David goes from Adullam to Moab (1 Samuel 22:3-4a)

7/2/2010 8:52:39 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  From Adullam to Moab

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Samuel 22:3-4a

            Message of the verses:  “3  And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me." 4  Then he left them with the king of Moab.”

            David wanted to make sure that his parents were safe from what Saul was going to do to them, for if Saul could have got his hands on David’s parents then he could have used them as hostages or even killed them, so this may have been in David’s thinking as he did this. 

            David’s great-grandmother came from Moab, Ruth came back with Naomi and her story is told in the book of Ruth.  The Moabites were people descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot through an incestuous relationship with Lot’s oldest daughter and had been enemies of the people of Israel, but perhaps because David actually had Moabite blood that the king decided to house his parents.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to confess that I have not done such a good job in taking care of my mom as my sisters have done most of her care and have done a great job in doing this.  I suppose that I have done better in the help of Sandy’s parents and now with her dad as we just spent the day with him making sure that he was able to get a good car to drive after his broke down.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Things are not good on the home front or at the church I attend and even in my personal life things are not good as I struggle to do these devotions each day, so I don’t know what to write here.

7/2/2010 9:05:59 AM

David goes from Adullam to Moab (1 Samuel 22:3-4a)

7/2/2010 8:52:39 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  From Adullam to Moab

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Samuel 22:3-4a

            Message of the verses:  “3  And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me." 4  Then he left them with the king of Moab.”

            David wanted to make sure that his parents were safe from what Saul was going to do to them, for if Saul could have got his hands on David’s parents then he could have used them as hostages or even killed them, so this may have been in David’s thinking as he did this. 

            David’s great-grandmother came from Moab, Ruth came back with Naomi and her story is told in the book of Ruth.  The Moabites were people descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot through an incestuous relationship with Lot’s oldest daughter and had been enemies of the people of Israel, but perhaps because David actually had Moabite blood that the king decided to house his parents.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to confess that I have not done such a good job in taking care of my mom as my sisters have done most of her care and have done a great job in doing this.  I suppose that I have done better in the help of Sandy’s parents and now with her dad as we just spent the day with him making sure that he was able to get a good car to drive after his broke down.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Things are not good on the home front or at the church I attend and even in my personal life things are not good as I struggle to do these devotions each day, so I don’t know what to write here.

7/2/2010 9:05:59 AM

David goes from Gath to the Cave of Adullam

7/1/2010 7:59:26 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                              Focus:  From Gath to the cave of Adullam

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Samuel 22:1-2

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. 2  Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.”

            The cave of Adullam was not too far from Bethlehem and so David’s family came to him there because they also feared for their lives because of Saul.

            Psalms 57 & 142 were written while David was in this cave and show that this cave became a sanctuary for those who were in distress, those who owed money and those who knew that the Lord had appointed David to be king over Israel.  Here in this cave, with all of these people coming to David he continued to display good leadership as his group would grow from 400 to 600 as more people would join him.  It is evident that David grew closer to the Lord while in this cave as he wrote the Psalms and relied upon the Lord.  He may have been thinking of Joseph and how long that it took the Lord to bring him to power in Egypt after having the dreams while just a young man, as David was just a young man when the Lord sent Samuel to anoint him as king.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I too am waiting, waiting for the Lord to come back to the clouds to take me to be with Him forever, and while I am waiting I have struggles like David had while he was in exile, and troubles like Joseph had and at times wonder if all of these struggles will ever be beaten and my life would mean something for the cause of Christ, for it seems that I have done many things to overcome my temptations, which are not sin, but falling into them is sin, and nothing seems to work, which causes me to become distressed.  I know that I am to blame for these struggles and that I am the one who will even lose any rewards because these failures in my life.

