We previously read the Seek.Grow.Love year’s readings with the objective of focusing on what we could discover and celebrate about God’s character. Today’s reading in Psalm 72 paints a beautiful picture of the kingdom and highlights wonderful attributes of God’s amazing character. We read in verses 4 and 12-14 about His heart for the afflicted, the crushed and the needy.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
4
May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
12
For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
14
He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;
I am always blown away that we are blessed enough to have a Heavenly Father with such compassion and unconditional love for us. Let that sink in for a minute. This passage actually made me think of a few other passages. One was from the story of Ruth and Naomi and we read how they were able to glean the fields per the provision of God’s law. Those harvesting the land were not to clear the grounds of the crops that had fallen or clear all the way to the edges so that the needy could glean the field.
We can read about this law in Leviticus 19:9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
Here are a couple of other passages that came to mind:
James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Isaiah 1:17: learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
If reading these passages doesn’t give you pause, it really should. Take a moment to really think about God’s heart and what that means for you. Take time to deeply celebrate and appreciate who He is! May we seek to imitate His character by looking after the needy, the fatherless and the widow.
-Kristy Cisneros
ReFLection Questions
Where have you seen evidence of God’s amazing character?
How would you describe God’s heart?
How can you pass on God’s compassion and helping hand to others?
Can the fruits of the Spirit of love, kindness and goodness be seen in you?
This phrase shows up twice in chapter eight of 2 Samuel. The repetition of this phrase tells me that it must be an especially important message that God wants us to hear. Reading this sentence calls to mind the passage in Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NIV) We know this promise was not just reserved for the Israelites because this promise is referenced again in Hebrews 13 in a message to all believers: 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
I also want to throw in verse 6 for good measure since it really helps drive home the point.
6 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
I love that the passage in Psalm 71 is coupled with today’s reading. We can see that David is ever mindful of his source of help and strength and this whole passage reads like a recipe for having joy in the midst of suffering.
6
From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
7
I have become a sign to many;
you are my strong refuge.
8
My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long. (NIV)
19
Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
20
Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more. (NIV)
Psalm 71 reminds us that we are not promised a trouble-free life. In fact, Jesus promises us just the opposite in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Notice the promise that we can have peace in spite of suffering and trouble. Peace is even a fruit of the Spirit listed in today’s passage of Galatians 5:22:But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (NASB 1995).
What is the key to having this peace? Abiding in Christ and holding fast to our hope that Jesus has overcome the world is key!
We are further reminded of this promise in today’s passage of 2 Samuel 7 that unfolds God’s covenant with David that will be fulfilled through Jesus Christ:
12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, 15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” (NASB 1995)
No matter what life throws our way, we can have peace and joy by abiding in Christ and holding fast to the hope we have in him thanks to the loving plan of our Heavenly Father. May we be especially comforted by God’s promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. We are not alone in this journey and God—the maker of the universe—cherishes us and is with us every step of the way! Wow!
Luke 12:7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (NASB 1995)
-Kristy Cisneros
Reflection Questions
When have you needed to hear Psalm 71? How can you relate to David and his words?
If you were to make a poster, memory card or bumper sticker of one or two verses from Psalm 71 which verses would you choose and why?
Where would you rate your peace – even in the midst of trials? Where would you rate your joy? What can you do to increase your peace and joy? How can you abide more closely to Jesus, how can you trust more fully in His Father and yours?
