1 Kings 12-14: Divided Loyalties

The kingdom divides between Solomon's son, Jeroboam and Rehoboam.  But the division between Judah and the other tribes of Israel was not as great as the gulf that grew between all of them, irregardless of which king they swore allegiance to, and the Lord God.  The choice was made, out of the affluence of Solomon to go it alone.  There were idols and high places where they could worship the idols.  What more did they need.

And this disregard for God has continued down through the years.  We all have our own idols and high places where we worship them.  Some are in football stadiums or basketball arenas.  Some are in shopping malls.  Some are in the towering skyscrapers of commerce.  There are as many different gods to worship as their are places.  Some are even in churches, where sometimes it is the pastor or the worship leader who has our unadulterated worship.  

Unfortunately, whatever reign we think is going to last forever will do just the opposite.  Nothing that is built or worshipped that is not centered on God will last.  It all crumples, and the more we worship other idols, the faster they will fall apart.

2010 Post - 1 Kings 12-14:  A Divided Kingdom

1 Kings 10-11: Enough is Enough

When is enough, enough.  The young Solomon was content to only ask for wisdom.  But the riches and success that followed, the fortune that God promised him because of his selfless request, became a snare.  He was not satisfied with just one of anything.  He accumulated chariots and horses, fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thouseand horses.  He made silver as common as stones and cedar as plentiful as fig trees.  But even all of that wealth might not have been enough to enslave him.  It was the women that brought his downfall.  He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines who became his focus.  If Solomon was going to keep all of those wives happy, he was not going to have the time or the inclination to worry about God.  Instead, he let the women lead him astray and ended up worshipping the gods of his wives.

You can have too much.  You can have so much that you no longer have the time to devote to a relationship with God.  You can have so much that, just like Solomon, it pulls you in every direction but the right one. 

2010 Post - 1 Kings 10-11:  All is Vanity

1 Kings 8-9: Preparing for God's Glory

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. - 1 Kings 8:10-11 NIV

Up to this point, the priests were performing their usual duties.  They sacrificed so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.  They brought the ark of the covenant into it's place in the sanctuary. Then the priests withdrew.  They had done all they could do.  They set the stage and then the glory of the Lord appeared and they could do nothing more.

Wouldn't it be wonderful is that were to happen today.  If the glory of the Lord would fill the temple once again, with such power that nothing else could be done; that we would be awestruck, that it would no longer be business as usual.  I suppose it's possible, but we have to remember that now, we are the temple of God and the priests, a royal priesthood as Paul puts it, as well.  If we really want to see God's power and glory, we have to make the required preparation and sacrifice.  And then we stand back, because there is nothing more we can do.  Suddenly, it would become something not of our own doing but of God's glory.  Those around us would be astonished.  They would find it impossible to ignore.  But first the preparation and sacrifice.  I don't know of many who are willing to commit to that.

2010 Post - 1 Kings 8-9:  Hear Us From Heaven

1 Kings 4-7: Living in Safety

During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree. - 1 Kings 4:25 NIV

Following the death of David, the children of Israel enjoyed a time of prosperity unlike any they had known before or ever would experience again.  They weren't wandering around in a desert, they weren't fighting their enemies.  They were safe, they were at peace.

Throughout history, man has longed to be safe and at peace but has seldom found that to be the case.  It is part of the human condition, this constant bickering and fighting, constantly trying to amass wealth at the expense of someone else.  It's not how God created us to be, it's not the ideal, because safety cannot be found in others, only in the Lord.  Israel may have been safe as a result of all of David's conquests.  They may have been safe because Solomon in all of his wisdom forged strong bonds with his neighbors.  But the greatest guarantee of their safety was in God.  The fact that a good portion of the time was dedicated to building God's temple meant that people had their minds on the right things, not their own situation.  Looking to God, taking care of his business, insures a safety that all of our treaties, fortresses, and weapons cannot provide.