            God is good and will help me overcome my failures.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

2.      14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

7/1/2010 8:26:25 AM

David Goes from Nob to Gath (1 Samuel 21:10-15)

6/30/2010 8:49:48 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  From Nob to Gath

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 21:10-15

            Message of the verses:  “10 ¶  Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath. 11  But the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ’Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?" 12  David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. 13  So he disguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard. 14  Then Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? 15  "Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?’”

            Message of the verses:  As I have been listening to the book of Psalms in the evenings while studying the life of David in my quiet time doing these SD’s each morning the Psalms seem to be more meaningful to me and am thankful that David had this time of ten years in exile to write them for when I go through troubles that the Lord is allowing me to go through, although none of my troubles are life threatening as David’s were, I receive help from these Psalms of David.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that there are two Psalms that David wrote while going through this experience that is recorded in today’s Scripture portion, Psalms 34 & 56.  David was more in fear of Saul than in trust of the Lord and that is probably why he ran to the Philistia city of Gath.

            “9  O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. 10  The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.

    “11 ¶  Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12  Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? 13  Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. 14  Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. 15  The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. 16  The face of the LORD is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth.”

            These verses are from Psalm 34:9-16 and point out that David began to know what fearing the Lord was about while he was in that situation in Gath.  I read or heard somewhere recently that David felt badly that he did not trust the Lord while in this city of Gath, and he relied on his own ways to get out of this situation instead of trusting the Lord.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Proverbs tell me that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the 34^th Psalm also speaks wonderful things about fearing the Lord, and I have heard that if I will fear the Lord then I will not have to fear anything else. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       There are seventeen verses in the book of Proverbs that I have found this morning that have to do with the fear of the Lord and so I want to read them over and think about them this morning.

Pr 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Pr 1:29  Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

Pr 2:5  Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.

Pr 3:7  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

Pr 8:13  "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Pr 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Pr 10:27  The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

Pr 14:26  In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge.

Pr 14:27  The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.

Pr 15:16  Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

Pr 15:33  The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

Pr 16:6  By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

Pr 19:23  The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

Pr 22:4  The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.

Pr 23:17  Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.

Pr 24:21  My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change,

Pr 29:25  The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.

6/30/2010 9:16:46 AM

David Goes to Nob (1 Samuel 21:1-9)

6/29/2010 6:22:46 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  David goes to Nob

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 21:1-9

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone and no one with you?" 2  David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ’Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ 3  "Now therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found." 4  The priest answered David and said, "There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women." 5  David answered the priest and said to him, "Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will their vessels be holy?" 6  So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away. 7  Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds. 8  David said to Ahimelech, "Now is there not a spear or a sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s matter was urgent." 9  Then the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here." And David said, ‘There is none like it; give it to me.’”

            This section begins a new part of David’s life, a life on the run, a life of exile.  This part of his life lasted for about ten years and it is thought that many of the Psalms that he wrote were written at this time of his life.  The Psalms that he wrote have given comfort to many people who have been in similar situations in their lives where comfort is needed.  David may have looked back on this time of his life as a very profitable time where he grew closer to the Lord.

            Dr. Wiersbe thinks that perhaps in this section that David was referring to the Lord whenever he said that he was on the “king’s” business, but I think that this is a stretch even though he was on the Lord’s business overall.

            This section goes back to one of the questions that I had earlier while studying the book of 1Samuel concerning the high priest Eli, and wondering why he was there in the first place because he was not from the line of Ithamar when it should have been from the line of Eleazar.  The Lord said that He would remove Eli’s line from being priests and when Saul kills these priests at Nob this was part of the process of removing that line.  Dr. Wiersbe says that the Bible is silent on the moving of the priestly line between these two men listed above.

            The question in this section, at least one of these is why was David able to eat this bread that was supposed to be only for the priests who served at the tabernacle.  Jesus spoke of this while on the earth speaking to some of the Pharisees who were accusing Him of breaking the Sabbath day by eating grain from a field.  Jesus answered these Pharisees in Matthew 12:7-8 this way, “7  "But if you had known what this means, ’I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8  ‘For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’”

            The tabernacle was at Nob but the Ark was still at the house of Abinadad in Kiriath Jearim, (1Samuel 7:1).