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (NIV)
“By their fruit, you will recognize them.” The fruit we bear in our lives is a litmus test for our spiritual health and the strength of our relationship with our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. We just read yesterday how apart from Christ we can do nothing. So our ability to bear good fruit depends on our willingness to abide in Christ. Take an inventory of your life. Do you see evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Taking this inventory of my life highlights areas where I need to repent of sin and abide more deeply in Christ. It is also important not to just take a cursory, shallow glance at that list of fruits, but to dig deeper and investigate more in depth what the scriptures have to say about the various fruits. For example, with the fruit of love, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Does my life show evidence of loving my enemies? Whew, I’m going to be real here, that is a tough one! To actually pray for someone who might be actively working against you or for your demise seems so counterintuitive to our human nature and our survival instinct. God, you want me to give my enemy a salt shaker so that they can rub it into my raw wound even more? Doesn’t that leave me vulnerable and unprotected? Do the scriptures support that God leaves us vulnerable and unprotected? In a couple of weeks you will be reading in Ephesians 6:10-17 about the spiritual suit of armor that God provides us. I won’t go too in depth with it since there are devotions coming that week, but that passage shows us that God protects us from head to toe. Also, remember we are talking about the fruit of the Spirit and John 15 reminds us that we are not alone in this battle.
John 15
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. (NASB 1995)
The scriptures also have something to say about who fights our battles. Let’s take a close look at Romans 12:19-21:
19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
Did you catch that part about putting that love of our enemies into action by feeding them if they are hungry, giving them something to drink if they are thirsty? That’s taking that command to love your enemies to the next level, isn’t it?!?! Are you prepared to do that? Am I? It’s time for a heart check.
It really boils down to trusting God, doesn’t it? Do we believe Him when He says that He’s got it handled? If we find our faith lacking in this area, this is something we can pray about. It brings to mind the passage in Mark 9:
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” (NIV)
Later we read in verses 21-24:
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (NIV)
That verse always touches my heart because I can relate to it so well. I know what the scriptures tell us, but sometimes my trust and faith are lacking. Sometimes my prayers sound something like this, “Father, I know that Your word tells me that I am to love my enemies, but it’s so hard, God. It hurts so much. I need Your strength to show them the love Your word says I should show them. Father, I know that Your word says that You will work all things together for the good of those who love Him. Help me to love You more deeply and fully and to trust that promise so that my fear does not hold me back from being obedient to Your word to love my enemies. Help my lack of faith in this area. Help my unbelief.”
In today’s passage in Psalm 71 we read how God handled David’s enemies:
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion. (NIV)
Our only job in regards to our enemies is to love them and to follow through with loving action that helps meet their needs. God’s got the rest of it.
-Kristy Cisneros
Reflection Questions
If a stranger watched you for an hour yesterday, would they have seen good fruit or bad? Would they guess that you abide in Christ? Do you? How can you do so more and more?
Who might you consider as your enemy? How do you typically treat them? What is Jesus asking you to do for them? Will you? When and how?
My understanding of the fruits of the Spirit has evolved quite a bit over time. I used to think that I needed to strive to demonstrate that fruit in my life and I would get so frustrated every time I would inevitably fall short. I felt like such a disappointment to God. It was actually an egotistical way to approach the matter. John 15:1-8 gives us insight into how we can bear good fruit in our lives:
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (NIV)
The critical missing component of my approach was that if it’s a fruit of the Spirit, the fruit produced is a result of the Spirit—not our own efforts. So our effort should not be put into displaying those qualities, but rather drawing closer to the source of that Spirit so that those qualities naturally spring forth. “Apart from me you can do nothing” (verse 5). We are to abide in Jesus since he is the vine and we are the branches. Our Heavenly Father is the gardener and He prunes us in order to increase our fruitfulness.
I find the aforementioned passage to be very encouraging. Our human nature is often inclined to do the very opposite of the fruits of the Spirit, so if we try to master them by our own merit, we are destined to fail. However, God’s word clearly just told us that we cannot bear any fruit apart from Christ. The key is to draw closer to him and to let God prune away the bad stuff in us.
I think David is a great role model in today’s passage in Psalm 70. He is not looking inward and trying to pull from his own strength. In verses 1 and 3 we see where he recognizes his true source of strength.
1 Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
3 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord, do not delay.
-Kristy Cisneros
Reflection Questions
Contrast the fruit of the Spirit with human nature? What does each look like and sound like?
