This section of scripture describes how
ENTRY FORTY-SIX – MARCH 26, 2008
46 – THE REIGN OF SAUL
I Samuel 8-15
1 Samuel 8 Like so many others before him, Samuel wasn’t able to pass down his spiritual convictions to his sons. This is a flaw we see over and over in the Old Testament, and it ought to scare us as parents in a way…we should learn the lesson that our offspring don’t pick up our spirituality by osmosis and therefore we have to be very methodical and deliberate in our desire to help our children to have hearts that are turned toward God.
It is interesting to me that the people asked for a king even though they hadn’t been ruled by a king before. I assume it was because the neighbouring peoples had kings (see v 19).
Samuel didn’t like it and prayed to God for wisdom and help. God answered in a reassuring way to Samuel but also told him to count the cost with the people one final time before giving them a king. And then God agreed to give them a king. Interestingly enough, the man chosen to be king, who was apparently much taller and more regal looking than anyone else in
Chapter 9 tells the story of how the seemingly unimportant incident of losing a herd of donkeys worked its way into the making of the first king of
Chapter 9 also has some valuable insights for DOMESTIC HELPERS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS:
(1) Saul’s servant didn’t think it was out of place to make suggestions to Saul (also see 16:14-23). (2) The servant seemed to genuinely care about his master’s welfare. (3) Saul seemed to think it was normal for his servant to make suggestions. This suggests a caring relationship. (There are other scriptures where the servant comes through with a brilliant suggestion, even at the expense of appearing insistent, such as in the story of Namaan in 2 Kings 5.)
Saul began his relationship with Samuel sounding humble (9:18-21). I wonder if it was false pride, since he so quickly changed in the future, or if the power he was given corrupted him? This is a consideration for all who would be leaders!! Because Samuel had been humble in the beginning, God was able to change his heart (see 10:9).
Saul was so tall and impressive looking – he was everyone’s idea of what a king should look like! And when Saul heard about the injustice and humiliation shown to the people of Jabesh Gilead, (Chapter 11) he ACTED like a king! He was also quick to show grace to his critics, and sacrificed to the Lord to thank Him for the first victory.
Chapter 12 is a beautiful and moving speech by Samuel. He began by making sure the people all agreed that he had led with integrity and that he had not taken advantage of them. Then he did a quick survey of their history through the time of the Judges. Then, as usual, he implored the people (and their new king) to love God, serve Him with all their heart, etc. Then God sent a miraculous thunderstorm just to remind them who was boss, so to speak, and to put a little fear into them.
I love the line about idols: “Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.” I hope they got the point!!
I have also always loved the line about prayer: “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” We heard John preach about how prayerlessness is a sin against God, but how about this— not praying for the people you lead is also a sin!! This is a particularly convicting verse to me, since I certainly have not always prayed for all of the Christians in the church. At different times in my leadership, I have followed prayer lists and prayed for everyone in the church by name on a regular basis; however, I haven’t done that recently and I am very convicted by this reading. Perhaps I’ll start by praying for everyone in my region…
Chapter 13 tells of Saul’s slide down the slippery slope. He reigned over
Unfortunately, this can be true of any leader in the kingdom, which is why every great leader should have a team of people around him who can tell him the truth! Saul couldn’t inspire the men with his faith, so he had to DO something big to try to get them behind them. He let fear dictate his actions, which will always ruin you as a leader. He had more men than Jonathan, but Jonathan made the attack and then Saul took the credit. This is the opposite of the Level 5 Leader in the book, Good to Great. Saul answered Samuel that he was trying to seek God’s favour, but you can’t seek the Lord’s favour when you are not obeying his words!!
Jonathan, on the other hand, was a “perhaps” leader – “Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf”!! what a dare devil for God!! He had no trouble rallying men behind him, because of his faith and his deeds. While Saul was fretting under a tree, Jonathan was fighting for the Lord’s honour. And God blessed him by sending panic among the enemy. Saul, whose own panic caused him to make rash and harsh statements, was willing to kill his own son just to save face. However, the men stopped him. Examine what has caused you to make harsh statements to people (it is usually from fear of some sort) and pray that you can put those fears out of your heart forever.
Eventually, Saul got his act somewhat together and defeated many enemies of God. However, in Chapter 15, his arrogance and “I Know Best” attitude shows up again in the story of the Amalekites. In Deut 25:19, God had commanded Moses and Joshua that someday they should ensure that the Amalekites were completely wiped off the earth because of all of their sins and the horrible way they had treated the Israelites. Now that Saul was having victories, God was ready for him to be the man to lead the battle. Samuel gave Saul very specific instructions that no one was to be spared, not even any animals. However, instead of obeying this clear order, Saul spared the king and the best animals. v10 has God grieving that he made Saul king, and Samuel cried out to God all night. Early in the morning, when Samuel went to confront Saul, which he surely didn’t cherish doing, Saul reacted in a typically defensive way – “The Lord bless you. I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” Samuel’s reply is classic, “Then what is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” “Oh, THAT… the MEN did that, but I did everything right!” Talk about blame shifting! When Samuel confronts him more specifically, he makes the excuse that he saved the animals for the sake of sacrificing to God.