            One more point and that is about Doeg who was from Edom, and was the shepherd for Saul.  What was he doing at this place in the first place for he was from Edom?  He may have been a Jewish proselyte and because of killing sheep he may have touched their dead bodies and had to then bring a sacrifice there.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can see that the Lord cared for David as he began this long exile that lasted for ten years.  He was building character in the life of David so He could use David to bring about His will with the children of Israel, for latter on David would be chosen by God to had the Messiah come from his line, and this was an awesome privilege to be sure.  I can be encouraged by this as I go some deep waters at this time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to trust the Lord to build His character into my life, and to use these difficult days to cause me to grow.

6/29/2010 10:15:23 AM

I went to a men’s group this morning and that is why the time seems so long.

 

            

Christmas Message from the Old Testament

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/25/2013 11:28 PM

            This SD is about Christmas and what I want to do is go over some of the OT prophecies about the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ to show that when Jesus was born that it was all according to the plan of God that is revealed in the Old Testament.

            Genesis 3:15:  “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.’”  This is the first prophecy concerning the coming of Messiah and in it we can see that the Messiah will be the “seed” of the woman, the only time this term is mentioned in the Bible.  This prophecy speaks of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.

            Hal Lindsey writes concerning this verse under the heading of “The Lineage of the Promised ‘Seed.’”Once God made this commitment to send someone into the world to destroy Satan and thus undo his work in the lives of men, a highway was prepared in future history for the steps of the Promised One.  It first began with God singling out one man, Abraham, and his descendants, and making a covenant with him that ‘in his seed’ all the nations of the earth would eventually be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3).  So the first prerequisite of the coming deliverere was that he would have to be a descendant of Abraham.”  “1 ¶  Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2  And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3  And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’”

            When we look at Genesis 49 we will see that the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah, as Jacob states just before he died.  “10  "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples (Genesis 49:10).”

            Next we see that the Messiah will come from the line of David as we read 1 Chronicles 17:11-15.  “11  "When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 “He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13  "I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14 “But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever."’" 15 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.”

            In Deuteronomy 18:19-19 we will see that the Messiah will be a prophet like Moses, “18  ’I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19  ’It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.”  Jesus says the following in John 5:45-47 “45  "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47 “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?’”

            Isaiah writes that the Messiah will be born of a virgin:  “14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)” Isaiah also states in 9:6-7 “6  For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

            The prophet Micah writes that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem “2  "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.’”

            There are many more prophecies concerning the Messiah’s first coming that we will not take the time to go over, but it is needless to say that the odds of someone making all of the prophecies about the first coming of the Messiah that came true, and all of them did that we surely believe the prophecies that He will come again and will rule over the world from Jerusalem for 1000 years.

12/25/2013 11:50 PM

Jonathan's Alarm (1 Samuel 20:35-42)

6/28/2010 7:21:55 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Jonathan’s alarm

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Samuel 20:35-42

            Message of the verses:  “35 ¶  Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him. 36  He said to his lad, "Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot." As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him. 37  When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, "Is not the arrow beyond you?" 38  And Jonathan called after the lad, "Hurry, be quick, do not stay!" And Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrow and came to his master. 39  But the lad was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. 40  Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, "Go, bring them to the city." 41  When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David wept the more. 42  Jonathan said to David, "Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ’The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’" Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.”

            I can’t imagine how much this meeting hurt both Jonathan and David as they were such wonderful friends in the Lord.  The story is very clear and does not need a whole lot of commenting on for whatever was decided to be done in their last meeting was fulfilled in this one.  I’m sure that David was very grateful to Jonathan for telling David the truth of how Saul truly felt about David, as Jonathan was risking his very life in order to give David this news.

            As far as the kissing each other this was something that even today is done in the Middle Eastern countries and so nothing else should be read into this as some have tried to do.  In verse forty-two the statement “’The LORD will be between me and you” is not like the words that were spoken by both Laban and Jacob, for they did not like each other and the Lord would keep them apart for this very reason.  David and Jonathan loved each other in the Lord and so I believe that the “Message” catches what the true meaning of this statement is:  “42  Jonathan said, "Go in peace! The two of us have vowed friendship in GOD’s name, saying, ‘GOD will be the bond between me and you, and between my children and your children forever!’"  One more thing on this verse and that is that the word translated “between” can also mean in the midst. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at this passage knowing what the future would bring for both David and Jonathan, and knowing that it would be difficult on both of them because God had chosen David to be king and the family of Saul had to be phased out or there would be much trouble for David, I realize that it was still very painful for both of these men.  I believe that they are wonderful friends as they both are in heaven at this time.  In light of this I know that there are times when it is difficult to part company and perhaps if the Lord desires us to live in Hawaii for a year I will have to go through some of those same difficulties, but as in the case with Jonathan and David the Lord will see me through it. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to trust the Lord in these very difficult times that seems will continue to be difficult in light of all that is going on in our country and in our church.

6/28/2010 7:51:36 AM 

Saul is Angry Again (1 Samuel 20:30-34)

6/27/2010 7:06:01 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Saul’s anger

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 20:30-34

            Message of the verses:  “30  Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31  "For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die." 32  But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" 33  Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. 34  Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.”

            Dr. Wiersbe begins his commentary on this section of Scripture by writing “When hateful feelings are in the heart, it doesn’t take much for angry words to come out of the mouth (Matt. 12:34-35)”  He goes on to explain exactly what Saul was saying to his son here since it is difficult to understand what Saul was saying:  “You are no son of mine!  You must be illegitimate!”

            Saul must have forgot that the Lord had already taken the kingdom away from him so that none of his sons would ever follow him to the throne in the eyes of the Lord, for God had given the kingdom to David, and Jonathan knew this and was in support of David being the next king in Israel.  David will be on the run for the next ten years and during that time the Lord would used the circumstances of his life to teach him things that he will need to learn when he is the leader of Israel.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: There are times when I become angry and not for good things, but over things that are actually selfish things and this is wrong.  I think that the people that the Lord Jesus Christ is talking about in Matthew 12:34-35 are unbelievers, yet they can surely apply to when I get angry in a wrong way.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust the Lord to help me keep my cool when things don’t go as I think they should.

6/27/2010 7:26:45 AM

David Leaves the presence of Saul (1 Samuel 20:24-29)

6/26/2010 8:47:45 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  David’s absence

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Samuel 20:24-29

            Message of the verse:  “24 ¶  So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25  The king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. 26  Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he thought, ‘It is an accident, he is not clean, surely he is not clean.’ 27  It came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, ‘Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?’ 28  Jonathan then answered Saul, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem, 29  for he said, ’Please let me go, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. And now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.’”

            These verses are what took place on the first two days of this event with tomorrows SD also about day two of this event in the life of David, Jonathan, and Saul. 

            Saul thought that David was unclean and that is why he did not come to this new moon feast.  David could have had sexual relations with his wife or even touched a dead animal and would have been unclean for that day, but when the second day came and he was not there Saul asks Jonathan where “the son of Jesse” was.  This is a disdainful way of talking about David and shows that Saul was upset with him not being there.

            Notice that Saul set up against the wall with Abner next to him, and this shows the fear that he has, and the unsettledness in his heart. 

            Jonathan then tells the lie that he and David had cooked up and even add a part about evolving David’s brother, perhaps the one who was in Saul’s army.  Jonathan could have stayed silent on this issue and perhaps that would have been better, but he did what he did and sin in the OT is always revealed so that the readers of the NT can learn from these sins and not repeat them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Whenever I tell a lie to anyone I am lying to God and therefore taking God off my team because of the sin.  It is better to tell the truth and not lie so that I don’t lose fellowship and blessings from the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to trust the Lord who is more powerful than my temptations so that I can overcome my temptations.