Does your life display more human nature (living by the flesh) or evidence/fruit of the Spirit? When do you slip into more human nature characteristics? (when you are worried, stressed, hurried, selfish, etc…)
How can you stay attached to Jesus? How can you make sure his words remain in you? How can you draw closer to the source of this good fruit?
What can you learn from David and apply to your life today?
I can understand why the scriptures describe David as a man after God’s own heart. We read all about how Saul had relentlessly pursued David with the intent of killing him. What we know about human nature would tell us that David would breathe a sigh of relief upon learning that Saul was dead, but that’s not how the story went. The young Amalekite man describes that when he came upon Saul, Saul was leaning on his spear and he carried out Saul’s request to kill him since he was in the “throes of death.” When David learns that the young Amalekite man killed Saul upon Saul’s request, his reaction in 2 Samuel 1 is always a bit surprising to me.
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
He was clearly distraught for the death of both Saul and Jonathan—so much so that he had the young Amalekite man put to death.
14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
Because David was pursuing God’s heart, he didn’t rejoice in Saul’s death—even though he was an enemy to him. Saul terrorized him for a long time and the Psalms are full of David’s pleas to God to help him in the midst of Saul’s pursuit of him. We read about David’s state of mind during this time in verses 1 and 5 of Psalms chapter 70.
1 Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord, do not delay. (NIV)
If we pursue God’s heart and walk in His Spirit as referenced in Galatians 5, we are not driven by our desires of the flesh and ruled by our human nature. Instead, we are compelled to pursue what matters to God.
Galatians 5:16-18
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. (NASB 1995).
Of course, walking by the Spirit is not a “one and done” endeavor. Each day we are faced with the choice if we will be ruled by our flesh or if we will humble ourselves and be led by the Spirit. I think the key to doing so is to cultivate a deep relationship with our Heavenly Father and to abide in Christ. If we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength as we are commanded to do, it is so much easier to find the conviction to let His Spirit lead our lives. Keep in mind all relationships require ongoing work. How are you nourishing your relationship with God and Jesus Christ on a daily basis?
-Kristy Cisneros
Reflection Questions
What does it look like to pursue God’s heart? Can you think of a time when you, or someone you know, acted in such a way (like David’s response to Saul’s death) that was totally against human nature/flesh/sin and perfectly in line with God’s heart and walking by His Spirit?
How are you nourishing your relationship with God and Jesus Christ on a daily basis?
1 Samuel and 2 Samuel are, in your Bible and maybe in your mind, two different books.
However, they are one story. We should not really end 1 Samuel without going on to 2 Samuel, the same way ending your movie marathon of the Lord of the Rings after just watching “The Fellowship” is lacking.
1 Samuel ends with Saul and Jonathan and the other sons of Saul dead on Mount Gilboa, their bodies first desecrated and then given a proper burial by the men of Jabesh-gilead.
But it is David’s response that is striking, and that comes in 2 Samuel. Forgive me for reading ahead, but look at what David does in 2 Samuel 1.
He kills the man who claimed to kill Saul (even though we know Saul killed himself) because this man did not respect the Lord’s anointed.
He laments, not only over Jonathan, but over Saul his enemy.
His heart is broken because of this man who really and truly hated him.
1 Samuel has been a journey, and I am glad you have allowed me to go on it with you over the last two weeks. Here has been my take-away:
Be David and do not be Saul.
Saul did not start off wrong. He began as a shy, possibly humble, man who was given the gift of kingship. But instead of living up to that role, he first consistently and then later constantly rejected the will of God. He offered sacrifices on his own, he directly disobeyed the commands of God so the people would be impressed by his power. He lifted his hands against the Lord’s anointed constantly. When he couldn’t get an answer from God, he turned to demons. As a friend of mine said, Saul is the cautionary tale.
David started off right. A humble young man who worked the field, he was also given kingship. He was found to be a man after God’s heart, who obeyed God. He made mistakes, but he sought God’s forgiveness. He sought to do God’s will, to bless those who blessed him, but to let God give justice to those who cursed him. He gave compassion to the Lord’s anointed, but fought against the enemies of God. At his best, he is a model king, a model disciple, and a model man. Even in his failings, he repents and turns towards God.
