Stripped

O. T. #625  "Stripped"
October 30, 2015
1 Samuel 19-Part 3
And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. 1 Samuel 19:24a

LET IT GLOW

Have you ever been stripped of your position or job? I realize looking back on my career that when people wanted me to go along with them and their ways, I could not. I had to follow God's ways and Word instead of theirs. I doing so, there were times that my teaching contract was not renewed. However, God always provided for my family. It was a very humbling and heart breaking experience. I love teaching children and my opportunity to do so was taken away. Today, we read of Saul being stripped. Read on to find out what it was.

We left David in the city of Naioth with Prophet Samuel where prophets were meeting.

It was the quarters where the men in the school of the prophets dwelled because Naioth literally means dwelling. (Falwell)

These prophets were declaring the Word of God, probably with musical accompaniment. (MacArthur)

In the Hebrew, the word take, means carry away, fetch. (Strong's Concordance)

Again, Saul sent messengers to fetch David while he was at Naioth.
What happened in this city of prophets shows the Lord has a sense of humor, to me:

• The Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. (verse 20)
• Two other times Saul sent messengers to capture David, but they were unable to do so.      (verse 21)

The Spirit of God thwarted the messengers' evil intentions. (Life application Study Bible)

Are we depending upon God to protect us from the evil intentions toward us?


LET IT GROW

How did Saul react to the failures of his men?

• Since Saul's men could not fulfill their task of capturing David, he went to do the job himself.
• As Saul approached Naioth, the Spirit of God came upon him, too. Saul walked along prophesying until he came to the city.
• As Saul entered the city, he stripped off his armor and royal garments, figuratively naked, signifying God's rejection of him as king over Israel. He prophesied in Samuel's presence.
• Saul lay down that way all day and night. This is why people asked if Saul was among the prophets.

Saul was consumed with jealousy over David's growing popularity, but the Spirit of God immobilized him so he was unable to harm David. Although Saul was receptive to the Spirit of God and was caught up in prophesying, his heart and mind were far from loving God and thinking God's thoughts. (Life Application Study Bible)

MacArthur refers this to being the last time the Spirit of the Lord rested on Saul.
Do we know folks who have not obeyed the Lord and He no longer works with them and through them due to their rejection and disobedience? I'm not saying they lost their salvation. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. However, the blessing of the Spirit can be hindered by our sins.

Saul was not only stripped of his throne, but he was stripped of his dignity in the process.
The Lord knows what it takes for us to be humbled before Him. Hopefully, our stubbornness does not take us to that point.
What does God have to strip from us in order to humble us? So we will surrender to do His will?
Let's bow our knees to King Jesus.

LET IT GO

Be alert to the evil intentions of others.

Seek the Lord's will in my situations.

Surrender to God before He has to strip me of something.

Release, Let it Go

O. T. #624 "Release, Let it Go"
October 29, 2015
1 Samuel 19-Part 2
Let me go...  1 Samuel 19:17b

LET IT GLOW


Do you ever get to the point where you throw up your hands and give it up to God? I don't know what to do. I give up. I let go. I can't do anymore. Why do I wait so long to release my situation to God? Isn't my faith strong enough to trust Him in the first place? David had to get to that point, also.

Jonathan patched up things between Saul and David. Once again, David forgave Saul and fought for him against the Philistines in a great slaughter. The Philistines fled. Awe, peace in the valley. Except, the battle took on a different form. Saul's mental state was so unbalanced.

Jealousy, rage, and anger once again dominated Saul, who was enraged by David's success against the Philistines. (MacArthur)

That evil spirit came upon Saul again and he tried a third time to kill David with the javelin, but without success. Then, Saul sent  messengers to David's house with instructions to kill him in the morning. Some how, Michal, David's wife, found out and warned him of the plot. Do we see a faithful wife demonstrating covenantal love for her husband?

LET IT GROW

David's wife found out the plot to assassinate him some way or the other. Perhaps she knew the messengers that her father had sent to David's house. Anyway, she helped David escape through their window.

What happens next?

• When Saul's men confront Michal that morning, she tells them David is ill.
• In the meantime, she disguises an idol and puts it in their bed. I picture it looking like a pillow with the covers over it, which is used as a substitute now days.
• Saul sends the men back to bring David on his sick bed to him. Then they discover the idol in David's place.
• Saul asks his daughter how she could deceive him and let David escape.
• Her excuse was that David told her to let him go or he would kill her. This was the opposite of what actually happened.
• David had fled to Naioth, the Prophet Samuel's birthplace. He told Samuel all that occurred with Saul. Apparently there were some dwellings where Samuel and his prophets stayed for training, prayer, and fellowship.

