s fully aware your situation is getting worse daily. Those who pray and wait on him with calm faith are never in any real danger. Moreover, he knows all your panicky thoughts: “I don’t see how I can ever repay this debt…I don’t have any hope for my marriage…I don’t know how I can keep my job….” Yet his command to you still holds true: “Don’t panic or get ahead of me. You are to do nothing but pray—and rely on me. I honor everyone who puts his trust in me.”

Consider these words God has given to his church:  “Without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8). “Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:11). “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

Unbelief is deadly, its consequences tragic. And we face dire consequences if we try to extricate ourselves from our trials instead of trusting God to see us through them.

–David Wilkerson

_________________________

Music:

HERE  Donnie McClurkin and Karen Clark Sheard sing “Wait on the Lord.”

Sometimes in life you’ll find that
You get in a hurry
But when you have assurance
No need to worry

You can wait, wait, wait on the Lord and you’ll see
He always keeps his word
Must, just, trust in Him
Don’t be dismayed

Patience in time of trouble,
Trust and believe Him
And everything God promised
you will receive it

If you wait, wait, wait on the Lord
And you’ll see that He
He’ll always keep His word.
Must, just trust in Him
Don’t be dismayed

Trust in the word of God
For His word is true
When did He promise anything in your life
That He would not do.

Trust and depend on Him
He’s always on time
Don’t be discouraged
If you just believe, you will receive it

If you wait, wait, wait on the Lord
And you’ll see He’ll
He will keep his word

Must, just, trust in Him
Don’t you be dismayed

If you wait, wait, wait on the Lord
And you’ll see
He will always come through
Must, just, trust in Him
He will keep His word

Don’t be discouraged
Don’t you be dismayed
Hold on to his promises

Wait on the Lord
Be of good courage
And He will strengthen your heart

Wait, wait, wait on God
Wait upon the Lord
He shall renew your strength

I will wait, wait, wait on Him

_________________________

Preparations for Battle

The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. ¹⁶Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash. ¹⁷And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹Now there was no smith to be found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, “The Hebrews must not make swords or spears for themselves”; ²⁰so all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshare, mattocks, axes, or sickles; ²¹The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.

The Philistines carefully guarded their technological advantage of iron weapons. They were sea farers and may have gained their metal working skills from cultures to the west, especially Greece.

²²So on the day of the battle neither sword nor spear was to be found in the possession of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and his son Jonathan had them. ²³Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash.

So looking at verses 5 and 15 and 22, what do we have?  The Philistines:  30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and too many foot-soldiers to count.  The Israelites:  600 men, 2 swords, and various farming tools.  “The Lord is my strength and my shield!”

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

don’t just sit there . . .    http://creativeideas.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/dont-just-sit-title.jpg

clock.    http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/33500/33593/clock-11-59_33593.htm

What are the odds?    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/ba5b5-what_are_the_odds.jpg

iron weapons from ancient Greece.   http://www.womeninthebible.net/images/1.8.De6.jpg

1752.) 1 Samuel 12

George Washington wrote his Farewell Address — portion quoted below — in 1796. (Portrait by Gilbert Stuart, 1795)

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

1 Samuel 12   (NRSV)

Samuel’s Farewell Address

Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to you in all that you have said to me, and have set a king over you. ²See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day.

Samuel is “passing the torch” to Saul.  Samuel indicates that his sons are no longer leaders, and he begins to remind them of the good legacy he is passing on to Saul. He is not leaving Saul a mess to clean up. He has been honest and faithful to all.

³Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”

⁴They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone.”

Your integrity is measured not by what you say about yourself, but by what God and people say about you.
–Henry T. Blackaby

Integrity has no need of rules.
–Albert Camus

Integrity can be neither lost nor concealed nor faked nor quenched nor artificially come by nor outlived, nor, I believe, in the long run, denied.
–Eudora Welty

My father was very strong.  I don’t agree with a lot of the ways he brought me up.  I don’t agree with a lot of his values, but he did have a lot of integrity, and if he told us not to do something, he didn’t do it either.
–Madonna

⁵He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”

And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt. ⁷Now therefore take your stand, so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord, and I will declare to you all the saving deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your ancestors.

Samuel reviews for them not so much a history of Israel but a history of God’s work on their behalf.

^8″When Jacob went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your ancestors cried to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your ancestors out of Egypt, and settled them in this place.

out of Egypt

^9″But they forgot the Lord their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of King Jabin of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. ¹⁰Then they cried to the Lord, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Baals and the Astartes; but now rescue us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ ¹¹And the Lord sent Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samson, and rescued you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.

Samson

^12″But when you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ though the Lord your God was your king. ¹³See, here is the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; see, the Lord has set a king over you. ¹⁴If you will fear the Lord and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well; ¹⁵but if you will not heed the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.

^16″Now therefore take your stand and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. ¹⁷Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the sight of the Lord is great in demanding a king for yourselves.”

¹⁸So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

wheat harvest in North Dakota

The wheat harvest came during the dry season of the Mediterranean climate.  Rain at this time was unusual, and could damage their crops. God is showing both his power and his judgment.

¹⁹All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves.”

²⁰And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; ²¹and do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save, for they are useless.

