Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! Psalm 68:16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the LORD will dwell forever? Psalm 68:17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary. Psalm 68:18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
As we are venturing through this difficult psalm, let’s remember the general topic of the psalm. David set the tone as he spoke of God rising up, of God leading in battle, and of God establishing His rule over others.
One other guiding principle I need to call to memory is that I am reading poetry. Poetry that employs word pictures, imagery and symbols to communicate a message for the people of Israel in ancient days. One word picture is that of mountains. This thinking came back to me as I researched for the location of the mount of Bashan. I can find the land of Bashan, which is to the north east of the Jordan River, where half the tribe of Manasseh settled, but I can’t find a physical mountain called Bashan.
Let’s get with the intent of the psalmist and consider mountains to represent governments, and proceed. The passage speaks of the mount of Bashan fuming with jealousy, for the Lord has chosen to dwell in Mount Zion, Sinai the holy place.
Two governments are discussed in this passage, being compared, and God’s choice is declared. The mighty mountain of Bashan does not have God dwelling in it, the government is that of men alone, without God. The government of God, His kingdom is that which is found in the Holy Place, in God Himself.
At this point, we come across a set of verses that should remind the believer of a passage in Ephesians.
Psalm 68:18
Ephesians 4:8
You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
David is watching God ascend into Jerusalem, if my understanding is correct. He is ascending to His rightful place of honor, victorious with those He conquered following in submission into the city of David. Yet a thousand years later Paul sees a completely different, much, much more expanded application of this passage.
Ascending to the heavens having conquered death, and leading a host of captives, Paul can only see Jesus as the God who is victorious. Jesus, in His resurrection and ascension is the Lord who is in the Holy place, and has conquered His enemies by dying for them.
How incredible is the King, that His plan was to conquer us by winning us over to His love. In my mind, this is something that is completely from left field, a fully unimaginable turn of events as I have been reading through this passage. And yet Paul tweaks this passage to emphasize the character of our God.
Can you identify the difference?
Heck – I can’t wait for your response. In the Old Testament, the King received gifts from men, even those He conquered. Not so under King Jesus, for as He led His captives, He gave gifts to men. Completely without precedent, for what King gives gifts to those He conquers?
He is not of this world and the more I understand of Him and His ways, the more I am mystified by His ways, shocked by His grace and stumped by the completely sacrificial love He exhibited, He endured, He suffered through, to conquer us.
I often close with “God is good and He is good all the time”, and that is so true, yet this morning as I dwell on this one aspect of our God, and the plans He has designed and completed for an ol’ fool like me, and for other sinners that have bowed the knee, I stand simply amazed at His grace.
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 25:2-9 2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’” 9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited.
We are introduced to Nabal and his fair wife Abigail in this passage, a couple of the most unlikely pairing. While Nabal comes off as harsh, stiff-necked, and rude, Abigail is described as beautiful, and more importantly discerning. Of course, in the days of arranged marriages, this union may have been more to the benefit of the parents than the bride, but that is shear conjecture.
Let’s take a few minutes and consider Nabel. First off, he was filthy rich, literally owning thousands of sheep and goats. He had it all, and was living the high life. Rich in physical goods. Rich in things. Rich accomplishments. Rich rich rich.
His story reminds me of a story in the New Testament, a parable the Lord spoke, where a rich man tore down his barns to build bigger barns.
Luke 12:16-18 “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
Nabal, at this time of the year, was experiencing the same sense of wealth and self sufficiency that the rich man in the parable was enjoying. Eventually, God would speak to Nabal in the same manner as He does the rich man in the parable, but I am getting ahead of myself. Back to the passage for the day.
Nabal was shearing his sheep, a time of harvesting for a rancher like Nabal, a time of potential thanksgiving and rejoicing, of hopefully sharing and giving to others out of an abundance. This time of abundance provided Nabal a huge opportunity to be a blessing to others. To be gracious to those less fortunate.
It seems David was less fortunate, for he approached Nabal in the form of ten servants, requesting a charity, based on his own charity to Nabal in the past. It seems David, in the past had spent time protecting Nabal’s sheep (and shepherds) as a charity, for it does not appear that there had been any formal agreement between the two men. As the future king of Israel, David seems to have taken on the spirit of protection over those of Israel, and during this time, the Philistines were consistently finding opportunity to make raids into the country side.
Just a few chapters earlier, David rescued Keilah from the Philistines in chapter 23, and later in the same chapter, Saul had to break off his pursuit of David to return home due to the Philistines attacking his property.
It seems it was common for the Philistines to cause skirmishes along the southern border at this time, and the region including Maon and Camel, where Nabal and Abigail lived, was a prime location for the Philistines to consider. I cannot find a specific time where the flocks of Nabal were under any direct threat from an enemy, but that might be there very point. David and his men kept them safe.
David sent a formal delegation of his men to Nabal, representing themselves in a humble manner, reminding Nabal of their voluntary service of protection, and requesting a kind response out of Nabal’s abundance. An act of thankfulness to those who provided a shield for Nabal’s servants and sheep.
I am sure most of my readers recall how Nabal reacted, and we shall get to that next post, but for this passage, let’s consider the thankful spirit that Nabal could have provided but didn’t.
Is it not right to live in a thankful spirit to God, for the many blessings He has provided? Relating to this passage, specifically for the protection we may not realize is provided to us. David’s men came to Nabal to inform him of protection. I get the sense this may have been the first time Nabal knew of this added benefit for his shepherds and sheep in the wilderness.
No matter the situation you may find yourself in today, we have an opportunity to be thankful, to be gracious to others, to be a blessing. Nabal was “harsh and badly behaved”, and his life, like the rich man in the parable above, is impacted negatively, not only in our opinion of him, but also in the length of life.
Be a blessing to others today. Take a moment today to reflect on all the blessings God has provided to you. Consider God’s active protection from your enemies, protection that is beyond your experience, or understanding, for there is much going on about us that we do not see. But the Lord is there, encircling your family, your business, your church, your life.
For it is true that God is good all the time.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:11-14
11 The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host: 12 “The kings of the armies–they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil– 13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds– the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold. 14 When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon.
This Psalm continues the theme of the Lord as the conquering One, leading His people through to victory. He gives the word to advance with plans of victory and upon the victory, we find women announcing the good news.
From a patriarchal society as Israel was, this may have been surprising to hear, yet there are numerous examples of this very thing occurring in the Old Testament.
Miriam
Exodus 15:20-21
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Deborah
Judges 5:1-2
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD!
Multiple Women
1 Samuel 18:6-7
As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
To make things worse, verse 13 intimates that the men of the nation were not in the midst of the battle, that they may have been asleep in the sheepfolds, lying down, not interacting in the battle.
For this passage, it seems typical roles are upended, or at least denied, and the one constant is that God is still leading in victory. The Lord, in the battle, scatters kings, and the psalmist refers to snow falling on Zalmon. There is one instance in the book of Judges that speaks of Zalmon that may provide some context for this passage
Judges 9:48-49
And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
It is known that the snow falls on Mount Zalmon, and it covers the mount for a period of time each year. The fact that the Lord scattering kings is associated with the snow of Zalmon may be referring to the mount being covered completely, as the Lord completely gains victory over the Kings.
One possible thought, and it is mine alone, so please take it with a grain of salt, but as Abimelech torched the tower, with over 1,000 perishing, the result of the fire would produce ash. The ash of his enemies. Gruesome thought, yet the ash would disperse and cover the vicinity, appearing as a snow fall.
This would definitely bring to the ancient reader a word picture of the utter judgement of God on His enemies.
Let me know your thoughts on this difficult passage. Or better yet, share a time when the Lord caused victory in your life, especially through non-conventional means.
By the way, regarding women announcing good news, was it not the penultimate good news of the resurrection that a few women, lost in their mourning for their Master, was granted the privilege to share with all the world?
He is risen, and even the first heralds, be they women were not expected!
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 25:1 1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
When we last saw David, he was magnanimous towards Saul, the ever loyal, forgiving and grace filled future king of Israel. A great portrait of a great man. After that passage, I felt as if he was larger than life, a true example, a king worthy of following as an Israelite in the day.