6/26/2010 9:04:44 AM

David and Jonathan Renew their Covenant (1 Samuel 20:11-17)

6/25/2010 9:03:38 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Covenanting

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 20:11-17

            Message of the verses:  “11  Jonathan said to David, "Come, and let us go out into the field." So both of them went out to the field. 12  Then Jonathan said to David, "The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and make it known to you? 13  "If it please my father to do you harm, may the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not make it known to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And may the LORD be with you as He has been with my father. 14  "If I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the LORD, that I may not die? 15  "You shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." 16  So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the LORD require it at the hands of David’s enemies." 17  Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.”

            There was a couple of things that were cleared up, some questions that I had that were answered here in the commentary give by Warren Wiersbe.  David and Jonathan had made a deal that when David would become king of Israel that Jonathan would be second in command, but Jonathan was killed in the battle with the Philistines that his father also died in and so this never came about.  David’s wife Michal made a scene when he brought the Ark of God up to Jerusalem and she never had any children because David never slept with her again and she died childless.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that this could have been great confusion for the house of David if Michal would have had David’s child because she was from the house of Saul who was from Benjamin.  Having Jonathan rule with David could have also caused confusion for David as God was preparing a line through David to bring into the world His Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

            As for this covenant from the verses today it was a renewing of the covenant that was made earlier between Jonathan and David back in chapter eighteen, verses one through four.  David is completely silent while Jonathan is talking.  Jonathan also adds the part about the situation at hand as to whether or not Saul is still trying to kill David and swears to let David know the answer.  Sometimes in these OT covenants there were sacrifices made between the two people, but because of the love for the Lord and for each other this was not needed.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I still struggle with certain sins in my life I once thought to make a vow to the Lord that I would never fall into these sins again, but was talked out of it by a very wise Pastor because someone else had made a foolish vow and it nearly drove him to the brink.  I love the Lord with a deep love that He has put in my heart, for before I was born again I could never love the Lord for I was His enemy, but now because of the love I have for Him it causes me great pain whenever I sin, and I believe that in a way that is a good thing.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to trust the One who is more powerful than my temptations to keep me from sinning.

6/25/2010 9:31:36 AM 

Conferring (1 Samuel 20:1-10, 18-23)

6/24/2010 9:28:18 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Conferring

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Samuel 20:1-10, 18-23

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said to Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?" 2  He said to him, "Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!" 3  Yet David vowed again, saying, "Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ’Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.’ But truly as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death." 4  Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you say, I will do for you." 5  So David said to Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6  "If your father misses me at all, then say, ’David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ 7  "If he says, ’It is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, know that he has decided on evil. 8  "Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?"

   “ 9 ¶  Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! For if I should indeed learn that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?" 10  Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?’

            “18  Then Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. 19  "When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. 20  "I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. 21  "And behold, I will send the lad, saying, ’Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ’Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come; for there is safety for you and no harm, as the LORD lives. 22  "But if I say to the youth, ’Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the LORD has sent you away. 23  "As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.’”

            This SD begins the eight chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1Samuel, “Be Successful.”  He entitles this chapter “David in Exile”, and it covers chapters 20-22 of 1Samuel.  The first main point “Jonathan—a faithful friend” covers the first 23 verses of chapter 20 and has two sub-points of which I will attempt to cover the first one in today’s SD.

            While doing this section in his commentary Warren Wiersbe splits the first 23 verses of 1Samuel chapter twenty into one section for his first points on the chapter.  The story is a familiar one, as it tells about the wonderful friendship and love that David and Jonathan had for each other.  Even though Jonathan would have become the next king he befriends David knowing that it was the plan of God that David be the next king and so there is a seemingly large conflict between doing the Lord’s will, which would be helping David and being loyal to his father who as time goes on becomes more and more unstable in his mental capacity because of the evil spirit that haunts him from time to time and because of the envy and jealously that also has become a part of his character. 