Samuel’s rebuke in 1 Samuel 15:22-23 is too good to not print in full:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
When Saul tried to get God to relent on the part about rejecting him as king, Samuel told him that he would not get to keep his kingdom forever, and in fact, refused to ever go and visit Saul again although he mourned for him (hate the sin, love the sinner). That is so sad.
This passage helped me many times, the most significantly being when I was struggling with being self-righteous with John, my husband. I kept thinking that my sins weren’t as bad as his (I know it sounds terrible…it’s a long story that I don’t have time to tell here, but yes I was in sin!!). Fortunately for my heart and for our marriage, one day I finally GOT IT and when I read these verses, I wept and asked God and John for forgiveness for being so arrogant.
P.S. This makes a really good bible talk to emphasize the importance of going by God’s word! You can get lively discussion going and it also shows how arrogance is a sin. I have the questions at home – if you want them, let me know.
Final lessons:
Arrogant, rebellious, disobedient and self-reliant leaders will fail.
People pleasers like Saul never make good long-term leaders. (next entry in 3 days)
karenlouis@seachurches.org
ENTRY FORTY-SEVEN – MARCH 29, 2008
47 – THE INTRODUCTION OF DAVID
I Samuel 16
I find this chapter packed with wonderful insights!!! LOOK OUT ESPECIALLY FOR A SPECIAL BIBLE STUDY OF THE HEART AND HOW OUR OUTLOOK ON THE HEART AFFECTS US SO MUCH! This entry, which covers one day of reading, also includes a short section of encouragement for anyone who has ever felt INSIGNIFICANT or OVERLOOKED.
We begin on a celebratory note – the anointing of David as the next king! However, there are several interesting insights here:
v1-5 Saul has obviously fallen spiritually to such an extent that his mentor, Samuel, is afraid for his own life! Not that is what I call a bitter man! The following chapters will show example after example of how Saul’s insecurity, desire to hang on to power, and separation from God cause him to feel justified in his actions and to attack the very people who love him and want to help him. PLEASE think about your own life here – are there any people who love you and are trying to help you that you feel are your enemies? Don’t go the way of Saul, but strive to have the heart of David. More on this later…
Also, when the leader is an evil insecure person, the people will also be insecure. Look at the way the townsfolk of
v6-13 One of the insights here is the one that John preached about in 2005 during the “TO KNOW GOD” workshop – he showed us that Jesse probably didn’t have the highest regard for David, since he didn’t even think of calling him to meet with Samuel. The simplified version of John’s point was that even if your relationship with your earthly father wasn’t good, you could still have a great relationship with your heavenly father, as David so obviously did.
Another interesting observation here is that Samuel immediately thought that Eliab, the eldest and apparently the tallest son, would be chosen to be king (see verse 6). It isn’t surprising that he would guess that, considering that Saul had been a head taller than any other man and, when Samuel had first caught sight of Saul, God had told him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will lead my people.” (9:17). Of course, this provoked a response from God that has become a memory verse for many Christians: 1 Sam 16:7b says, “The Lord does not look at the things that man looks at. MAN LOOKS AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART.”
A STUDY ON THE HEART AND HOW FOCUSSING ON THE HEART HELPS OUR OUTLOOK
This verse can help us in so many ways:
1. The way we look at other people – perhaps we are tempted to judge others based on their looks or their wealth or their status in life. Perhaps this affects who we try to get close to as friends, or who we are nice to, or who we reach out to, or even who intimidates us! God would give us this message – look at the heart!! 2CORINTHIANS 5:16 tells us that from now on we should “regard no one from a worldly point of view!”
2. The way we value ourselves – perhaps you struggle with low self-esteem, or constantly compare yourself negatively with others and think others are doing the same. God wants you to know that he cares about your heart – what is on the inside, not what is on the outside! ISAIAH 66:2b “…Who is the one I esteem?…The one who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
3. The way we boast about ourselves – perhaps you struggle with thinking too highly of yourself. Perhaps you are impressive on the outside and feel that others should be impressed with you as well. Just remember where your talents came from – God!! Please don’t hide them, but don’t boast about them, either, cause in God’s eyes, we are all equal – the ground is level at the foot of the cross. And remember the word of the Lord found in JEREMIAH 9:23-24, “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight!”
4. The urgency with which we remember to take care of heart – if God says he doesn’t look at the things that man looks at, then we better figure our what he DOES look at so we can please him, assuming that we are living to please the Lord, amen?!!! (2CORINTHIANS 5:9a, “So we make it our goal to please Him…”). PROVERBS 4:23 tells us to “guard our heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” JEREMIAH 17:9 warns us that our hearts are “deceitful above all things and beyond cure”, which is why we all need help to get self-awareness!
