2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful One,
Today, I am led to go on with examples from the Scriptures, which reveal why it is so necessary for us to wage spiritual warfare with the adversary and his followers. All faithful Christians are called to do this and are fully equipped by God for victory in Christ Jesus if they endure and persist in it.
Not too long ago I wrote several messages about King Saul and King David. Their story is an excellent example of how the enemy can assail a person and can sometimes, if the person's faith is so weak that he allows it, can win. Such was the case with Saul. At the time that I wrote these messages, I suggested that one way Satan attacks is to take over one's thoughts and behavior. I even went so far as to say that some cases of mental illness may very well be this happening, and that I believe that if Saul had been living today, he would have been diagnosed as a bi-polar manic depressive. His behavior pattern would certainly suggest this. However, that is Lynn's idea, and not from the Bible. At first, God instructed the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as Israel's first king [1 SAM 10: 1]. While God couldn't have been happy about Israel having human kings, the Jews were disobedient enough not to understand how this was not in keeping with God's original plan for them. Saul proved to be a weak king with huge personality problems. We all know how David's relationship with Saul began with David being a musician in Saul's court. Over time, Saul came to trust David and put the latter in charge of his army. David was an effective leader, so effective that Saul began to see his growing popularity with the people as a threat. Saul's mind seemed to go into a tailspin after that, leading him to try to persecute David, trying to kill him. Satan had not only attacked Saul's mind, but he was pushing Saul into very unrighteous actions. We can all imagine how this must have pained God to see.
God's disappointment with Saul became so great that He made the decision to depose Saul and have Samuel anoint David as Israel's king [1 SAM 12-13]. From the moment that God was no longer with Saul and was with David; Satan had full sway over Saul. That could be seen in his escalating unrighteous behavior and refusal to acknowledge David's kingship. Even Saul's own son, Jonathan, could see the truth of his father's wrongful behavior toward David. This led Jonathan to protect David, who had become his friend and with whom he had entered into a very important covenant of mutual friendship and protection [1 SAM 18: 1; 1 SAM 20: 1-40]. Despite David's loving compassion in passing up multiple opportunities to kill Saul, Saul's demonic behavior toward David continued. 1 SAM 28: 8-19, which I hope you will read, is the story of how Saul finally resorted to consulting a medium, the witch of Endor. This was in spite of the fact that no Jew was ever to go for advice to people who consult the spirits as laid out in LV 20: 6. "If anyone goes for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead, I will turn against him and will no longer consider him one of My people." How much clearer does God have to be? God never lies, and that is exactly what He did to Saul. 1 SAM 28: 8, "So Saul disguised himself; he put on different clothes, and after dark he went with two of his men to see the woman. 'Consult the spirits for me and tell me what is going to happen,' he said to her." This was beyond the pail in God's eyes, which is why He allowed the Philistines to kill Saul and his sons at Mt. Gilboa [1 SAM 31: 1-6].
RO 3: 26 reveals why it was essential that God take action. "God did this [offered Christ on the cross as a sin-sacrifice] in order to demonstrate His righteousness. In the past He was patient and overlooked people's sins; but in the present time He deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate His righteousness. In this way God shows that He Himself is righteous and that He puts right everyone who believes in Jesus." Imagine if God never took action after a sinner who makes a lifestyle out of his sin refused to stop. The world would be total chaos. None of those who do believe and obey God would ever know that they could count on God to draw limits or protect them eternally from the sins of others. Our God is a keeper of His promises to us. His love for each of us is profound. There are times, and Saul's case was one of them, where He simply had to take action. Saul was given plenty of opportunities to reform and never did. In looking at our own lives, we need to see if there is any sin in them. We must be alert to Satan's attacks on us and take action against them. Remember that EPH 1: 19-20 shows us the enormous power we have been given to do this. "...And how very great is His power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which He used when He raised Christ from death and seated Him at His right side in the heavenly world."
PRAYER : O Lord, in PS 73: 27-28, You inspired David to express the justice You provide for all who believe. "Those who abandon You will certainly perish; You will destroy those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, how wonderful to be near God, to find protection with the Lord God and to proclaim all that He has done!" You have often led me to PS 107: 43 in the course of praying for others. "Those who are wise will take all this to heart. They will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord." We see Your faithful love in PS 25: 8-10, "Because the Lord is righteous and good, He teaches sinners the path they should follow. He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them His will. With faithfulness and love He leads all who keep His covenant and obey His commands." Dearest Abba, in giving us the history of Saul's downfall, You allow us to see some of the ways the adversary assails us. But, You don't stop there. When we read the books like Ephesians, You let us know that we can and should use the power You gave us to defeat the enemy and emerge victorious in Christ's name. For Christ's death on the cross, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and all the blessings of protection, sharing of Your wisdom, and loving encouragement You offer, we humbly thank You and praise You for Who You are in our lives. We confess our sin and present ourselves to You, offering our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, and praise. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
I know you are wondering what all of this has to do with Satan's origin, and I promise to discuss that at length. However, I am led to first share these magnificent stories to motivate all of us to recognize the need to wage spiritual warfare. Tomorrow, we will take a look at how even a man as righteous as David is not immune to the arrows shot by the devil. We will look at what happened when he took the census in Israel. Until then, one only needs to mine the treasures of the Psalms to see how profound our Abba's love is for each of us. He is a Presence in our lives that we should welcome and is there for us every minute of every day. He shares our sorrows, guides us through difficulty, and celebrates our victories. His love is eternal. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn