Friday, December 20, 2013

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 2nd 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



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