And last but not least, in MICAH 6:8, one of my favourite verses on what God does want from us:
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? TO ACT JUSTLY, TO LOVE MERCY AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD.”
Lastly, from these verses we get the well-known verse about David, which says that he was “ruddy and handsome” (but obviously not that tall – smile!) The Co-build dictionary says “If you describe someone’s face as ruddy, you mean that their face is a reddish colour, usually because they are healthy or have been working hard.” David had been tending the sheep, and was probably quite sun-tanned, besides being in the “pink of health”, as it is said. He was certainly in good shape if he had been killing lions and bears (see 17:33-36).
At this time, Samuel anointed David as king in front of his brothers, and “the spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” What a significant ceremony that was, although none of them probably understood it at the time, especially when you look at how David’s brothers treated him later (or perhaps they were jealous!).
v14-23 Just as God’s spirit miraculously came upon David, God’s spirit left Saul. So sad…. Not only that, but the bible says that “an evil (or injurious) spirit from the Lord tormented him.” I won’t say that I know exactly what that means, but the Life Application Bible notes say that it may have meant Saul became depressed, or it may have been the kind of evil spirit that comes into an “empty house”, so to speak, as is described in the new testament parable of Jesus (see Matthew 12:43-45). Another idea I had is related to the passage in 2 Thess 2:9-12 which speaks of God sending a powerful delusion to those who refuse to believe the truth. An example of this would be the Pharaoh Exodus 1-14. When a man has already decided to harden his heart and go against God, God will sometimes harden his heart even more so that He can use the already evil man to help His cause, the way that Pharaoh’s stubbornness “helped” the Israelites.
Saul’s servants persuaded him to use music to help to “soothe his savage breast.” (That’s not a biblical quote – it’s 300 years old from the British dramatist William Congreve, and is sometimes misquoted as “music soothes the savage beast”.) Men have always known that music can help you feel better. If you need help unwinding or de-stressing, try playing some calming music – it works wonders for me. (Does that mean I am savage?? Smile!) And if you want more evidence, check out this website:
http://www.advancedbrain.com/soundheath/music-to-de-stress.html
At any rate, David was chosen to be the harp player and would play whenever Saul felt agitated.
Here’s something for you IF YOU HAVE EVER FELT INSIGNIFICANT or OVERLOOKED:
All those years when David was outshined by his older brothers and ignored by his dad, he was relegated to sheep duty. Even though he may have felt rejected or looked down on by his family, God was using David’s time alone out in the open to teach him a few things, like (1) how to have a deep relationship with God – it’s hard not to think about God when you are out in the open and under the stars; (2) how to write poetry and songs – David was musically inclined, so he was able to put his prayers and feelings to music; (3) how to play the harp – what else was he gonna do out there to keep from going bonkers from boredom? (4) how to fight – the rare time when a wild animal did come to attack, David was ready and waiting. He was courageous and creative, figuring out ways to kill bears and lions with very little in the way of weapons or tools. AND GUESS WHAT? Those were just the skills needed to make David king, with harp playing for Saul being the first thing that got him noticed at the palace. SO, YOU NEVER KNOW…you may be doing something that you feel is insignificant or you may be feeling overlooked by others, but God may be training you for something awesome in the future! (Chapters 17 and 18 are also packed with some great stuff, so hope to see you tomorrow!!)
karenlouis@seachurches.org
ENTRY FORTY-EIGHT – MARCH 30, 2008
48 – JONATHAN, DAVID and GOLIATH
I Samuel 17-18
This entry, which covers one day of reading, highlights FAITH that comes from EXPERIENCING GOD, FRIENDSHIP that comes from BEING VULNERABLE with trustworthy people, AND THE INSECURITY that comes from BEING FAR FROM GOD.
Even though God has already decided that He will strip the kingdom from Saul, He also has a plan that will require time and patience to work His will. Over the next (15 or so?) years, David will grow from being a God-reliant teenager full of faith and courage to a spiritual man capable of inspiring courage into a whole nation. In the meantime, Saul’s defects of character multiply and we see his rampant insecurity bursting out in fits of murderous rage.
In terms of keeping with my chronological timing, I have two choices re how to sort out the order of 1 Samuel 16:14-1 Samuel 18:4. (You’ll need to read it first to see what I am talking about.) The first explanation is that 1 Samuel 16:14-23 is a statement and chapter 17 is an elaborate description of how events unfolded to get David into the palace. God does this in other places in the bible, such as in Gen 1 when He states a fact in just a few verses that God created male and female in his own image and then in chapter 2, He elaborates on the creation of humans for a whole chapter. Another explanation is that David went to Saul’s palace to play the harp in 1 Samuel 16:14-23, but Saul never paid attention to what he looked like and the officers in Saul’s army never saw him. Then later, when Saul went out to battle, David went home to his father Jesse’s house and tended the sheep again, since Saul might not have wanted to bring a harp player out to the battle field. After the Goliath incident, then Saul got up close and personal with David, bringing him back to the palace permanently. Either way, the story isn’t really affected, but I like to be precise about such things!