2010 Post - 1 Kings 4-7:  Peace and Prosperity

1 Kings 1-3: A Discerning Heart

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
     Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
     “Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
     The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice,I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life. Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream. - 1 Kings 3:4-15 NIV

We ask God for many things:  a word, a healing, a relief from our trials, a fountain of  wealth,  but seldom do we ask for his heart, for a discerning heart.  We want God to do all of the work.  We want him to magically make everything happen, but if we really wanted to please him, we would ask for wisdom.  Not the one time, guide me as I make this decision, wisdom, but wisdom that would follow us throughout our lives, the kind of wisdom that Solomon asked for, the kind of wisdom that would benefit others not just ourselves.  The kind of wisdom that would serve both God and his people. 

In honor of Solomon's request, God told him that he would receive everything he could have asked for but didn't as well. Jesus repeated the same promise to the disciples and the crowds that followed him.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. - Matt. 6:33 KJV

2010 Post - 1 Kings 1-3:  Administering Justice

2 Samuel 22-24: Saved by God's Mercy

It is never good for us to measure or count on our strengths.  David learned that when he sent Joab and the army commanders out to take a census of all of Israel's fighting men.  Sure enough, there were plenty of men for a good fight, but that was not trusting in the Lord God; the one whom David acknowledged had always been his deliverer..

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
   my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
   from violent men you save me.
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
   and I am saved from my enemies. - 2 Sam. 22:2-4 NIV

David eventually realized his mistake.  He was conscience stricken, but there was still a price to pay.  Faced with three choices, he chose the one that would cause the least amount of harm to the people.  “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.” - 2 Sam. 24:14 NIV

David knew that God would always be his deliverer, that God's mercy was great, that God was the only one he could really trust. 

Why would we ever count on our own strength when it is only the Lord's mercy that saves us.

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 22-24:  The Source of Greatness

2 Samuel 19-21: Never to be Extinguished

Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.” 2 Samuel 21:17 NIV

David's men were correct in saying that the lamp of Israel would not be extinguished, however, it was not because of their protection.  If human hearts and hands had any thing to do with it, Israel would have lost it's protection long ago.  But, God established a covenant with Abraham that would never be broken.  God made a promise to David that would never be broken.  And so, the covenant with Israel has continued until this day.  There may have been many who tried to drive them to extinction, but it has never and will never happen. 

And as far as the kingdom of David, Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. - Isaiah 9:7 KJV

When God says the kingdom of David will live on, it will.  It will not be protected by human hands.  The zeal of the Lord will accomplish this. 

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 19-21:  Nothing is Settled

2 Samuel 15-17: Death of the Son

It's hard to imagine the heart of God being broken, but David grieving over his son, Absalom, is a foreshadowing of what God must have felt seeing his own son crucified.

And unlike Absalom, an egotistical and self centered usurper of the throne who would resort to any devious means to strip David's kingdom from him, Christ was meek and lowly.  He did not seek attention for himself, his desire was to point men to God.  He did not try to take the throne from God, he was all about serving the King.

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
 even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:6-8 NIV

The result for both sons was death, but how much more intense must the grief have been for the son who was totally innocent.

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 16-18:  Betrayal and Humiliation 

2 Samuel 13-14: He Devises Ways

Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.  - 2 Sam. 14:14  NIV

It has never been God's intention that we die.  It was never his intention that we would be separated from him.  It is only our sin that resulted in both of these fates. 

I watched a show on PBS last night about a man seeking assisted suicide in a country where that is possible.  He was no longer the man he had once been.  Ravaged by disease, he could not walk or breathe on his own.  But more frightening than that, he was uncertain about whether there was life after death or even a God at all.  Sin, the door opened by Adam and Eve, the evil that was introduced with their naive rebellion, brought him to that point. 

As he left for the final journey towards an uncertain end, he kept telling his wife, 'I'm scared, I'm scared.'  At least he was honest.  But that is not what God desires.  He devised a way so that a banished person does not remain banished from him forever.  How hopeless it must be to not see that hand reaching out to us, wanting nothing more than that we throw down our self-sufficiency and run to him.  God has devised the way.

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 13-14: Banished From the Kings Presence

2 Samuel 11-12: Taking the Most Valuable Possession

Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”  - 2 Sam. 12:13-14 NIV

David was king.  He was the Lord's chosen one.  He thought he could do anything he wanted; take anything that he wanted for his own, as if earthly possessions were that important, important enough to commit the most grievous sin by taking another's prize.

