December 28, 2009 (I Samuel 21-24, Psalm 7, 27, 31, 34, 52)

I Samuel - Chapter 22 -
Jealousy makes you insane. I know from personal experience and I know from Scripture. It replaces all rational thinking. David had gone to a priest for assistance, but not for assistance in killing Saul. But because of Saul's jealousy, he reacted irrationally by thinking the priests were against him and having all the priests killed. Only one escaped to tell David what had happened.

I Samuel Chapter 23 tells of Saul's pursuit of David to kill him. Jonathan was Saul's son, and as such, was next in line to be king. But Jonathan had a relationship with God and a faith in Him, and he knew that God had annointed David as next king. Instead of being jealous, he was David's loyal friend, encouraging him to 'stay strong in his faith in God'.

Saul was closing in on David. David went farther into the wilderness to the 'great rock'. They were now on opposite sides of a mountain. But just as Saul was approaching his hiding place, he got word that the Philistines were raiding Israel again, so he quit the chase and turned around. All throughout the Psalms David writes of God being 'his rock of safety'. I wondered if that metaphor came from this experience, but when I did a word search on rock, God is first mentioned as the 'Rock of Israel' in Genesis 49:24, and then several time in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Deuteronomy 32:15
He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.
Deuteronomy 32:18
You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
Deuteronomy 32:31
For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.

I would go as far to say that David's stories of 'the Rock', became real and personal to him as he discovered his 'rock of safety'. This Psalm was written by David:

Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

David referenced God being his "rock" 14 times in the various Psalms he wrote.

This will be a long blog, as Chapter 24 has too much good stuff in it to skip. Go grab a cup of coffee and come back...(I just watched 'Julie and Julia' this weekend....relating to her thoughts, 'is anyone out there'.....wondering 'will I ever get a comment other than family'? :)

Saul again resumes his hunt of David:

^{I Samuel 24:2} So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats.³ At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave!

So David crept forward and cut off a section of Saul's robe while he was 'going to the bathroom'. But even with that small act, his conscience bothered him.

⁵ But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. ⁶ “The Lord knows I shouldn’t have done that to my lord the king,” he said to his men. “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king and attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.” ⁷ So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.

It made me think of how we treat 'the Lord's annointed ones' - our pastors. If we truly believe they are chosen and appointed by God to be our shepherds, we should treat them as David cautioned his men - with honor.

So David came out of the cave and bowed low to Saul, showing his respect. He showed him the part of his robe that he had cut off, explaining that if he had wanted to kill him, he very easily could have just a few moments ago. David continued...

¹² “May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. ¹³ As that old proverb says, ‘From evil people come evil deeds.’ So you can be sure I will never harm you. ¹⁵ May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!”

¹⁶ When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. ¹⁷ And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. ¹⁸ Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it.¹⁹ Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. ²⁰ And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule. ²¹ Now swear to me by the Lord that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!”

²² So David promised this to Saul with an oath. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went back to their stronghold.

I loved the part where David trusted in God. He said that God was his advocate and God was able to save him from Saul's power. He also left retribution to God. David knew his own heart. He knew there was no evil in it, and that because of that, he would not do evil to Saul.

And I loved the ending. It was almost as if even though David and Saul had experienced their "love fest" with Saul acknowledging his mistakes, David was wise enough to know this probably wasn't the end of things. Even though it seems that Saul 'repented', true repentance takes more than one momentary act of repentance. That repentance needs to be backed up with actions. Did Saul really repent? Perhaps tomorrow we'll find out.

But then, today's reading also included so many Psalms. So many good things in these Psalms, including references to God being David's 'rock". Here's just a small excerpt from Psalm 27:

⁷ Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
⁸ My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
⁹ Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.

¹¹ Teach me how to live, O Lord.
Lead me along the right path,
for my enemies are waiting for me.
¹² Do not let me fall into their hands.
For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
with every breath they threaten me with violence.
¹³ Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.