It was David's Victory (1 Samuel 17:48-51a)

6/11/2010 9:22:10 AM

SPIRITUAL Diary

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  It was David’s victory

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 17:48-51a

            Message of the verses:  “48 ¶  Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49  And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50  Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51  Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.”

            The Lord had been preparing David for this hour as he had used these

Instruments in defending the sheep that he was tending.  He had told Saul that he killed a bear and a lion defending his father’s sheep.  The Lord had David anointed to be king over Israel and even though he was not sitting on the throne he was defending the “sheep” of the Lord, the children of Israel.  As stated in an earlier SD David was not the only shepherd that the Lord used to lead Israel, for Moses was also a shepherd.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What has the Lord prepared me to do?  This is a good question as things seem to be a big mess in my life at this time with troubles at church, and troubles at home things are a mess in my life at this time.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Continue to trust the Lord as He has a plan for my life and He will see me through these difficult times.

6/11/2010 9:54:12 AM

            

It was the Lord's Victory over the Giant (1 Samuel 17:40-47)

6/10/2010 8:08:45 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  It was the Lord’s victory

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Samuel 17:40-47

            Message of the verses:  “40 ¶  He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. 41  Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42  When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43  The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44  The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field." 45  Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46  "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47  and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.’”

              At the beginning of this chapter it was noted that the theme of this chapter was that God was with David, as His Spirit had left Saul and was now with David.  In today’s SD I come to the fifth point of showing that God was with David and Warren Wiersbe points out this by titling this section “God enabled David,” and the first sub-point is what this SD is about.

            I truly like what Dr. Wiersbe writes in his commentary on this section:  “While there are many applications of a Bible passage, there is only one basic interpretation, and the interpretation here is that David did what he did for the glory of the Lord.”  How true these words are for David as a man after the heart of God wanted to bring glory to God and this giant wanted to bring down and scorn the name of the Lord.  He was a giant, but David knew the One True God and he also knew that Israel was His people and that God wanted to bring honor and glory to Himself through the nation of Israel, for that is one of the reasons that God chose Israel. 

            Humanly speaking this must have looked like there was going to be a lot of trouble for David, a youth who was small and probably had red hair and looked very different from this giant that he was facing.  David showed a tremendous amount of confidence in the Lord and did not worry about the size of his opponent for He had assurance that the Lord was on his side and because of that David knew the victory would be his. 

            It should be noted that David did not see this as a contest between he and the giant Philistine but between the God of Israel and the false gods of the Philistines. 

            This giant had a large spear and a coat of armor on, but had a weak spot in all of that protection he wore.  David had a staff and a sling but knew that his real power came from the Lord and so really this would be no contest at all.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I don’t suppose that I will ever have to fight a giant Philistine, but there are other battles for the Lord that I must fight and when they come about I must do it in the power of the Lord and for the glory of the Lord.  I have read that after a victory for the Lord that a person is more at risk than before the victory and I have experienced this a time or two, so it is important to be as on guard after the victory as before, and maybe even a little bit more on guard after the victory than before.

            I have be praying on many occasions that Andrew Lech would return the money that has been taken from the many investors including ourselves, but I have also been praying that this victory would not put me in a spiritual downfall as it well could if I was not looking for it and praying about it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust the Lord to bring about victories in my life through His power and for His glory.

6/10/2010 8:47:24 AM

God Encouraged David (1 Samuel 17:28-39)

6/9/2010 6:07:50 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  God encouraged David

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  1Samuel 17:28-39

            Message of the verses:  “28  Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle." 29  But David said, "What have I done now? Was it not just a question?" 30  Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as before.

   “ 31 ¶  When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. 32  David said to Saul, "Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33  Then Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth." 34  But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35  I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36  "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." 37  And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." 38  Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39  David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." And David took them off.”

            David knew that the Lord was with him, and he knew that the Lord was able to use him to defeat this giant, and yet his brother ridiculed him and Saul told him that he was only a youth and could not possibility kill this giant.

            As one looks through the Scriptures to find similar situations where family has discouraged another member of the family there are a few to look at.  Joseph comes to mind as his brothers even tried to kill him because of their jealousy of him.  Moses was talked about in derogative terms by his brother and sister.  And let’s not forget Cain killing his brother Able, the first murder on planet earth. 

            Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 10:36 saying “Your enemies will be right in your own household!’”  And think about how the household of Jesus treated him before they realized that He was who He said He was.

            I am impressed so much by the final statement in today’s Scripture, “And David took them off.”  It is hard to imagine what David looked like have Saul’s armor on as Saul was the biggest man in Israel and David was just a teenage lad, so it is no wonder that David took them off.  Saul was a man of little (at best) faith and so he saw things through human eyes where David was a man of faith and saw things through faiths eyes.  David was familiar with his weapons but not with Saul’s and so he would go with what he knew best. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been looking at the life of Saul and the life of David trying to compare them with each other.  The reason is that Saul was rejected by the Lord and David was a man after God’s own heart and so I desire to do the things that David did and keep away from the things that Saul did.  Here in this passage I can see the difference between Saul, a man of little or no faith, and David a man of great faith. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.     Continue to have my faith in the Lord grow from the reading about David.

6/9/2010 6:38:54 AM 

God Guided David (1 Samuel 17:1-27)

6/8/2010 8:45:15 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  God guided David

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1 Samuel 17:1-27

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2  Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines. 3  The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4  Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5  He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. 6  He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7  The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8  He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9  "If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us." 10  Again the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together." 11  When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

    “12 ¶  Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13  The three older sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14  David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, 15  but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. 16  The Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand. 17  Then Jesse said to David his son, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18  "Bring also these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back news of them. 19  "For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines." 20  So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry. 21  Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. 22  Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23  As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. 24  When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25  The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel." 26  Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" 27  The people answered him in accord with this word, saying, "Thus it will be done for the man who kills him.’”

            I suppose that every child who has gone to Sunday school has heard the story of David and Goliath, and even today in modern society the term means the small against the big, and sometimes like in the real story of David and Goliath the small triumphs over the large.

            The point that may often times be missed is that because the Spirit of the Lord had come upon David He was leading David in all the aspects of his life and so when his father gave David his marching orders to go to the camp with food for his three brothers it was truly the Lord leading Jesse to send David to go and to do much more than deliver just food for he was about to kill a giant.  This giant was nine feet and nine inches tall and was wearing a coat that weighed 125 pounds and had a spear that weighed fifteen pounds and he would come out in the morning and in the evening to sneer at the soldiers of Israel.  It got to the point that Saul had offered a reward of riches, marring his daughter and no tax for the household of the one who killed him.

            Matthew 8:26 has Jesus speaking to his disciples about fear and faith and the two of them can never go together:  “He *said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”  Saul was a man of fear and not of faith, and it must be remembered that Saul was the tallest man in the nation of Israel, and yet he did not go out to fight this man, for he was fearful.  David on the other hand saw this giant as defying the Lord, the God of Israel’s army, and you can sense David’s faith and the leading of the Holy Spirit who lived in him from the very beginning of this story.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would suppose that I have been afraid in my life many times, even since I became a believer in Jesus Christ, but it seems to me that the older that I grow in the Lord the more that I realize that if I am walking in the Spirit doing what God has called me to do then I need not be afraid, and I can praise the Lord for teaching me to trust Him with all of life, both the ups and the downs.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       I think that Proverbs 3:5-6 are good verses for this section of my SD for today:  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

6/8/2010 9:19:49 AM

            

God Prepared David (1 Samuel 16:14-23)

6/7/2010 8:38:15 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  God prepared David

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 16:14-23

            Message of the verses:  “14 ¶  Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. 15  Saul’s servants then said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 16  "Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well." 17  So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me." 18  Then one of the young men said, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him." 19  So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David who is with the flock." 20  Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by David his son. 21  Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 22  Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight." 23  So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.”

            “13  For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15  My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16  Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”  David penned these words in Psalm139 and it tells the story of David as God prepared him for the job that was ordained for him.

            David was a very gifted man, a man who God prepared to be the king of Israel in his mother’s womb, giving him all of the gifts that he would need to do that job.  In this section of Scripture it can be seen that David was a skilful musician who was gifted at playing the harp, and this is what the Lord would use to get David into the presence of Saul, for when the Spirit of the Lord came upon David He left Saul and Saul had an evil spirit from the Lord come upon him to bother him.  This is a difficult passage to understand, but Saul had disobeyed the Lord on two different occasions and the favor of the Lord was not upon Saul as it was when Saul first became king.  This makes me think of Paul’s writing in First Corinthians when he writes about a man who had sinned and Paul tells the Corinthians to give him over to Satan, and I think that this is what happened to Saul.  Before a believer is a believer he is in the realm of Satan for Satan is the prince of this earth, so both this believer that Paul is writing about and Saul were handed over to this realm, just as if they were unbelievers.  (As far as me trying to understand whether or not Saul was a believer I am not sure but tend to believe that he was). 

            The playing of the music would sooth the soul of Saul and allow him to be calmed, and thus David is now in the presence of King Saul, and it is said of David that Saul loved him.  This love will soon turn into jealousy and hatred as Saul continues to lose his hold on being king, and even hold on his facilities.

