Archives for April 2024

OVERVIEW:

David is a fugitive from Saul and runs to Nob, Gath, Adullam, and the wilderness; David spares Saul’s life; Samuel dies; Abigail spares Nabal’s life.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

After escaping from Achish in yesterday’s reading, chapter 22 begins with David entering the cave called Adullam. When news travels as to his whereabouts, it’s interesting that the “down and outers” fled to where he was. They are described in 22:2 as those in distress, in debt, and/or discontented. David became somewhat of a makeshift leader of over 400 of them initially, the number soon growing to about 600! (23:13) As the old saying goes, “Misery loves company!” David could certainly relate to their situation and they could certainly relate to his! David cries out to the Lord in song during this time, and the songs are recorded in Psalm 54 and 142.

It is apparent that David is thinking that if Saul did end up killing him that he might well seek to do the same to his parents, so he seeks to bring them into the protective care of the king of Moab. That seemed a fitting place since David’s father’s grandmother, Ruth, was actually a Moabitess. After securing their protection, David exits to secure his own place of protection. God sends the prophet, Gad, to specifically tell David to get himself back into the land of Judah.

When Saul gets word of what David was doing and where he was headed, he is filled with rage against his own men and throws a little “pity-party” for himself. (22:7–8) He accuses them of conspiring against him, and berates them for not informing him of the covenant Jonathan had made with David sometime earlier. (18:3; 20:16)

Then, no doubt seeking to suck up to the enraged king, one of Saul’s key leaders, Doeg, tells Saul that David enquired of the Lord in Nob, then he went to Ahimilech the priest, and how Ahimilech had ministered to David. Saul commands his foot-soldiers to annihilate Ahimilech, and anyone there who was wearing a priestly garment, but they refused to kill them. Saul then commanded Doeg to do it, and by the time it was all said and done, he alone had killed 65 priests in cold blood. Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped with the “ephod” (an instrument used at this time through which God revealed His will) and went to inform David of the fate of his fellow priests of the house of Ahimelech. David tells Abiathar to stay with him, knowing that Saul would certainly seek to take his life.

In chapter 23, David gets word that the Philistines were fighting against God’s people in Keilah, and he immediately seeks to know the will of the Lord concerning smiting them. God unhesitatingly tells David to go for it! David’s men, however, wanted confirmation from the Lord about it, and God confirms that He would deliver them into their hands. Just as God had said, David and his men defeated them with a “great slaughter.” (23:5)

When Saul heard the news that David and his men were shut in the gated and barred city of Keilah, Saul is so spiritually disoriented that he viewed it as his “God-given” opportunity to put an end to David’s life. As David inquired of the Lord as to whether he should stay in the city and trust the people of Keilah to protect him, God reveals to him that he better get out of the city while he could! David departed into the wilderness of Zish and hid out in a mountain, as Saul sought daily to kill him.

At a time when David was tired, discouraged, and afraid, God used Jonathan to come out into the wilderness to where David was to speak words of encouragement to him. What a beautiful way 23:16 describes it: “And Jonathan…strengthened his (David’s) hand in God.” Oh, may God use each of us to carry out the ministry of strengthening the hand of those around us in God! Can you think of someone that could use that strengthening ministry from you today?

The Ziphites send word to Saul of David’s whereabouts, and conspire with Saul to help him find him. (23:19) As Saul is in hot pursuit of David (23:20–26), a messenger comes to Saul bearing news that he needed to return because the Philistines had invaded the land. (23:27–28) When David heard that Saul had departed, he made his safe haven a cave called Engedi. (23:29)

When Saul returns to seek David in chapter 24, Saul has brought 3000 soldiers with him that were constantly surrounding him. Saul, however, “just happens” to enter into the very cave where David and his men were hiding in the pitch darkness of the sides of the cave. He has entered the cave alone “to cover his feet”, as it were (an expression the men of that day used to refer to relieving themselves), and to take a short nap. Oh my, what an opportunity for David to finally be able to rid himself of his enemy! With all that David had faced in dealing with Saul’s rage, in our humanness, it would be hard to fault David had he taken advantage of this unbelievable twist of fate, as his enemy lay alone, unprotected, literally within arm’s length! David might well have interpreted this opportunity as God communicating to him the very thing David’s own good men were whispering in his ear, that this was THE DAY, and this was THE WAY, the Lord intended to deliver David from Saul’s irrational and unreasonable pursuit.