At any rate, the first thing I noticed in CHAPTER 17 was that Saul, who had been victorious in battle for a long while, was not doing well now. Insight – the farther you get from God, the fewer and more far between you will see victories in your life.
Look at the fear that gripped the army. Again, when the leader is insecure/lacking in faith, the people he supposedly leads will be the same.
Goliath’s mistake – he defied the armies of the living God. We have seen example of this in our church in
David, who had as usual been serving quietly in the background, suddenly found himself face to face with this ogre of a man who had the gall to humiliate what David saw as the army of his God. Well, you just don’t do that, AMEN??!!
Instead of encouraging him, Eliab, David’s older brother, began to berate David and accuse him of having bad motives. Sometimes when we lack faith, we get embarrassed when others have faith and we say mean things about them. (This happens to David again later when his wife says nasty things about his in 2 Sam 6!)
In verse 32 we see that David didn’t let his older brother’s rudeness and jealousy discourage him – he was ready to go for it! His defense was that God had already been helping him fight against lions and bears and therefore God would see him through this battle as well. Faith begets faith, and victories beget victories. David didn’t want to go into battle relying on man but on God and God alone. Remember John’s prayer workshop (in Singapore 2006)? In the first lesson he talked about how praying in the name of Jesus isn’t a cute little magic phrase we should attach to the end of our requests to make sure that God gives us what we want. Instead, when we think of doing something in the name of Jesus or in the name of God, we should look to the Old Testament to see what was meant in such cases. Look at David here in verse 45, “…but I come against you IN THE NAME OF THE LORD ALMIGHTY, the God of the army of Israel, whom you have defied. With that kind of faith, David defeated the giant, and brought glory to God.
WHY WAS DAVID ABLE TO HAVE THAT KIND OF FAITH when the others shrank back? Because David had EXPERIENCED GOD! Perhaps you feel that you haven’t had the kinds of victories that you used to have…maybe it is because you haven’t been experiencing God lately. I know for me this is often the case – I get humanistic and stop relying on God and peek-a-boo – one day I realize that I have been relying on my own strength and not experiencing God – my so-called “Quiet Times” had been TOO quiet. But we can always repent and get back on track with God. It just takes humility and willingness.
Chapter 18 tells of the beautiful friendship between David and Jonathan but also of the tragic tale of Saul becoming so deluded that he started trying to kill David.
The story of their friendship is one of trust and respect. Jonathan may have already known that David would one day be king instead of him, but you would not guess that – instead, he was unselfish and giving to David, even though David was getting more praise than he was. (Remember that Jonathan was also a great warrior but when he had won battles (ch14) his dad had taken the credit.) Of course, Saul was the kind of leader who couldn’t stand it when another leader got more praise. EXAMINE your heart about this – when others are praised, are you able to rejoice with them? Or do you become jealous and rationalize how you are better than they are? Or insecure and think that no one respects you anymore now that you are not mentioned? This is a curse that afflicts many who want to be godly, because our sinful nature longs to be recognized by others even as we have rejected the world’s standards in so many ways. Hence Jesus told us the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14.
Thankfully, even for those who struggle with these evil thoughts, I haven’t known many folks who have ever tried to kill the person they are envying. (Praise God!) In Saul’s case, being the king, he had absolute power and could do what he wanted with out any one questioning him. He might lose his moral authority, but he had already lost it anyway. However, after he started trying to kill David, he even lost the respect of his own son. That is a low blow, but if our kids become Christians and then we don’t act like Christians, they will lose respect for us if we don’t eventually repent.
If you want to be respected as a leader, your starting from the wrong perspective anyway. Leadership begins with a desire to serve and lead by example, not to be respected. David was such a leader, and Saul grew more afraid of David, who had not just human-appointed authority, but also influence, which is stronger. Saul’s fears caused him to grow more and more dastardly, and he plotted to have David killed in battle. By the end of chapter 18, even Saul’s daughter loved David! Saul could see the writing on the wall, so to speak, and was getting more and more paranoid, which is what happens to people who were once spiritual but have lost it. The message for all of us is clear – Take care of your heart and feed your relationship with God! (more tomorrow)
karenlouis@seachurches.org
ENTRY FORTY-NINE – MARCH 31, 2008
49 – DAVID RUNS FROM SAUL
I Samuel 19-20; Psalm 59
In contrast to Saul, David reveals himself as a gentle, merciful, and loyal servant to the king and a deeply sensitive, expressive man of God. Virtually every important encounter he faces becomes memorialized in a psalm, which the chronological bible includes along side the historical narrative in order for us to really see and feel David’s relationship with God. I find this section of scripture about David (1 & 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles combined with the psalms) very inspirational. Especially to look out for in this entry of one day’s reading are (1) TIPS ON HOW DAVID PRAYED IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, (2) PERSONAL SHARING ABOUT MY STRUGGLES WITH EMOTIONS, (3) THE DANGER OF SIN AND ITS ULTIMATE PROGRESSION IF WE DON’T REPENT EARLY ON.