The church, the children of God have been doing this ever since.  Through the centuries we have taken away the most precious possession, freedom from various groups.  We have exerted power over those lesser than us in a way that has caused God to grieve many times.  We must constantly be on the lookout for the false sense of superiority that determines we are better than someone else; that we are deserving without realizing what the cost is to others.  Parents need to make sure they are not taking the most precious thing from their children.  Business owners and managers need to make sure they are not taking the most valuable thing from their employees.  As husbands and wives, we cannot demand that they give us anything that is not ours.

And lest we think that it is only God that notices when we rob others, note what Nathan said to David.  'By doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt.'  Our actions are not hidden from the world.  They see how we treat each others and often it causes them to have a stench in their nostrils towards the church.  We may not die, but we will lose the thing most valuable to us as well.

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 11-12:  In The Spring

2 Samuel 8-10: A Child of the King

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”  - 2 Sam. 9:8 NIV

Many of us tend to see ourselves the same way Mephibosheth saw himself, as nothing but a dead dog.  But David saw him differently.  He saw Mephibosheth as a child of Saul, the king.  God sees us differently as well.  He doesn't look at us as orphan. He doesn't look at our lameness.  He doesn't look at our inability to walk without help.  Instead, he sees us as children of the king: rightful descendants because of nothing else other than our birth.

Our actions would be a lot different if we appropriated the birthright afforded by nature of being born the Sons of God.

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 8-10:  The Wise King Can Be Trusted

2 Samuel 4-7: The City of David

Ruins of the City of David, Israel, May, 2010

David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the supporting terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him. - 2 Sam. 5:9-10 NIV

The city of David is not much more than an archaeological dig now, but in David's time, under his kingship, it became a great city.  David had such success defeating his enemies that he had nothing else to do so he told the Lord that he would build a temple, a permanent home for him.  But that was not what God wanted.  God had something much greater in store for David. 

Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”  - 2 Sam. 7:16 NIV

It was not to be seen in David's lifetime, nor in the lives for generations to come, but God's promise came at the right time and in the promised place.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:11 KJV

The temple that God built would not be one that would crumble and decay through the generations.  The temple of God would be established in the hearts of men instead.  It would stand the test of time.

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 4-7: Who's in Charge

2 Samuel 1-3: The King Pleased the People

They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.
 The king sang this lament for Abner:
   “Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
 Your hands were not bound,
   your feet were not fettered.
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”
   And all the people wept over him again.
 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
 All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. - 2 Sam. 3: 33-36 NIV

All those who followed after Saul rather than David would have seen David differently if he had reacted as it is our usual inclination to do so.  If he had gloated over the deaths of Saul, Jonathan, and Abner they would have seen him as someone who was calloused and power grabbing, not worthy of being king.  Instead, they saw someone touched deeply by the death of even his enemies.  Someone they could follow. 

In this celebrity filled world, it is difficult to see how it is that when we are weak, and only when we are weak, we become strong.  That message is counter-cultural at the present time.  But as Frederick Buechner puts it:  To journey for the sake of saving our own lives is little by little to cease to live in any sense that really matters, even to ourselves, because it is only by journeying for the world's sake___even when the world bores and sickens and scares you half to death___that little by little we start to come alive.  The Sacred Journey, (Harper Collins, New York, 1982) p.107

David knew that.  David carried the grief of the death of Saul, and all who lost their lives so he could advance in power, with him for the rest of his life.  Just as he grieved for Saul and Abner, he would one day grieve for Uriah and his own sons:  the one that died as a result of his sin with Bathsheba as well as Absalom who tried to usurp the throne from his father.

Only those who realize that any rise to power comes at the expense of others are worthy of following. 

2010 Post - 2 Samuel 1-3:  How The Mighty Have Fallen

1 Samuel 29-31: An Unbearable Choice

Following God has many twists and turns.  For David, he ran from Saul until he took refuge with Achish.  Achish sheltered David for over a year and found him above board in all of his dealings.  The Philistines, however, did not trust him and would not let him go into battle with them against Saul.