My brothers and sisters,
May you start off from this moment right. God can and will forgive you for everything in your past and start you off with the salvation offered through the death of Christ. By “putting on” Christ in baptism, you become a son or daughter of God, a child of the King of the Universe. You are given a type of kingship, and the power of God, the spirit of God, to do all that this kingship requires. You are training to reign with Christ in his Kingdom, and so you are to show love to all people, to show justice to sinners (telling them of God’s justice), to show compassion to all repentant (expressing God’s mercy), and to show honor to God’s anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bless you as you become “Davids”, following the son of David. Amen
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions
In what ways or times have you had a touch of Saul in you? What did it look like? What did God want to see instead? Have you confessed and repented?
How do you treat God’s anointed?
What does it take to become a David? What will you do today to make is so?
——————————
Jake Ballard is pastor at Timberland Bible Church. If you’d like to hear more from him, you can find Timberland on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TimberlandBibleChurch/ ) and on Instagram (https://instagram.com/timberlandbiblechurch?igshid=t52xoq9esc7e). The church streams the Worship Gathering every Sunday at 10:30. Besides studying and teaching God’s word, he is raising three beautiful children with the love of his life, plays board games and RPGs, and believes it was fine that Tom Bombadil was not in the LotR movies. If you’d like to reach out to talk Bible, talk faith, or talk about how the LotR movies might be an improvement on the books, look Jacob Ballard up on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jacob.ballard.336) or email him at jakea.ballard@yahoo.com. God bless you all!
Sometime in the Advent season, my family gathers round and we read out these words. There is a familiarity to this “scary ghost story”; who hasn’t seen, or watched, or read, or heard some version of *A Christmas Carol*. There are dozens, scores, of different versions: stages plays, to ballets, to movies, to the MUPPETS. Seriously, if you haven’t seen a Muppet’s Christmas Carol, what are you doing in the Holiday season?
As I was saying, my family reads these words every year, and I particularly love Dickens’s dry humor and wit, which is somewhat lessened by the theatrical productions of his creation.
But he also makes very clear why he begins his illustrious novel with a death of a character we know nothing about : “The mention of Marley’s Funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.”
It is in the exact same vein that the author of 1 Samuel 28 reminds us, “Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah.” We already knew that from 25:1, but the author wants to be really sure. Absolutely positive that we get it.
Saul is going to attack the Philistines but the Lord doesn’t answer him. And so Saul, in stupidity and desperation, decides to go to Endor, looking for a witch. The witch, in fear and trepidation, speaks as and for Samuel whom she “brought up”. Up from the dead, speaking to Saul. “Samuel was dead to begin with.” This was a big deal. This was massive. We are expecting something wonderful, or maybe in this case, something awful to come of the story which the author is going to relate.
There are some great questions that come to mind when we read this story (see below), but I want us to pick up on what Samuel says to Saul : “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy?”
When Saul drags him up, Samuel says “What do you want me to do about it?” Like I said, I expected wonderful or awful; I did not expect grumpy and sassy.
Sometimes, when we find ourselves in sin, and our lives start going poorly, we think, in stupidity and desperation, “more sin will fix this.” Of course, we never say those exact words. Saul didn’t either, but he also didn’t listen to the commands of the Lord. A little compromise here, a little not following the will of God there. “I didn’t kill the sheep so they could be sacrificed!” God stops listening to his prayers, and so he turns his inward sin of rebellion into the outward sin of divination. He does fulfill the prophecy of Samuel in 1 Samuel 15:23.
We tend to do the same. We tell a lie, and to cover up that lie we have to tell more. (Like Junior Asparagus covering up breaking the Art Bigotti Plate.) Instead of dealing with our lust and desires of the flesh head on, we heap false prophecy onto it and say “God told me we should be together.” We lump pride onto sloth: “Sure I was mentally checked out when I was physically clocked in on the job, but I just need some self care. I deserve it! Treat yo self!”
