David

After this great victory with Goliath, David faced the fight of his life. David meets Saul’s son, Jonathan, and the two are bonded together in friendship. God uses this bond to help David escape from Saul.  Saul becomes insanely jealous of David because the women are singing of his great victory. Saul seeks to kill David. He flees and is on the run- often hiding in caves- for years. There were men who came to dwell with him in the cave (400 men)- those who were in distress, discontented, and in debt. But, David’s light shone in the darkness and those men became mighty warriors.

Sometimes we will face our biggest fight after our greatest victory. We must learn from David to have a truly repentant heart. Even in his lowest moments, David cried out to God. Psalms 142, 57 and 34 were written when he was on the run from Saul.  Again, we must seek to have a heart like his, Ps. 55:17 says that David cried out to God ‘evening, morning, and at noon.’  God isn’t looking for perfect people. David was far from perfect- God is looking for passionate people.

We learn from David that we can have a fresh, ongoing, intimate relationship with God.  The more we seek Him, the more we know Him- the more clearly we will hear from Him.  David had a heart of praise- he turned to God in both good and bad times. In Ps. 57 we learn that although his soul was low, his heart was steadfast.

When Saul dies, David is anointed king of Judah, Saul’s son is king over the northern tribes. After 7 ½ years, David unites the kingdom and is king over all of Israel. He restores the tabernacle and returns the ark. He cultivates a spirit of intimacy between God and the people. He taught them how to worship, praise and give thanks. He established a tabernacle in Jerusalem where there was worship 24 hours/day.

He has many ups and downs as king, but when he falls he truly repents. The big fall came with Bathsheba- the affair, the pregnancy and murder of her husband, Uriah. Psalm 51 is where David shares his sorrow in his prayer of repentance.

David’s sin had numerous repercussions- the first one was the death of the child. In time, Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon and God loved him- showing that God doesn’t hold grudges. The union of David and Bathsheba was the one chosen for the line of Jesus.

David’s life was filled with battles- both on the battlefield and in his family.  There was conflict between his sons that resulted in the death of one and the other chose to rise against his father. The nation became divided because of this son, Absalom- who died as a result of coming against David. After his death, David focused on uniting Israel again.

David goes out again to battle when he was old. They were once again fighting giants- family of Goliath. David grew faint in this battle, but God used younger, stronger men to conquer the giant – giving the credit to David. He sang and praised God for the victory.

When the warrior, David, grew faint- there were others to uphold him and fight. Once again, years later, David was facing giants. God protected him and the lamp of Israel did not go out. When our battle is raging and we are facing giants- maybe something that we’ve fought for decades and we become faint- remember, God will protect us.  He will not allow our light to go out. There will be times that God will send others to fight for us and uphold us. This does not show weakness, but the mercy of God to guard us.

As David faced many battles in his life, so will we. We must keep our eyes upon Jesus and turn to him for strength. The principles of our warfare are different- as Paul said in Eph 6:12, “we do not wrestle again flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness.” He goes on to tell us to put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand in battle.

At the end of David’s life, God allowed him to see his son, Solomon sit upon the throne. He blessed him and gave him words of wisdom to live by and gave him instructions for building the temple (1 Chron 28-29). He also blessed the Lord, showing his humility as once again he asked, “who am I?”. David reigned as king for 40 years- 7 as king of Judah, and 33 as king of Israel.  David was known as the ‘lamp of Israel”. (2 Sam 21:17)

There will be times when God will use us to be strong for others. Stand strong in prayer, for the enemy never rests. David’s light did not go out. Our light, the fire within us, should not go out! Some of us run from darkness because we are more comfortable in the light, but God has assigned us to go into the darkness and be the light. You can rebuke the darkness, but when the light comes-it has to leave.

