2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In our examination of the events of David’s life after his covenant of friendship and protection with Saul’s son, Jonathan, we get a real contrast laid out before us. We can look at God’s interaction with Saul, who is rejected by him for disobedience and with David, who consistently remains faithful even when presented with the temptation to kill his persecutor. This covenant agreement which is between David, Jonathan, and God transcends the generations of both families and allows us to better understand the nature of a covenant made with God. In spite of the fact that the events of these final chapters of 1 SAM took place as long ago as the 1000’s BC, the principles revealed by God still apply to us today and will in the future. That is why we are not wasting our time in looking into these chapters. In view of the events of 9-11-01, we can be rightly encouraged by David’s tenacious willingness to remain obedient to God to follow David’s example. I say this because of a profound belief that God alone has the right to grant and to take away life. That certainly doesn’t grant this right to the Talibans, Osama Bin Laden and his men, Saul and his men, or any terrorist persecutor. God’s interaction with David alone is enough to convince me that obedience to Him is the only viable option.
1 SAM 29 picks up the story of David with him marching in the rear with King Achish’s Philistines. When the Philistine commander questions King Achish about why these Hebrews are there, Achish explains that they are there with his permission. The commander reacted to this in anger and told the king to send David and his men back to Ziklag, because of the danger that David might betray the Philistines(1-4). The commander reminded the king that the women had danced singing, “Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands,” in (5). It seems ironic that the king says, ”I swear by the living God of Israel that you have been loyal to me, and I would be pleased to have you go with me and fight in this battle. I have not found any fault in you from the day you came over to me. But the other kings do not approve of you. So, go back home in peace and do not do anything that would displease them” (6-7). David and his men went back to Philistia, while the other marched on to Jezreel. One more piece of irony can be found in this location for their destination. Jezreel is the valley in which it is prophesied that Armageddon will be fought.
As 1 SAM 30 opens we find that two days later, David and his men approached Ziklag to find that this Judean town had been invaded by the Amalekites who had captured but not yet killed all the women (1-3). God leads me to be reminded that the Amalekites were Israel’s very first enemies back in Moses’ and Joshua’s time [see EX 17: 8-16]. They represent those led by the flesh in conflict with the Israelites, who were to be led by the Spirit. At that time, Joshua defeated the Amalekites, but apparently hadn’t totally destroyed this group of Israel’s enemies [EX 17: 13]. This gives us some insight into God’s wisdom in ordering all the Amalekites killed, which we might not have seen before. Getting back to David’s story in 1 SAM 30, we find that both of David’s wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken captive. David was in real trouble, because his men reacted in bitterness against him due to the fact that their wives and children had been taken away. But, the Lord his God gave him courage (6). When David asked God for direction on what to do, God told him to go after the raiders and that he would be able to catch them and rescue the captives. Look at the contrast between this and God’s refusal to give Saul direction previously when he had asked the Deity for it.
David and 400 of his men left to pursue the Amalekites when they came across an Egyptian boy who had been a slave of the enemy. This boy was willing to help David and led him to where the Amalekites were. While the Amalekites were eating, drinking, and celebrating all the loot they had gotten, David and his men attacked them by surprise and fought them successfully. Not one enemy got away. David rescued all the captives from Ziklag and recovered everything the enemy had taken. This included his own two wives. Even the flocks of the Hebrews were recovered. When David and his men returned to the 200 of his men who had been too worn out to go on this raid, they were greeted warmly and all was forgiven (9-24). The men who had been with him on the raid were reluctant to return all the loot that belonged to the others, but David in (24) made it clear that it was not God’s way for the returned loot not to be shared equally. That has been a rule in Israel ever since. David even shared some of his part of the loot with other friends in various towns in southern Judah, like Bethel and Ramah. The wisdom of this had to have come from God and would have direct implications on David’s acceptance as king of Israel later on (26-31).
These two chapters of 1 SAM allow us to see what happens when one remains faithful to his covenant promises with God. David did this and received God’s direction and His protection. This is important to us today as our country decides what to do in response to the attack on it by its enemies. Will we remember to seek God’s direction in decision-making? Will we remember to seek it at every junction of any battles we fight? Should we be victorious, will we remain obedient to God in dealing with the aftermath of these battles? These are questions that we as participants in the Covenant of Grace must take the time to ponder.
PRAYER: O Lord, in the example that David set for us seen in 1 SAM and in the Psalms, we find a faithful man who had learned to pray throughout the morning and the evening to You for help. He understood what we should all know, that when we are faithful, You are there to give us guidance, help, and encouragement to face our battles. PS 3: 3-4, “But You, O Lord, are always my shield from danger; You give me victory and restore my courage. I call to the Lord for help, and from His sacred hill He answers me.” PS 4: 3, “Remember that the Lord has chosen the righteous for His own, and He hears me when I call to Him.” PS 5: 4-6, “You are not a God Who is pleased with wrongdoing; You allow no evil in Your presence. You cannot stand the sight of proud men; You hate all the wicked people. You destroy liars and despise violent, deceitful men.” These are the prayers of Your son, David, and today, they are our prayers too. We beseech You, O Lord, to grant wisdom to our leaders, to watch over the injured, their families, and the families of those who have died. We ask You to grant endurance, courage, and strength to all those involved in the recovery process and those who will march against America’s enemies in defense of her. Our heads are bowed in humility before You as we plead for You to grant us safety and guide us in preventing our enemies from breaching our national security in such a way ever again. We dedicate ourselves to being Your obedient, trusting children, to offering You our eternal adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will see what happened to Saul and David’s response to it. Mephibosheth is not forgotten. God is taking us on His straight path to seeing what adherence to His commands yields. His love is all around us. We each need to take the time to remember that and listen to His direction in reacting to what has happened in our individual lives and to our country as a whole. God loves each of you and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn