Tag David

Ebenezer in the Wilderness

Todd R 2 Comments

In the ESV Bible, the phrase “but God” appears 43 times, changing the direction of the story.  An Ebenezer is a “stone of help,” or reminder of God’s benefit to His people in the past, providing strength for the present and future.  Ebenezer the squirrel, this blog’s mascot, represents these “but God” memorials the Bible records of God’s intervention in the world and in our lives.  As a squirrel can unexpectedly draw our attention, I write about these moments to draw our attention to God as a reminder that adding God to our circumstances can change everything.  One of these instances comes at a key point in David’s life.

Prior to becoming Israel’s second king, David may have spent a decade in exile, running from Saul, Israel’s first king.  Saul was extremely insecure and jealous of David and sought to kill him for years.  In 1 Samuel 23 there is a story about Keilah, a border town in Judah that was near the Philistine city of Gath.  Bands of Philistines were stealing grain from Keilah and David heard of it.  This small border town may not have interested Saul, but David prayed to God about whether to rescue it.  After getting affirmation from God, David and his men rescued the town.

Saul, with spies everywhere, heard that David was staying in Keilah and planned to besiege the town, probably to starve the people until they gave David up.  In other words, Saul hated David so much and wanted him dead that he would attack a town in his own territory.  Saul was persistent and not interested in seeking (or following) God’s guidance.

David, informed by God that the people of Keilah would give him up to Saul, fled into the wilderness again, then we get to verse 14 of the chapter:

“And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.” (emphasis added)

Saul sought David “every day, but God” was on David’s side, and “did not give him into his hand.”  It wouldn’t matter how hard Saul tried – hunting David while he should have been minding his kingdom – David would not be caught unless God allowed it.

As the story continues, Saul is informed that David is hiding in the wilderness of Maon (verse 25).  Then, “As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, a messenger came to Saul, saying, ‘Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.’  So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.” (verses 26b-28)

While the news of this Philistine raid may seem like mere coincidence, I don’t believe it was.  First, the timing worked out just right, as David seemed cornered by Saul and his men.  Second, Saul was not concerned about raids on Keilah – why is he concerned this time?  “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will,” says Proverbs 21:1.  Perhaps this was one of God’s ways to “not give him into his hand.” While Ebenezer means “stone of help,” David found a “Rock of Escape,” and God can be our escape as well.  When we feel threatened by enemies – physical or spiritual – remember that God watches over His people.  Those enemies may seem overwhelming, “but God” will not give us into their hand unless He knows it will benefit us and our faith, for “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  God changes every story for the betterment of His people.

Amen.

David’s Spiritual Battle with Goliath

Todd R 1 Comment

David’s defeat of Goliath is such a popular story that it has become a cliché.  For example, unbalanced games in sports where one team is much better than the other are referred to as “David vs. Goliath.”  In these cases, the storyline is about whether a seemingly physically inferior opponent can beat a physically superior one.  However, this misses the point of the story – that it was a spiritual battle.

On one side of the battle, we have false gods.  After David decided to fight and was approaching Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:43 says: “And the Philistine [Goliath] said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.”  But even though Goliath invoked his gods in curses, he was counting on his size and strength advantage to win the battle.  He was not actually relying on “gods,” and did not expect to win “by his gods”, but by the god of worldly strength and dominance.

Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash

On the other hand, David was clear that this was a battle between true and false gods.  In 1 Samuel 17:26, David says “What shall 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 defy the armies of the living God?” and also in verse 37 David says “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”  David was actually trusting in and relying on his God for victory, unlike Goliath who just used his gods’ names in vain.  David knew his relative physical weakness against Goliath was not relevant.

So, to Goliath the battle was David vs. Goliath, but to David it was the true God vs. false gods.  And that’s why David won. David wanted to beat Goliath so “that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hand.” (verse 47)

People also curse us by their gods when we refuse to live by those gods’ standards.  These may be gods of wealth or convenience or rebellion, and many of our spiritual battles are against this world’s gods.

Does it sometimes seem foolish not to make choices based only on what’s best financially?  Is it sometimes inconvenient to worship?  Is it sometimes inconvenient to love our families, congregations, and neighbors?  Is it tempting sometimes to sin “only once” or if we think nobody will find out?

These are battles we all face, but we’re not going to win by doing better by the world’s gods’ standards, but by relying on the true God.  So, a question for us is: do we see these challenges as spiritual battles between true and false gods?  Or do we invoke God in name only like Goliath did, and then rely on our own strength?

The key to the battle between David and Goliath is that David won because 1) he knew his God is real, and 2) because he actually relied on Him.  We can win the same way and overcome the giants that seek to overthrow us.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12

God’s Justice is Good

Todd R 4 Comments

Many of the Bible’s Psalms are beautiful songs of praise, but some are harder to read, including what are called “imprecatory” Psalms.  To “imprecate” is to curse, and in the case of these Psalms, the writers curse the enemies of the writer and of God.  Psalm 58, written by David, uses some very harsh language, such as “O God, break the teeth in their mouths” (in vs. 6) or “Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.” (vs. 8).  These harsh phrases may be hard to read, but they’re part of the Bible and worth taking some time to understand.