By the time we get to the end of chapter 25, we are going to see a man who doesn’t appear to be the same man. He becomes churlish, offended and intends to kill a man simply for not providing for his troops. Nabal and Abigail play a large role in this chapter, but we will come to them soon.
For this single verse, we have the prophet Samuels death recorded.
Samuel was the child prodigy and prophet of Israel that was the direct result of prayers of grief being sent up to God by Hannah. He was trained in the temple and called by God at a very early age during the time of the judges and would eventually become the final judge and the mediator of the transition from judges ruling over Israel, to a monarchy system of leadership.
He anointed Saul, and watched as the kingdom transitioned over the years. Saul was tested on a number of occasions, and failed to meet the test, finding that the kingdom was to be removed from his lineage. Samuel then was called by God to search out a replacement, under the scrutiny of Saul, which must have been somewhat nerve racking. Nevertheless, Samuel surprisingly found a young boy, anointed him, and set his life on fire. Saul would not allow this to succeed and the trials of David’s life began.
Take a minute and consider Samuels situation. He was to be loyal to the king, yet he knew the future king David was the right man. He was to be loyal to a corrupt king (Saul) in the midst of knowing the truth, and serving the future king. If you are a believer, this must ring bells for your own life.
We are to obey worldly governments (Rom 13) yet our allegiance is to the true King. Has it not been this way for all believers? Do we not all have some human authority over us that may at time require obedience that is odds to our love for the Master?
Samuel died, and David arose. God’s work would continue, and David is destined for the throne. But immediate needs of food for his troops had to be satisfied, and he headed south to the wilderness of Paran.
This is the last we see of a David full of grace, humble, and endlessly patient with those around him! Things are going to get nasty, and he doesn’t come out of this chapter looking good. But he is on a mission and God uses those whom he has chosen for his purposes.
And for that, I am truly grateful.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:7 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah Psalm 68:8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. Psalm 68:9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished; Psalm 68:10 your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
In our earlier verses, David speaks of God riding through the desert. In this short passage, God is marching through the wilderness. The Old Testament uses a Hebrew word translated as march when referring to the ark coming from Obed-edom’s house toward the City of David. See verse 13, translated as steps below.
2 Samuel 6:12 And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 2 Samuel 6:13 ESV – And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
Of course, David is speaking of the original marching through the desert as after the Red Sea crossing, but I found that the approach into Jerusalem may be connected with this passage through the marching reference. Interesting?
Back to the verses for this morning. These verses identify the blessing and goodness of God with rain. We saw earlier the reference of a parched land as the result of rebellion, and in this set of verses, we see the alternate response of God on a national level.
I do want to remember that this portion speaks of God going out before His people. David began this psalm, referring to God rising up as He did in the days of Moses. Each time the camp broke to begin their journey to the promised land Moses speak of God rising up, to lead His people. David is continuing this call for action, for the ark is on the move. David describes this movement with terms like quaking, marching and a resultant rain that drenched the inheritance of Israel, implying the previous times were times of languishing.
God is a God of restoration, for though the land languished, God restored. He provided a dwelling for the people and safety for the vulnerable.
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 24:16-22
16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Saul is on stage in this passage. Good wordsmithing. Sounds convincing. Logical. Hopeful. And yet David went back to the stronghold!
Saul put on a performance full of tears, recounting David’s righteous acts and his own wickedness. He took time to speak of David’s righteousness and his own sin.
Saul admits that the Lord’s hand was in his choice of cave to enter, and that the Lord placed him in David’s hands to kill him. Saul even openly admits, to those who were within ear shot, that David will be king, and that Israel shall prosper under David’s rule. This is quite surprising since David must have heard it, David’ men most likely heard it, and Saul’s men may have heard it. After all, this wasn’t a private call on a secure phone line! This was a public discussion.
Ok – so Saul seems to be admitting David to be the better man, a future king of Israel and a good leader. After setting David up, he goes in for the kill. He asks David to swear not to harm his offspring once he takes the kingdom.
From Saul’s perspective this is a huge request, for he is looking to do the very opposite to David. Is not Saul seeking to remove competition for the throne by seeking to kill David, even though he hasn’t attempted to take the throne?
Saul wanted more than he was able to provide David. How could Saul ask for something so beyond normal expectations? It was common that when a king ascended a throne, the prior kings descendants would be killed in order to remove any future claim to the throne. Monarchies work this way. And Saul definitely considered Israel a monarchy, where his family were of the royal blood!
But as an aside, do we see evidence of David considering Israel to be a monarchy? I would suggest that David is acting in ways that conform to a theocracy, a nation ruled over by God. Actions of the human leader were to be directed by the God of the nation, and were not to fall to the level of a simple monarchy, where a man had authority. God provided the laws of the nation at Sinai, and the people entered into covenant with God as their ruler. God was the One who led them from captivity, led them to a covenant at Sinai, and then led them to the land, eventually abdicating to the wishes of the people in their seeking a human leader.
To be the king was to be a replacement for God. Though this was an accepted condition of state by the time David came on the scene, his rule typifies that of a godly king, one who loved the law of God. Sinner that he was in many of his decisions, he listened for God’s voice more than any other at the time.
But lets discuss the request of Saul the monarch. A request for David to not harm his offspring! This request shows Saul to be hedging his bets, to get David, the one more righteous than he, to promise no harm upon his offspring.
This sounds mildly familiar. Let’s go back a few chapters, when David first fled from Saul. Jonathon, Saul’s son provided military intelligence to David concerning his father, initiating David’s flight from Saul. Jonathon, who was loyal to David, sought protection. Let’s read about it below.
1 Samuel 20:14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die; 1 Samuel 20:15 and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 1 Samuel 20:16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 1 Samuel 20:17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Jonathon sought David to swear protection for him and his house (vs 15). Saul is seeking the same promise. Coincidence? Likely, for Saul is seeking protection from his enemy, whereas Jonathon was seeking protection by his friend.
Nevertheless, David agreed to the request from Saul. He swore to not cut off Saul’s offspring after him, and not destroy Saul’s name out of his father’s house. This promise becomes a snare for David later. We shall return to this promise in later posts.
A couple of lessons to consider out of this passage.
Tears do not equal truth!
Saul cried out a confession, tearing up, and within two chapters, Saul is on the hunt for David again. His emotional repentance was a show and were without any fruits fit for this repentance.
David correctly did not trust him, as we see him going back to the cave.
Beware the boasting!
The more applicable lesson for myself is that when someone begins to boast about you, beware! Saul spoke in glowing terms of David’s righteousness, of his rising to the throne, and when David was softened up, Saul went in for the kill. Promise me the world David. Promise me you won’t hurt my family, even though this is unheard of for a new king to promise, and leaves him open to challenges constantly.
Be careful what you give your word to when things look so promising!
May we have the wisdom to understand when these traps are presented before us.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him! Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:6 God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
As mentioned in my earlier post this psalm is likely a response to the ark coming into Jerusalem, a description of David when the Lord of glory come to reside in the City of David. The first three verses spoke of two reactions when God arises, when He makes moves. Either the wicked scatter of the righteous exult, even jump for joy.
David continues with the righteous, and how they are reacting to the ark of the covenant arriving from the deserts. Might David be referring to the 40 years, where God was leading the rebellious nation, that first generation that fell in the wilderness? Even as those who refused to listen to God fell, the nation continued, leading to the desired land God had planned for the nation. Even during apparent failure, God led the people, accomplishing His will. God will accomplish His will! When He arises, nations are established.
Yet, though He established the nation of Israel, leading her through the deserts, He does not forget those who are forgotten by everyone else.
David continues the thought of God’s arising in relation to orphans and widows. I have recently wrote on this verse in the Names of God series for your reference. See Names of God – FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS – 141.
God is the same God yesterday, today and forever, and these last two verses in our passage today refer to orphans and widows. Back in the time of David, God was associated with caring for widows and orphans. Nowadays, the apostle James command for believers to care for widows and orphans rings through the church.
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Is David being repeated here by James? It is very interesting that in David’s very same verse, God is spoken of as being in His holy habitation.
David is speaking of God arising in this psalm, of widows and orphans being taken care of, and of the holiness of God. James provides these same three characteristics of pure religion but as of the duty of believers.
David continues in this psalm speaking of God reversing the condition of those in the nation. First, He speaks of the solitary, possibly referring to the orphan or widow, being in a home, amongst others and protected. Those who had fallen into crime of some sort, possibly due to circumstances beyond their control, now find themselves led into prosperity. Those who were in the midst of trials, that were without support or experiencing some restrictions in their lives were provided for.
In a consistent manner, the rebellious were also provided for in relation to their condition, receiving a parched land. Let it be known, that the rebellious David speaks of here are amongst the widows, the fatherless, and the prisoner. While those who are helpless find relief, those who are of rebellion live in a parched land.
How may that be? Though there be blessing for those who are helpless, for the widow, orphan and prisoner, the rebellious experience dryness, a parched land, for they see not the grace of God, the mercy of the Holy One.
This is a difficult truth, for those who rebel against the God of Israel, against the God who rises up, see no joy, experience no hope and can not experience any blessing, having rejected it wholesale by rejecting God Himself. In a very real way, they create their own parched land!
How sad to give up the fount of living waters to resort to broken cisterns that hold no water! Jeremiah speaks of this same outcome for those who forsake God, rebelling against Him.
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 24:8-15
8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15 May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
David refused to take advantage of a situation that seemed to be destiny. Was it not God working to provide David an opportunity to ascend to the throne? Was God not inviting David to take matters into his own hands?
It may have seemed that way, and if David did not have the convictions he had, he may have reasoned such. But David had convictions. He knew the Lord and did not succumb to a temptation to fast track God’s will. What a stellar fellow!
And loyal – David, when Saul left the cave, exposed himself to the king (and his army of 3,000 men) to speak of his submission to Saul, and to reason with him.
David had proof, that he was able to get near Saul, and refused to take vengeance on the king. He admitted to the king that God had provided him an opportunity to resolve this battle between the two of them, but refused it. He would not commit treason!
Yet David was all about justice. As he addressed his earthly sovereign, he called on the Greater Sovereign to judge between the two of them. Yet, even in this statement, David again refused to take part in any action against his king.
Truly, as I think on this interaction between the current and the future king, David stands out as other worldy, not practical, without earthly wisdom and not driven to success.
Have you ever sought to obey God and them been defamed by your brother, mocked by your sister, ridiculed by your peers because your actions are actually not benefitting you or your loved ones? Can you hear them even now?
Carl – You are not taking advantage of God’s obvious opportunities for self advancement?
Carl – You should be taking care of your family!
Carl – Think of all the good you could do if you took advantage of the situation.
Yes – to hear God’s direction and to follow will cost you, even if it is doubt about the outcome, and possible loss of advantage – that is earthly advantage!
Nevertheless, David does make a statement that seems obvious at first, but what a great statement for this situation!
Out of the wicked comes wickedness.
Of course out of the wicked comes wickedness. How obvious this statement seems, almost a waste of breath, until I recognized David was calling Saul a wicked man. He called Saul a wicked man, spoke truth to power! This is awesome, a true prophet, a man after the truth. And as a sidebar, David was also claiming that he was not a wicked man.
Years later, Jesus would speak of bad fruit from a bad tree. This truth is so obvious, irrefutable and cutting, that I need to recall this when dealing with those who fight the gospel, hate truth, and display treachery or wickedness. It isn’t a personal attack – Simply a truth statement!
Like my momma used to say, if the shoe fits….
David closes his plea/warning to Saul, bringing his selflessness into focus. I think.
He refers to himself as a dead dog, even a flea. Who is David that Saul would chase after him? Yet Saul knew who David was, and that he was a righteous man, one destined for the throne.
David didn’t have to make claims. His life was on display for all to see, and God was making it obvious that David was the better man, the one destined for good. He could safely state self deprecating claims about himself, only adding honor to his name in the mean time.
Proverbs 27:2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
How often have you met one who cannot speak enough about them selves? David didn’t follow that thought, but diminished himself in front of the king.
There is One who could speak of Himself without any stain of self glory being attributed to Him, for He truly is worthy, more worthy of each and every statement He made of Himself. And yet, when He described Himself to His disciples, He sought to be know as One who was gentle and lowly of heart!
Proverbs 27:2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
How amazing is He, that in the very person of God Almighty, Jesus revealed Himself to those closest to Him as gentle and lowly of heart.
Jesus, though His name alone is worthy of all praise, wanted to be thought of as gentle and lowly of heart, thereby only bringing greater honor upon Himself. He is the only One, and we are only right to praise His name only.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:1-3
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! 2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! 3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!
I must admit to my readers that, though I have read through the Word many times this psalm is not familiar to me. I am coming to this psalm, almost as one who has never read it, never considered what it’s message is. It is somewhat like a buried treasure for me to find. Let’s consider Psalm 68 together.
As I am researching the reason for the writing of this psalm by David, I find that most historians place this writing of the psalm with the entrance of the ark coming into Jerusalem. The specific passage where the ark is prepared and brought into the City of David is 2 Samuel 6
Right out of the block, David reaches back in history, when Moses and the fledgling nation were travelling through the Sinai. Moses spoke of the Lord rising when the ark was to be moved to the next resting place, as the nation journeys to the promised land.
Numbers 10:35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”
David is taking this passage and continuing the advancement of the ark in history, and in the nation of Israel. The Ark will reside in the sanctuary and the procession of the ark will be addressed later in this psalm. At this time and in the first three verses, David opens with the passage out of Numbers, speaking of God’s advancement, and of God’s enemies scattering, and fleeing from Him.
David, ever the poet, brings the mind picture of smoke and wax before the reader
Smoke
Typically, smoke refers to the gaseous products of materials being burnt, including the presence of very tiny particles of carbon or such. It may include a fume or vapor that is lighter than air, hotter than the surrounding atmosphere, as is obvious by its rising in the air. But note that as smoke rises in the air, the air is still. Any motion in the atmosphere is immediately felt by the smoke, and is helpless against the motion. The smoke offers no resistance to any slight wind, has no strength to oppose any minor breath of a breeze. Smoke is without any strength.
David refers to smoke as a picture of the strength of God’s enemies, the strength of those who hate God. He likens the strength of smoke as to their ability to withstand in God’s presence.
It is interesting that David speaks only of God rising as an action, not of His advancement against the enemies. It is simply that He is lifted up. The enemies have no strength. They flee as smoke in the wind.
Wax
Wax before fire.
David continues with the picture of wax being too close to a fire. As wind speaks to the smoke, so heat (or fire) speaks to the wax. And yet during the time of David, wax was plentiful in one application. Candles. As a candle is used for the production of light, the wax is consumed by the fire. It not only cannot stand in the presence of fire, it is actually consumed by the fire. Whatever you may think consumption implies in this verse, I will leave to the reader. The wicked will perish as the candle is consumed.
Not so with the righteous. Where as the wicked flee as smoke in a breeze and are consumed as wax before a fire, the righteous exult before God.
Is there a greater difference that can be expressed? No running away, no escaping, no terror and fright. Gladness, exultation and joy. As David speaks of exultation, he uses a word that speaks of one jumping for joy, of entering into a triumph or victory.
How very different two types of souls are when God rises up. Avoidance or sheer joy. Running away or gladness.
David is bringing in the Ark into Jerusalem and is recounting to us what this represents, who is coming into town! He is the One who rises up. His description is beautiful, poetic, but somewhat less than the reality we know of.
For when we think of the One rising up, we see Jesus, the One who was lifted up (onto a cross), rose up from the grave, and rises up in our hearts and lives as we seek Him.
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 24:1-7 1 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
In our last post we saw that David was rescued by outside influences. Saul was hot on the trail of David until he found out that the Philistines were attacking Israel, probably his own estate. (See previous post for reasoning on this statement)
Saul had to fight off the Philistines, for the sake of his nation, (or maybe his estate!) Nevertheless, Saul took care of his required business and got back to his focus – killing David!
After a spy informed him of David’s whereabouts, he gathered 3,000 of Israel’s finest warriors and headed out to kill the next king of Israel.
Now a word about Wildgoats’ Rocks. It is another name for Engedi, and this location, per our map to the right, is on the western shore of the Dead Sea, but the map doesn’t rightly describe the topography of the area. Enter Google Maps, to give us an idea of the rock formation of the area.
No wonder they called this area Wildgoats’ Rocks, for the only animals in this area were goats, who could climb the escarpment. This location is also an oasis, fervently green amongst some of the dryest areas on earth. Truly a contradiction of expectations.
It is in this location, Saul sought out David. Traveling up and down the coast, looking for traces of David, having no success. Eventually taking advantage of the many caves found in the escarpment, Saul took advantage of the caves to find some privacy to poop. (everybody gotta poop!) Even the king! All this hunting takes a lot out of a guy, and this happened to be the time Saul had to set aside to sit down and think!
Where would David be? How can I find him? What resistance will he put up? All these thoughts must have been twirling in his head as he was distracted for a few moments. And while Saul was fuming about finding David, he unwittingly had stepped into the very cave David and his men were gathered.
To all appearances, God had delivered Saul to David. Even his men reminded David of God’s plans to deliver Saul to him. But I do not recall any promise from God to David of delivering Saul to him.
Where did David’s men get this information? Was it a popular rumor, based on the men’s desire to see justice for David? Had the men heard from God? I can’t find any record of it! Might this simply be the zeal of the men to justify killing the king? I think so.
But not with David.
David did not listen to his men, for he was to lead them, and listen to God. Listening to men as opposed to God is a great challenge for a Christian leader, but I digress.
David was of such a sensitive heart towards God, that he could not hurt the King even though Saul was hunting him down. Stealthily, he crawled up to the kings robe, possibly taken off during Saul’s “distraction”, (for who wants to poop with a robe on – that just gets nasty!)
The deed was done – David got a snippet of the kings robe, without harming the king. Without the king noticing. Without the king realizing he wasn’t alone! Amazing stealth.
David cut a piece of Saul’s robe, and notice his reaction when he got back to his men.
And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe
David was convicted of cutting a piece off the Kings robe! How could he allow Saul’s death?
The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.
David would not allow his men to kill his enemy! How crazy is that? How utterly extreme is that!
It is as if David is a picture of a future King who would tell his men (and women) to not kill their enemies, but HE went just a bit further. He actually stated we are to love our enemies!
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies …
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 67:6-7
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
The psalmist comes to the end of his ruminations on the praiseworthiness of our God, and with these last two verses, he speaks of the abundance creation provides for His people. Our God is a God who blesses His people.
As the uncaused Cause, as the One who was from before any of all creation, it is simply logical that He is the source of all blessing. Yet as the psalmist writes, He speaks of riches, abundance and produce from the earth. He reiterates that God is the source, but the psalmist ensures the reader of the type of provider God is. God is not One who supplies “just enough”, acting as a miser or a skinflint, reluctant in providing His creation the supplies they need. He provides increase!
Whether directly by the hand of God or indirectly through His creation, God is the source of blessing. All past experience of the blessing of God into the saints life, as described by the psalmist previously is the basis for his declaration that God shall bless us.
He repeats it twice in case I didn’t notice.
God shall bless us
God shall bless us.
Our God is the One who provides abundantly, and as it is evident to all the lands the blessing God has for His people, the result will be that the ends of the earth will fear Him.
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 23
24 And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25 And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. 29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi.
In our last passage we saw the Ziphites travel to see their king, in order to rat out David. Saul seemed hesitant to trust them, but simply couldn’t miss out on a chance to catch the young rebel, and this opportunity of Saul’s turns out to be one of the very near catches that we will see for David and his men.
But as we spoke of Saul’s spies in our last post, we find David has spies also that are feeding him information. It turns out that spies are influencing both sides of the war, and the information is changing as fast as possible.
Saul hears info from the Ziphites. David hears of Saul coming to the south, and ventures into the wilderness of Moan. Saul hears of David’s shift to the wilderness. It is here that Saul comes closest to actually capturing David, for he is only a hill away from David.
So close.
Until we have another “spy” or informant come to Saul informing him of trouble at home, of the Philistines raiding the home land. But why would this become a concern for Saul, as we know that Keilah, which was part of Saul’s kingdom was merely ignored when the Philistines invaded there. Saul was no where to be found. So why would this instance of the Philistines invading the land catch Saul’s attention, unless of course that it was his own personnel property that needed protection. If so, this fits with the character profile we have seen regarding this king. A selfish man, self centered and constantly grasping for more. A life that is always being pulled apart by his focus on self.
So off he goes from being so close to capturing David, causing further frustration on his part, with more frustration only to fall on this pitiable man.
On David’s part, we shall see this near escape come up often, where he uses all the skill of a master general, and yet is close to capture. He is rescued “at the last minute” by outside circumstances.
How often do we see this last minute escape for David provided by outside circumstances? How often the Lord orchestrates a situation where it appears we will be taken down, only to be rescued by outside influences.
Let’s cut to the chase here, for we know that outside circumstances and influences are orchestrated by God, the timing is of the Lord, and our security, as we follow after Him is in His hands. Close calls, from our standpoint, can be sometimes harrowing experiences, but from God’s point of view, close calls are a part of the orchestra He is leading to bring us closer to Him, to listen for His guidance, and to bring about a thankful spirit in our lives.
Let us thank Him for circumstances and influences that redirect danger from our lives.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 67:4-5
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Can you hear the Psalmist? If only the nations understood the judgement and guidance the Lord provides. The psalmist rightly speaks of the nations being glad and singing for joy if they understood His judgement and guidance!
But, alas, the nations are blinded, and the people are deceived. Out of this deception comes misunderstanding, confusion and bickering. No joy, but jealousy of His power. No gladness, but grievances of His ways. No praise but only put downs and complaints of His Person!
Now I do not want to forget that this deception is accepted by a fallen people, a people who seek to find fault with God, who want to turn away from God and to follow their own way. But these are two different topics. The truth of God’s judgements and guidance, as compared to our ability/desire to accept this truth. I do not think the Psalmist is communicating the ability/desire of the nations/peoples, but simply that if they understood, the outcome would be praise, joy and gladness!
Before we follow God (and if we are honest with ourselves after we commit to Him), we are a people that tends to look the other way, to avoid the truth, to seek our own ways. We have an old man’s heart that surely likes to say no to God and His truth.
The psalmist is speaking of the judgement and guidance of God, and not necessarily how it is accepted by those of us below. It is as if the psalmist moans that the peoples/nations would open their eyes to the truth, to see how righteous and good God is in His judgements, in His guidance of the nations. Patience and mercy exude from the Father in all His ways, and a correct understanding of God’s judgements and guidance, to those who correctly understand it, perceive it, receive it and take it in, will produce a response of gladness, praise, and joy, even singing.
A correct understanding of God’s judgements and guidance will produce a response of gladness, praise and joy, even singing.
On a personal note, it must be understood that even in church, as I try to sing, my voice is such that it perturbs me. I can’t image the poor folks who may hear me! An exercise of mercy towards me for them!
I mess up, muddle through and am off tune, out of tune and without any talent. Yet as I grow into the Lord, and understand His holiness towards us, His mercy and patience, His many gifts of blessing to us, I find I cannot help but sing, even to the detriment of those around me.
Occasionally a tear will fall down my cheek, simply because He loves me, and somehow, in song, that reality hits me harder than during the day to day grind we all experience. And yet He loves us each and every day, whether we feel it or not. It is a truth we can settle into, lean upon and run to in times of trial.
He loves the nations. He loves people. He loves me, and for the life of me I don’t understand why – but He does and it simply pulls me in!
If only the deceptions could be pulled away from our minds, and if only our souls would seek the truth. May God have mercy on us, and reveal the Son of God in all His grace, in His resurrection, and in His patience to us, a people that are very slow to learn.
Praise Him for His judgements and guidance toward each of us each day. May we seek to understand Him and His ways more everyday!
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 23
19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon? 20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. 23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
David was not everyone’s favorite rebel.
Recently he vanquished the Philistines as they were battling the city of Keilah. Finding victory, David and his men were then subjected to a faithless city, having to run before the Keilahites offered him up to Saul.