1 Samuel 19 shows Saul’s instability and hypocrisy. First he agrees to spare David’s life, then he enlists his daughter’s help to have David murdered! (David was married to Saul’s daughter and Saul sent men to their house to kill David.) Talk about an example of bad parenting and how to ruin your children spiritually! The hypocrisy is almost humourous – in v11-18 Saul gets mad at his daughter for lying, but here he is plotting to murder an innocent man – duh!! Besides, you can bet that his daughter had been taking good notes about deceitfulness from him!
My chronological bible puts PSALM 59 here because the heading of Psalm 59 says that David wrote it when Saul had sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
Psalm 59 is one of those psalms/prayers/songs you want to read when you feel like the world is against you, or at least the section of the world that knows you! However, when we read it, we USUALLY aren’t worried about our boss literally trying to pin us to the wall with a spear (although sometimes they may be doing it figuratively!) or our father-in-law colluding with our spouse to sneak in our home and kill us in bed, or the leader of the nation sending men to hunt us down! I guess the sheer enormity of David’s woes serves to keep us from feeling sorry for ourselves compared to him in most cases. Having said that, I believe that God is quite happy for us to use the psalms for “lesser” problems. And there is nothing wrong with praying through these types of psalms when your only problem is that people at work seem to be trying to make you look bad when you are convinced that you have done nothing to deserve it! The spirit of the psalm is what is important. Look at David’s heart to go to God, even during this time of intense stress:
- He begs God to look on his plight.
- He repeatedly refers to God in a positive, faithful way (my strength, my loving God…)
- He asks that his enemies’ sins find them out and come back to haunt them.
- His motive is so that others will believe in God, not just for self-preservation or vindication.
- He ends on a positive note, determined to praise God and tell others of Him.
I felt convicted when I read this because it reminded me of how sometimes I HAVE NOT PRAYED like this during times of stress. I do not like to experience negative emotions. My personality is such that I like to be upbeat and happy and I want everyone else to be that way, too. This is not usually a bad thing. However, when legitimately sad or depressing things are happening, I sometimes have a hard time going to God in a sincere way BECAUSE IF I AM DEEP AND SINCERE, I WILL HAVE TO FEEL NEGATIVE THINGS THAT I DON’T WANT TO FEEL. I learned this the hard way when the ICOC went through its difficult and turbulent years (2003-2004). I was feeling sad about people treating others badly and about my friends around the world whose lives were getting thrown into despair. I had a hard time mourning everything, wanting to be strong for everyone. I traveled to different countries almost every month, hoping to help out with it all. In the midst of that, the
Back in 1 Samuel 19, God’s sense of humour shows up again. When fleeing from Saul, David went to the only godly man he could trust at that time – Samuel. I think it is so sweet. Two God-reliant men, one old, one young, but they were bonded by their love for God and his truth. Perhaps that is where David get the courage to pray the Psalm 59 prayer. At any rate, when Saul sends men to kill David while he is with Samuel, God sends a prophesying spirit on Saul’s men, and later on Saul himself! I guess it is pretty hard to murder a prophet and his friends when you area miraculously prophesying in God’s name!! (Perhaps you should pray that your boss is overcome by the same sensation every time he is about to blame you for something!
1 Samuel 20 relates the touching account of David and Jonathan’s relationship and the vow they make to each other – David wants Jonathan to promise not to harm him, even though it would certainly be in Prince Jonathan’s “best interest” to see David dead, seeing as how David will usurp his place as the next king. The unselfish Jonathan was quite happy to see his best friend become king instead, and the vow he wanted David to make was that David wouldn’t harm Jonathan and that David would take care of Jonathan’s family should Jonathan himself die. They made a covenant with each other and really loved each other genuinely. I think of Romans 12:9-10 and 1 Peter 1:22. When Jonathan stands up to his dad for David, even risking death, it seems like a scene from a movie. And when Jonathan and David meet up one last time, I always cry! Verse 17 reads that Jonathan “loved David as he loved himself” and verse 40 says that when they cried and wept together, that David wept the most. What a friendship. What love! Oh, Lord, let our
In 1 Samuel 20:24-34, it can be seen that Saul’s downfall is sure – his hatred toward David is so severe that he almost kills his own son in a fit of rage as he swears at him, calling him a “son of a b*****” , and then throws a spear at him. Gone forever is the humble Saul who was hiding among the baggage. No wonder God mourned that he made Saul the king. Even though most of us are not tempted to commit murder, we do struggle from time to time with some of the things that Saul struggled with and the lesson for us is re how seriously we take our sins. Just as the book of Hebrews warns us to be on our guard lest we drift away (HEBREWS 2:1), we can look at the times in our lives when we have done badly spiritually and see that it didn’t happen overnight. In Saul’s case, THERE IS A DEFINITE PROGRESSION OF SIN: Self-reliance > disobedience > insecurity > fear > hatred > malice > violence > attempted murder against a perceived enemy > attempted murder against own son > eventual slaughtering of a priest and a whole village of priests and their families (see chapter 22). What a fall!!!!! I can see how drifting from God for me has often started with poor quiet times, then giving into some pleasure, such as over eating, then I get guilty and fearful and then even become angry, trying to blame others. Whenever I find myself in this predicament, the only way to get out of it is by going back to the bible, having long quiet times, crying out to God in prayer, and being open with my best friends who know me and will speak the truth to me. Although we will see this reaction from David when he sins with Bathsheba, Saul is too far gone to make it to the brokenness phase, and ends his life defiant, scared, alone and without God. (Stay tuned for more tomorrow…)