            A quote from Warren Wiersbe from his book “Be Successful,” that was written on this section of Scripture:  “The key to David’s success in life is stated in 1Sam. 16:18—‘the Lord was with him.’  (See 18:12, 14, and 28.)___and it is the basis for success in the Christian life today.  David knew his gifts (Rom 12:3), he experienced the power of God in using these gifts in his daily life.  He loved the Lord and worshiped Him, and he surrendered himself to do the work God had called him to do.  As long as he followed the Lord, God blessed and used him for his glory.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  After, what seemed to me, as a calamity, over my teaching at the church I am not so sure if the Lord has gifted me as being a teacher anymore.  I once though that this was one of my spiritual gifts but am not so sure at this point, and the problem is that I have four more Sunday evenings to teach.  I surely hope and pray that the rest of these sessions will go better.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust the Lord to bring something good over what I tried to speak on last evening.

6/7/2010 9:30:52 AM

David's Appearance and Anointing (1 Samuel 16:12a-13)

6/6/2010 8:02:36 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  David’s appearance

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 16:12a

            Message of the verse:  “12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance.”

            I think that because of the shortness of this sub-section that I will take on another one after this one is completed.

            The word ruddy is the same word that described Esau at his birth, and although this could mean that David had red hair it may just mean that he was light skinned for most Semitic people were darker skinned.

            There is a reason that the Lord has allowed the looks of David to be included in the Scriptures, and perhaps it was just to compare him to Saul.  This verse also shows that David was handsome just as Joseph was described.  David was also a likable young man and a man who attracted people, and this was surely going to be helpful in his new career as king.

My Worship Time (2)                                                            Focus:  David’s anointing

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Samuel 16:12b-13

            Message of the verses:  “And the LORD said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is he.’ 13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.”

            First of all I want to copy a note from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary, (Be Successful), that has to do with David being the eight son of Jesse:  “Noah was ‘the eighth person’ (2Peter 2:5) and eight persons were saved in the Ark to give a new beginning to civilization (1Peter 3:20).  Jewish boys were circumcised on the eight day, which gave them a new status in the nation as ‘sons of the covenant,’ and the firstborn were dedicated to God on the eight day (Ex. 22:20-30)”  

            Both the Hebrew and Greek word for Messiah means “anointed” and only prophets, priest and kings are anointed, and this has to be by someone whom God has appointed. 

            Next the text shows that David had the Spirit of the Lord come upon him from that day forward.  It is interesting that in the very next verse the Spirit of the Lord leaves Saul.  David prays in Psalm 51:11 not to have the Lord take His Holy Spirit from him, and so it is learned that in the OT the Holy Spirit would come upon people to do different tasks from the Lord and could leave them as He left Saul.  This is not true of believers in the NT times as shown in Ephesians 1:13-14, “13  In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14  who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”  Ephesians 4:30 also speak of this, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

            As far as did David’s father and brothers know why David was being anointed this is probably unlikely, but surely Samuel told David that the Lord had chosen him as the next king of Israel.  It is certain that David told Jonathan that the Lord had chosen him as the next king and this was no problem with him because he was a very wise and spiritual man.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that patience is the order from this section as David was probably around fifteen years old when this happened and became king at thirty.  I became a believer at age twenty-six and one day I will be rewarded for my patience in waiting on the Lord to come in the clouds to take me to be with Him forever.  Whether alive at that time or asleep when the trumpet sounds I will be headed to be with my Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Trust the Lord to use me to convey His Truth to those He has chosen to come to this evening’s service.

6/6/2010 9:02:22 AM

  

David's Occupation - A shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11)

6/5/2010 9:06:25 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  David’s occupation—a shepherd

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  1Samuel 16:11

            Message of the verse:  “11  And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are these all the children?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’”

            I wrote in yesterday’s SD that David was a shepherd just like Moses was a shepherd when the Lord had called him to lead the nation of Israel.  Saul was hiding among the baggage at the time that God called him, but David was out tending his father’s sheep, David was a busy man taking care of the flock.  Now it was time for the Lord to call David to tend the flock of His people Israel.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that a good leader realizes that he is always second in command, and that means he is second in command to the Lord.

            There is a lot of things that are similar to sheep and people and so one who cares well for real sheep will care well for people.  David realized that he to was one of God’s sheep as seen in the 23^rd Psalm, which was written when David was an older man, and after realizing the care that the Lord used when dealing with David.

            There were many differences between Saul and David.  David was a small man while Saul was a large man.  David obeyed the Lord and was humble while Saul disobeyed the Lord and was egotistical.  David was a good leader while Saul was not a good leader.  David was a man after God’s own heart, while Saul was a man after his own heart.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am truly enjoying learning the differences between the man that the children of Israel asked for to be a king and the man that God chose to be king.  I want to put into practice the good qualities that David possessed and not follow the bad qualities that Saul demonstrated in his life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Mic. 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

6/5/2010 9:31:54 AM