Though David was certainly tempted, David refused to listen to anything other than the clear message that there would be another time when God Himself would provide David’s deliverance from Saul, and his rise to the throne through events that only God Himself could orchestrate. David even worried that he had failed the spirit of the test by embarrassing the king by cutting off a small piece of his clothing to let him know that he could have killed him had he simply chosen to do so. Once again, David’s sensitive heart pleased God. Once again, may David’s sensitivity to the Lord’s perfect will for his life cause us to examine just how sensitive we are to carrying out the perfect will of God for our lives. God was able to use the realization that David had the perfect opportunity to take Saul’s life but refused, to appease Saul at least for the time being!

In Chapter 25, all of us who have worked for a bona fide, biblical “fool” take great hope. (Note that the name “Nabal” actually means “fool”! Like so many biblical characters, he certainly lived up to his name!) Abigail saves her “fool” of a husband, and for this God blesses her abundantly. Many would have thought themselves powerless to redirect an army like David’s, but Abigail was “a woman of good understanding” (25:3) who knew when to “make haste”! (25:18)

Through this passage we are reminded of the biblical principle and mandate that “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) David had trusted God in not taking out vengeance upon Saul, but was about to blow it by seeking vengeance against Nabal. God uses Abigail’s wise handling of the situation to avert David’s vengeance against her husband. Within a matter of two weeks, God had already exercised His vengeance against Nabal, and he was no more! Oh, may we learn to trust God to deal with the enemies that surround us, rather than seeking to deal with them ourselves in the power of the flesh!

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

By DAVID’S REFUSAL TO TAKE THE KINGDOM by force, or before God’s appointed time — 1^st Samuel 24:10–13 (John 6:15 – Our Lord Jesus Christ refused to become king of Israel until God’s appointed time.)

By ABIGAIL’S EFFORT TO MAKE PEACE between David and Nabal — 1^st Samuel 25:21–28 (2^nd Corinthians 5:19 — God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.)

OVERVIEW:

David and Jonathan become friends; David is promoted in the sight of Israel and despised in the eyes of Saul; Saul plots and attempts to kill David; David is helped by Jonathan and others to escape Saul.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

As we move into chapter 18 in today’s reading, we are introduced to what is perhaps the greatest record and example of friendship the world has ever seen. Would to God that every believer had the benefit of experiencing a deep friendship like that of Jonathan and David. Note some of the key statements found in today’s reading about their incredible relationship:

“…the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David…” (18:1)

“…Jonathan loved him (David) as his own soul.” (18:1)

“…he (Jonathan) loved him (David) as his own soul.” (18:3)

“…Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David…” (19:2)

“Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.” (20:4)

“And Jonathan…loved him (David) as he loved his own soul.” (20:17)

What a 21^st century travesty it is that because many homosexuals seek to use these statements as justification to support their sinful and reprobate lifestyle (Romans 1:24-28), that clarification even needs to be given regarding the relationship between Jonathan and David. What an indication of how corrupt our world has actually become! To interpret the love shared between Jonathan and David as something romantic or sensual is as perverted as homosexuality itself, and only proves the trustworthiness of Scripture, because those who seek to use this as rationalization or justification for their sinful lifestyle are doing exactly what God said they would do in Romans 1:25: “[They] changed the truth of God into a lie.” Again, how sad it is to even have to give an explanation of such perversion of Scripture, but there appears to be a satanic agenda in the 21^st century to promote this biblically defined reprobation as normal and culturally acceptable, demanding that it be mentioned.

Chapter 18 also begins to show us the “wisdom” by which David conducted his life. Notice the repetition of this unique quality David possessed that began to elevate him into a national leader:

“And David…behaved himself wisely…” (18:5)

“And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him.” (18:14)

“…David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.” (18:30)

But not only was David rising in popularity in the kingdom because of his noticeable wisdom, but also because he was viewed as a military hero (and rightfully so!) for defeating the Philistine’s champion, Goliath! David’s wisdom was so apparent to King Saul that he quickly promoted him to the position of commander over the entire military. (18:5) This position was short-lived, however, as Saul soon recognized that David’s character and courage was also making him extremely popular throughout the entire kingdom, especially with the ladies! (18:7-8) The resulting jealousy in Saul’s heart caused him to fear that David would try to overthrow his kingship and 18:9 is a very telling sign of what was to come: “And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.”