ENTRY FIFTY – APRIL 1, 2008
50 – DAVID PRAYS and PRAYS
I Samuel 21-23, 1 Chronicles 12, Psalms 56, 34, 142, 52, 63, 54
Saul has become more and more afraid of David, and his pursuit to the death takes on new intensity in this part of the story. David responds to Saul’s threats and pursuit with mercy and avoidance. He even aligns himself with his old enemies, the Philistines, just to avoid conflict with Saul. The most obvious trait of David seen in this entry is his reliance on God – HE CONSTANTLY GOES TO GOD IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND WHEN HE WANTS TO OVERCOME HIS FEAR. What a beautiful and meaningful lesson for all of us. This entry, which covers three days of reading, also touches on the topics of GOD’S LOVING CARE FOR US, and HOW GOOD PEOPLE CAN TURN EVIL.
1 Samuel 21 The first thing I felt when I read this chapter is that David had grown up. Just a few chapters (years) earlier, David was a teenager, struggling to even wear Saul’s armour. Now, in verse 9, he is ready, willing and able to take Saul’s sword as his own. This may be stretching the point a bit, but think about how this might apply to you spiritually: are you growing? Have you been drinking the pure milk of the word of God so much that you are now ready for solid food, for the meat of the gospel? Are you being trained by knowing and practicing the scriptures? Can you see progress in your life? Paul told Timothy to let people see his progress – that means that it should be obvious. Don’t know what to grow in or what to focus on? Ask a close friend of bible talk leader or a Christian you respect. It’s time to grow up and go for Goliath’s sword!!!!!
(See Matthew 12:3 for the passage where Jesus refers to the incident about the bread.)
When David fled to the Philistines, he prayed PSALM 56. Just like Psalm 59 in the previous chapter, this is another Psalm for the Troubled Soul, so to speak, and has many of the same features. He prays specifically about fear and about God saving him from death. Verse 8 is my favourite part – the NLT says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” John preached a great sermon about this a few years ago – how God knows every time we cry. Our loving God cares! When you feel like you have cried a bucket full of tears, remember that God has written them all down. Beautifully encouraging words for us when we are facing hard times. And the good news is, there will be no tears in heaven!! (Rev 7:17).
The funny thing about God is that we almost never know how we will answer a prayer! In David’s case, God answered the prayer of Psalm 59 by giving David the idea to act insane, so that the Philistine king left him alone (1 Samuel 21:13-15). You just never know with God.
David’s prayer life is in the forefront again in PSALM 34, which he prayed when he pretended to be insane. This is such a fitting song of praise and celebration in view of a specific answer to prayer! Amen!! “I sought the Lord and he answered me!” “Those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing!” “I will teach you the fear of the Lord!” “The Lord is close to the broken hearted.” These are some of the especially great lines in this psalm. Very refreshing.
1 Samuel 22 When David hid in a cave, many people came to him. He had moral authority because of his righteousness and God-given strength, and possibly also because more and more people were fed up with Saul’s strange and unspiritual ways. The sweet thing here is that, for the first time, we see his family showing support to him. Just as in the story of Joseph back in Genesis, and Jesus in his day, David’s brothers grew to appreciate him and were ready to sign up with him.
David also showed concern for his family, so he sorted out a place for his parents to live, where they would be safe from Saul, in a city outside of
While in the cave, he very likely wrote PSALM 142. In one of my old bibles, I have a note written by verse one, which is a comment on David’s declaration that he pours out his complaint before God and tells him his troubles. My note says, “this is much more effective than eating, shopping or falling into self-pity!” David sounds truly desperate in this psalm, and ends with the statement, “The righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.” How fitting, then, that it is in this cave that, not only his father’s household gathers, but also 400 other good men. 1 Chronicles 12:8-18 describes the men from the tribes of Gad, Benjamin and Judah who began to follow him about this time, and stresses their bravery and boldness. These would become known as David’s Mighty Men, who really turned
1 Samuel 22:6-19 tells the horrible story of how Saul slaughtered a whole village of priests, just because one of them had helped David. As mentioned in the previous entry, Saul’s sin progressed over the years to enable him to do something that he would have never believed he was capable of. For more interesting insights into how a person can become evil, read M. Scott Peck’s People of the Lie.