With God on your side, anything can happen. Saul's messengers were sent to this place to get David and what ends up happening? The Spirit of God came upon the messengers and they end up prophesying and not killing David. How awesome is our God!

David had trusted in Jonathan, Michal, and Samuel instead of God to protect him from Saul. He fled without experiencing God working for him.

With God, anything is possible, friend. Are we willing to let go of our problems and let God fix them? Are we willing to let go of our children so they can serve the Lord where He leads? I understand how hard it is, for our daughter and her family are living in a state that is a 3 day drive from us.


LET IT GO

Release my circumstances into God's hands.

Trust Him to work things out for my good and His glory.

Then watch God work while experiencing His peace of being in His will.

What are Friends For?

O. T. #623  "What are Friends For?"
October 28, 2015
1 Samuel 19
And Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was in his presence, as in times past. 
1 Samuel 19:7b

LET IT GLOW

As a friend, do you sacrifice your time to listen, defend them when others criticize, not judge, but encourage them when it is needed? David had such a friend in Jonathan. After all, what are friends for?

David kills Goliath the giant, enemy of Israel, and Saul the king of Israel wants to kill him. Who can figure? Saul must have been in one of his insane times when he put a contract out on David. Fortunately for David, he had an intimate friend, Jonathan, the king's son who interceded for him and a faithful wife who looked out for him. Saul did not try to disguise his evil intent for he made it known to those who backed David.

God, in His mercy, made sure that David had sympathetic ears within Saul's court to inform him of Saul's evil plans (19:7; 20:2)   (MacArthur)

Do you have a few intimate friends? They are those friends with whom you can share your deepest thoughts and feelings.

Charles Swindoll, in his book David, A Story of Passion and Destiny, explains:
Intimate friends are rare in life. Often we have only one, occasionally two...usually not more than three in our entire lives. There is something about an intimate friend that causes your souls to be knit together. It's what we call a kindred spirit.
Intimate friendship has four characteristics, we find in this story:                                                 
1. An intimate friend is willing to sacrifice. They assist in whatever and in whatever way is needed. Unselfishness prevails. (1 Sam. 18:4)                                        
2. An intimate friend is a loyal defense before others. He won't talk against you when you're not around. Not only did he defend his friend, he also rebuked his father for his attitude toward David.(19:4-5)                                                                                         
 3. Intimate friends give each other complete freedom to be themselves. (20:41)           
 4. An intimate friend is a constant source of encouragement. (23:15-16)

Jonathan is an intimate friend of David's. He informed David of Saul's intent to kill David. When David is at his lowest moment in his life, afraid, and stumbling through the wilderness, Jonathan brings him encouragement.

Are we that kind of intimate friend with others? Do we let them know that we understand how they feel? Do we tell them that tomorrow is going to be a brighter day? Are we with them no matter what happens?

LET IT GROW

Jonathan told David to go hid in a secret place, near a field. Jonathan would then discuss the situation with his father in the field where David could overhear.
How did Jonathan attempt to persuade his father?

• Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul.
• He said that David had not wronged Saul, but described David as the king's servant.
• What David had done benefited Saul greatly.
• David took his life in his own hands when he killed the Philistine.
• The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, which Saul saw, and was glad.
• Jonathan asked Saul why he would do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for nor reason. (verse 5)

How did this conversation turn out?
Saul took an oath to not put David to death. (verse 6)
Jonathan informed David of the conversation, brought him to Saul, and their relationship was mended, for the time being.


Do we try to mend relationships by being the mediator?

LET IT GO

                                 ...of past hurts and forgive.

Persuade others to forgive.

Be a faithful friend.

*We had a wonderful time visiting with our daughter, son in law, and 6 grandchildren last week. Wish it could have been a week longer. We took a couple of days just the two of us and drove to the beautiful state of Vermont during the fall foliage and saw huge mountains. Gorgeous is not describing our awesome God's creation appropriately.

Vacation

Friends,
We will pick up the life of David and Saul tomorrow. We are flying back home from my vacation today, so we would like your prayers.
(Actually, I am typing last week's posts ahead before we leave, and have to pack now.)