You might think the words used (pride, sloth, lust) in those examples (“stuff that everybody does”) is a bit extreme. Maybe, but sin is usually insidious. Saul didn’t start off thinking he was going to be cavorting with witches in the middle of the night. David didn’t think that avoiding his duty of going to war would end up with him murdering his companion.
Maybe, through you reading the story, you can begin to see that nothing good comes from heaping one sin on top of another. If you find yourself walking down the road of sin, I know how hard it is to change; still, confess your sins, seek the help of pastors and friends who want the best for you, change your ways. Only in turning from sin to the God who wants the best for us will we be able to seek his forgiveness, and not find him as an enemy, but relate to him as a Father who loves his children. Christ will empower us, advocate for us, give us his spirit and put us in a place where God can change us and bless us.
“And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!”
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions
Do you need to confess and stop sinning?: Start off by focusing on the thrust of the devotion; are there any sins in your life that need confession? Where you need help to get out of addictive patterns or habits that are hard to break? Stop the sin as soon as possible so the healing can begin. Only then should we think about the rest of these questions.
Did the magic work?: I have heard some people say the witch was scared *because the magic worked.* As in, she wasn’t expecting a real appearing. But the text indicates that she was scared because she recognized Saul while doing her magic. Saul had killed all the diviners. Why was she scared? The ancient people believed magic worked : The witch in Endor, like the slave girl of Acts 16, make us ask do *we* believe that magic works? Should we be more afraid of participating in the occult and magic than merely saying “that’s make believe”?
Are ghosts real?: Samuel seems to be a ghost. Are ghosts real? What is the Biblical picture of the afterlife? Jesus compared it to sleep, Ecclesiastes talks about the dead knowing nothing and not praising God, but the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost. Does the Bible teach that people can become ghosts? If it doesn’t (and I think it doesn’t), then why did the disciples think people could become ghosts?
Coming *up*?: Where was Samuel coming from? It says Samuel was coming up? If the dead keep on living, we should expect him coming down out of heaven; Samuel seems grumpy, like a man awoken untimely from his sleep. What did the Israelites believe about Sheol?
1 Samuel 24 contains one of my most favorite stories in all of scripture.
David, the prophesied King of Israel, the chosen, warrior king whom Saul rejected but whom a number of people adored, is living in a cave. And, speak of the devil, Saul walks right into that self-same cave to relieve himself.
… Saul goes out to hunt David and goes into a cave to sit upon his “throne”.
David had Saul dead to rights.
He had caught Saul with his pants down (or his robe up) and was close enough and stealthy enough to cut his robe.
Is there any more humiliating, powerless position to be in?
So the question is : why didn’t he kill Saul and end it?
Saul has tried to pin David to the wall.
Saul is currently tracking David’s whereabouts with 3000 men.
Saul is doing this though all David ever did was to honor his king.
Still, David does not end the pursuit; he allows God to be the one who brings justice.
“May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.” (1 Sam. 24:12)
David did not rebel against Saul, David did not hate Saul.
David gave Saul pity on the potty,
Mercy in the men’s room,
Compassion on the commode.
You probably won’t have a king chasing you through the wilderness, but you may have enemies. People who hate you. People who want the worst for you.
Jesus, however, teaches us to be compassionate in the way David is compassionate.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” (Matt. 5:38-42)
Jesus gives us this command because there are times when we are being chased and we need to cut the robe… and there are times when we are the ones on the toilet.
The times when we are the hero doing right by another and the times where we are the villain who looks like a madman.
Jesus forgives us in all of these situations and desires that we live and love better.
We are called to do to others what we desire done for us. (Matt. 7:12)
We are called to desire *and work for* the good, even the best, of the other. (Matt. 5:43-48)
“Be perfect,” Jesus says after speaking of loving your enemies, “as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
God has spared us, even as we were his enemies.
