2nd Evangelical Free Church

Blogging through Samuel: The importance of prayer.

1 Samuel 23

In this chapter we find 2 examples of the need for prayer before any undertaking. First, David consulted with the Lord before going to the defense of Keilah. The Lord told him to go but his men were fearful, concerned about their ability to overcome the Philistines and also deal with the army of the vengeful King Saul. David prayed again and got the Lord’s command to go. This confirmation encouraged the men and they achieved a great victory. Afterwards, David again consulted the Lord when he discovered that Saul was coming to attack him. This time he prayed with the mediation of the High Priest who had the Ephod with Urim and Thummim. The Lord’s word protected him from harm.

Prayer should be the first thing we do when we are faced with any choice or when we are up against trials, illness, confrontation or difficult people. Yet often in such situations we let fear overwhelm us. Prayer is the way of getting us to face and overcome that fear by placing our trust in the Lord. After all, He is able to overcome any foe we face and can protect us from harm even in the most terrifying storm. If by prayer we can discern the clear leading of the Lord, we will carry out His will with success even though we may struggle to persevere.

 

Blogging through Samuel: Refusing to listen to reason.

1 Samuel 22

The spiritual slide of King Saul brought him to the point of deep paranoia and murder.  He assumed that the High Priest was against him as was the entire priesthood because Ahimelech had aided David. Saul thus refused to believe the High Priest when he told him the truth. He probably was unable to discern the truth even though it came from a man as holy as he. Instead he trusted the testimony of one man, Doeg, a pagan who told him what he wanted to hear, a lie that confirmed his jealous suspicions. 

When people are angry or filled with jealousy and suspicion, they behave irrationally. They will not listen to truth or reason because they have developed preconceived ideas that they will seek to confirm. Nothing will convince them of the truth. They will demand their way because they think they know the whole situation. They will accuse, abuse, and injure others to get their way no matter who they hurt in the process simply because they refuse to admit they are wrong. Such people only want their egos stroked at the expense of others. 

Often we cannot help those who behave irrationally and refuse to listen to reason. They have hardened their hearts against the Lord. They must slide into the nadir of sinfulness and foolishness before they will listen to reason, or else the Lord must send them a powerful warning to get their attention. We must pray that this happens before it becomes too late for them to turn and repent.

 

Blogging through Samuel: It’s a sin to tell a lie, usually.

1 Samuel 21

In this chapter, David lied twice. To tells such lies to protect himself appears to demonstrate a lack of trust and faith in God. David lied first to the High Priest by telling him that he is on the King’s business so that he can get food for his men and a weapon for himself. But he may have lied to protect Ahimelech from the wrath of Saul. If the priest did not know what David was up to, he could not get in trouble. The second lie David told was to the Philistines at Gath. He feigned madness so that they would leave him alone.

These incidents may have been the leading of the Lord. David was in the midst of enemies. The Lord certainly would protect him even in such tight situations. The false statements were meant to confuse and mislead the enemy. They then can be interpreted not as lies but as legitimate tactics to use in holy war. The Lord prompted David to behave in this way so as to protect his life and thus carry out the Lord’s work. Sometimes it may be okay to lie if the lie is told to protect someone’s life or to help someone avoid danger or catastrophe. 

Although lying demonstrates a lack of godliness and character, is it a commonly accepted way of life to many billions of people in our society. People lie all the time to look good, to get ahead, to earn wealth, fame and popularity and even to look holy. I have known many Christians who decide to take a course of action on their on without asking the Lord but then claim that the Lord led me to do this or the Lord is leading me to do this. That way they can do what they want, even hurt people and churches while still looking good. 

 

Blogging through Samuel: Saul’s spiritual decay.

1 Samuel 20

Saul is descending deeper into a state of spiritual degradation. He is unrepentant. The evil spirit has dragged him down into a state of insanity. Thus when his son Jonathan tried to negotiate and find out why he was so angry with David, he tried to kill him. Such behavior is not the act of a rational man. Jonathan remained loyal to his friend David despite the fact that his stand alienated him from his father. His assistance enabled David to get away.