Note that the book of Numbers talks about “jealousy” as a “spirit” (i.e. “the spirit of jealousy”—Numbers 5:14,30), and apparently, as in Saul’s case, it makes a person see things that aren’t really there! Note also that the book of Proverbs warns that “jealousy is the rage of a man.” Interestingly enough, as soon as Saul selfishly opened himself up to that “spirit”, the Lord allowed that “evil spirit” to overtake him, and in his rage, Saul makes his first attempt to take David’s life. David was able to dodge Saul’s javelin (twice!), however, and successfully fled from his presence. (18:10–11)

Saul recognized that the Lord’s hand had not only been removed from his life but that it had been placed on David, making him even more jealous, and thus, more fearful. Saul demoted David from the commander over the entire army to a mere captain over a band of a 1000 soldiers. (18:12–13) What David was experiencing from the hand of Saul would be so devastating and humiliating to most leaders, it would cause them to react carnally. David, however, continues to conduct himself according to godly wisdom, causing Saul to, ironically, become even more afraid of him. Saul’s demotion of David had actually caused David to become more accessible to the people causing them to become all the more endeared to him! (18:16)

Evidently, as Saul is able to step back to analyze David’s popularity, he determines that it wouldn’t be in his own best interest to blatantly murder him, so he concocts a plan to attempt to kill him by making it look like it happened as due course on the field of battle. He promises to David the hand of his oldest daughter in marriage if he will promise to continue to fight the king’s battles. Do note that David had already been promised the hand of Saul’s daughter as the reward for defeating Goliath! (17:25)

Saul reneged on his promise and gave the hand of his daughter to another man but promised David the hand of his other daughter, Michal, in exchange for the foreskins of 100 Philistine soldiers. Saul was obviously convinced that attempting such an incredible feat would certainly result in David’s death, but because the Lord’s hand was on his life, David promptly delivered double the “dowry” the king requested: the foreskins of 200 Philistine soldiers!

Chapter 18 ends with Saul having to face the reality that not only was the Lord’s hand upon David, but that the heart of his son, Jonathan, and the heart of his daughter, Michal, were with David. Rather than celebrate this obvious God-ordained reality, 18:29 says, “And Saul was yet more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually.” A practical lesson we glean from today’s reading is that the hand of God upon a person’s life will bring two opposite extremes from the people around us: extreme LOVE from those who are in tune with God and extreme HATRED from those who aren’t!

In chapter 20, rather than David and Jonathan using their blessed friendship to inspire one another to cry out in faith to the Lord for His wisdom, direction, and protection against the attacks of Saul, the entire chapter is really nothing more than the unfolding of their elaborate plan of lying and scheming in order to create David’s needed protection. Once again, as the old saying goes, “It is never right to do wrong in order to get the chance to do right.”

The lying and scheming continues into chapter 21, as David gives evidence that he is no longer trusting the “wisdom of God” but the “wisdom of men”. (1^st Corinthians 1:5-7) Notice in chapter 21 that first, in verses 1–9, David lies to Ahimelech, and then in verses 10–15, he lies to Achish. James reminds us that “the wisdom that is from above is first PURE!” (James 3:17)

It is important to remember, that this blatant deception, lying, and obvious expression of a lack of faith in God, is actually coming forth out of the life of “the man after God’s own heart”! If “trusting the arm of the flesh” as opposed to the “power of God” and resorting to the “wisdom of men” after expressing such dependence upon the “wisdom of God”, was this great of a temptation to the likes of David, we might do well to ask ourselves a couple of questions!

What situation or situations am I presently facing in which I could be tempted to scheme, lie and/or deceive in order to protect myself? What would it look like in this potentially tempting situation, or these potentially tempting situations, to trust the “wisdom of God” (exemplified through David in chapter 17 and 18) rather than the “wisdom of men” (exemplified through David in chapters 19 through 21)?

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As the friend that sticketh closer than a brother – 1^st Samuel 18:3 (Proverbs 18:24, John 15:13–16)

By JONATHAN, knowing that it was God’s will to make David king, stripped himself of his royal robe, promising all that he had to David — 1^st Samuel 18:3–4.  (Philippians 2:5–8 – Jesus, knowing, the will of the Father, stripped Himself of His royal robe, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men…and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.)