Author: Calleen Hough

I love you LORD

The hardest thing to do when you are in the middle of a trial is to believe everything will work out, that eventually the trial will be over and life will return to normal. In one sense, life does not return to normal because trials usually bring about change, either in the individual that is going through it or in the life of that person.

The trials that David experienced before he became king were transformational. As Christians, we know that there is an intentional effort on God’s part to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ. I believe the same is true of David. That is why David is such a good role model, someone that most Christians can relate to.

Some of the key problems that David had are the same problems that everyone has. In the psalms that David wrote, he shared his best and worst moments and did what no one else dared to; he admitted his failures and gave God the glory for all his victories.

The one thing that resonates throughout all of David’s psalms is his love relationship with the LORD. It is clear that David knew the LORD intimately and loved him more than anyone else.

What did I do to deserve this?

A woman that is truly a victim knows she has not done anything to deserve the mistreatment she gets from an offender. Many times a guilty conscience can cause doubt as to whether something was deserved or not. The second time I was raped, I did not feel I was a victim, but was getting the punishment I deserved for a previous wrong action. It almost felt good to be punished because it took away the guilt, but it made it difficult for me to feel anger toward the man that raped me and at that time, I was not sure if I wanted or should escape from what was happening to me.

Somewhere in between I know I don’t deserve this and this is all my fault is the question that never seems to get answered, what did I do to deserve this? David had a fail proof system for clarifying whether or not he deserved the treatment he was getting from king Saul and his army. David said in Psalm 7:8-9, “The LORD shall judge the people: Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.”

Basically, what David was saying was LORD, you be the judge. David knew it was pointless to judge himself, so he would turn every situation over to the LORD to work out according to his knowledge of David’s character and motives. The advantage to letting the LORD be the judge is that David did not ever live with guilt. He trusted that God was fair and just in dealing with his children and would not allow the wicked to triumph over the righteous. With regard to the wicked, David believed “His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own pate” (Psalm 7:16).

The moment of truth

Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah…And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering a town that hath gates and bars. (1 Samuel 23:2, 7)

The moment of truth in every Christians’ life comes when we put our trust in the LORD and he delivers us into the hand of our enemy. For most people, this kind of crisis is more than they can handle, but the seasoned Christian that is used to handling adversity will walk away with a renewed resolve to press on and finish the race they have been called to run.

Paul expresses it perfectly when he writes from prison “But I would have ye understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel” (Phil 1:12). Paul goes on in his letter to the Philippians to explain why we must press on when things turn out as we expect them to. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14).

The word translated mark, skopos means to watch as in a sentry or scout (4649). After David saved the inhabitants of Keilah,, he kept seeking the LORD for guidance because he “knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him” (1 Samuel 23:9). It was revealed to David that Saul was on his way to Keilah and the People of Keilah would deliver him into the hand of Saul, so David and his men fled from the city and once again escaped Saul’s army.

Whose side are you on?

Spiritual warfare is a constant activity that is rarely detected by the average Christian. It’s signs are subtle. In order to detect its existence, one must pay attention to things like fear, anger, and irrational behavior. One way to know for sure you are under attack is that you want to run, to get away from whatever circumstances are causing the attack.

“And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath” (1 Samuel 21:10). The problem with running when you come under spiritual attack is that you can’t see the real enemy, Satan, and will likely end up in a worst circumstance than the one you started with.

And the servants of Achish said unto him, is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. (1 Samuel 21:11-12).

In order to escape Achish, David changed his behavior “and feigned himself mad in their hands” (1 Samuel 21:13). David’s reputation as a valiant warrior was something he should have been proud of and yet when he found himself in a situation where he was alone and at the mercy of his enemy, he decided to trash his reputation and make himself out to be a crazy person. In one sense, it may seem as if David was being shrewd and that his ability to disguise himself as a madman was a great way to avoid being killed, but when you look at it from a spiritual perspective, David was running away from his responsibility and trying to avoid his calling to be king of Israel.

As a result of David’s action, the enemy, Satan gained ground and launched an all out attack on God’s consecrated servants by inciting king Saul to seek revenge on Ahimelech because he helped David escape. “And the king said to Doeg, Turn then, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear the linen ephod” (1 Samuel 22:18).

David learned the hard way that the consequences of his wrong actions did not always end up harming him, but doing damage to God’s kingdom. When he hears what has happened to the priests, he takes responsibility and acknowledges that he is being guarded by the LORD’s army.

And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard. (1 Samuel 22:22-23)

God is on my side

The feeling that someone is trying to ruin your life can be unsettling because it is a personal attack. David not only knew that Saul wanted to kill him, he knew why Saul wanted to kill him. Saul was upset because people were crediting David with slaying ten thousands of Philistines while only crediting Saul with slaying thousands. (1 Samuel 18:7). In a moment of jealous rage, Saul proclaimed, “what can he have more but the kingdom” (1Samuel 18:8).