Sometimes loyalty to those we love can be quite costly. Marriage is a great example of this. Young men and women grow up loyal and devoted to their parents, dependent on them for love, support and the basic needs of life. Yet when children marry, the primary loyalty of a husband switches to his wife and a wife to her husband. Although the counsel and support of parents and family should always be welcome in a marriage, loving parents must realize that the new couple must make all other relationships secondary. Parents who do not understand this will feel offended when their child seems to reject them in favor of his/her spouse. Parents who try to interfere in the marriages of their children only force them to take sides, creating trouble for themselves and their children.

Blogging through Samuel: The Lord confounds His enemies.

1 Samuel 19

Saul’s jealousy of David quickly degenerated into paranoia, hatred, violence, and scheming. He felt that David was stealing all the popularity and glory away from him. The people loved David more than the king. Saul decided to use his daughter Michal, the wife of David to trap him. He expected that since she was his daughter, she would be loyal to her father. Yet she loved David and foiled Saul’s plot by helping her husband escape.

The events that took place when Saul’s men went to take David are a bit odd. The Spirit of the Lord fell upon Saul’s henchmen as they approached David. These men were thrown into a state of ecstasy described as prophesying. However, given the unholy and evil state of the hearts of these men, it is unlikely that they proclaimed the word of God. It is more likely they were thrown into a state of confusion and babbling in strange tongues by the Holy Spirit in order to protect David. In Saul’s case he was utterly humiliated. This shows us that while the Spirit of God can be a great blessing on those who are humble and willing to be used by Him, those who fight and resist Him and hate those He loves, will always be brought down, broken and humiliated.

Blogging through Samuel: Jealousy.

1 Samuel 18

Over the years I have heard many arguments from clergy, family, and media pundits that Jonathan and David were united in a homosexual relationship. This is supposed to prove that homosexual relationships can be as normal and blessed by the Lord as heterosexual marriage. The scripture here in no way justifies such a thing. The souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, not their bodies. They loved each other as brothers, a love which was not defined in sexual terms. Such a thought would be abhorrent to both men for they both possessed great faith in God and were filled with His Holy Spirit. Neither thought or said anything bad about the other. Each would lay down his life for the other. Selfless sacrifice is the essence of love, not sexual pleasure.

This deep relationship between Jonathan and David may have been one reason for Saul’s jealousy. He was also jealous because the Spirit of the Lord was on David and that he could not do anything wrong. Saul wanted to be the center of attention and he saw David as a threat to his glory. So he hated him and sought to hurt him. It is amazing that those who use scripture to justify homosexuality ignore the clear teaching here about the sin of jealousy. It drove Saul to sinful behavior and madness yet his behavior today would be commended as ambition, drive, initiative and looking out for number one. We ought not to be jealous of others but rejoice when they are blessed by God.

Blogging through Samuel: Faith in the face of giants.

1 Samuel 17

When Goliath appeared on the battle line, the Israelite warriors were stricken with terror. They lacked faith and could only focus on Goliath’s blood-curdling strength and his defiant boasting. Yet David felt no fear of the man. He feared God. He had faith. He felt moral outrage over Goliath’s arrogant defiance which he felt was an insult to the Lord God. He was angry that this idol-worshipping pagan was getting away with such appalling blasphemy.

 

David did not need armor or sophisticated weapons to fight the giant. He was well-equipped with faith. He knew that because the Lord was with Him he did not need the weapons of the world. Goliath’s size and strength were no match for the power of God. Those looking on could only see Goliath’s might and David’s weakness. Imagine how the Israelite warriors must have felt as they watched the shepherd boy go out to what they though was certain death. Then imagine how they felt as their faith received a tremendous jolt as Goliath fell. They were overcome with the reality that the Lord God was with them and they could not fail for He was leading them in holy war on His enemies.