King Saul

The people chose Saul and Samuel anointed him as king.  At first, he showed humility and even had some heroic feats as he led the army and saved Jabesh Gilead. (1 Sam 11)  He formed his government and the Spirit of God came upon him.  Saul did not continue in the right path.  He offered a burnt offering instead of waiting on Samuel who was supposed to do it.  Saul broke the commandment of the Lord.  Samuel spoke to him, "You have done foolishly... Your kingdom shall not continue.  The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." (1 Sam 13:13-14)

God sends Samuel to Bethlehem to the home of Jesse to anoint the new new king.  Jesse brings all of his sons to Samuel except David who is in the field tending the sheep.  Each son stood before Samuel, but they were not the one.  Finally, he asked if Jesse had any more sons and they sent for David.  God wanted a man after His own heart and He chose David.

We can have a heart like that. God wants us to bring our whole heart to Him- every single bit of it. He can take what’s been broken and mend it. He can use that brokenness to mend others. Once again, God wants to know- where is your heart? We have filled our heart with many things and left little room for God.

Just as Jesse didn’t bring David in from the field, we are often overlooked. Maybe you are the least in your family or you feel that way at work- God looks on the heart! Devote yourself fully to God and He can take insecurities and make them secure. 2 Chron 16:9 says, “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

The Spirit of the Lord left Saul and a distressing spirit comes upon him. They searched for someone who could play the harp and help calm him in these time. David was chosen. Saul loved him greatly. 

David would occasionally return to care for his father’s sheep. Jesse sent him to take a care package to his brothers who were serving in battle. When he got there, he saw that Saul and his army was being taunted by Goliath. David asked- who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? Eliab (David's brother) discouraged David as well as Saul, but he came against the giant in the name of the Lord.  David does not discuss the odds, but his focus is on what God can do. Goliath came against them both morning and night for 40 days. He ran to meet the challenge.

1 Sam 17

David did not listen to the negative talk. Often, people who know us the best encourage us the least- they do not build our confidence. But, like David, our confidence is in the Lord! The enemy will come against us both day and night. We do not put on another person’s armor to fight. The Word of God is our only offensive weapon and it’s all we need. Many stumble in life because they do not use the Sword of the Spirit. There are many giants that we face each day. We have to run toward them, like David, in the name of the Lord with our Sword. How many of us run toward our challenges? Our giants may be bills, career, mistakes, unhealthy relationships, addictions, our marriage, our calling…

Don’t hide in fear, but trust in God. 

Week 3 Day 5- The Judges

After the death of Joshua, and when all of that generation died, there arose another generation who did not know the Lord or the work that He had done.  (Judges 2:10)  So, they forsook God and did evil in His sight.  God had told the children of Israel to drive out- completely wipe out- an entire list of people, but they do not listen.  Instead, they begin to intermarry and worship foreign gods.

What happened because of their disobedience?  God delivered the children into the hands of their enemies.  Whenever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them, for they "forsook the Lord God of their fathers" (Judges 2:12).

"God raises up judges to keep the people in check, but it's a Band-Aid on a ruptured artery.  They just won't stay on the straight and narrow with God."  (Seamless, p85) They act right under the leadership of the judge, but when the judge dies they rebel again.

We look at the Israelites and wonder how they could treat God the way they did, but don’t we do the same thing?  We get in trouble and cry out for help, God delivers and soon we slip back to where we were.

Several of the judges are familiar names- here are a few of their stories:

Deborah was a prophetess and the 4^th judge. Israel had been under the harsh rule of Jabin. She rose as a lady with leadership qualities as she called for help from a man named Barak to lead an army of men against their enemy, Sisera.  He said he would go, but only if she went with him.  God gave Deborah the ability to form an attack and gave them victory through the hands of a woman. After Deborah, the land had rest for 40 years (Judges 4-5).

We learn leadership values in Deborah.  She obeyed the Lord and accomplished the task before her. Our army probably will look a lot different from Deborah’s- it may be a small group of ladies or our family that God has entrusted to us.  The point is that Deborah took action. Barak feared going into battle, but Deborah listened to the voice of God.  We must be strong in battle and declare as she did, “march on, my soul, be strong” (Judges 5:21).