            The story has some scheming in it to help find out if Saul still wants to kill David, and it also has some drama in it as Jonathan risks his own life to tell David the outcome of what the result of his conversation with his father is.  The story also has a renewed covenant between Jonathan and David, but that will be in the next SD.  As stated it was risky for Jonathan to relay the things that he found out from his father’s true feeling, but because of his love for David and for the Lord he takes that risk.

            A word about the stone at “Ezel” which was brought up before as David’s hiding place in an earlier chapter of 1Samuel, although it is implied that this is the same place of hiding.  Dr. Wiersbe writes in a footnote that “the Hebrew word ezel means ‘the departure,’ a significant thing when you realize that it was there that David and Jonathan departed from each other and David departed from the service of Saul.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is a wonderful thing to have a friend like David had in Jonathan, and I am privileged to have such a friend in James Dozier.  I know that at times I take advantage of his friendship, but because of his nature he seems to overlook that for which I am grateful.  I will always be thankful for our friendship and looking forward to it continuing for a long time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to trust the Lord to relieve me of the temptations that I go through each day, for the Lord Jesus Christ is more powerful that the temptations that I have and I need to trust Him to give me victory over these temptations without falling prey to them.

6/24/2010 10:08:08 AM

Saul goes After David to Kill Him (1 Samuel 19:18-24)

6/23/2010 7:37:08 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Saul himself goes to kill David

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Samuel 19:18-24

            Message of the verses:  “18 ¶  Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. 19  It was told Saul, saying, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." 20  Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. 21  When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22  Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And someone said, "Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah." 23  He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24  He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’

            I get the impression from Warren Wiersbe’s writings in this section that he does not think that Saul was actually a true believer in the Lord, but that he, like Judas, had many opportunities for that to happen, but it never did.  If it is true, and I believe that it is true that God gave the people the kind of king that they wanted in giving them Saul, and it seems to me that the people in Israel were not at a high point in their relationship with the Lord so they got a king who was at best a carnal believer in the Lord and at worst not a believer at all.  I have read that when I get to heaven that I will have three surprises, the first is who is there, the second is who is not there, and the third is that I am there.  No one can truly know the heart of a person except the Lord and that means that in many ways a person does not truly know his own heart. 

            This section of Scripture sees David going to see Samuel, a person that he knew that he could trust.  I would like to have heard the conversation between David and Samuel, for I think that it was mostly about spiritual things and Samuel giving encouragement to David knowing that God had chose him to be king of Israel and that David was a man after God’s heart.

            Saul is told that David is there and so he sends men to capture him in order to kill him, but the Lord send His Holy Spirit to cause the men to begin to praise the Lord instead of capturing David.  This happens three times and then Saul goes there in order to kill David but is met by the Holy Spirit and he too begins to praise the Lord as he takes off his royal clothes and praises the Lord all the day long.  This gives David time to leave as he again is protected by the Lord.  This is the second time in Saul’s life that people were wondering if he was among the prophets.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Paul writes in is 2^nd letter to the Corinthians that they were to check and make sure that they were in the faith to make sure of this most important of all things.  This is a great thing to do from time to time especially when I am having trouble with sin in my life. 

            Again there is a possibility of going to Hawaii to work, and this time it is on the island of Kauai where it would be working at tearing down two sugar mills and my job would be to keep track of the trucks and the weight of them as they take the scrap out of the sight.  The scrap has been sold for 25 million dollars and so on the surface this sounds like a profitable job for Tim and his company.  This is a great matter for prayer as this job would take a year to complete and therefore we would be away from home for that length of time.  The big issue is Sandy as she seems to be so out of it that nothing seems good to her at this time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       In light of all that is going on I want to turn to what has become one of my favorite verses from Scripture.  I will use the Message’s version today:  5  Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. 6  Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”