 

There giants in everyone’s life. Sometimes they take the form of people who taunt or abuse others who they perceive to be weak, or those they seek to exploit and use. Other times they take the form of sickness, family emotional upheaval or financial setbacks. If we look at the problem in the light of our own puny resources and strength, we will surely be overcome. Yet if we, like David, look at them in the light of the Lord’s strength our faith will carry us through.

Blogging through Samuel: Getting back into life.

1 Samuel 16

Samuel was quite saddened by Saul’s moral failure and God’s subsequent condemnation of the king. He was so troubled that the Lord had to rouse him from his state of depression and grief. Saul was overcome by grief so deep that the Lord allowed him to be troubled by an evil spirit. He must have felt some guilt over his sin even though it did not lead him to repentance. Perhaps he felt sad at the loss more than at the sin. He could not get rid of his guilt and so it ate at him. He could not accept God’s just judgment and grew bitter.

Although grief is often appropriate and helpful, it can become excessive and harmful if we wallow in it for so long that it stops us from moving on or it makes us bitter, angry and resentful. The Lord wants us to grow close to Him in these times of sorrow so that we may grow spiritually. Sometimes we need a fellow believer or a push from God to come and jumpstart our lives. 

In the case of Israel, the Lord commanded Samuel to anoint a new king. Doing the Lord’s work is always a helpful way to overcome grief. It allows us to forget our troubles and see our role in God’s kingdom. Samuel went to anoint a man after the Lord’s own heart: David the shepherd. The Spirit of the Lord enveloped this young man in such depth and power that his singing and prayers, his very presence overcame the evil spirit in Saul and soothed his mind.

Blogging through Samuel: Beware of false piety.

1 Samuel 15

Samuel gave Saul an important task to carry out. The Lord had decided it was now time to punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 17:8-16). Saul failed to obey the Lord’s clear instructions to utterly annihilate all the Amalekites and destroy all their possessions. He kept the choice cattle and sheep for himself. Despite what he told Samuel later about offering them to the Lord, he wanted them for himself. That religious argument did not stand up for the Lord hates disobedience as much as he hates witchcraft. Both demonstrate a lack of faith in Him and place a trust in the self or in the power of false gods. Someone else gets the glory and honor due Him alone.

The Lord wants our hearts to be right. They may not be right even if we do outwardly righteous acts. We can sin by doing deeds that appear good or altruistic, noble or charitable, religious or caring if they are motivated by a desire to look good in the eyes of people, to feel that we are better than others, to receive praise, to cover over sins and shortcomings, to bribe God into loving and/or forgiving us or to assuage one’s guilt. Such acts are usually a lot easier to do than to ask for forgiveness and admit that we were wrong, to live a moral life, or to serve others in love expecting nothing in return.

Blogging through Samuel: Faith brings the victory.

 1 Samuel 14

We see here a contrast in faith and spirituality between Jonathan and his father Saul. Saul was sitting around with the remnants of the army, too afraid and depressed to do anything. Jonathan took the battle to the Philistines with only his armor bearer to help him. Despite the odds, he had that confident faith that the Lord would use him to accomplish a great victory. After all, the Lord was fighting the battle with Him and he could not lose.

 

Saul displayed remarkable spiritual insensitivity. Although he commanded the high priest to consult the Lord, he stopped the sacrifice and acted on his own. This was not his place even though the offering was being done by Ichabod’s son and the Spirit of the Lord was not there. Instead he seized the opportunity to avenge himself on the Philistines while they were in disarray. Then in his lust for victory he made a rash vow that taxed the vitality of his warriors and threatened his own son’s life. He did do the right thing by stopping the warriors from eating blood and then by sparing his son’s life, which he did only on the insistence of cooler heads. He would have achieved the victory anyway without all these moral failures for Lord was with him.

 

Both these examples inspire us to have great faith when fighting the Lord’s battles. We must not look at the size of the foe in light of our own human strength. When doing the Lord’s work we can achieve great things for Him not only in prayer, but also in works of service.