God was sparing David from having any hand in the deaths of those he loved:  Jonathan, his brothers, and even Saul, whom David loved in spite of all that Saul had done to him. David could have persisted in wanting to fight for the Philistines, but instead he went back where there were other battles to be fought.  In going back, David was able to save his family and the families of his army who had been carried away by the Amalekites.  If David had gone with the Philistines, he would have lost his entire family in addition to Saul and Jonathan.

How often does God spare us?  There is so much pain that we will suffer in our lifetime.  It is inevitable.  But pain that would be impossible to bear?  Perhaps that is what God was sparing David from.  Would the grief have been unbearable if both his family and Saul's family perished?  God knew.  He is all wise and all knowing.  In less than the blink of an eye, God knows all the outcomes and all the repercussions of our choices.  From the day we are born, he sees our life unfolding.  He knows the choices we will be offered and the decisions we will make.  For every temptation  the enemy lays before us, he provides an alternative.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. - 1 Cor. 10:13 KJV

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 26-31:  The End of the Line

1 Samuel 26-28: Any Other Medium

During Samuel's time, Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land, but other than the few times when he prophesied, Saul was never one to hear the voice of God clearly.  When his heart was filled with terror at the Philistine threat, he did not hear from God so he decided any word was better than none.  He knew it should not appear that he was consulting other spirits so he disguised himself.  He asked the seer to bring up Samuel and a ghostly figure appeared.     “What does he look like?” he asked.
   “An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.
   Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
   Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
   “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
   Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has departed from you and become your enemy? - 1 Sam. 28:13-16 NIV

Saul was like so many of us.  We hear the voice of God once or twice in our lives, but then we go on our merry way.  Once God's hand is on our lives, things change, we prosper, we seem to be in control and we are no longer concerned about what God would speak into our lives.  It might be something we don't want to hear after all, and we're doing so well on our own.  Then when things don't go as we plan, we cry and plead for a word from the Lord but there is none.  We stopped listening long ago and now it is almost impossible for God's word to get through all the barriers we have erected in between.  We consult horoscopes and people who will prophesy over us, but it is all in vain.  Ghostly voices can never replace the voice of God.

1 Samuel 24-25: Keep to the High Road

David knew something that Saul would have been wise to learn.  You can't fight fire with fire.  When people try to kill you, you can't do the same to them.  When people take what is not theirs, you can't steal back from them to even the scales.  When people toss angry words your way, you can't toss them back. 

The realization hit David that he had the same propensity to take matters into his own hands when he discovered he was not as ready to forgive Nabal as he had been with Saul.  David loved Saul, Nabal not so much. When Abigail came bearing gifts and provisions to his men that Nabal had refused to give, David saw how close he had come to taking vengeance into his own hands. David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.”  1 Sam. 25:32-34 NIV

It was never God's intent for us to take matters into our own hands, no matter how great or small the issue.  When we do so, we're limiting God's power to control the forces that would overtake us. 

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. - Romans 12:19 KJV

We should always take the high road although that is seldom our inclination. 

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 24-25:  Vengeance is the Lord's

1 Samuel 20-23: Shelter in the Rock

The deserts of En Gedi and the surrounding area are extremely inhospitable.  There are very few trees and an unrelenting sun.  In these desert places, you can see for miles, but this is where David chose to hide when he was being pursued by Saul.  David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. - 1 Sam. 23:14 NIV

Often it is in the driest places that we find our refuge.  The enemy, the one who prowls about like a roaring lion, is always looking for us.  His intentions are not good.  But God's are and he will not give us into our enemies hands.  There is shelter in those rocky, barren places.  We are safer there than in the greenest pastures.

2010 Post:  - 1 Samuel 20-23:  One True Friend

1 Samuel 17-19: Without a Sword in His Hand

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. - 1 Sam. 17: 45-46 NIV

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. - 1 Sam. 17: 50

It didn't take much or David to slay the giant, Goliath.  Just a small stone and the knowledge that it was God who was in charge.  It had nothing to do with size or strength or the effectiveness of the enemies weapons because it was the Lord's battle and the Lord always wins.  It may not always seem that way, but make no mistake, God is always victorious.  Whenever battles were lost by God's people, it was because God willed it to be so. 