To be fair, this account of the Keilahites may have a slightly different interpretation than I have offered, since it seems that once the Lord revealed to David the Keilahites intentions to save themselves from Saul’s fighting machine, David willingly ran. Possibly to save the Keilahites of the suffering their king would being on them.
The Ziphites are not so guiltless. They seem to have a desire to assist King Saul, unlike the Keilahites, who may have only given up David in self preservation, if David hadn’t left.
No, the Ziphites sought out Saul at Gibeah, a town approximately 25 miles to the north of Jerusalem. They left their homes, and travelled to see the king with information of David’s whereabouts. Not simply a general location, but a very specific camp David was residing at, in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon.
David was on a specific hill. At first I imagined this “hill” to be mountainous, but it seems the Hebrew word for hill in this instance means hill, somewhat lower than a mountain. This information Saul was provided was very specific!
What good spy’s Saul has here! And they were willingly offering to Saul their full cooperation! What good citizens!
Saul provides the blessing of God on these good and faithful Ziphites. What? He doesn’t understand the blessing of God, nor is he in a position spiritually to pass a blessing on. And for the Ziphites – being blessed for being a traitor to God’s appointed King? Something is terribly wrong with this picture!
And though Saul “blesses” the Ziphites, he will not venture out until the information is verified. It is like he was saying – I don’t quite trust you Ziphites – Go make sure and then come back. Get more specific data.
Is Saul moving from a reactionary attack, based on shear hatred of David, to a more strategic, fact based plan to kill David at this time? Or is it that the Ziphites were known to be untrustworthy?
It seems the Ziphites were not necessarily untrustworthy, but merely seeking to gain the king’s favor. Seeking an earthly king’s pleasure against the Word of God leads to terrible betrayals, and huge treachery.
No- the Ziphites used their political faithfulness to a madman, to work against a movement of God. And we shall see in future passages that this behavior is confirmed in the Ziphites, for this is not the only time they offer up David to the king. We find that they show up on Saul’s doorstep again in chapter 26.
It also turns out that Saul was not as “strategic” as I may have suggested, for, in our next passage, it turns out that Saul couldn’t resist heading south to the region the Ziphites described, before gaining confirmation of David’s whereabouts.
It seemed Saul was about to capture David. Saul’s network of spies was about to deliver David into his hands, and Saul would finally have the peace he sought!
This passage reminds me of times when I seek to accomplish something, in order to find some sense of worth, or to justify a decision I had made, or to have a sense of completion. I may, in a sense be seeking a type of peace in these decisions. I tend to drive people, (as a hangover from work) and need to adjust my focus to people and not tasks.
An alternate view of this passage is that Saul sought to hurt someone. The Ziphites sought to hurt someone. They found a type of fellowship in this desire. They may have felt a bond of some type. Hard as it may be to believe, this may also become a trap for a believer, letting a group dynamic influence a just decision.
Consider your associations and test to see if the goals of the organization are just and right. If there is some uncertainty, or if those you associate with are working against God, it may be time to consider if you should remain? Is it simply a bond that started out right, in pursuit of God, but is now actively working against God?
This takes wisdom from God and clear spiritual discernment, but the Lord is able to teach each of us as we seek Him.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 67:1-3
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
One of my grandbabies came over to visit us for few moments a couple days back. He is a little two year old that, along with his brother, my wife watches a couple times a month. He is an energetic youngin’ and we always, with all our children and grandchildren, need a hug when the come and when they leave. I am tending to become a huggy guy!
Nevertheless, this little buckaroo gave us our hugs, but while in Gramma’s arms, turned his head and started having an attitude. He turned his face away from Gramma. He was expressing a natural reaction to some issue he was upset with Gramma about. I think it was candy related! It didn’t last long for my wife let him know it wasn’t acceptable to act like that. No candy was wrestled out of my wife’s pantry by that behavior!
But I digress. When we see a phrase in our first verse about making God’s face shine upon us, this indicates His face is not shining upon the author. There was anger being expressed, and the author knew it.
He is requesting that God turn His face to him. Now I am not in any way trying to portray God as a demanding little child, that wants something we have, but I seek only to communicate that the act of having a face turned away speaks of loss of relationship. My wifey and Theo have a great relationship, but at this time, he had his eyes on something else.
God is not turning away for some selfish desire, but because of our sin against Him. We have offended Him.
Yet notice the Psalmist speaks of God making His face turn to us. With Theo, Gramma had to explain the situation, and require Theo to “face” her. For the Psalmist, all of this action is passive, the only active participant is God Himself.
God makes His face turn to us. Does this not scream of the crucifixion, of the free will offering of the Savior, of His work to satisfy the Father and to make the wall of partition fall down between us, of His making peace between us?
Even the purpose of this “making God’s face shine upon us” is not simply for our benefit but consistent with the Great commission, that God’s ways would be practiced by all on the earth.
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And what is the natural response to this observing of God’s ways? Praise. All the people to praise the goodness of God, in that He made His face to turn to us. He did not wait for us to be good enough, or to bring more and more sacrifices, but He took action, and is waiting for the natural response of His people to praise Him and thank Him.
Take a few minutes this morning to praise Him for His many acts of mercy, for His face to shine upon us in the person of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Truly it is impossible to not be thankful, and to praise Him when we sit before Him and think on His love and mercy towards us in Christ Jesus!
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 23:15-29 15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” 18 And the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
In the verse previous to 15, the author tells us that David was in the strongholds and mountains of the wilderness, due to Saul seeking him everyday. David was the subject of constant harassment, constant stress, constant pressure, from a king he had served faithfully. Yet the die had been set and Saul was determined in his actions. Saulnwas settled in his mind that David had to die, and in the past passages we have seen Saul abuse his wife, his daughters and his son in the pursuit of killing David. No one was safe until David was dead
Now the circumstances of how Jonathon, the son of David’s mortal enemy came to visit him is a mystery. David may have made the appointment with Jonathon, providing Jonathon his exact whereabouts. Yet this was an opportunity for this information to be leaked to Saul, for the transmission of this data to somehow find it’s way to the King.
And the danger was not only on David’s part, for if Saul, in his murderous tirade, knew Jonathon visited with David, it might be the end of Jonathon.
But the meeting was set and the two men were able to discuss David’s circumstances. For some unknown reason, only Jonathon’s message has been preserved for us. Three messages come to David from the lips of Jonathon.
Do not fear
Jonathon spoke words of peace on David, ensuring David that Saul shall not find him. Was this simply words of hope, words that were meant to encourage. Surely. But were these words of surety, or an absolute promise, as if a Word from God?
I don’t understand that Jonathon was a prophet, but at the very least, he may have uttered these words as a repetition of the promise of God to David years earlier. Jonathon made this conclusion of escaping Saul’s hand due to the promise of David ascending to the throne of Israel, which Jonathon rightly reminds David of his future.
You shall be king
David shall be king, and to be king over all Israel. This was the promise of God that ensured both men that David would escape the hand of Saul. And then Jonathon says “I shall be next to you”.
I don’t recall any portion of the promise of God stating this, nor of David providing this promise. So what was Jonathon talking about? Was he thinking of a co-regency, where he would be equal to David in the kingdom?
When Jonathon speaks of being “next” to David, Jonathon may be implying a rank of second in the kingdom, for the Hebrew word מִשְׁנֶה mishneh, sometimes speaks of being second in rank. Might Jonathon be suggesting his desire of a position of power to David? Possibly, yet I want to think that Jonathon was of a purer heart, and simply be referring to his informal, personal support for, and friendship to David in his future reign.
Saul knows this
This is such a sad statement! Saul knew David would ascend to the throne, and yet he toiled against the will of God, against his own benefit, against the good of his own nation, and against his own families existence!
Consider Saul waking up to the realization of David’s supremacy, and humbly coming to him in front of the nation of Israel, bowing the knee and giving up his position of power to David. What would be Saul’s legacy? How many benefits would shower down on Saul for this act of humility?
Knowing the truth and fighting against it is foolish. Yet to agree with the truth takes humility, a washing away of pride and arrogance, the giving up of advantage and power, of losing reputation and starting over.
Truly there are many forms of loss when we are agreeing with the truth. Confession of sin and repentance may cost us much, even our very way of life.
And what do we get out of it?