6/23/2010 8:16:23 AM

Michal's Deception (1 Samuel 19:11-17)

6/22/2010 8:25:06 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Michal’s deception

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 19:11-17

            Message of the verses:  “11 ¶  Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death." 12  So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. 13  Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes. 14  When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick." 15  Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death." 16  When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. 17  So Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, ’Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’"

            Even though Michal had David’s best interest at heart she kind of went about helping him and scheming to her father in a bad way.  Michal was the first wife of David, a man after God’s heart and here she was with an idol in her room similar to Rachel who also had idols that she stole from her father.  David on the other hand trusted the Lord to make sure that Saul would not kill him.  David wrote Psalm 59 out of this experience. 

“1 ¶  «For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.» Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. 2  Deliver me from those who do iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. 3  For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, 4  For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and see! 5  You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. 6  They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go around the city. 7  Behold, they belch forth with their mouth; Swords are in their lips, For, they say, ‘Who hears?’”  This is only the first part of this 59^th Psalm as in total there are 17 verses, but the point is made here that David was trusting in the Lord to save him from Saul’s men.  God uses humans to work out his plan and Michal was used to accomplish His plan for David’s escape even though she schemed to allow David to escape. 

Michal will turn up again when David is dancing before the Lord while the Ark of God is being brought to Jerusalem and that situation if far different than this one.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are troubles in my life and it is important that I continue to trust in the Lord to deliver me from these things that are great problems in my life and not to try and scheme and “help the Lord” to deliver me from these troubles.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not upon my own understanding, in all of my ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct my path.

6/22/2010 8:48:30 AM

Jonathan's Intervention (1 Samuel 19:1-10)

6/20/2010 8:22:00 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Jonathan’s intervention

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 19:1-10

            Message of the verses:  1 ¶  Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. 2 So Jonathan told David saying, "Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore, please be on guard in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3  "I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; if I find out anything, then I will tell you." 4  Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you. 5  "For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?" 6  Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death." 7  Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as formerly.

   “ 8 ¶  When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines and defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled before him. 9  Now there was an evil spirit from the LORD on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. 10  Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.”

            Today’s SD begins the second stage of opposition to David by Saul and Dr. Wiersbe has entitled it “Saul looks for opportunities to have David killed.”  Today I will look at the first ten verses of chapter nineteen of 1Samuel which speaks of Jonathan interceding for David to his father Saul who wants to kill David.

            I like this statement that comes from the pen of Warren Wiersbe about this section of Scripture.  “It’s remarkable that such a magnificent son could belong to such a wicked father!”  Of course he was writing about Jonathan and his father Saul.  Jonathan was the person who could have been the next king but since he was a godly man and since he was such a good friend to David and since he knew that the Lord had chosen David to be the next king he told David that Saul wanted to kill him and to watch out for him.  This worked out for a while but then the evil spirit came upon Saul again and he tries to kill David again. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that Satan was a liar and he was the one controlling Saul at this time so that is why he broke his vow not to try and kill David.  David realizes that it was time to get out of town, but first he wanted to go and see his wife before he left.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been studying the book of Daniel since this is the topic in our ABF at church and also because I have to teach one Sunday from Daniel.  The point is that there are things that are similar in these two wonder OT saints lives.  God is in control and He has put people around both of them in order to work out His plan for them and actually for the world, for out of the body of David and his descendants comes the Messiah and from the pen of Daniel and from the life of Daniel comes the prophecies of the coming Messiah and also all the way up to the 1000 year reign of the Messiah on this earth.  God put Jonathan into the life of David and God put a host of people in the life of Daniel to work out His plans. 

I realize that I am but a small cog in the wheel of God’s plans, but this I do know that He loves me and will use me to accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish in my life for His glory however small it may seem.  

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to trust the Lord to work out the things in my life that He wants to and to accomplish whatever He wants to from this life that He has given to me.

6/21/2010 8:17:53 AM

PS.  This SD was worked on over two days.