There is no questioning God's power and ultimate victory.  Instead we need to question what we are arming ourselves with.  Are we arming ourselves with what appear to be powerful weapons or the name of the Lord.  The Lord's name will always be victorious. Both David and the writer of Hebrews knew that the name of the Lord was the only weapon that could slay the giant.  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.- Hebrews 4:12 KJV

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 17-19:  Facing Giants

1 Samuel 15-16: God Looks at the Heart

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

What we see with our eyes and what God sees with his is entirely different.  We see in the physical realm while God sees the heart.  It was logical that Saul would have been made king; he was a big strapping boy when he was chosen and what a disappointment he turned out to be.  And yet, when Samuel went in search of the one God would have replace Saul, he was still impressed by height and appearance of David's oldest brother, Eliab. But in the first part of the above verse, the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.

It seems we are always slow to learn this lesson, that strength comes from within rather than without.  Not only was this young, shepherd boy, David, God's chosen king, but he was the only one who could provide relief to the once formidable Saul when his spirit was tormented.   It was David's heart that gave him the ability to serve both the king Saul and the Lord God.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 15-16:  Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice

1 Samuel 11-14: Sweeter than Honey

In ancient times, the sweetness and value of honey was well known. Jonathan was tired after routing the Philistines.  On his way back to the camp he dipped his staff into a honeycomb that was lying on the ground and when he tasted the honey, it brightened his eyes.
It was almost disastrous for Jonathan because his father, Saul, had bound the army under an oath not to eat anything.  But Jonathan, and later David and Solomon, knew the value of honey, that sweet taste that has the power to brighten men's eyes.  How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Ps. 119:103 KJV)   'How sweet are your words', David would say to the Lord, 'like honey on my lips, they brighten my eyes, they change my vision.'

There are a lot of things in this world that would seek to keep us from tasting the sweetness of God.  The world would tell us that something so sweet cannot be good for us.  But God is good, his word is nourishing, his word is life..

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. - Ps. 34:8  KJV

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 11-14:  Allegiance to the King

1 Samuel 8-10: Power Corrupts

Just as in Saul's time, most of the time those we choose to be our leaders aren't even capable of finding a bunch of lost donkeys.  But, we want kings, we want governments, we want someone else to assume responsibility, to take the burden of protection and taking care of the poor and lost away from us and shoulder it instead.  Anyone, that is, but God. 

And like Saul, who initially was so afraid of being king that he hid among the baggage, eventually the power of office overtakes those we elect and they become bigger in their own minds than what we wanted.  It has always been that way.  As the historian and moralist,  Lord Acton, wrote in 1887:

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

There is however, one absolute power that can never corrupt. One that has no shade of darkness in him at all.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. - Isaiah 9:7 NIV

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 8-9:  Where is the King        
1 Samuel 10:  Hidden Among the Stuff

1 Samuel 6-7: Thus Far the Lord Has Helped Us

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.” - 1 Sam. 7:12 NIV

What more can be said?  Thus far the Lord has helped us.  Thus far, God has been faithful.  Thus far, God has answered our prayers.  Perhaps not in the way we envisioned, but he has answered our prayers.  He has always been there when we call.  He has not failed us although we have failed him many times.  He has been faithful when we have not.  He has reached out to us when we have turned our backs and tried to make it on our own.  He waits on us to make the move.  He waits and he waits and he waits.  Like the Cole Porter song, most of us would say to God that we have been 'Always True to You in My Fashion', while God's faithfulness has no limits.  Whenever we call on him he will answer.  Perhaps we all need to raise our Ebenezer: set that stone, raise the flag, or plant a stake in the sand that says 'thus far the Lord has helped us' so that we will never forget that his faithfulness is not like ours.

