Winning the Battle

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

WINNING THE BATTLE

1 Sam 30:9-20

9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind, 10 for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit. 11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights. 13 David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" He said, "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and the territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag." 15 David asked him, "Can you lead me down to this raiding party?" He answered, "Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them." 16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, "This is David's plunder."

NIV

The LORD told David to pursue the Amalekites, and he would have success, and that is exactly what happened. Of course, we are not surprised by this because whenever the LORD speaks about something we are to do, and we do it, we have success. David indeed had to fight the Amalekites from dust to the evening of the next day, which would have been a full day of battle, but he was successful and retrieved all the women and children, including his two wives. We might have to do battle for some time until we overcome whatever we are fighting against. But, we will have success as long as we first ask the Lord what we are supposed to do, just as we learned from David, as he asked the LORD if he should pursue the Amalekites. If we attempt to win in the flesh or gain some ground in the world, we could become successful in the standards of the world. But if we are to do battle against the forces of evil, we had better seek the counsel of the LORD. We know it is the will of God that we battle the war that wages within us. Although He has declared us holy and blameless in His sight, we are not flawless. Although He removed our sin as far as the East is from the West, we are not without sin. Yet, he does want us to overcome those areas in our lives where we miss the mark. True, we may not commit those heinous crimes against mankind, but we still may battle jealousy, envy, pride, gossip, lust of the eyes, or self-degradation, or think too highly of ourselves than we should. Sometimes we just fail in our relationships with others, saying what we shouldn’t or responding in the wrong way. But we know the Lord would want us to pursue holiness and righteousness, which is only found in Jesus. Therefore, we always need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and if we do, we will succeed in our quest to overcome the enemy within and the enemy of the world we battle. Ultimately, we will win the battle and have complete success as we step into the presence of our Lord. 

Strength and Insight

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

STRENGTH AND INSIGHT

1 Sam 30:1-8

30:1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2 and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. 3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David's two wives had been captured — Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."

NIV

This was a sad time for all six hundred men who followed David, for their home city was burned and plundered by the Amalekites. Their wives and children had been taken, and that could have been the hand of God, for in many raids, every living thing was killed. David and all his men wept bitterly and loudly for the loss of their loved ones until they had no strength left to weep. We cannot imagine that the men were so angry with David that they were talking about stoning him. But David found the strength in the LORD his God. This is one of our lessons, but there is another lesson as well. The second lesson is when David inquired of the LORD. Within this first lesson, we find that we can always find strength in the LORD. When Moses sang his song, he said, “The LORD is my Strength.” In one of David’s Psalms, he sang, “The LORD is my strength and my shield”. Habakuk said, “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go in the heights.” And then we have those famous words of Paul, “ I can do all things through Him, who gives me strength”. We think we are getting the point that although we have no strength, even for the smallest things in life, we can turn to Jesus, and He will give us the strength to run like deer, to soar like eagles’ wings, to reach heights we never imagined we could. The second lesson is all about inquiring of the Lord. David needed to know what he was to do, and rather than making his own decision, he wanted to know what the Lord thought about the situation and whether he should pursue the Amalekites. Of course, the LORD answered him. We know that if we inquire of the Lord as to what we should do, he will answer. The question is always before us: do we make our own choices in life based on our desires, or our thinking that it is the best choice for our lives, or do we inquire of the Lord about any and all choices or decisions that we are faced with? “Oh, Lord, what am I to do?” “Lord, should I do this?” These types of inquiries should be our way of life, but is it? Let us find the strength in the LORD, and the direction for our everyday situations, and choices, for the Lord will give us strength and insight.

 

Faults

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

FAULTS

1 Samuel 29:1-11

29:1 The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him." 4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with him and said, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master's favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances: "'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" 6 So Achish called David and said to him, "As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don't approve of you. 7 Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers." 8 "But what have I done?" asked David. "What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can't I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" 9 Achish answered, "I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, 'He must not go up with us into battle.' 10 Now get up early, along with your master's servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light." 11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

NIV

The key to this entire chapter lies in the exchange between David and Achish. It is interesting to know the locations of Aphek and Jezreel, and they are not very close in proximity, with Jezreel being located near the Jordon and Aphek in a northern direction, and closer to the Mediterranean Sea. Marching towards battle would take hours, so this would be why there was plenty of time for the discussion between the Philistine rulers and Achish and then between Achish and David. But the key is that Achish found no fault in David; in fact, he tells David that he was as pleasing as an angel in his eyes. It appears David has changed his mind about Saul and now would take the opportunity to fight against him, but we can also see the hand of God at work in David through the Philistine rulers. The LORD does not want David involved in the destruction or death of Saul, for the LORD has planned how Saul would die, and by sending  David back, he would not fight against the people he would soon rule over as their king. This also shows us the loyalty of David, in some sense; however, we wonder if this was not David’s plan to cozy up to the Philistines so they would take Saul’s life, and he could ascend to the throne. Yet, David had many opportunities to kill Saul, and he did not. But we think our lesson is about the fact that Achish did not find any fault in David. First, we believe it would be best if we took on the attitude of Achish. Surely, David is not a perfect man, but Achish, even if he was looking, did not find any fault in David. This would give us the clue that we should not even be looking for one fault in another. If we love them, then according to God’s definition that he gave Paul to write in the letter to the Corinthians, we will not even look for one fault in another. If we are living with love in our hearts, perhaps we should see others as pleasing in our eyes as an angel of God.  Secondly, David asked, what had he done, what had Achish found that was against him? This could also be a clue as to how we should live. We should be aware so as to not offend someone, or live with a heart of love so that others would not find any fault in us. The problem is that we are flawed humans, and we make mistakes, as unfortunate as that is. Sometimes we operate from our emotions rather than from our faith or our obedience to the Lord. We would think the Spirit would speak up and influence our actions, reactions, words, and responses. But do we get in the way, that “self “ popping up, wanting its own way? It is a war that wages within, we do want, we do not want to do, and we don’t do want what we want to do. Oh Lord, help us be who you meant us to be, for we know you find no fault in us, because you removed it as far as the East is from the West. Let us see any faults in us and none in others. 

The Urging

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

THE URGING

1 Samuel  28:15-25

15 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 turned away 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." 16 Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors — to David. 18 Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19 The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines." 20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel's words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night. 21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way." 23 He refused and said, "I will not eat." But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch. 24 The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast. 25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.

NIV

Once again, we are faced with Saul asking Samuel what he should do. Why didn’t Saul ask Samuel while he was alive for counsel? Saul had the kingdom ripped from his hands and given to David for the expressed reason that Saul did not do everything the LORD commanded him, and the LORD knew that David would do everything he was told to do. That is why the LORD testified that David was a man after His own heart. Here we see that Saul lies prostrate face down to the ground as if he is worshipping Samuel, but filled with fear because of a dead man’s words. Saul was facing the fact that he would die the very next day. Not too many people get the opportunity to know the day of their death, and we can see how that news Samuel told him impacted him, for he refused to eat. But Saul knew this devastating news that this was his last day, and in the morrow, he would join Samuel among the dead. But he did eat at the urging of both the medium and his men. What do we learn from this portion of the narrative? Perhaps it is about listening to others when they urge us to do something or go somewhere. Perhaps it is about being the one to urge another to become closer to the Lord, or urge them to grow, or encourage their faith. Perhaps that is what it is always about, encouraging, urging each other to grow, to build each other up, and encourage each other in our walk with the Lord. Saul listened to them, and that, too, might be our lesson, to listen more to the encouragement or urging of others. But more importantly, to listen to the urging of the Spirit within. This is one of the reasons Jesus sent us the Spirit, so that He would urge us to do that which we are meant to do. The Spirit is also within us as a guarantee of what is to come, that is, our resurrection and ascension into heaven. However, as we are still living in this body, we need to listen to the urging of the Spirit and do that which we are encouraged to do, following the light onto our path. It is far better to listen than to speak. Let us always listen to the Spirit who urges us to be who we were meant to be. 

Raise Up Who

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

RAISE UP WHO

1 Sam 28:7-19

"There is one in Endor," they said. 8 So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. "Consult a spirit for me," he said, "and bring up for me the one I name." 9 But the woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?" 10 Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this." 11 Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" "Bring up Samuel," he said. 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" 13 The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?" The woman said, "I see a spirit coming up out of the ground." 14 "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. 15 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 turned away 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." 16 Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors — to David. 18 Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19 The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines."

NIV

It is strange, or maybe not that strange, that Saul had turned to black magic because the LORD would not answer him. It had to be the work of evil to be able to call up someone from the grave. Of course, the power of Almighty God raised people from the dead through both the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus raised Lazarus. The greatest resurrection, however, was when God raised Jesus from the dead. But this bringing up of Samuel from the grave is not the work of the LORD, but of the black arts of evil. Just the fact that Saul attempted to disguise himself to deceive this woman, but that did not work, and yet, she worked through the power of evil to bring Samuel up from the dead. We don’t understand why the LORD did not stop this but allowed Samuel to come up to talk to Saul. Perhaps no force of evil can raise up someone from the dead, but this was the act of God so that Samuel would tell Saul once and forever, the LORD had torn the kingdom from him and given it to David. But the hardest truth Saul had to face was that he was going to lose, and he would be handed over to the Philistines, and that he would join Samuel among the dead. It is a fact that we will explore in a few chapters, but the point is that there is no other than Almighty God that we should turn to. Of course, we cannot bring anyone up from the dead, but there is someone dead and was reborn, and that person is us. We have put to death the old self and become born again; the old creation is gone, and we have become a new creation through the power of God.  Yet do we raise up that old, dead self and ask it what we should do? We do not need a medium to bring that dead self up, for we can do that ourselves, but should we? Do we find comfort in that old self? How can we, as it was not a good self, holding on to hurt feelings, it was selfish and sought not after serving God, but served self. We need to let the dead bury the dead, and leave that dead self in the grave and move forward under the power of the Almighty, knowing His work within us and the guarantor, the Holy Spirit, of what is to come. We know that one day we will be raised up imperishable, incorruptible, and immortal to live forever in the presence of our Lord. A day is coming when we will meet our Lord in the air and be with him forever. But it is only this new creation that we are, which will be with the Lord, so let that self that died, remain in the grave, and let us consult only the Lord for what we are to do.