God gave us pity, mercy, and compassion.
God, through Jesus, teaches us to forgive ostentatiously and go beyond what is “necessary,” to not just show love but be love to our enemies.
So the next time you find your enemy in the cave where you are hiding and they are in your hands,
Give them the love of God… while they are in the loo.
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions
Grace, Grace, God’s Grace: Have you given your heart to the Lord, to trust in his grace, mercy, and love? God loves you, he wants to forgive your sins, and give you eternal life in his presence. However, his love calls to us rather than demanding from us. Will you trust in the God who desires the best for you, even when you were his enemy?
Your own Saul: Do you have an enemy chasing you down? What does that look like in your life? Jesus asked for forgiveness for the people currently involved in killing him (Lk. 23:34); so he calls you to forgive those who are “seeking your life”. If that feels impossible, ask for the strength of the God who does the “impossible,” and he will make the impossible possible.
Be David, Not Saul: Are *you* chasing someone else down? Are you seeking someone’s life; bent on revenge, or “justice”, or “fairness”, or “making them feel like I felt”? You are called to let it go. Saul is the bad guy, the madman, and God judges against him because he is so focused on his own glory, rather than focused on what God was doing through his people and his anointed. Be David, not Saul, and let the Lord bring about his will.
handsome enough to make the ladies swoon (1 Sam. 18:20, 25:39-42).
But is that what makes a man successful?
Strong arms, incisive wit, a good frame?
David would never say that those things made him great. I’m not even speaking of the most obvious reason he was successful; clearly that is because he honored the Lord his God, he worshipped God and was a man after God’s heart. The power, wisdom, and beauty of the Lord far outstrip anything David had “naturally”.
Beyond worship, David did not live his life *alone*. It is very Western and American to think of a successful man or woman and assume they succeeded on their own, against all odds, versus the world, pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. But the world doesn’t work this way.
Success doesn’t work this way.
Faith doesn’t work this way.
David was surrounded by people he admired and who admired him, men who believed in his cause and who would follow him. 1 Chronicles 11 is a list of David’s valiant warriors, his mighty men, thirty guys whose names are immortalized as warriors who went to battle with David as his greatest compatriots.
In our reading today, what we see is the love David had for Jonathan and that Jonathan had for David. In chapter 18, Jonathan loved David as he loved himself, and gave him gifts to prove his love. The entirety of chapter 20 consists in David knowing Saul wants to kill him but wanting proof from Jonathan, and Jonathan learning that his father was murderously insane. Jonathan and David weep when they know they are going to be separated so that David is not killed by Saul in a jealous rage. They weep knowing that they may never meet again in this life.
Jonathan is the example of the proverb: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Prov. 17:17)
David, to be the man God wanted him to be, needed people, especially peers he respected, to push him and to support him. David needed Jonathan.
Jesus chose to surround himself with guys he trusted, even if they were super frustrating (“you little-faiths” is somewhere between an insult and a term of endearment). Jesus loved his disciples. He didn’t start the church as a solo act. Moreover, the disciples needed each other! Jesus didn’t just teach one disciple or 2, but had twelve close disciples/apostles and seventy-two who he sent out to teach in pairs. (Luke 10:1ff)
This message is intended for everyone (boys and girls, men and women), but I want to speak directly to the guys for a second: Fellas, you need someone to support and who supports you, a real friend. It doesn’t need to look like the loving, hugging, (kissing? gross) friendship of David and Jonathan. But in our culture, men are marked by loneliness and without real connections to other guys. Young guys especially are socially disconnected, which leads to pessimistic views about the future. In trying to find communities, we naturally turn to the internet, which can connect us superficially with people who think like us, but also is a place ripe for shallow “personal relationships,” unrealistic para-social relationships, and a possibility for bad actors to try and warp pain and loneliness into anger and resentment.
In other words, we need to go outside, touch grass, and make some real friends. Go to church and talk to people.
David needed it.
Jesus modeled it.
The Disciples lived it.