The foundation of agreeing with the truth is that we are conforming to reality. We are no longer living in a fantasy world, a would of smoke and mirrors, of deceit, cheating, backstabbing and conspiracy. We are no longer looking over our shoulder, but have joy, purpose and a life to live, not a death to fear.
Saul may have been too far gone by this time in his life. I have no idea, nor do I suppose any but God knew of Saul’s opportunity to repent at that time. Sadly we know he did not repent, that his last years were spent fighting against the truth.
If you have been fighting against a truth the Lord has spoke to you about, quit fighting.
Don’t be a Saul.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. Psalm 66:17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalm 66:19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Psalm 66:20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
In our last post, we looked at the vow the psalmist was to keep and of the commitment he had towards God. In this final portion of Psalm 66, the psalmist speaks of his inner condition, of his prayer to God., and of God’s work in the psalmist’s soul.
It appears the psalmist was in the midst of a trial, for he cried out to God, and as he has encouraged us, spoke high praise to the Lord. Immediately after declaring his prayer, he spoke of cherishing iniquity in his heart, and that if he did God would not listen. This is a common teaching that we believers understand.
But notice the “but”.
The psalmist was teaching a truth on the heart condition requirements of the believer, and immediately made an exception for the fact. A believers heart is to be clean, but in my circumstance, God listened. God truly had listened.
Verse 20 is far richer than I initially considered as I glibly read through it. Consider the psalmist, having a “not pure” heart, crying to God in the midst of a trial, and yet God listened, He noticed, He gave heed to the prayer, not rejecting the prayer, as the psalmist surely may have expected.
The psalmist can not explain this reaction from God but for one reason.
God had not removed His steadfast love from him. Dwell on this blessing today, as you venture out for Him.
He is a merciful God!
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. KJV
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me. NLT
Blessed be God! He has not turned away my prayer or turned his faithful love from me. CSB
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me. LSB
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His favor from me. NASB
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 23:6-14
6 When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7 Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
Let’s remember the immediate context of this story. David had just travelled to Keilah and delivered the people of the city of Keilah from the Philistines. David, the rebel, the enemy of the state, the one whom Saul wants to kill, entered deeper into Saul’s territory in order to save some of Saul’s people.
Where was Saul in all of this internal strife?
He was amassing the people of Israel to go to war, to go down to Keilah and capture David. Nothing in this passage speaks of Saul’s desire to rescue the city from the Philistine threat. No – Saul was obsessed with David and the apparent threat David was to the throne of Israel.
Who cares about the people of Israel? Surely not Saul, for he had to protect his own position within the country, to protect his own power over the people. I could imagine Saul justifying his actions by stating it was for the greater good, or some such malarky that we hear by our leaders even today. Simply a selfish act by a selfish man, thinking only of himself.
Yet, Saul, when word got out that David was in Keilah, assumed that the Lord had delivered David into his hands. There was some truth, at least in appearance, for the Lord had told David to go fight the Philistines in Keilah.
Saul was interpreting the actions of God to favor his own circumstances. This is a very common trap that we all do.
We see God doing something with someone, and we tend to interpret it in relation to our situation, to favor our circumstance, to supply a justification for some action we want to take, or to simply align the action with something we are doing at the time.
We all do it.
It is so easy to interpret an action of God and come to some conclusion that is incorrect. God called David to Keilah, into the territory of Saul. Saul interpreted this action as revealing God’s will to Saul to support his sinful actions. In reality, God calling David to Keilah was a judgement on Saul, showing the current king as being ineffective, and unconcerned for his own people God had called him to protect.
Saul thought God was smiling on him. Not so.
So often as I read through these passages, I get a sense that Saul is completely blind to the work of God, rejecting the big picture and only having one focus. Himself.
But that is not the only selfish actor in this passage.
David and his 400 men travelled to Keilah, fought the Philistines, won a mighty victory and rescued the city from devastation. But news gets around, and Saul hears that David is in Keilah. Hot diggity dog – Saul starts rounding up an army to come get him.
What a perfect opportunity to allow this newly minted army of David to continue fighting against Saul! David’s band of men are probably high on the victory and full of adrenaline, peaking on the team work that has begun to develop under David’s leadership. Surely God is calling Saul into this trap!
Well – not surely, for David did not jump to a selfish conclusion, one that might conceivable stop this constant hunt of Saul for his head. David decided to pray and get the bigger picture.
Consider the situation. Keilah was about to be destroyed by the Philistines. David came to the rescue. Keilah was again about to be destroyed, this time by their own king, unless they gave up David.
It was a common tactic to force the surrender of a person in the city to avoid a battle. David knew this was a tactic that might be used, but he again didn’t jump to conclusions, only asking the Lord if the people he just saved would abandon him.
Amazing picture of the gospel here, in that the savior of the people would be turned against by the people he came to save. David’s life is full of situations where the Savior can be clearly seen.
Nevertheless, the Lord informed David of the intent of the people, and prior to the eruption of a conflict at the gates of Keilah, David again saved the city and its population.
He ran.
He swallowed his pride and ran into the wilderness of Zin. Consider the mighty warrior David, turning tail after a victory provided by the hand of the Lord. How utterly confusing (in appearance) is the man of God who listens to God!
Yet if you read the passage carefully, you will notice that his army had not only experienced some real time fighting on the battle field, but that the army actually increased in size! A 50% increase, from 400 men to 600 men.
David is accruing men, a movement of God is happening and David goes deeper into the wilderness, deeper south to Ziph, a rugged place that afforded no comforts or ease of life. But the training of a young shepherd boy was continuing in developing a man of God, a man who would be king, yet through much suffering. Did I mention that Jesus can be seen in the shepherd boy if we take the time to look?
Surely David looked to Jesus for guidance and leadership, and from this looking, became more like Him every day.
2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Look to the Savior. Take your time and look!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, Psalm 66:14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. Psalm 66:15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
In our last post, we spoke of the reality of God testing the believer, and of God bringing us through some trouble or trial. The psalmist experienced his own personal trial, and spoke a vow before the Lord. The next few verses speak of him completing his vow.
Vows are serious. A vow is a verbal contract. A promise, usually a bilateral type of agreement that the offerer makes to get something out of the other party.
Now there are vows that are unilateral, that is, the offerer makes the vow without expecting any type of action on the part of the recipient, but that doesn’t happen often, and I can’t think of a time when it wasn’t God making the offer. He is like that, in that He makes a vow for our good, and that costs Him, for our sake. Doesn’t seen fair, but that isn’t the way God works. He is full of mercy, and grace. Fairness doesn’t factor into His dealings with us! (Righteousness does of course, but I fear I am getting a bit off track!)
Nevertheless, the psalmist made a vow. A promise to God for His intervention in a trial he was going through. Obviously, God pulled him though to an abundant place, and he was mow focused on performing the vow.
Did God need the sacrifice? Was God hungry, in that He needed the sacrificed meat? This idea speaks of our seeking to understand God in our terms. God did not require a sacrifice, but the psalmist needed to provide the sacrifice. He needed to complete the vow, FOR HIS OWN SAKE. .
For one to make a vow and to break it (not perform it) remains in a persons conscience. When all is quiet and there are no distractions, the truth is still there of a broken promise, of a vow incomplete, made to the One who is faithful.
For a psalm that speaks of all the earth to praise God, this particular last portion of the psalm becomes very personal, focused on the psalmist himself. Its as if the psalmist couldn’t help but to take his own counsel and to speak of the awesome deeds God had performed in his own life, and the resultant obedience that grows out of this awesome deed. I assume it was an awesome deed for the vow is quite extensive. Not only are there multiple types of sacrifice (bull and goat) but there seems to be multiple animals for each sacrifice.
Not only is the quantity high, but the quality is high also. These animals are fattened (vs 15), speaking of the health and worth of each sacrifice.
The psalmist offered burnt offerings, which were a voluntary sacrifice, a sacrifice that spoke of devotion to God. Although his vow may have been given in the heat of the moment, his devotion was long term, deep and according the the instructions provided by God.
Yet in all of this vow keeping, the psalmist does not forget that it is God that is the greater One in the relationship. In our next post, the psalmist will speak of some of the deeper, internal actions the psalmist went through, and the work of God related to his heart.