David’s righteous indignation at Saul’s actions come out in PSALM 52, in which he upbraids the evil doer and contrasts Saul, a man “who did not make God his stronghold” with himself, who trusts “in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.”
1 Samuel 23 gives examples of how God was still speaking to the people through the Urim and Thummim. (See John’s deep teaching lesson on this topic in his series entitled, “Wanderings in the Wilderness.”) The crazy thing is that, while God was truly being sought by David, Saul thinks that God is on HIS side (v7), which highlights his delusion even more. Saul followed David around in the desert, but God never let him catch his “prey”.
When he was hiding from Saul in the desert, he wrote PSALM 63, one of my personal favourites. We sing this at church in a modern form, with our song, “Streams in the Desert”. Try reading this psalm and then singing that song in your prayer/bible study time – it is so positively bursting with joy and thankfulness that you can’t help but be in a good mood!! I think of this when we are singing in church. As do all of the 150 psalms (except for one), it ends on a positive, faithful note. (I personally use this verse to remind me to love God more than the pleasure that comes from food! See v 5!)
1 Samuel 23 tells of an unexpected meeting with Jonathan – how nice that during such a difficult time, God was able to let David see his best friend and draw encouragement from his words.
We also see Saul talking as if he were spiritual – ha ha. Ungodly people often do this, however, as a way of keeping themselves deceived about their true state. When a group of people called the “Ziphites” betrayed David’s whereabouts to Saul, David prayed PSALM 54. Again, he cries out for help but he is faithful and trusting.
1 Samuel 23:26-29 has always reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie!!! What a scene!! God answers David and saves him and his men by sending an attack on
karenlouis@seachurches.org
ENTRY FIFTY-ONE – APRIL 4, 2008
51 – DAVID’S MERCY and SAUL’S END
I Samuel 24-31; II Samuel 1; I Chronicles 10, Psalm 57
This entry, which covers three days of reading, touches on the topics of BEING A PURE HEARTED FOLLOWER/LEADER, WISDOM FOR WOMEN (including a study of Abigail’s strengths), and, once again, RELYING ON GOD IN DIFFICULT TIMES.
This section is the climax of the battle between Saul and David, which was really not a battle, but more like a surreal boxing match, with God protecting David from ever taking a punch and with Saul getting knocked out by the referee! David’s soft-hearted, merciful, godly and loyal spirit is such a contrast to everything about Saul. Gene Edwards’ classic book on relationships with leaders, A Tale of Three Kings, is a must-read for all who would study this deeper and especially for all who are convinced that they have a “Saul” or an “Absalom” in their life. (Absalom will be discussed in a future entry when we study 2 Samuel 13-20.) I have read Edwards’ book three different times during my life – it has always given me great insights and the last time I read it, it kept me from sinning! Moving on….
1 Samuel 24 Again, this could so easily be a scene from a movie, both for its poignant drama and for its humour: David’s men are fleeing from Saul, as usual, and are hiding out in a place called, “The Desert of En Gedi”. (You can still see this area with its caves if you go to
When Saul learns of the encounter, he momentarily “repents” and acknowledges that David is righteous and he should be king. Of course, that doesn’t last long. However, it is interesting to note that he even goes this far, even just for a day. A note I wrote in my bible years ago says, “Wow, when we act from pure motives and with righteousness, even our enemies will weep.”
Sadly, most people that have become this bitter and deceived don’t admit they are wrong for even five minutes, and over the years, especially since 2003, I have seen that most people don’t weep, but WE STILL NEED TO BE RIGHTEOUS! God sees our integrity and knows our heart, even if “man” doesn’t care.
David prayed PSALM 57 when he escaped from Saul in the cave. All David can do is pray and be righteous, and this song/prayer is full of praise, thanks, and a bit of righteous gloating over being vindicated! (Don’t you love it when God helps you to prove to the people against you that you were right and they were wrong?? Hee hee… David’s heart was purer than mine, but I think he did enjoy it a bit as well.) I sing this psalm, which has similar wording to Psalm 108, to a tune that I learned almost 30 years ago from a Christian radio station. (If you are interested, you can ask me and I’ll hum it for you, but be prepared to hear a frog-like voice!) “My heart is steadfast, O God. My heart is steadfast, I will sing. Awake my soul; let me lift my voice. I will awaken with the dawn.”
1 Samuel 25 begins on a sad note – the old judge/prophet/mentor/friend Samuel died, and was buried and mourned at his home in Ramah. Just as when Joshua died, so this, too, marked the passing of an era. We are now completely out of the period of Judges and well into the years of the Monarchy, or what some refer to as the period of the “United Kingdom”.
Next comes the fascinating story of Abigail. Many women have taken comfort from and been inspired by this tale of a woman married stuck in a marriage to an oaf who didn’t fear God. My dear friend, Nadine Templer, once wrote an article about Abigail, and also taught this as a lesson to our
A LESSON ON “ABIGAIL-She Kept Her Head” 1 Sam 25:1f
Nadine Templer, March 23, 2006, Singapore Staff women
She was trying to be righteous but her husband wasn’t – how did she cope?