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 6-7:  Stone of Help

1 Samuel 3-5: Let Him Do What is Good in His Eyes

The verse of the day that appeared as I write today's blog speaks life into the story of Samuel, Eli , Eli's sons, and Israel in general. “who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, (2 Timothy 1:9 NIV)  Or, as Eli told Samuel when Samuel related what God had told him during the night, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes." 1 Sam. 3:18 NIV

It's hard to see that it's the Lord's hand when the Israel loses thirty thousand men in battle against the Philistines and the Ark is taken from them.  It's difficult to see God's hand in our lives as well.  Those we love are taken away from us too soon, we are moved to places we don't want to go, we lose jobs and fortunes and yet, it is God's hand that is at work in our lives.  Eventually, we discover that it's better to let him work in our lives, to send us where he would have us go for his own purpose, rather than appropriate his power for a self-serving reason.  The Philistines found that out as they passed the Ark from place to place like a hot potato.  Their god Dagon was no match for the Ark of the one true God and the only gift God gave them for having the Ark in their midst was a rash of tumors.  If we think we can capture the essence of God and use it for our own means, we will be gravely disappointed.  Since the beginning of time, the stories of all the lives that have been written have been about his own purpose and grace.  The good and bad, it is all his.  He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.

2010 Post - 1 Samuel 3:  Here am I, Lord                          
1 Samuel 4-5:  Ichabod, the Glory Has Departed

1 Samuel 1-2: A God Who Knows

“Do not keep talking so proudly
   or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
   and by him deeds are weighed.
“The bows of the warriors are broken,
   but those who stumbled are armed with strength. - 1 Sam. 2:3-4 NIV

What is it that gives all of us the propensity to brag?  Even those of us who consider ourselves imitators of Christ have a tendency to do so, although it's often to brag about our humility.  When we do so, we are only trying to please man, not God.  God sees it all.  He is a God who knows and by him deeds are weighed.  Any and all pretense of strength is transparent to God as well.  He knows all of our limitations, and we should know by now that it is when we are weak, and only when we are weak, that we are strong.

We worry so about how others view our deeds, but in the end, it is only God that matters.  If you believe there is a God at all, then you must believe that in the end he is all that matters; that he is a God who knows and by him deeds are weighed.

2010 Post- 1 Samuel 1-2:  Barrenness

Ruth 1-4: Offspring of Significance

We always think of the faithfulness of Ruth to Naomi when we read this story, but what about the story of Boaz.  It can be inferred from reading between the lines, that he was a prosperous, but older man, with a good heart, whose mission in life had yet to be fulfilled.  He went about his business, planting and harvesting his crops, but he had no family to pass it on to.  Then into the picture comes this young woman that he has heard about.  “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”  Ruth 2:11-12: NIV 

Boaz's designs on Ruth were not dishonest and he does the right thing by becoming her kinsman-redeemer.  As a result he receives the blessing of the elders. “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” - Ruth 4:11-12 NIV

Their blessing was prophetic for through Boaz and Ruth came David, all the kings of Judah, and eventually the King of Kings.  All because one quiet man waited on God and did the right thing.  Being zealous for God when you're young is a good thing, but sometimes God's will for a persons life is revealed only as one gets older after having spent years living a very insignificant life.  Sometimes it is the offspring of one's old age that is of lasting consequence. 

2010 Post - Ruth 1-4::  A Jewish Mother-In-Law

Judges 17-21: Ephods and Idols

God is not someone who can be bandied back and forth, but that's just what the Israelites did.  They took their gold and silver and created ephods and idols that they called upon whenever they wished.  Of course their behavior was as holy as the gods they worshipped, culminating in all of the tribes uniting to go against Benjamin in retribution for the Levite whose concubine was raped and murdered as he tried to make his way from Bethlehem to Ephraim.  In the end over forty thousand Israelites and twenty-five thousand Benjamites lost their lives in the battle that ensued.  Brother fighting against brother.

As Dr. Phil would say, 'How's that working for you."  Little gods do not deliver us, they only put a murderous heart in our midst.  I recognize the same thing in me.  When I start worshipping man made possessions, the ephods and idols created from the gold and silver of our current day, I suddenly become more self-protective, my heart is more easily deceived into fighting my brothers and sisters over things that really don't matter.  I never feel that way when God is at the center of my life, when he is the only one I worship.