The psalms David wrote during the time period between when he was anointed to be king and when he fled from Saul indicate David believed God would protect him from Saul. The question that comes to mind then is why did David run? Saul had set his mind on getting rid of David and was determined to hold on to his kingdom. By leaving, David made it clear that he did not intend to take the kingdom away from Saul. David was willing to let God handle it and was confident that God was able to bring about the conclusion he desired.

David’s description of the LORD reveals the intimacy he experienced in his personal relationship with Jehovah, the self-existent, eternal, creator of the universe.

The LORD is in his holy temple, The LORD’s throne is in heaven, His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men. (Psalm 11:4)

David believed the LORD could see everything that was going on and would justify his righteous servant.

Because of his faith in God, David was willing to wait to see what the outcome of his situation would be. David said, “Because of his strength will I wait upon him” (Psalm 59:9). The word translated wait, shâmar (shaw – mar´) means to hedge about or guard (8104). Shamar is also translated watchman, someone that is responsible for calling out when an attack is imminent. David was familiar with the role of the watchman and may have been referring to his anticipation of the LORD coming to his rescue. Waiting sometimes involves being on the look out for something that will change the situation. In David’s case, there was likely to be an attack from Saul and so David relied on God’s heavenly host to be a hedge of protection around him. David was waiting or watching for Saul so that he could call out for help and be rescued by God’s army.

The end

This blog is dedicated to my niece Stephanie who died of a drug overdose this past weekend. She was the victim of child sexual abuse and never recovered from her trauma.

It is hard to explain why Christians don’t always end up with a wonderful life, but there are at least two factors that can cause someone that has submitted his life to God to follow a pathway of self destruction. Everyone has a sin nature that is not changed when a person is transformed by the Holy Spirit and God will not force a person to obey him even if that person has been anointed for a particular job in God’s kingdom.

Saul’s life was derailed when he chose of his own free will to disobey God’s command. His position as king of Israel made him accountable for the destiny of the nation and therefore, God could not just let Saul go his own way. After he let Agag the king of the Amalekites live, God decided to replace Saul with a man whose heart was right toward him, a man who would seek to do God’s will instead of his own. David was a young shepherd when God called him to be king. His defeat of Goliath showed that he was willing to do anything to honor God before the enemies of Israel.

As a result of David’s success, Saul determined that he was a threat that needed to be eliminated. David was certain that Saul wanted to kill him, so he went to Jonathon, Saul’s son for help. David’s plea to Jonathon reveals the love between these two men and the anguish David felt that they could not be friends.

And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathon know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. (1 Samuel 20:3)

Jonathon’s love for David caused him to have to choose between his loyalty to his father and loyalty to David, the man he loved as his own soul (1 Samuel 18:1). After speaking to his father, “Jonathon knew that it was determined of his father to slay David” (1Samuel 20:33).

The word translated determined, kâlâh (kaw – law´) means to end (3615). In Saul’s case, kalah meant that he had made a firm decision. There was no way to change his mind. One of the ways the word kalah is used is to represent “coming to an end” or “the process of ending” (3615). When Saul decide to kill David, you could say it was the end or the process of ending his walk with the LORD. Saul had the potential to rule over Israel for ever, but his stubborn determination to go his own way ruined not only his future, but the future of his son Jonathon as well.

Made in God’s image

David was the sort of man that when he walked into a room, all eyes turned to him. For the most part, everyone loved David. He was admired and respected. Even Jonathon, king Saul’s son had an especially close attachment to David. When he found out his father planned to kill David, Jonathon interceded on David’s behalf and warned David about his father’s intentions.

It says in 1 Samuel 18:12 that “Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him.” The word translated afraid, yârê’ (yaw – ray´) means to stand in awe. Yare’ is not simple fear, but reverence, whereby an individual recognizes the power and position of the individual revered and renders him proper respect” (3372). Yare’ is most often used to describe the fear a person has of God and represents having an appropriate attitude toward his authority.

One of the things about creation that is sometimes forgotten is that man was created in the image of God. After sin entered the world, the image of man became tarnished and his separation from God led to a diminishing of the spiritual aspect of his personality. I think David is an example of what happens to a man when his relationship with the LORD is restored and his spiritual growth takes precedence in his life.

Like Jesus, not everyone appreciated David’s spiritual superiority. Saul was jealous of David and could not help wanting to get him out of the way so that the people would continue to worship him instead of God. The difference between Saul and David was that Saul wanted fame and thrived on the special attention he got from being king. His desire to kill David was similar to that of the Pharisees who wanted to kill Jesus because he gave glory to God and acknowledged that what people saw in him was the goodness of God.

God is faithful

The story of David and Goliath is one of the most well known of the Bible probably because it is taught in every Sunday school classroom and used as the primary example of courage in the Old Testament. David’s battle with Goliath was really not so much about courage as it was about faith. David believed that God would protect him if he went up against a giant because he had already been delivered from a lion’s mouth and had rescued a lamb from a bear that was about to eat it.