1 John 2:15-17 (NLT)

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.  And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

_________________________

Music:

“Here I Am to Worship” — written by Tim Hughes, sung  HERE  by Michael W. Smith.

_________________________

²²For the Lord will not cast away his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

Samuel wanted Israel to know that God loves them. Despite the sin of their past they could get on with serving the Lord and still see His blessing because God loves them. His favor towards Israel was not prompted by good they did, were doing, or promised to do. It was for His great name’s sake, because it pleased the Lord to do it. The reasons were in Him, not in Israel.

–David Guzik

²³Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.

“Perhaps you will never preach, but you may pray. If you cannot climb the pulpit you may bow before the mercy-seat, and be quite as great a blessing.”

–Charles Haddon Spurgeon

from Experiencing God Day-by-Day,
by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

FAR BE IT FROM ME!

It can be tempting at times to give up on God’s people!  They are so imperfect and can be so sinful, yet they are His people.  Samuel had thoroughly warned the Israelites of the dangers in appointing a king over Israel.  Yet they wanted to be like the nations around them, insisting that they were willing to pay any price.  Almost as soon as the people were granted their desire, they recognized their sin.   But it was too late.  Now they wanted him to continue to minister to them.  It would seem appropriate for Samuel to abandon them and allow them to suffer the consequences of their actions.

Samuel knew, as Jesus knew, that God sends His servants to the sick, not the healthy (Matthew 9:12).  Samuel did not take the people’s response as a rejection of him but as an indication of their walk with God.  Samuel was serving God, not the Israelites.  When God commanded him to minister to them, he could do nothing else, despite their resistance to his message.

At times people will not respond as they should to the message God speaks through you.  Don’t become discouraged; it is a reflection of their relationship with God.  You are God’s servant; if Jesus spent His time with the spiritually needy, you can expect Him to ask you to do the same.  Don’t lose patience with God’s people.  Keep in mind that God loves them as much as He loves you.

²⁴Only fear the Lord, and serve him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you. ²⁵But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

“Never was a people more fully warned, and never did a people profit less by the warning.”

–Adam Clarke

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Stuart portrait of Washington.     http://art.thewalters.org/images/art/large/l_ps1_37171_fnt_dd_t09.jpg

integrity.    http://www.engr.usask.ca/images/current-students/integrity.jpg

Moses at the Red Sea.    http://xb6.xanga.com/3d7f536247631266133805/b212260212.jpg

Samson.    http://aslansmane.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/samson-23.jpg?w=300&h=287

wheat harvest.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/12-wheat-harvest-nd.jpg

Love the Lord your God.    http://media.photobucket.com/image/love%20the%20Lord/cindysarcady/Scriptures/Deut6.jpg

praying hands.    http://natachaokazaki.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/hands-folded-in-prayer.jpg

1751.) 1 Samuel 11

Samuel presents King Saul to the Israelites.

1 Samuel 11   (NRSV)

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

²But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, namely that I gouge out everyone’s right eye, and thus put disgrace upon all Israel.”

Nahash made this demand for several reasons. First, it was to glorify himself by humiliating the men of this city and all of Israel. Half-blinding the men of this city would bring reproach on all Israel by making Israel look weak and unable to prevent such an atrocity. Also, it would make the men of Jabesh Gilead unable to fight effectively in battle. In hand-to-hand combat the man with one eye has less depth perception and is at a disadvantage to a man with two eyes.

–David Guzik

³The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.”

You could say that the men of Jabesh-gilead are in a good place, since they know two important things:  they know they need to be saved, and they know they cannot save themselves.

You could also say that they are in a bad place, because in their hour of need, they have forgotten to call out to the Lord.

Psalm 27:1-3 (NIV)

The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the hearing of the people; and all the people wept aloud. ⁵Now Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen; and Saul said, “What is the matter with the people, that they are weeping?”

DISADVANTAGE:  This man is the king, and he is the last to know??

So they told him the message from the inhabitants of Jabesh.

⁶And the spirit of God came upon Saul in power when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.

ADVANTAGE:  It was time for Saul to act like a king, and God sent his spirit upon Saul to equip him to accomplish God’s purposes.

⁷He took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one. ⁸When he mustered them at Bezek, those from Israel were three hundred thousand, and those from Judah seventy thousand.

⁹They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.’” When the messengers came and told the inhabitants of Jabesh, they rejoiced. ¹⁰So the inhabitants of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.”

A little misdirection to the enemy . . .

¹¹The next day Saul put the people in three companies.

ADVANTAGE:  Saul seems to have a good military strategy here.  No doubt each company had its leaders and instructions, and Saul’s plan led the Israelites to success.

At the morning watch they came into the camp and cut down the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹²The people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Give them to us so that we may put them to death.”

¹³But Saul said, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought deliverance to Israel.”

ADVANTAGE:  Saul is merciful to those who spoke against him — good-bye, insecurity!  And Saul knows that he had not won the victory, but God.

¹⁴Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship.” ¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

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Music:

HERE!  Let’s rejoice together and celebrate  “Victory in Jesus”  — Bart Millard style!

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

King Saul.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/11-king_saul.jpg?w=450

help!    http://brightfuturesjoplin.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/help.jpg

Saul leads men into battle.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/king-saul.jpg