2010 Post - Judges 17-18:  In Those Days Israel Had No King
Judges 19-20:    Everyone Did as He Saw Fit         

Judges 15-16: Being Used by God

Here's Samson, the answer to his mother's prayers and the one that the angel said would begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.  What kind of man would one imagine him to be, this consecrated, dedicated Nazerite who never cut his hair, who had to abstain from wine and anything that came from the grapevine, who was to never touch a dead body?  Samson should have been very holy, but he was anything but.  He was a lusty, arrogant, proud man who loved to cavort with prostitutes and wild women.  Even at the end of his life, when he brought about the deaths of more Philistines with one action than in his previous twenty years, his motives were still not pure.  All he cared about was retribution for his lost eye sight.  But this confused, flawed piece of work was God's vessel.

God works in mysterious ways.  He always has, he always will.  All of our leaders have clay feet, some visible, some not.  Those who are truly used by God are just that...used by God.  It's not our piety that makes us useful, it's our willingness to be used in spite of our shortcomings and many times because of our shortcomings.  Perhaps, if we spent less time trying to be perfect, trying to be in control, and more time just being who we are there would be more opportunities for us to be used by God.

2010 Post - Judges 13-14:  I'll Be Back

Judges 13-14: God Begins the Deliverance

because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” - Judges 13:5 NIV

It's interesting that the angel of the Lord didn't tell Manoah's barren wife that the son God was going to give her would be the deliverer of Israel, but that he would 'begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines'.

Deliverance is often not instantaneous.  In my own life, it is usually only after years that I can look back and see that God was always in the process of delivering me from whatever oppressing circumstance I find myself in.  That's the way God manifests his power, not that he can't do the miraculous instantaneously, but most often it's a steady, slow, progression towards deliverance that we experience. 

We work on the area that needs deliverance, we achieve some success, and suddenly we find ourselves almost back at where we started, but not quite.  We work some more, we fall back, we work, we fall.  Then one day, we realize that we are free.  Just as the Philistines power over Israel eventually faded into non-existence, the forces that hold sway over us fade away as God continues his work in our lives. 

It was not the Israelites doing or our own actions that bring about change.  It is always God's ultimate plan being carried out.  As Paul wrote to the church at Philippi:  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: - Philippians 1:6 KJV

God begins our deliverance and he will be there until it is finished.

2010 Post - Judges 13-14:  Born to be Wild

Judges 10-12: Cry to the Gods You Have Chosen

These chapters cause me to think long and hard about what I choose to worship and the consequences.  I say I worship God, just as the Israelites proclaimed that they were God's people, but then my actions often deny what I profess.  I spend too much time taking care of my possessions; financial and physical.  I spend too much time sitting at the throne of technology, enjoying the sensory illusion of happiness that it provides. I entertain myself with the unreal reality of sports, television and movies.  I keep my eyes and ears focused on the weather forecasters and news pundits, thinking they can give me a glimpse of the future.  These are all futile pursuits as God told Israel when they complained because they were being overrun by the Ammonites.

But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” - Judges 10:13-14 NIV

Oh, I don't want to be in that position.  I don't want our country to be in that position, where our fortunes are dependent on the gods that we have chosen.  If the gods of technology and prognostication are what we're serving, we're doomed.  Yet, I can't expect anything around me to change unless there is a sea change in me.  I feel as if I'm doomed.

The Israelites based their change of hearts on what ever leader God provided for them at the time.  Thanks be to God, who once and for all time provided one to show us the way and gave us his Spirit to help us carry out what we are unable to do on our own.

2010 Post - Judges 10-12:  The Prostitutes Son

Judges 8-9: Worshipping an Ephod

Gideon was wise and followed after God.  As a result, he was successful in saving Israel from the Midianites.  He made at least one fatal mistake.  He took the gold that had been given to him as his share of the plunder and made an ephod.   Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. - Judges 8:27 NIV

What was this ephod?  Originally the ephod was part of the garment worn by the high priest.  Obviously, this is talking about something different, but what?  Or does it really matter.  Whatever it was, it became a snare to Gideon and his family because they worshipped it.  That may not have been Gideon's original intent, he may have thought he was creating something holy, but any object, even one that is intentioned as holy, can become a snare when it becomes the object of our worship.  We have always had the inclination to worship the creation rather than the creator.  What are we worshipping today?  Something we have built of our own to honor God or God himself.  It really does matter. 

2010 Post - Judges 8-9:  Fire in the Thornbush