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1 Samuel 23-25
Trusting God
for Protection and Prosperity
Psalm 44:1-8 In What Do You Trust?
1.“We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work You did in their days, in the days of old.2.You drove out the nations with Your hand, but You planted them. You afflicted the peoples, but You spread them abroad.3.For they didn't get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You were favorable to them.4.You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob!5.Through You, will we push down our adversaries. Through Your name, will we tread them under who rise up against us.6.For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.7.But You have saved us from our adversaries, and have shamed those who hate us.8.In God we have made our boast all day long, we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah."Observations
44:1.See Numbers 31 for the an example of this.
44:3.
Seeking God's face and favor are necessary for victory, as well as His might.
Application
Seek God's face and favor, then trust Him to energize your sword (or pen).
Prayer
God of Victory, may I always be in a position for You to fight my battles for me, and I will thank and boast about Your loyalty to me. Amen.
Proverbs 12:11-12
11.“He who tills his land shall have plenty of bread, but he who chases fantasies is void of understanding.12.The wicked desires the net of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.”Observations
12:11.A person of understanding keeps wisdom (the right objectives and the right means of obtaining them) in front of their eyes, but a fools eyes wander all over the earth looking to win the lottery (Pr 17:24). Faithfully doing the work God has given you (tilling your land) will result in having your needs met, and then some. Chasing fantasies (vain, empty schemes) lacks the understanding that it is God who blesses. Fools usually neglect what God has provided to seek satisfaction and success with a new silver bullet. That's not how God works.
12:12.
The wicked is the one who can recite, but doesn't actually apply God's word (Ps 50). As a result they are not getting blessed by God. So like the fool, they look to what they think are better methods (net is the means to the gain), coveting what the evil have and do. The righteous on the other hand are firmly rooted in a proper relationship with God (fear, obey and trust Him), and out of that relationship yields the fruit that satisfies.
Application
While the fool looks for fabulous methods of prosperity, God looks for faithful men to prosper by His blessing.
Prayer
God, help me avoid unrighteous short-cuts to prosperity and cultivate my relationship with You for both temporal and enduring blessing. Amen.
1Samuel 23-25 Trusting God for Protection and Prosperity
As we near the end of the book, Saul continues his mad pursuit of David, and God repeatedly turns potential disaster into deliverance and blessing. God gives David opportunities (in this post and the next) to solve his Saul problem on his own, or trust God to bring about what's best, when it's best.
1 Samuel 23 Cat and Mouse
1.David was told, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing floors."2.Therefore David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go and strike these Philistines?" Yahweh said to David, "Go strike the Philistines, and save Keilah."3.David’s men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?"4.Then David inquired of Yahweh yet again. Yahweh answered him, and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand."5.David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their livestock, and killed them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.6.It happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.7.It was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that has gates and bars."8.Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.9.David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."10.Then David said, "O Yahweh, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.11.Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Yahweh, the God of Israel, I beg you, tell your servant." Yahweh said, "He will come down."12.Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" Yahweh said, "They will deliver you up."13.Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went wherever they could go. It was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he gave up going there.14.David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn’t deliver him into his hand.15.David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood.16.Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose, and went to David into the woods, and strengthened his hand in God.17.He said to him, "Don’t be afraid; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you; and you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you; and that also Saul my father knows."18.They both made a covenant before Yahweh: and David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his house.19.Then the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, "Doesn’t David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the desert?20.Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king’s hand."21.Saul said, "You are blessed by Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me.22.Please go make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for it is told me that he deals very subtly.23.See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah."24.They arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert.25.Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told, he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.26.Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them.27.But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land!"28.So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.29.David went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.Observations
23:1-13.David fulfills the role of Yahweh's anointed by delivering His people. He inquires of God, and double-checks, in light of his men's timidity. God gives victory. Gratitude appears to be a virtue of honorable people. Delivered by David, Keilah expresses gratitude by planning to deliver David to Saul, who had ignored their plight. Fortunately David sought God's will and escaped. God doesn't get the gratitude He deserves from those He delivers, so His servants shouldn't expect it either.