1) She Knew God Was Near
v18-19 She wasn’t reactive or impulsive. She waited to tell Nabal. She calmed David down. She spoke like a diplomat.
v23-31 she was spiritual ! (Think of Gloria Baird.) When your life is hit with a spiritual earthquake, how do you react?
2) Her Humility Was Clear
She had done nothing wrong, but she apologized (for things that had nothing to do with her). A humble apology is very disarming. Defending yourself is a way of showing that you don’t trust God! She wasn’t just humble with David, but even took advice from her servant! Don’t take advantage of your position. Treat everyone with the same respect.
3) She Did Not Give In To Fear
She was a “make-it-happen” woman. She was pro-active, not passive. She was intelligent and she used her brains. She understood that being a submissive wife does not equal turning your brain off and following blindly. She took risks, she looked for needs. She was determined that her life would make a difference. SHE WAS A LEADER! A woman of action! We need to build up the young leaders! And we need to inspire them! Inspiration AND shepherding. Keep looking for ways to make a difference! Abigail did it all without getting any immediate encouragement. (Of course in her case she got the ultimate encouragement when, as a widow, the future king wanted to marry her! But most women’s unrighteous husbands are not going to drop dead, nor will any knight in shining armour come riding out on a white horse! However we can still appreciate the SPIRIT of the passage….) THERE’S A GREAT NEED FOR HEROIC DEEDS! There is still a need to raise up women! Abigail had an impact. I’m so excited about my life as Christian!
Back to my notes – SISTERS, IF YOU ARE THINKING OF GETTING MARRIED, avoid men who don’t fear God, love the bible or like to get input in their lives. You know why? Do you think I am a control freak or “old school” for suggesting this? Here’s why…because when husbands stop fearing God the way they need to and start getting “mean and surly” like Nabal, you will long for a David to come put some sense into him, but it won’t be possible if he has never liked feedback! This is real, and I know what I am talking about. Women and men have different temptations and the world trains men to be this way. If they love God, which fortunately my husband does, and if they value input from others, albeit somewhat begrudgingly at times, they will be fine and you will be relieved! (Of course, it goes both ways, but we’ll talk about nagging wives when we get to Proverbs!!)
1 Samuel 26 contains a similar story to chapter 24, when David has another chance to take Saul’s life, but stops himself because he has too much loyalty and integrity. Saul again says that he will repent but David knows better than to trust him. Jesus taught that we should turn the other cheek, and Gandhi took this teaching and turned it into his nonviolent campaign against the British. Unfortunately, both of them were assassinated. Just goes to show that we hardly ever get our reward on earth! David was fortunate to have rewards in both places.
The next section deals with David living with the Philistines again in order to escape from Saul. In the chronological bible, the account goes in the following order – 1 Samuel 27:1-7; 1 Chronicles 12:1-7; 1 Samuel 27:8-28:2; 1 Samuel 29:1-11; 1 Chronicles 12:19-22; 1 Samuel 30:1-31. David did manage to escape from Saul for the meantime, so you could say that he plan worked. However, John preached about this a few years ago in one of the deep teachings and noted that David used the ephod/Urim and Thummim to inquire of God on many occasions, but this time, the bible just says, “David thought to himself….” In other words, his idea to go and live with the Philistines and act as if he were an enemy to
1 Samuel 28 relates the bizarre story of Saul, who had outlawed all sorcery, as the Mosaic law proscribes, who went to a witch to talk to Samuel out of sheer desperation and terror. Wow – fear can make us go against our convictions when our foundation is weak and our relationship with God isn’t close. It is humourous to note that the witch herself was petrified when Samuel actually did appear, showing that even she knew that she was just a conjurer, but God had other plans!! This passage illustrates that there is no reason to consult God when you already know that the bible says something different. God’s promise was coming true – the kingdom was being torn from Saul and given to someone who would love God with all his heart.
Chapter 31, along with 1 Chronicles 10, tells the sad story of Saul’s last battle, which not only brings defeat to
An insert at this point from 2 Samuel 4:4 lets us know that when the news of Saul’s death, along with the death of his three sons, reached the palace, Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, became a cripple because the nurse carrying him fell and he was injured for life.
2 Samuel begins in the saddest way possible, with David receiving the news of and then mourning the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. In keeping with his personality (Sam Laing once preached that King David was the first AMS guy!), he wrote a “lament” to commemorate the tragic occasion and made everyone learn how to sing it. The words are beautiful to me for two reasons: (1) David was able to remember and love Saul’s good qualities, not harbouring any bitterness for all the years Saul mistreated him. (2) David did not think it was a sign of weakness to express his love for another man – obviously a pure, brotherly love – and to show his emotion in front of others.
In the chapters to come, we will see David leave behind his years of wandering and come into his own as the true king of
karenlouis@seachurches.org
For the introduction and index to the chronological series, see http://www.dtodayarchive.org/content/view/1224/240/
