We Wouldn't Choose the Long Road, but It's Best in the End.

We Wouldn't Choose the Long Road, but It's Best in the End.

1 Samuel chapter 19

David’s life is not taking the course that we would expect, from a human perspective anyway. One would think that after being anointed as the future king, killing the Giant, and marrying the king’s daughter that life would be pretty good. As we saw in chapter 18, life has, instead, gotten a lot more complicated for David. Now in Chapter 19, his life even gets perilous.

Divided Loyalties:

            Jonathan, Saul’s son, but David’s friend hears from his fathers own mouth (Jonathan is a leader privy to such things and trusted by his father) that he wants David dead. Jonathan does the right, but I’m sure not easy thing and chooses God’s will over his fathers by warning David and helping him hide. Siding with the enemy was a risk to himself as well, however, Jonathan has never been afraid to do the right thing, even if the consequences are high. He trusts God more than the circumstances around him. Eventually he reasons with his father and gets him to promise not to kill David, even to acknowledge that David has actually been a tremendous blessing to him and the kingdom. So David returns…

            Can you imagine being David back in Saul’s court at this point? Can you imagine the pressure of having to constantly watch your back, constantly watching the words and actions of those around you and wondering how they might affect your mortality? David doesn’t have to wonder for long and Saul’s penchant for wanting to kill David will no longer be subtle. He actually tries to pin David to wall with the spear next to his throne while David is playing music for him.

            David is not the only one caught in the wake of Saul’s destructive behavior however. Michal, David’s wife and Saul’s daughter, puts a fake body in his bed while David climbs out the window and runs to Samuel. Saul in forcing his own children to side against him and puts them in very difficult political positions.

God works in ways we don't always understand:

            But God is always with David in this section of the narrative. The difficulties that David finds himself in only magnify the fact that God is with him, keeping him save despite the circumstances. His faith and reliance on God grow stronger through the difficulties because God puts him in situations where he has no where to turn but up. God helps David when he is week and helpless. He even works in strange ways that we would never think of. When Saul and his troops come to get David from Samuel’s house they are forced by God to prophesy. Even Saul himself is incapacitated and forced to worship God. He is even humiliated by taking his cloths off. David is delivered in the unlikely, by unlikely means. God gets the glory.

Lessons: We pretty much never like to go through trials in our lives, and we sometimes have no clue why God works the way he does, but we can always know that he is in control. Growth is never easy, knowing God more requires struggle. Faith that is tested becomes even stronger. God puts us in situations where he gets the glory, we should be quick to give it to him and to even see him working in the ways we would not expect. He is God and we are not, after all.

            Sometimes even those who are close to us will challenge our faith in negative way. We need to choose to do what is right and trust God. We need to be more concerned with following God than the fallout we might have with friends or family. Following God is always the right choice regardless of the consequences we may face her on earth. Trust him, believe him, and watch how he works in the unlikely, watch how he works in you.

Living After the Mountain Top

Living After the Mountain Top

1 Samuel 18:6-30

In the fairy tales, after the hero slays the dragon, he is supposed to marry the princess and live happily ever after right? David discovers in this section that, while slaying the giant was an amazing feat that God accomplished through him, it wasn’t exactly his ticket to the good life. While he was now rich and famous, his life was also perilous. David continues to have success in battle and everyone in the kingdom loves him. The text makes it clear that this success is from the Lord, the Lord who was with David and not with Saul. This makes Saul, the king, very, very jealous. Because David is so beloved, however, he can’t just kill him, so Saul plots other ways to get rid of David.

Saul hated David because the Lord was with him, and not with Saul. He decides to follow the time honored mobster tradition of keeping “your friends close and your enemies closer” by trying to get David married off to his daughter. David shows some political savvy by not considering himself worthy of such an honor but eventually Saul comes up with a bride price that makes it hard for David to refuse. Again we see that God is with David as he brings a hundred Philistine foreskins to Saul in exchange for his daughter Michal.

The political intrigue here is messy and in the end no one really wins. Michal is used as a pawn by her father and, even though she loves David, the text never says that David loves her back. She will live a very lonely and tragic life treated more like property than a person. Even though David wins battles and wins the girl, he does so like jumping through the flame only to be rewarded by having to walk through a mine field. He faces enemies on the battle field and on the home front and can trust almost no one.