May you find your Jonathans and Davids soon.
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions
You’ve got a friend in me?: Do you have friends outside of digital spaces? Online friends are nice, but as embodied creatures, the digital cannot substitute for the reality of physical friends who are in the same room, space, worship gathering, concert hall, wherever you and your friends gather. How can you bring your digital friends together in physical spaces? How can you eliminate the nagging, lazy voice of “just stay home tonight” when your friends want to gather together?
Jesus’s Besties: Jesus, because he is the empowered son of God, could have theoretically, maybe gone through life without friends. However, his life shows us why he wouldn’t want to! Friends were necessary for his movement, and friends gave him joy. Five hundred gathered together after his death, the seventy two were sent by him, and the twelve knew him for three years or more. But closer than that were Jesus’s besties; Peter, James, and John. John himself was probably the disciple whom Jesus loved. More than many friends, do you have deep friendships? Is there anyone you would trust to hear your secrets, with whom you could share doubts, or to whom you could confess? These deep friendships are not quick choices or made overnight, but having them is essential for the kind of success Jesus wants for his disciples.
What are the stories you remember from Sunday School lessons? What videos did you watch or what murals were painted on the wall?
Jonah.
Noah.
Zacchaeus.
If you take away the cartoon animals, the talking vegetables (as much as I love them), and the flannelgraph, and describe the story as experienced by the people in the moment, they become traumatizing. Horrifying. Or, at the very least, shocking.
A man devoured by a great water beast that digests him for three days.
The world is covered in a flood that wipes out all life, causing them to drown as torrential rain falls from blackened skies and geysers shoot from the ground in every direction.
You have been living your whole life obeying God’s law and waiting for the coming of his Messiah, and instead of him coming to your home, he chooses to spend his time with the short, traitorous Zacchaeus and his rag-tag group of ne’er-do-wells.
Traumatizing. Horrifying. Shocking.
The story of Goliath is similar. It’s not about a piece of broccoli with gourd brothers who sings to an asparagus and a giant pickle; it is about a young man who is ready to kill an enemy because he dares defy the army of the living God.
The story is not funny or fun; it is awe-inspiring.
David looks into the eyes of his enemy and says “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you.” (17:46)
What strikes me is this: we should be careful before we sanitize the Bible.
The Bible is not a list of propositions to believe, they are stories about the past of a nation and their encounter with the living God.
Bible stories, moreover, are not nice, or clean, or simple.
Characters are rarely one dimensional.
Good characters do bad things and bad characters can do good things.
Rarely do those good or bad things fit nicely into our models of morality; David was a man of bloodshed and war and a man after God’s heart. And Jesus said “love your enemies.” That’s not clean or simple.
The Bible, this amazing library of sixty-six books that teach us about the God of the universe and his amazing interaction with people who are looking for him, is not a book that is *given* to children. Jesus does love the little children of the world, but the stories of scripture are meant to be read, understood, questioned, and applied by mature, wise disciples of Jesus.
The Bible is a big book, and the stories of the Bible grow as we grow.
We shouldn’t lose sight of what we learned in Sunday School; but the stories of the Bible go far beyond Sunday School, and can impact all aspects of our lives.
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions
Sunday School Stories: As you read the stories of David and Saul, how often are you thinking of the “sanitized” versions from Sunday School? Of course, we shouldn’t tell toddlers about the slaughter of the Philistines, but the story of Goliath is grim; God isn’t pleased with Goliath or the Philistines. Should we shy away from the judgement of God because it makes us uncomfortable?
Encountering God: When you are being honest with yourself, do you want the Bible to be simple, clean, or nice? Do you *want* the Bible simplified, or do you *want* the Bible to be the complicated, holy, challenging collection of books that it is?
A final thought: The Bible can be understood by someone who knows nothing about it. However, someone who knows nothing about the Bible also wouldn’t have WRONG ideas when reading it for the first time. Are we OK admitting that we might be bringing wrong ideas to the text when we read?
Seek Grow Love 