Have a great day in the Lord.
Linda

A Life Long Enemy

O. T. #622 "A Life Long Enemy"
October 26, 2015
1 Samuel 18-Part 4
Saul became still more afraid of him (David), and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. 
1 Samuel 18:29

LET IT GLOW


Life is real. People hurt one another because they are sinful. That is just the way it is in this world. I don't like to have to inform you of this, friend. (You probably have realized it long before now, though.) People just won't forgive and forget the wrongs and harbor resentment all their life. What a waste.
Even on his wedding day, we read of David having a life long enemy. Want to know who?

Everyone loved David, except one-Saul. (Keep that in mind when it appears their relationship is fine.) Twice David fled and escaped Saul's spear. This will become a means of survival in David's life. He had been brought into the army, proved himself faithful, even heroic. David will never again serve in Saul's army. His good position is removed.

Saul had promised his daughter to the man who killed Goliath. Now we know that Saul had at least two daughters. The oldest, Merab, was the one Saul intended to give David, but she came with a condition- if he would serve Saul bravely and fight the battles of the LORD. However, when it came time, Merab was given in marriage to another, Adriel. (verse 19)

What do we know about Merab?

• Her name means compensation or substitute.
• She married Adriel the Meholathite instead of David.
• She bore him children.
• Five of their sons were later executed by David as punishment for Saul's disregard of Joshua's covenant with the Gibeonites (2 Sam. 21:8; Joshua 9:20). (MacArthur)

Sounds like an earlier retraction of betrothal and Laban's trickery with Jacob to Rachel (Gen. 29:25)

Don't give up David, there is another who will be a better wife for you than the first-Michal.
What do we know about this other daughter of Saul's?

• Most importantly, she was in love with David. (verse 19)
• Therefore, we can conclude that she would not do him harm but good.
• She was given to David with the intent of Saul to be a snare, which did not happen.
• The king required a dowry for her, which required David killing a hundred Philistines (hoping he would be killed in the process).
• David delivered more than Saul asked, in fact it was double. So Michal and David and lived happily ever after. (I wish it were so, but it did not turn out that way. There was no fairytale ending to this story.)

Do we trust God to give us the best instead of just good? It would have been a mistake for David to marry Merab instead of Michal. He found out later. Can we look back and see through our disappointments that God had something better when we don't get what we wanted?


LET IT GROW

Saul realized that the LORD was with David. Saul became still more afraid of him and remained his enemy the rest of his days. It was a 12 year on-going thing, Saul seeking to kill David so he would not overtake his throne as king. Saul became obsessed with it. (I don't want to leave this out-David became will known.) It was in spite of his father in law's horrible treatment, too.

David was more successful than any other officer in Saul's army against the Philistines. (verse 30)

Do you have a lifelong enemy? You have tried to make amends with them, but they will not? God can change things so hand in there. I am still waiting for mine to have a change of heart.

LET IT GO

Trust God to work things out for my good and His glory.

Keep loving my enemy and pray for them.

Realize that God knows what it takes to bring folks down on the knees of repentance.

Pinned to the Wall

O. T. #621  "Pinned to the Wall"
October 23, 2015
1 Samuel 18-Part 3
Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall" but David eluded him twice.   1 Samuel 18:11

LET IT GLOW

Skipping ahead to verse 15, Saul put David in charge of a thousand troops. He was demoted from the king's personal bodyguard to merely a captain over some troops. did it change David? He remained faithful to the Lord and serve and honor his king.
 In everything David did, he had great success because the LORD was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, Saul was afraid of David. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their battles and campaigns against the enemies.

How do we react when we are demoted? Do we maintain humility and service? Looks like David had several giants to kill.

LET IT GROW

After killing the Giant Goliath, David did not return home to report to his father. Verse 2 says that Saul did not let him. Do you think Saul thought David would be an access to him kingdom? Well, it didn't turn out that way. You'll recall that the women would come out of their towns and sing unto those returning from the battlefield. Specifically, in contrast, Saul killed his 1,000's and David his 10,000's. Saul got very angry and jealous of David through that. Verse 9 says that Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
Well, the next day didn't get any better, only worse. Saul was prophesying in his house while David was playing his harp. Then an evil spirit came forcefully on Saul. He had a spear in his hand, hurled it at David, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." (verse 11)

That spear was thrown with the intent to kill. Have you had anyone who tried to pin you to the wall? Tried to nail you down, keep you from doing good, tried to get you to quit a job or leave? That is a very difficult situation, trusting the Lord to bring good out of it all. People can be mean and conniving. When it was God's time, I left. He provided another job. Come to find out, others knew the situation, but were afraid to encourage me in fear they would be attacked also.

Thankfully, David was able to elude Saul's spear, not once, but twice. Wow! He strikes out after the one who helps him. (I understand that those with dementia do the same, treating their loving caregivers ugly and hateful.) 

Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men. He no longer stayed in the palace with Jonathan and Saul. David led the troops as their captain, successfully in battles. Know why?
In everything he did he had great success because the LORD was with him. (verse 14)
You go David. God bless you.

Do you know there are folks who actually get jealous of spiritual leaders? In some churches, some people want to be the leaders, usually those with money, instead of submitting to the spiritual leaders. We have experienced the battle of the wills. Once, it took 18 years for the breakthrough. Sadly, those folks died off. Now they are submitting to the Lord Jesus in heaven. If only they had submitted while here, they would have been an access and not a detriment.

Beware of them. They are out there, striving to achieve their own agenda and not the Lord's. They hurl spears in various forms-critical words, lies, schemes of harm, selfish deeds, talk behind your back, and the list goes on.

What can we do? Stay true to God; be sure the Lord is with us and leading us through the battle. Live godly before them. Ask God to help you love them.

LET IT GO

Recognize my enemies are not the people, but the devil and his demons. They want to destroy the good work I do and my witness.

Trust God to open a door when it is time to leave.

Otherwise, don't quit, don't give in, be an overcomer. (as the song goes)

Trust the Lord to give me success as He is with me.

A Jealous Eye

O. T. #620  "A Jealous Eye"
October 22, 2015
1 Samuel 18-Part 2
What more can he get but the kingdom? And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. 1 Samuel 18:8b-9 NIV

LET IT GLOW

That person got the promotion instead of us. There may not be a jealous bone in my body, but do I have a jealous eye? Am I happy for that person? Glad, happy? What? Well, God knew what was down the road and it wasn't the best thing for me. Hind sight is 20/20.  Maybe His best is coming. How am I dealing with it? How did David deal with it?

What phrase is mentioned four times in this chapter? "He prospered" is it.

Prospered is derived from the Hebrew word sakal. It can have two descriptive meanings-wise and discretion. A person who is wise, prospers, knows how to keep his mouth shut. (Prov. 10:19) When the wise person opens his mouth, he opens it with discretion (Prov. 21:11) This sakal person is teachable. David was like this. (Swindoll)

Do we guard our lips and keep a teachable spirit? Does promotion or recognition change us? Are we above criticism or no long need the input of others? Remaining positive and wise is our best reaction to an enemy. Who needs to practice this with me?


LET IT GROW

When the Israeli army men were returning home after the battle with the Philistines and the big fall of their giant champion by David, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing. They sang joyfully, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."
Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him, displeased him.
Angry in the Hebrew is the word charah, which means to burn within.
Displeased refers to inner turmoil.

Did Saul's stomach turn and churn? Did his face get red with anger resulting him to blow his stack? Did he think, "I've got a giant-killer who's gonna become a king-killer?"
Well, God had Saul's thoughts recorded here in our key verses. Aren't we glad that god doesn't record or thoughts, or is He? We are going to answer for them.

I found some good comments concerning this thing called jealousy.

With the Lord's authority removed from him, Saul's authority rested almost entirely on his military achievements. To maintain his position, he had to be recognized as the strongest man in the kingdom. The women's song sparked Saul's insane jealousy of David, marking the turning point in their relationship. From that day forward Saul would seek to remove David as a threat to the throne. (David Jeremiah)

Saul's appreciation for David turned to jealousy as people began to applaud David's exploits. In a jealous rage, Saul attempted to murder David by hurling his spear at him. Jealousy may not seem to be a major sin, but in reality, it is one step short of murder. Jealousy starts as you resent a rival; it leads to your wishing he or she were removed; then it manifests itself in your seeking ways to harm that person in word or action. Beware of letting jealousy get a foothold in your life.  (Life application Study Bible)

Did David deserve that kind of treatment from Saul? Hardly. David had served God, killed a giant, submitted himself to his superior, and behaved properly. Did Saul realize that God was on David's side and not his? It became more than he could handle.

We need to watch out for jealousy. It likes to raise its ugly head every now and then. Define it in a person when they make comments about someone or something leaning in that direction. (Ask: Do I detect a bit of jealousy here?) Help them to identify it, then the reason for such, and their need to remove it. If it isn't dealt with, well, the results can be devastating and critical.

Maybe we need to ask our self if there is anyone we are jealous of in our own life.

LET IT GO

 ...of those thoughts that lead to jealousy. Ask myself why I am jealous. Don't let it develop into anger.

Keep my mouth shut more often. Listen, discern, speak wisely.