Lessons:

David’s reward for faithfulness so far is further trial and testing but this time the enemies are more confusing and the right choices are less obvious. We too often find ourselves in situations where the mountain top spiritual experience leads to a disappointing, and even uncertain aftermath. We need to choose to remain faithful to God in these murky times, even when we can’t see the way through, even though we don’t know why God is working the way that he is. Following God will always lead to ultimate blessing but often not immediate blessing. This life is filled with the weedy, messiness of a sinful world, even our own hearts. So we must trust in God and his word to see us through when we can’t see for ourselves.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I once again subject myself to the masses and seek your constructive criticism of the sermon I preached this past Sunday. It's long, I know, but such is the culture of the church I serve with. A shorter sermon would be perceived as a lesser sermon in this context so I stuck with that format. So, other then that, let me know what you think? You find the sermon here: Can You Hear Me Now?

How to Have an Epic Relationship

1 Samuel 18:1-5

How to Have an Epic Relationship

Jonathan, Saul’s son, has had amazing victory in battle because of his reliance and confidence in the power of his God. He has just seen David do the very same with his display against Goliath and the two become instant friends. The text even says that “the soul of Jonathan was kit to the soul of David and he loved him as his own soul” (vss. 1 & 3). Such devotion to one’s God was probably rare to see and inspired a connection between the two beyond any normal friendship.

This friendship is tangibly described in this passage by Jonathan giving David his personal armor, sward, bow, and even his belt! Later Jonathan’s friendship will be proven when he cares more for honoring God and for David than for his own claim to the kingdom. David too will later honor Jonathan’s family by protecting them despite personal risk to himself. Both are mighty warriors, both put their God above all else, this is the recipe for an epic friendship.

Lessons:

All of us long to have meaningful relationships and in this section we see two men who build an epic friendship on their passion for their God. We too need to make God the foundation of our relationships whether friends, family members or spouses. The most epic relationships will be those where all involved share this commitment and passion. Of course, we can still have relationships with those who don’t share this commitment, but these will never be as good as they could be otherwise.

So, what do you look for in a friendship? Think about why you have the friends you do. What is most important to you about that person? Where does the glory of God factor in? if we are seeking personal gain or any other think above God then those relationships will never be what God intends and therefore never as good as he or we would like them to be. We need to put ourselves aside and strive to put God first in our relationships. Just see how epic your relationships can be with God at the front and center.

God Gets the Glory in the Impossible.

1 Samuel Chapter 17

     After chapter 16 introduces us to the transition from Saul to David we now get to see one of the best known stories all of the Bible, David and Goliath. Chapter 16 ended with a summary statement about David’s providential placement into Saul’s court as both musician and armor bearer (quite diverse talents) and the events of chapter 17 happen somewhere within this period of time.

     The narrator places the pieces on the table for us to see, setting the stage once again for God to work in the impossible. As is commonplace throughout the Samuel narrative the Israelites are at war with the Philistines only this time we are introduced to an ancient war custom that was sometimes used in those days. Each army is set on hillsides opposite of one another with a valley in between. Typically the armies would line up and charge one another in the valley. Whoever won the melee would win the battle. However, this “win” would often come at the high price of many lives. Even if you subdued your enemies there would be far fewer of them to make your slaves and far fewer of you to enjoy your victory. Thus we are introduced to the custom of fighting with a champion. The concept is very simple. Each side chooses their best warrior, the two fight in mortal combat and the winning army gets to subdue and enslave the losing army. This way, in theory, only one person has to die. The rest just become subservient to the other nation.

     As we are introduced to Goliath we quickly realize why the Philistines wanted to battle via the champion. The narrator takes pains to describe Goliath to us in detail. He is almost 10 feet tall, he carries massive weapons and impenetrable armor, an imposing force that any normal man couldn’t hope to overcome. This is exactly what the narrator wants us to see. Goliath will be impossible to defeat without specific intervention from God Himself. All of the warriors of Israel feel totally inadequate to attempt competing against such a foe. So, pick the least prepared and under-qualified person to face such a foe (at least by man’s eyes), enter David, the least son of Jesse, a boy who watches the sheep and has zero combat experience.

     David is innocently sent to the battle to supply his older brothers just when Goliath his humiliating Israel and seeking an opponent. The story is so well known that we need not belabor the point any more.  

God’s glory shines through David in an amazing way because he was willing and confident to be used by God when he saw the need before him. The impossible happens and God gets the credit. 

Just like with Hannah, just like with Samuel, just like with Jonathon, the theme continues.

Lessons:

How confident are we with our God? Even further, how often do we give God the glory when he works in our lives for our good? How might God be able to use us if we let him do His work for His glory? No matter who we are, what talents God had given us or what situation we find ourselves in, we need to seek to give God the glory in our lives and through our actions. Weather we have powerful influence over nations or just those in our own home, God should receive the glory in our lives.

Do You Play it Safe?

1 Samuel 16:14-23

           

The Spirit of the Lord has “rushed” on David, The Spirit of the Lord as left Saul, and yet, for now, Saul is still king. In this passage we see God’s masterful and providential hand. While Saul begins to receive punishment for disobeying God, David gets thrown right into the lions lair.