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
Let’s recap David’s history for a moment.
He is on the run from King Saul, having fled to the city of Gath in the country of the Philistines. On his way to Gath, he stops and visits with Ahimelech at Nob, the city of priests. David speaks a story to Ahimelech to get some food and weapons due to being on a “secret” mission from the King. When he gets to Gath, he feigns madness in front of the Philistine King, and is rejected. Without a place to hide from King Saul. he heads back towards Israel, to a cave near Adullam where David seemed to find a sense of security.
It was at this cave that David accrued a ragtag army of men, totaling approx. 400, and where Abiathar, a priest from the city of Nob informed David of the massacre of the priests and the inhabitants of the city of Nob. David commits to protecting the one priest that escaped Nob.
At this point in David’s story, he is starting to look more like a leader and not a runaway. David’s character is challenged again in our passage today. Let’s take a moment to read it.
1 Samuel 23:1-14 1 Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3 But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
Directly south, approximately 2-3 miles of the cave of Adullum, is a small city named Keilah. I have provided a small map below to give my reader a feel for it’s location in relation to Adullam, and of Gath, in the upper left.
Our passage speaks of Keilah being attacked by the Philistines, and most likely Philistines of the city of Gath, where David had recently showed up, would be the aggressors.
And some unknown group told David of a fight in Keilah, of the Philistines attacking a city of Israel.
Did David sit by and think it was King Saul’s responsibility? Saul was the king. Surely Saul would take care of the city of Keilah. Surely leaving the relative safety of Adullam would be foolish for David. Why leave a safe fortress, only to potentially meet up with King Saul. who wanted to kill him, and King Achish, of Gath, who considers him mad!
What to do? Whatever to do? Hold back. Stay in Adullam to protect those who are with him? Ignore the plight of the city? Assign responsibility to King Saul? Options. Choices. Decisions decision decisions.
Therefore David inquired of the Lord…
David actually approached the Lord twice in this passage, and at first I considered this repetition of request to be an act of disbelief. But after reading the passage a bit more, I am starting to consider the second request to be fueled by the concerns of his men.
David’s first prayer
A simple prayer.
Shall I go down and attach these Philistines?
No mention of Saul in this prayer, no mention of King Saul’s responsibility to the inhabitants of Keilah, and no request for safety from Saul in this prayer. Saul seems to be a non entity in David’s prayer.
David is informed to “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah”
Seems to be clear direction from the Lord. Attack and save!
Yet in the preparation for the future battle, his men express their concern, the state of fear they were experiencing, even without entering into any battle. Lets remember these men, who would eventually become some of David’s mighty men, had just come together, had no fighting experience that we know of, and had “fled” to David due to their generally needy circumstances.
1 Samuel 22:2 speaks of David’s men as those who were in distress, in debt, and bitter in soul. Not the valiant men we hear of later in David’s career. These men came to David for escape, for a relief from troubles. Even in Adullam, they knew that being associated with David was not the safest situation. Yet they found solace in being under his leadership.
But it seems their period of relative safety was coming to an end! David realized the circumstance, and I think he approached the Lord a second time for the sake of his men.
David’s second prayer
David’s second prayer is not recorded for us, but the Lord’s answer is.
“Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”
Notice that the Lord’s answer addresses the deliverance of David’s army. God will give the Philistines into your hand. This directly addresses the concerns of David’s men. Nothing about saving Keilah. Nothing about taking any of the spoils of war. Simply that God would deliver them.
These men would become mighty men of valor, and as the last verse of our passage tells us, David and his men struck the Philistines with a great blow. A victory for David with men who were fearful, but had the assurance of God’s presence.
Consider those we are around, those we love and care for, those that we rub shoulders with daily.
Some we know may be fearful to obey God. We need to encourage the fearful with a message tailored to their fear, from the Word of God. Let us not seek to draw believers into walking with God through greed or logic, or lies. Note that God addressed these men’s fear by providing His promise of victory, not of gaining possessions by winning a battle. Collecting booty from war would come later, as these men grew into a faith depending on God.
Some may simply want to rest under the leadership of a godly man. This was a real need for these men as they came under David’s leadership, but it wasn’t to be without action. Rest and action are not diametrically opposed. They needed rest, but true rest came out of an active following of David, of venturing out in spite of fear.
For myself, I have had to swallow much fear this last few years, and found God to be an ever present help. If I were to detail some of these fears, they may seem insignificant to some. That simply speaks to my weakness, and my need of strength.
As I face fears, I have found a simple passage or verse from a current Scripture reading to be invaluable, to lift my spirits, to embolden me in my specific fear of the day. And as I face the fear, He doesn’t seem to remove it as much as provide the strength to overcome it.
These men overcame their fear, vanquished the mighty Philistines, became heroes to the city of Keilah, found reward in gaining some livestock, and started to actively follow after David and His God on an adventure that is remembered by millions three millennium later.
How is fear working out in your life? Is it fueling you to trust or to cower. Remember, true overcoming is based on God’s message to you, and we can receive His message in the Word of God as we read and understand His will for us.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, Psalm 66:9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. Psalm 66:11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; Psalm 66:12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
Up to this point in the psalm, some may think that the believers life is described as all rosey, full of cotton candy, chocolate balls and sweet gummies.
Yet to praise God for His awesome deeds is not to imply that the believer has no problems, no trials, no troubles. His deeds are awesome on their own merits, and His awesome deeds are performed for us in the midst of our pain, our suffering, our self inflicted trials and rebellion.
He rescues us from our own foolishness at times, and sometimes He allows the consequences of our foolishness to work a better life into us. The psalmist states in verse 10 that God tests us. This should not surprise any believer, for it is in the testing that we come to know of His faithfulness and of our weakness, for if we do not trust in His power, we ultimately fail, and continue to suffer through our foolish decisions. If we trust Him in the midst of the trial, in the midst of His test for us, we grow as a believer, we can confidence in His power and love, we leave behind a good witness to others, and eventually, we find ourselves in an abundant place, a place of expansion and wonder, a place of freedom to obey and a desire to follow.
His test for you may be very difficult, may be crushing you, bring tears to your eyes and a pain in your heart. The test may be through the fire or through the water, but the psalmist wants to remind us that
…He brought us out to a place of abundance.
He is a delivering God, One who seeks to bring us to a place of abundance, though through pain, and suffering at times. We must remember He is the One with wisdom, He is the One who has all knowledge.
Notice the psalmist returns to the “we/us”. As the ancients followed and suffered, us moderns are also called to follow, and possibly suffer. But the end is the same for us as it was for them.
We will come to a place of abundance. Or better said, we will come to have life abundantly and with the One who knows us best.
May His name be praised, even in our trials. May we speak out loud of His awesome deeds, even in the midst of hard lessons!
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 22:20-23
20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”
One priest escaped the slaughter of our earlier passage. If you will remember, Saul had all the priests, their family, those who lived in the city of Nob, along with all the livestock put to the sword.
One priest escaped that we know of. Abiathar, a priest who followed after David in his fleeing from Saul, saw David rise to power and was faithful to David throughout most of his reign. That is until Adonijah swept Abiathar away from David, but that is for a later time to consider.
In this passage, Abiathar is seen delivering the news to David the news of the slaughter of the priests, and of those in Nob.
David admits to this priest that he knew of the danger of Doeg, and that his actions of deception to Ahimelech caused his death. And the death of those in the city.
As a thought experiment, for just a moment, what if David had told Ahimelech the truth?
Possibility #1 Siding with Saul
Ahimelech could have decided to be faithful to Saul, and either reject David’s plea for assistance, or try to capture David for the sake of the king. Surely David was not in fear of physical capture from the priest. That seems unlikely.
Might Ahimelech have informed Saul after David left, helping the king in his quest for David? Possibly, but David would be in no more danger than he was as he entered Nob. Sure, Saul may know of the time and place David was at a certain time, but David would surely find alternate safehavens to venture to.
Saul would have no reason to kill the priest. The city of Nob would have remained a peaceful place for the priests of God and their families.
The strife between Saul and David had not yet reached Ahimelech. He was limited in his ability to make an informed decision. Out of David’s decision to deceive, Ahimelech and the entire city of Nob was sacrificed on the altar of a madman’s dreams.