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and became greatly impoverished. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Judge 6:12 This greeting surprised him seeing that his tribe was the weakest in Israel and he was the least in his father’s house. God looked at what he could be with His help. He went on to tear down his father’s Baal altar, and form an army to fight against the Midianites. He started out with 22,000 against an army of 135,000 (odds were 4 to 1)- God said for those who are fearful to turn- he was left with 10,000 (13 to 1). God said it was still too many and they chose 300 (450 to 1)! They won the battle with those odds (Judges 6-8).

We may feel as as insignificant as Gideon felt, but God looks on the heart. What is in your life that is hindering you from conquering the enemy?  Gideon laid out 2 fleeces because of insecurities.  He gathered a large army, and God chiseled away at it.  With the odds of 4 to 1 and even 13 to 1, men could have taken credit- but with 450 to 1… it was undoubtedly GOD at work!  What are we holding on to that appears to be important, but is hindering us?  What does God need to chisel away from us?

Samson was the 12^th judge. God appeared to his mother before his birth and told her to let no razor touch his head- he was to be a Nazirite (separated) and would deliver Israel. God gave him supernatural strength and he began to deliver his people from the Philistines. He fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The Philistines offered her a large sum of money to entice Samson and find the source of his strength. It took her several tries, but he eventually told her- a razor had never touched his head. She had his head shaved and he was captured- his eyes were gouged out and he was put in prison. His hair grew back and he asked God to give him strength one last time for vengeance on the loss of his eyes.  His strength returned and he pulled down the pillars of the temple and killed more Philistines with his death than he had his entire life (Judges 13-17).

Samson is one of only a few births in the Bible that is announced to the mother by an angel. His potential was extraordinary, but he fell short on his calling.  His life personified the saying, ‘sin will take you farther than you want to go’. The sad words tell it all- ‘the Lord had departed from him’. Samson did not protect his calling. We learn from this story the importance of guarding our calling. There is no one else that can fulfill the plan God has for your life. “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” Col 4:17 Maybe God is calling you to start a ministry-Seek God and He will show you what He wants of you. How sad it would be to stand before God and to not fulfill what He called you to do. Samson had a repentant heart and turned back to God before his death- He is mentioned in the “Hall of Faith” (Heb 11).

The book of 1 Samuel opens up with the story of Samuel.  We learn about a man named Elkanah who had 2 wives (that was his first problem!), Hannah and Peninnah.  Hannah was barren and Penninah had children.  Every year they would go and offer a sacrifice to the Lord.  Penninah provoked Hannah severely because of her barrenness.  Hannah cried out to God and made a vow to Him that if He gave her a son, she would give him back to the service of the Lord. As she prayed the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. She explained to him that she was pouring out her soul to the Lord.  He blessed her and asked God to grant her what she'd asked for.  She received that word in faith and she bore a son and named him Samuel.

Hannah was faithful to her vow about her son.  She weaned him (2-3 years), and then returned to offer their yearly sacrifice and presented Samuel to Eli.  Samuel stayed there with Eli and he ministered before the Lord, even as a child (1 Sam 2:18).  

Samuel represents the remnant of God.  I listened to a sermon by David Wilkerson called, "A Call to Anguish" (available on YouTube)- a few notes:

• Samuel represents the remnant. There was sin in the house because of the weak priest, Eli, and his wicked sons.  God will not put up with sin in His house.  God planted a vision in Samuel.
• The remnant is birthed through prayer and intercession. Hannah cried bitter tears for the birth of Samuel.  God is looking for a remnant today- a praying remnant- people who will seek Him with all of their heart, soul, and strength.
• God will anoint you and open doors for you as His praying remnant.  A true prayer life begins in anguish.

Samuel became the last judge over Israel. When he was getting old, the people asked for a king.  "The whole point for the Israelites was that God wanted to set them apart and make them different, but over and over again we see them wanting to be like everyone else." (Seamless, p87)

Samuel tells the people that God is their king, but they do not listen.  Samuel is distressed over this, but God tells him that the people have not rejected him, they have rejected God.