These curses have a context, and for the imprecations in Psalm 58, the context is injustice due to bad worldly judges.  Verses 1 and 2 say:

“Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
            Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
            your hands deal out violence on earth.”

Every day in the news we can easily find injustices to complain about, just as David did, and in many of our hearts, we feel some of the emotions David must have felt.  Much of what passes as news today might be categorized as imprecatory.  David’s curses continue in verses 3 through 8, including the phrases quoted above, but in verse 9, after writing of how wicked and dangerous his enemies are, David notes how quickly God (not David) can sweep them away if He chooses:

“Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
            whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!”

This image is not chosen at random, but to make a specific point.  Dry thorns catch fire very quickly, and so when God judges, the unjust judges will be swept away “Sooner than your pots can feel the heat”. Not sooner than the food in your pot cooks, or sooner than the water in your pot boils, but much sooner than that.  A watched pot never boils, they say, but here the result is immediate.

The Psalm closes in vs. 11 with relief that ultimately, there will be true and complete justice, and:

“Mankind will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
            surely there is a God who judges on earth.’”

God’s justice is good because when God judges, He judges rightly, unlike the imperfect, or corrupt, judges of the world from the beginning of the Psalm.  If the things on the news we complain about are truly unjust, God will take care of them “Sooner than your pots can feel the heat.”  Also, when people pursue right actions instead of injustice, God will reward them “Sooner than your pots can feel the heat.”  Judgment by God is good news because He is fully just.  Without such a perfect judge, we only have imperfect judges to judge the imperfections and evils of the world.

Another part of the context is that when David prays in vs. 7 – “Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted” – he is not vowing to take vengeance himself, but being honest about his frustration and trusting that God will take care of everything when the time comes.  On verse 7 John Calvin commented: “Let us not cease to pray, even after the arrows of our enemies have been fitted to the string, and destruction might seem inevitable.”

Therefore, trust God to take vengeance on evil, even when it seems powerful and triumphant.  Each and every sin will be borne by either the sinner or on the cross.  None will be ignored, and in God’s time, all will be resolved “Sooner than your pots can feel the heat.”  Until then, justice is delayed while God calls His people back to Himself with an offer of patient grace and mercy.

Listen to His call, not only to return to Him, but to patiently trust Him to deal out perfect justice.

Faithful Affliction

Todd R 1 Comment

Sometimes the Bible surprises us by explaining things differently than how our natural instincts would like.  In the case of Psalm 119:75, there are two words that we might not think of together:

“I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous,
            and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

How often do we associate God’s faithfulness with affliction?  Don’t we usually associate it with our blessings?  Yet there it is: “in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

Earlier, in verse 71, David wrote:

“It is good for me that I was afflicted,
                        that I might learn your statutes.”

Then he says the benefit he gets from learning this is more than “thousands of gold and silver pieces”. Since we benefit from discipline, would God be unfaithful if He did not discipline us?  Or do we only consider Him faithful when things seem to go well?

“My son, do not despise the LORD’S discipline
            or be weary of his reproof,
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
            as a father the son in whom he delights.” – Proverbs 3:11-12

He is faithful, always.  Even in affliction.  Perhaps especially.

Mercy for Mephibosheth

Todd R 1 Comment

The English writer Samuel Johnson noted that “the true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”  There is a great example of this in the story of King David and Mephibosheth in the book of 2 Samuel.

Before becoming king, David had a deep friendship with Jonathan, the son of King Saul who despised David and persistently tried to kill him.  In response, David did not try to kill Saul, but relied on God to keep his promise that David would become king and eventually Saul was killed in battle against the Philistines.  Soon after, David was anointed king and surprisingly asked: “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”[1]  Mephibosheth, a lame son of Jonathan, was found, given Saul’s land and servants to work it, and also given a place at David’s table.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

There are at least 3 ways David’s treatment of Mephibosheth did David no good from a worldly perspective:

  • It was typical for kings to wipe out the entire family of political rivals to remove any threats from claims to the crown.  David, showing mercy to Mephibosheth instead, took a risk by keeping a descendant of Saul alive.
  • Mephibosheth, lame in both feet, was limited in what service he could offer to David.  He was not a great warrior and otherwise had little to offer David.  However, David had mercy on him because of his love for Mephibosheth’s father Jonathan, not because of what he could get in return.
  • David restored Saul’s land to Mephibosheth, land that David could have kept for himself.  Instead, David fed Mephibosheth from his own possessions for the rest of his life.  Mercy for Mephibosheth had an economic cost to David.

While from this worldly perspective David might seem foolish, from an eternal perspective he was wise, foreshadowing the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-45 –

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Are there Mephibosheths in our lives who could be shown mercy, regardless of the worldly impact on us?

[1] 2 Samuel 9:1