So what if David had provided the priest the truth of the situation?
Possibility #2 – Siding with David
If David had trusted the priest, sat him down and explained the situation, Ahimelech may have sided with David, providing him the sword, the prayers and the food. Ahimelech would have had the knowledge to decide what to do, especially in view of Doeg being witness to this interaction.
Might Ahimelech joined David at this time? Hard to say, but it would have been Ahimelech’s choice and not David’s.
Might Ahimelech have had some early warning of the danger of Saul’s request for his appearance? Surely this would provide Ahimelech some warning. Might Ahimelech have had the freedom to attach himself to David at this point, and found a new king, a sane king, though not formally in power, but under the blessing of God?
As I said, this is simply a thought experiment, but it does allow us to see that deception has consequences, that the hiding of information can have dire results.
Hundreds had been slain. One man was with David. A priest, whom David took responsibility for.
It may seem that in this passage, David almost flippantly admits his sin and moves on. The psalms speak a far different matter. Psalms 52, 64, 109 and 140 all have reference to our passage in 1 Samuel 22, and the death of those in the city of Nob. I have currently posted on Psalms 52 and 64 as I work my way through the psalms. For your convenience, the following are links to previous related posts of David’s prayers and heart after the massacre of Nob.
David carried this result of his deception for the rest of his life. Out of this catastrophe, David was surely trained unto righteousness through this memory of this tragedy.
Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
The Lord has mysterious ways, and in the midst of horrible circumstances, that may have been assisted by ourselves, we can look to the forgiveness of the One who loves us, the Lord Jesus, and of His continuing love and guidance to us for His will and our good.
May His name be praised.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. Psalm 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, Psalm 66:7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations– let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
How is it that the psalmist invites his current audience to come and see the awesome deeds of God and then refer to actions the Lord performed hundreds of years before they were born? Psalm 66:6 goes so far as to say “There did we rejoice in him”.
Is the psalmist merely speaking in the editorial we, as referring to the entire nation of Israel? If so, this still does not address the time difference from the psalmists audience and the work being referred to.
Is the psalmist describing the ability of the group he is addressing with a past deed of God? He refers to “them” going through the river on foot, and us, his current audience rejoicing.
Why the difference in pronouns?
In my opinion (only my opinion) the psalmist is wanting to connect the existing audience with those who experienced the deed of God, and remind all that though an act of God may be performed at a particular point in time, it’s benefits extend throughout time immemorial. It is for those who follow behind to enter into this benefit, though they may not have seen, heard, felt, touched, sensed or got caught up in the experience.
The psalmist speaks of the deliverance of the children of Israel through both the Red Sean and the Jordan River, immediately changing the topic to how God rules over the nations. God saves and God guides, God delivers and God directs.
Again, the psalmist caps off his short message with a reference to the rebellious, that they do not exalt themselves. Though some may consider this a command, and it may be, and should be obeyed, I sense the psalmist is giving counsel for the sake of helping the rebellious. Not so much as threatening, but for the rebellious to consider the great deed of God and to compare themselves in reality, to live in truth.
Consider the awesome deeds of God, and in doing so, the self exaltation we crave will evaporate before His throne.
May we experience a humility that keeps us from the self appointed exaltation we so often seek. Please God – help your people to know your awesome deeds, to enter into the benefit of your work on our behalf, though we fought you all the way!
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 22:11-19
11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.
Nob was a small, peaceful city of priests, approx. 2 miles northeast of Jerusalem and 3 miles southeast of the capital of Gibeah, where Saul reigned under a tamarisk tree.
In our earlier passage, Doeg had revealed to Saul where David had been, and Saul was like a dog on the hunt. Get Ahimelech! And not just Ahimelech, but all of his house, even all of the priests of the city. Bring them to me!
As Ahimelech, and the priests of Nob arrived in front of Saul, in response to the kings demand, Saul, dwelling in his paranoia, makes ridiculous claims of the priest’s motivations. He exposed his baseless suspicions, claiming the priest of God had intended to subvert the king. Saul claimed that Ahimelech’s assistance was the impetus for David to rise up against the king.
Get a hold of what Saul said to Ahimelech once more.
“Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him,so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?”
Ahimelech, in Saul’s twisted thinking was the reason David was in rebellion. Have I mentioned that Saul is full blown nuts yet?
Ahimelech simply answered the king with true words, asking Saul to remember the type of man David was. David was a faithful servant, Saul’s son in law and captain over Saul’s bodyguard. Each of these known facts justified Ahimelech’s assistance to David, in support of King Saul. Ahimelech, based on David’s responses to him, understood that David was on mission for the king.
Saul’s claim that David was the arch enemy of king Saul must have come as a complete shock to Ahimelech. Can you imagine being a man after God’s will, quietly serving the community, seeking to honor the king, and then being confronted with treason?
But there was more.
Ahimelech must die. His crime? Living in Saul’s imagination as an enemy of the state, by giving aid to Saul’s son in law. Incredible!
Even as Saul gave the order to strike down Ahimelech’s household, the servants of Saul refused. This simple act of resistance may have opened the door for later retaliation, making the servants appear to take David’s side. At least in Saul’s mind it may have appeared so. That is what happens to a mind who is consumed with paranoia. Everyone is out to get you. In Saul’s mind, even his servants may have appeared to conspire against him, though in reality, they were only respecting the service of the priests.
Enter Doeg again. In our last post I suggested Doeg may have had a sense of loyalty to his men in providing David’s actions to Saul, that he may have had some positive motive. That may have been a stretch, for Doeg turns out to be a willing accomplice to this crime, a mass murderer, killing 85 priests.
85 priests! This is horrendous. Why 85 priests? Saul commanded Doeg to kill the priests. Not only Ahimelech, as if he had done anything deserving of death, but his family, his peers, all those who wore the linen ephod.
Did I say 85 died that day. Read on, for the blood letting continued on to the city of Nob. This was a blood thirst that was sustained through travelling 3 miles to the south east of Gibeah. To continue the killing only emphasizes the hysterical fever Doeg and his men were experiencing!
I can’t find any record of the number of people in the city of Nob during this time, it must have been in the hundreds. What shock for those left behind, to see wild and crazed men enter the village, bloody and with swords being used on the population. Hundreds were faced with the sword falling on them. Men and women brutally murdered, with the assailants still not satisfied. Children and infants slain, as if they posed a threat, or that they had personally assisted David. Livestock joined in as victims of Doeg and his men. Nob must have been a bloody ghost town when Doeg finished.
In all of this we see what paranoia can lead to, what an insecure and unstable man can cause by suspicious thoughts and wild accusations. Truth had no part in this encounter – Saul was seeing red and would not listen to reason.
It is amazing the unabashed brutality of Saul in this instance. A king, turning on his own people, living in a peaceful city, in service to God. And yet, was it not this same king, earlier in his reign, who was commanded by God to show no mercy to the enemy of his nation? Was he not to strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have?
1 Samuel 15:3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
Saul showed mercy in this instance with Amalek, in direct disobedience to the Word of God,
1 Samuel 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
How amazing the difference in Saul’s actions here. In our current passage, we see Saul murdering his very own people, men and women who served God. Killing men, women, children and infants, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
This disobedience in relation to Amalek brought about the loss of Saul’s kingdom and raised up a man after God’s own heart, a man that Saul would commit to hating. David lived “rent free” in Saul’s mind, letting his twisted imagination eat away at any common sense or compassion.
In all of this mass murder, David was on the run, likely with his 400 men. This early decision to visit Nob must have haunted David, for he eventually accepted that his visit to Nob brought Ahimelech, and his family and friends into the target sights of a fanatical king.
A very heavy burden for a man who loved God. A very real message to David. This king Saul was serious as a heart attack. David was being chased by a man fully committed to taking him out. And David trusted God, entering into the very mouth of the lion, looking to God for direction.
David is an incredible example of courage to obey the will of God, and is a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus, in that even as Jesus knew of His end game, He set his face as a flint to Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Jesus would not be protected as David was, from the insane leadership that was hunting Him down, but He followed God’s guidance into danger, succumbing to torture and death out of love for His Father.
And love for us.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Considering the Bible 