1 Samuel 23

Wind beneath my wings. 

WEEK  17                                         1 Samuel 23

FRIDAY  Reflections

It has been said that no good deed goes unpunished. This is wrong but it seems in this chapter that after saving the inhabitants of Keilah, David is told they will turn him over to Saul. God is the one doing the rewarding. God gives David victory, warns him of the betrayal, brings a friend to encourage him, and finally sends his enemies away. The key to this whole time is David is listening to God's guidance.

In the middle of all of this Jonathan comes out and encourages David in the things of the Lord. Jonathan gave David what he really needed: a reminder of God's faithfulness. There is also a reminder of Jonathan's desire to take second place after David. This is a true friend, one who is willing to support even when it means losing position.  

1Sa 23:1-29
(1)  Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors.
(2)  Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
(3)  And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
(4)  Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
(5)  So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
(6)  And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
(7)  And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
(8)  And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
(9)  And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.
(10)  Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.
(11)  Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.
(12)  Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.
(13)  Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.
(14)  And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
(15)  And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.
(16)  And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.
(17)  And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.
(18)  And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
(19)  Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?
(20)  Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand.
(21)  And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me.
(22)  Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly.
(23)  See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
(24)  And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
(25)  Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
(26)  And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.
(27)  But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land.
(28)  Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth.
(29)  And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.

Romans 7

Bound!?

WEEK  17                                       Romans 7     

THURSDAY  Reflections

When most people look at Romans Chapter 7 it is with hopelessness. This is where they believe we as Christians live. We want to do good, but we can’t. This chapter has been used to prove that the carnal man is always part of our lives and that we will sin in thought, word, and deed every day.

However, the problem with this thought is what we read in Romans chapter 8. Which talks of the victorious life of those who walk in the Spirit. It also seems to contradict what Paul just said in chapter 6, so there must be another explanation.

I will admit that I have struggled with this chapter myself for a long time. In a review of John Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament, I saw the answer. The answer is considering the entire context of what Paul was talking about the purpose and usefulness of the Law.

Paul at the beginning of this section of the book is discussing that though the Law is good it doesn’t help us do what is right. Verse 14 is the key, “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.” Following this verse, Paul explains what it means to be a slave to sin. As a slave to sin under the Law, you want to do what is right, but you find yourself still doing wrong. It is a depressing place ending with Paul’s cry, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (verse 24).  However, Paul answers with what he has said for the whole book: Jesus. This is why Paul can end saying “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”(verse 25a) and then reaffirms what he has been trying to teach by saying, “So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (verse 25b).

The answer to how we live in Christ as Paul talked about in Chapter 6 is described in chapter 8.

Rom 7:1-25
(1)  Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
(2)  For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
(3)  So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
(4)  Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
(5)  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
(6)  But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
(7)  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
(8)  But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
(9)  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
(10)  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
(11)  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
(12)  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
(13)  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
(14)  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
(15)  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
(16)  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
(17)  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
(18)  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
(19)  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
(20)  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
(21)  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
(22)  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
(23)  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
(24)  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
(25)  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Psalm 142

WEEK 17                                             Psalm 142

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

Scholars aren't positive if the cave David wrote this psalm in was in 1 Samuel 22, in 1 Samuel 24 or if it was just a time of depression. For me, it feels right in connection with 1 Samuel 22. David starts out without any real support and yet he still trusts God.

As with so many of the psalms of deliverance, it starts with the complaint and the problems but ends in a determination to trust God. Reading this reminds us we are not alone others have traveled hard roads also and God isn't angry when we call out to Him in our despair. 

Psa 142:1-7
(1)  Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
(2)  I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
(3)  When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
(4)  I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
(5)  I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
(6)  Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
(7)  Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

Psalm 52

WEEK  17                                         Psalm 52      

TUESDAY  Reflections

David after hearing of the strategy of 1 Samuel 22 writes this song. David is reminding himself and us that those who do wicked deeds will be punished. They do mischief/destruction for ungodly gain.

This is a reminder to us when we see people sell out others for gain, but God is keeping track. God will bring justice to these people. Our responsibility is to trust God and serve Him faithfully. 


Psa 52:1-9
(1)  To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
(2)  Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
(3)  Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
(4)  Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
(5)  God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
(6)  The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
(7)  Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
(8)  But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
(9)  I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

1 Samuel 22

Beware an angry man.

WEEK  17                                          1 Samuel 22

MONDAY  Reflections

I find it interesting the discontents gathered to David. From among these God would raise up some great men, but at this point in their lives, they could have been called the dregs of society. This couldn't have been an easy group to work with, but they saw something in David which gave them hope. Just as the outcast of Jesus' time saw hope in him.

 

David realized because of Saul's jealousy, David wasn't the only one in danger. His parents and their family wouldn't be safe. David did what he could to give them a place of safety outside the country. It was safer for David to stay outside of Israel, but when the prophet told David to return he immediately did. 

 

David was correct about Saul's anger. When Saul was told by Doeg the Edomite that the priest had helped David, he ordered the priest killed. When none of his Israelite guards would kill God's priest, Doeg the Edomite did the job, probably hoping he would be rewarded.

 

When David heard this, he was heartbroken. David put the priest in that situation and now did what he could to protect the final member of that family.  

1Sa 22:1-23
(1)  David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.
(2)  And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
(3)  And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
(4)  And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
(5)  And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
(6)  When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)
(7)  Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;
(8)  That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
(9)  Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
(10)  And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
(11)  Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
(12)  And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
(13)  And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
(14)  Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?
(15)  Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.
(16)  And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.
(17)  And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.
(18)  And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
(19)  And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
(20)  And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
(21)  And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S priests.
(22)  And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.
(23)  Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

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