 

Seek Who

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

SEEK WHO

1 Sam 28:1-7

28:1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, "You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army." 2 David said, "Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do." Achish replied, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life." 3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her."

NIV

Although the main story is about the transfer of power from Saul to David by the hand of God, there are moments in time when truths speak to our hearts. It would seem strange that David would make a covenant with the Philistine Achish and fight against the forces of Saul and the forces of his own people of Israel. However, our truth is about the unfaithfulness of Saul. First, he expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land. Then, because of the vastness of the Philistine army, Saul became afraid, even filled with terror. Did he not still show himself to be a king, and did he not have an army of fighting men? Nevertheless, now he turned to the LORD, but the LORD did not give him an answer. The LORD had already torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David. Saul had also turned his back on the LORD by hating David so much that he tried to kill him. Now we are told Saul turned his back on the LORD once more and wants to find a medium. We know the story, and we will get the conversation between Saul, the medium, and the one she brings up, Samuel, but for now, we need to understand our only source is the Lord. We can never look to any other source for the direction of our lives. We cannot be influenced by what is happening in the world we live in. We cannot base our thoughts, our opinions, our lives, on the news of the day, or how others think, or their opinions of the news of the day, even if they profess faith in Jesus. We always need to go directly to the source of all truth, God’s word. We also have a direct line, full access to the Father through Jesus to seek his truth, his divine direction for our lives, and our thoughts and options, even the news of the day. Saul could not find the answer from the LORD, either through a dream, vision, or from the Urim, which is the ocular brilliance of the figures in the high priest’s breastplate, or through prophets. That is strange enough to try to find truth in an object, a breastplate, but then to want to go to a medium shows us how lost Saul’s soul really was. Our only source of truth is the Lord, and the only direction for our thinking and opinions for life is the Lord. This would require us to build each other up, to encourage one another, not tear down or argue over the issues of the day. Our faithfulness to the truth of God should influence our thoughts and opinions about all things, how we live, what we do, and how we interact with others, both in the house of faith and the outside world. Let us always go to the Lord seeking his truth, his word, and he will answer us, he will direct our ways, our thoughts, and options regarding our day. Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to us as well. 

Action Without Counsel

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

ACTION WITHOUT COUNSEL

1 Samuel 27

27:1 But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand." 2 So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. 5 Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?" 6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months. 8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9 Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, 'This is what David did.'" And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever."

NIV

Why did David flee to the enemy of Israel? We are told the reason was that he thought Saul would not pursue him in the territory of the enemy of Israel. But David’s conduct is not proper. Seeking the protection of Achish, a Philistine king, but then he raids the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites and lies about it, telling Achish that he raided places in Israel. We cannot condone the actions of David, for he killed every last man and woman, leaving none alive, for the expressed reason that they could not be a witness against him. How can this be part of the word of God? Why would the Lord want us to know this unacceptable behavior of David, a man God testified was a man after his own heart? David was not acting like he was a man after God’s heart, but rather acting from his own heart, which at this moment was not righteous. We do not see God vindicating David or giving any approval, yet for some reason, this inspired writer put this in the record. What can we learn from this? We believe the first course of any action should be to consult the Lord. We are not told that David asked the LORD what he was to do, but acted purely on his own heart’s desire. We can take the lesson from this narrative that we must first seek the counsel of the Lord, and we must always speak the truth. David did neither, yet we should endeavor to do both. We know that we live under a little different circumstances than David did, as our lives are governed by the laws of our land, and raiding and taking plunder is just not our way of life. However, we still should not make decisions about anything important without consulting our Lord. This should include those major areas of our life, like where we live, work, and worship. We should also be asking the Lord about the smaller things of life; in fact, we would be wise to simply look for the light that illuminates our path. How can we make any decision based on human understanding when we are so flawed? We understand many, if not most, of those who live in the world base all their decisions and choices on human understanding, but we believers must be different. We should base all our decisions and choices on the wisdom of God, and the only way we can do that is to seek his advice on every matter. We cannot afford to take action without counsel.