23:14-18.
Instead of fighting Israel's enemies according to God's will for the king, Saul misuses God's resources for his own agenda of pursuing David daily. Jonathan risks his life to strengthen David in the Lord, which is what Biblical friends do.
23:19-29.
The Ziphites betray David to Saul who hypocritically blesses them in the name of Yahweh while doing the devil's will. David was surrounded, but God arranged an attack by the Philistines to draw Saul away. David's response, seeking protection and vindication, recognizes God as his good helper, and deepens David's relationship with God. It is recorded in Psalm 54
Application
When unfairly attacked for doing good, pray Psalm 54. It might be a good idea to practice ahead of time, expressing it in your own words.
Prayer
God, hear my prayer. Save me by your power. Free me, protect me and vindicate me by your incomparable might. My enemies are wicked and violent and seek to hurt me. They don't fear You. But You are my helper. You are the only one who sustains my soul. 5 Repay the evil to my enemies. Smash them to smithereens in faithfulness to Your promises to protect me, Your servant. I will praise and give thanks to your name, Yahweh, for it is good. 7 I am trusting that You will deliver me out of all my trouble. I am confident I will see triumph over my enemies because of Your goodness and help. Thank-You God. Amen.
1 Samuel 24 Vindication and Blessing
1.When Saul was returned from following the Philistines, it was told him, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi."2.Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.3.He came to the sheep pens by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were abiding in the innermost parts of the cave.4.The men of David said to him, "Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’" Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly.5.It happened afterward, that David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.6.He said to his men, "Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh’s anointed, to put forth my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed."7.So David checked his men with these words, and didn’t allow them to rise against Saul. Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.8.David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and showed respect.9.David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to men’s words, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks your hurt?’10.Behold, this day your eyes have seen how that Yahweh had delivered you today into my hand in the cave. Some urged me to kill you; but I spared you; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is Yahweh’s anointed.11.Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and didn’t kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor disobedience in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, though you hunt for my life to take it.12.May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me of you; but my hand shall not be on you.13.As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be on you.14.Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?15.May Yahweh therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand."16.It came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.17.He said to David, "You are more righteous than I; for you have done good to me, whereas I have done evil to you.18.You have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, because when Yahweh had delivered me up into your hand, you didn’t kill me.19.For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me this day.20.Now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.21.Swear now therefore to me by Yahweh, that you will not cut off my seed after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house."22.David swore to Saul. Saul went home; but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Observations
24:1-7.God delivers Saul into David's hand, but David won't kill him, because he considers Saul as the Lord's anointed. David was committed to being guiltless regarding Saul (26:9), and not retaliating when the opportunity presented itself. Saul had been oiled by Samuel, but the text reveals that the Spirit had departed from Saul and was now upon David. However, the respect and humility David shows toward the Lord's anointed results in a triple benefit in this chapter, and God's protection of David in the future.
24:8-22.
The high art of rhetoric is to have your opponent make your point. Here, David's enemy, Saul, proclaims and vindicates David's righteousness; actually blesses him; and even acknowledges David's kingship. While Saul intended to harm David, God intended to use the problem to fulfill His purpose to bless David. David's non-retaliation and excellent self-effacing speech persuades the madman, but comes in second to the sublime supplication of Abigail in the next chapter.
Application
Don't misinterpret this passage as an excuse to not take Biblical action against wrongdoers, especially those in leadership. Do trust God to take action against your enemies when you are taking action to do God's revealed will.Prayer
God, may I always have confidence in Your ability to protect me and my reputation, and not do anything that would disrupt Your plans to bless me. Amen.
1 Samuel 25 Folly and Wisdom, Evil and Good
1.Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2.There was a man in Maon, and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.3.Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful face: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.5.David sent ten young men...go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.6.You shall tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.7.Your shepherds have now been with us, and we didn’t hurt them, neither was there anything missing from them, all the while they were in Carmel.8.Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore, let the young men find favor in your eyes; for we come in a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your son David.’"10.Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants who break away from their masters these days.11.Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men who I don’t know where they come from?"