David’s explanation for defeating Goliath was that he had defied the armies of the living God. “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with you” (1Samuel 17:37). The reason David was able to defeat Goliath was that the LORD was with him, but what is more important is that the LORD was with him because David was carrying out God’s will which was for the Israelites to drive out their enemies from the Promised Land.

The Philistines were hard core warriors and Goliath was not the only giant among them. When the Promised Land was spied out while the Israelites were still living in the desert, the giants in the land had caused the spies to give a bad report and basically caused the Israelites to have to spend 40 years wandering in the desert because of their lack of faith in God. Fear was the main thing that kept the Israelites from taking on the Philistines and Saul was just as reluctant as the rest of the people to face Goliath in a one on one encounter.

David’s defeat of Goliath not only made him famous, it made him courageous. After defeating Goliath with a sling and a stone, all the Philistines fled from David. The table had been turned and David was the one instilling fear in his enemies. The word defy or châraph (khaw – raf´) in Hebrew means to pull off and by implication to expose or defame (2778). When Goliath defied the armies of the living God, he exposed their fear, but he also exposed their lack of faith. David was the only Israelite who truly believed God was greater than any man that would stand against him. He not only was willing to put his life on the line, but David testified to God’s faithfulness before he took on Goliath so “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45).

The story begins

When my children were young, I tried to teach them everything they needed to know to be able to take care of themselves, like how to cook, clean, and do laundry. Although there were many things they were able to do for themselves, there were some things I had to do for them because they couldn’t handle the responsibility. For instance, I had to pay the bills because they had no concept of earning a living, having a budget, or being responsible for debt.

God tried to teach the Israelites how to be holy, but they did not understand the concept of forgiveness. Forgiveness was the only way the Israelites could be holy because they, like all humans, had a sin nature and could not live a perfect life. When forgiveness occurs, it is like wiping the slate clean, there is no more evidence of the offense. But in order to do that, there has to be a departure or taking away of the sin. Sins do not magically disappear just because they have been forgiven. The sin is removed and placed on the sacrifice where it is atoned for.

The spirit of the LORD departed from Saul because of his disobedience, but the underlying problem was that his sins were not forgiven. Saul was not aware that he was carrying his sins around with him, that the accumulated weight on his spirit was making it impossible for the spirit of the LORD to function in his life. It wasn’t until the spirit of the LORD departed that Saul knew he was in trouble.

Saul sought out a man to soothe his spirit when he was troubled and the man he selected was the man God anointed to replace him. David is described as a man “that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him” (1 Samuel 16:18). David was the great grandson of Ruth and Boaz. At the time he was called to serve Saul, he was a shepherd responsible for tending his father’s sheep. The only thing he had in common with Saul was that he was also anointed to be king.

No one’s perfect

The law is a harsh taskmaster because it requires perfection. The purpose of the law given to Moses was to enable the Israelites to attain God’s standard which is perfection. God said to Abraham, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Gen 17:1). It is a mistake to assume that your standing with God will improve by keeping some aspects of the law while ignoring others or by being a religious person that attempts to keep all the law. Unless you keep all the law perfectly your entire life, it does you no good to attempt it.

Saul assumed that he would gain favor with God my making all of his men fast while they were fighting the Philistines. It says in 1 Samuel 14:24 that he adjured the people which means he bound them with an oath or made a covenant with them making it a law that no one could eat any food until evening under penalty of death. By doing this, Saul was using his authority as king in an inappropriate way. It was as if Saul was adding a commandment to God’s law and was expecting God’s standard of perfection to apply to it. In other words, if they kept the commandment then they would be blessed and if not, they would be cursed.

Unfortunately, Saul’s son Jonathon was not aware of the command to not eat food and he ate some honey while he was away from the rest of the army. When it was discovered that Jonathon had eaten something, the people convinced Saul not to kill him. It would have been better for Saul to have never made the oath than to make it and not keep it. It says in Leviticus 5 that when an oath is made, a man is guilty if he breaks it even if he is unaware of the oath.

Whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty. Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hidden from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. (Leviticus 5:3-4)

The next time Saul received an instruction from the LORD, he and the people conspired to disobey the LORD and took it upon themselves to decide who should live or die among their enemies, the Amalekites.

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. (1 Samuel 15:9)

Only God has the “complete, sovereign freedom to liberate human beings” (6299). Saul’s decision indicates that he was usurping God’s authority and allowing the people to dictate his behavior rather than God. The LORD spoke to Samuel saying, “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments” (1 Samuel 15:11).

One of the key characteristics of human beings is free will. God does not force us to obey him and he will not take our freedom away even if it causes us to interfere with his plan for our lives. Saul was transformed into another man, but he still had a sin nature and was able to exercise his free will.

When it says that the LORD repenteth that he made Saul king, it means that he turned to a new course of action (5162). God’s plans cannot be thwarted, he is able to correct the course of events and does so whenever we choose to go our own way. The thing that we need to be aware of is that we will be left behind if we become useless to God’s efforts.