            While Saul is being tormented by an evil spirit, someone in his court mentions that there just might be this boy in Bethlehem that can help. Now imagine that you are Jessie, David’s father. Your son has been secretly anointed king because if it was made public his life would be threatened by the standing king. This standing king, Saul, is now specifically sending for your son. Can you imagine the fear of sending your son to likely the most dangerous place he could possibly go?

            Working in ways that only God can do, God sends David to comfort Saul with his skill in music. Along the way his other talents are discovered and he becomes so close to Saul that he ends up his armor-bearer. By the world’s standards this is the most dangerous place for David to be. By God’s standards David couldn’t be any safer than being exactly where God wants him. David flourishes as he relies on God’s Spirit and power, Saul flounders and suffers without it as he relies on himself. The contrast couldn’t be more stark than it is in this passage.

Lessons:

We are never safer than when we are in the will of God. No matter what the world says about physical or financial security, we need to follow God’s call for us and not always fall back on what the world says is safe and prudent. That doesn’t mean that we are foolish for foolishness sake but sometimes God shows his power in our lives when he puts us in places where only he can work.

Let your friends or family members follow God’s will, not yours. Sometimes parents try and steer their children away from missionary service or from ministry in general because it isn’t very financially rewarding or perhaps it’s even downright dangerous. The truth is it would be more dangerous for them to disobey God. The safest you can ever be is when you are obeying God no matter where that might take you or what it looks like by the world’s standards. So, which form of safety will you choose? Gods? or something else…

"man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart"

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Even though Samuel had told the people that making Saul king would be a mistake, he is still sad to see Saul fail, be rejected by God, and the people suffer for it. I imagine he was feeling similar to a parent who sees a child make bad decisions and then suffer the consequences. On the one hand they deserve the pain that has come their way, but on the other you love them and don’t want to see them suffer. Perhaps Samuel even feels partially responsible, wondering if there was anything more he could have done. God doesn’t let him continue to wallow in his grief and self-pity however. God has chosen another to be anointed king and tells Samuel where and which family he needs to go pursue.

The tricky thing about anointing another king at this point is that Saul is still king. As you might imagine, he and his supporters would not be too happy about a potential usurper of their throne. Samuel makes sure God understands this predicament (as if He didn’t know) and then, at least publicly, claims he is going to the city of Bethlehem to “make sacrifices to the Lord”. This isn’t a lie because he will do this, but his primary mission is to anoint the king to be.

When Samuel gets to Bethlehem the elders of the city are scared and come out to meet him, wondering why in the world he has come so unexpectedly. Remember, in these days, Samuel still often acted as a judge, so when he showed up in your town, especially unexpectedly, he might very well be there to exact God’s judgment for some wrong you had done. You know that feeling when your Mom or Dad unexpectedly opens the door to your room? Ya.  Samuel calms their fears though and heads on to the house of Jessie.

This next section sums up the major theme of the entire book. Samuel doesn’t know at this point which of Jessie’s sons that God has chosen. He naturally assumes that the firstborn, strong and able bodied will be the choice…but God says no. The narrator continues to walk us through this process, slowly moving from son to son in order to make a point. God’s chosen king will not be like the one the people have chosen. God’s chosen king will not be for the people’s glory or for the king’s glory but for God’s glory alone.

Often in eastern storytelling traditions, the center of the story is the most important part. Well, the center of 1^st Samuel is this story here, and the center of this story is the following quote from God:

 “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

This is the center of 1^st Samuel and the center of what God wants to communicate to us through this narrative. There are certainly many other things we can learn, but this is the central idea. God chooses the least son of Jessie, so insignificant that he wasn’t even invited to the party. They go and get David from the fields; he is anointed as the future king (God’s choice) and God’s Spirit rushes upon him. He will be successful not because of who he is but because he is God’s choice, because he has God’s Spirit, because he will rely on God and give God the glory. Get the picture?

Lessons:

The overarching lesson here and of the whole book is that God chooses people and things that will give Him glory. We are best used by God when we seek his glory and not other’s or our own. God uses those who know they are nothing without him. Sometimes he even puts us in situations where we have no other choice but to turn to him so that He can show us and others His glory.

So, are you seeking God’s glory? This can be a tricky one sometimes for pastors (and bloggers) because it’s easy for us to fall in the trap of wanting others to like us and thus basing our value on other’s praise instead of God’s. No matter who you are you need to seek God first in all things. God looks on the heart, so take a heart check. What do you see?

God is not necessarily looking for the best and the brightest. He is looking for those who will serve Him and give Him glory. If you can do that, you can be great in the kingdom of God.