12.So David’s young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words.13.David said to his men, "Every man put on his sword!" Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David; and two hundred stayed by the baggage.14.But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to Greet our master; and he railed at them.15.But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields.16.They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.17.Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t speak to him."18.Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two bottles of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.19.She said to her young men, "Go on before me. Behold, I come after you." But she didn’t tell her husband, Nabal.20.It was so, as she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.21.Now David had said, "Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good.22.God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall."23.When Abigail saw David, she hurried, and alighted from her donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.24.She fell at his feet, and said, "On me, my lord, on me be the iniquity; and please let your handmaid speak in your ears. Hear the words of your handmaid.25.Please don’t let my lord regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your handmaid, didn’t see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.26.Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.27.Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.28.Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid. For Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of Yahweh; and evil shall not be found in you all your days.29.Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life/the living with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling.30.It shall come to pass, when Yahweh has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you prince over Israel,31.that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When Yahweh has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid."32.David said to Abigail, "Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!33.Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, that have kept me this day from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.34.For indeed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall."35.So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said to her, "Go up in peace to your house. Behold, I have listened to your voice, and have granted your request."
36.Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken. Therefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.37.It happened in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.38.It happened about ten days after, that Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died.39.When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed is Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. Yahweh has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head." David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him as wife.40.When the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife."41.She arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, "Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."42.Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five ladies of hers who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.43.David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they both became his wives.44.Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
Observations
25:1-11.Abigail a godly gem is described as having good understanding, which one gets from fearing the Lord and obeying His word.“Ps 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding/insight/wisdom have all they that do his commandments.” She demonstrates incredible humility in serving and preserving her husband from his folly, and David from his. She first rights the wrong, and then seeks to prevent David from doing wrong. She humbly takes the blame and persuades David to spare Nabal, subtly appealing to David's relationship with God and the destiny God has for him. With godliness, brains, beauty, and decisive competence, her unhappy marriage to Nabal must have been an arranged one. When God graciously frees her from it, she arrives with an entourage on donkeys (wealth and status) to be David's wife, calling herself his maid to wash his servants feet. David praises God and her for preventing him from being a fool. If you are married to a “Nabal” you have my sympathies, God's help, and Abigail as a role-model.
25:14-17.
The Young Servant knew his master was a fool and destined for extermination, yet probably because of concern for his own safety, and possibly Abigail's example of submission, seeks her protection for his worthless master by telling Abigail of the impending doom. He also tells her of David's honorable behavior.
25:21-43.
David the wronged king refused to take any action against the unjust treatment by Saul because David was committed to being guiltless regarding God's anointed (26:9). However, Nabal's return of evil and reviling Yahweh's anointed (David), set him up for judgment. Fortunately David listened to Abigail and recognized that through her God spared him from unjustly spilling Nabal's blood in seeking his own vengeance.
Application
God sends messengers our way to spare us disaster if we are not so foolish that we don't listen when they deliver His message.
Prayer
God, give me ears to hear You speak through both Your word and Your people. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God lets unjust situations come into the lives of His choicest servants for the purpose of deepening their dependence and trust in Him, so He may reward them and receive even greater praise by blessing them. He requires submission to even unjust authorities. He gives people the information they need to do His will, either through His word or His faithful servants. Corollary: if we don't have the information we need to do something, and God doesn't provide it, then maybe it isn't God's will or timing.
Us in a nutshell: We become fools by following our appetites or instincts (wrong objectives) rather than God's revealed will, especially in the areas of non-retaliation and submission. If we humbly seek and listen to what God wants us to know, we can spare ourselves pain and grief, and wind up being blessed. If we pridefully seek our own way, without asking what God wants, we miss God's blessing, and set ourselves up for judgment. Our attitude toward God is shown by our attitude toward those He sends our way for our benefit.