Not too long ago I was thinking about the many things Jesus did and the many things He could have done with the power that was His as the Son of God. But the one thing He couldn’t do was raise Himself back to life. A dead man has no power to come back to life. If the dead are to live again it will have to be by the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit of God. It was the Spirit, you see, that brought Jesus back to life, Romans 8:11. Christ was dependent on the Spirit to make Him live again. How we need the Spirit in our life to give us life and keep us in the path of life. Don’t fight, reject, quench, or resist the Holy Spirit. Your life is in His hands and you need Him to live. To reject Him and live for Self is spiritual suicide and death, Romans 8:13.
JUDGE NOT PART 2
July 16, 2012 at 3:16 PM (Ethics, Judge Not)
Tags: Judge not, judging people, judgmentalism
INTRODUCTION
Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged. This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.
I am not an advocate for judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.
Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.
What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.
What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.
In my first blog post we saw that the same Jesus who forbade us from judging people in Matthew 7:1 also allowed and commanded us to judge people in John 7:24, howbeit judge righteously. So the prohibition against judging people isn’t absolute. There are times when it’s alright for us to judge. When can we do so and not get in trouble with the Lord?
TIMES WHEN WE CAN JUDGE
(1) WE CAN JUDGE SINNING MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH. There was a professing Christian in the church at Corinth who was engaged in fornication and incest. The Corinthian believers, like many today, turned a blind eye to it, said nothing, and did nothing, about it. Paul wouldn’t stand for it. He asked them in I Corinthians 5:12, For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
Paul tells us that we are to judge those who are within. He’s talking about the church. We are to judge those who are a part of our church. Not our visitors, but our members. And the judgment that he has reference to has to do mostly with the judgment that precedes, or ends up in, church discipline. If one of us is messing up the church has a God-given right to judge us and, if need be, discipline or excommunicate us from the church. See verses 3 and 13 also.
(2) WE CAN JUDGE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE GRIEVANCES IN THE CHURCH. Like many of our churches today, the church at Corinth had a lot of problems. There was a lot of bickering and fighting going on in the church. They were taking one another to court to try and settle their disputes, grievances, and complaints.
Here again, Paul wouldn’t stand for it. He asked them in I Corinthians 6:1-7a, Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? (2) Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (3) Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (4) If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. (5) I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? (6) But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. (7a) Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another.
The judgment that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 7:1 has more to do with private or personal matters. Paul speaks of judgment in cases of moral sins in 1 Corinthians 5. And here is 1 Corinthians 6 Paul speaks of judgment as it relates to civil, legal matters. These are matters that can be, and are usually, taken to a court of law.
According to Paul, CHRISTIAN SHOULDN’T BE TAKING CHRISTIANS TO COURT. If you’ve got a problem with another church member and the problem is serious enough that you could go to court over it; then, instead of going to court to get it settled, you need to bring the problem to the church and have the church settle it—not the court.
Paul is laying forth the fact that the church is authorized to act, settle, or resolve problems and conflicts between its members. When there are problems in the church, it’s okay for the church to judge its own without fear of disobeying the Lord’s prohibition against judging in Matthew 7:1.
(3) WE CAN JUDGE PREACHERS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS. John counsels us in I John 4:1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
When it comes to religious matters, especially matters of doctrine or belief, Christians are authorized and commanded to try the spirits. That means to discern, examine closely, and pass judgment on the truthfulness of the doctrine, person, and spirit who’s promoting it. So here again we see that Christians can, will, and are even commanded, to judge. IT IS NOT ALWAYS WRONG OR SINFUL TO JUDGE.
Alas, however, as we see in Matthew 7:1, there are times when it’s sinful and wrong for us to judge people. Coming up on my next blog post in this series on JUDGE NOT PART 3, I look at one of the times when it’s wrong for us to judge. It’s an eye-opening series and I invite you to drop by and let Jesus the Master Ophthalmologist set your eyes aright. God bless and see you in part 3.
JUDGE NOT PART 1
July 10, 2012 at 9:55 PM (Ethics, Judge Not)
Tags: Judge not, judging people, judgmentalism
INTRODUCTION
Jesus admonished us in Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged. This is one of the most recited verses in all of Scripture. Yet it’s one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and abused. The verse is most-commonly evoked in cases of sin, doctrinal error, or morality. And it is thus quoted to authoritatively and unequivocally declare that Christians have no right to judge others—including other Christians—who are involved in sin or error. It is perhaps a well-intentioned plea for Christians to just shut up, leave people alone, and let God do the judging.
I am not an advocate of judgmentalism. I detest that spirit and the aura of self-righteousness that goes with it when I see it manifest in Christians.
Christ prohibits us from judging other people and I believe we all need to give heed to our Lord and quit judging people. Let God do the judging and let us do the praying. We serve the cause of Christ best by befriending people and extending a helping hand instead of cutting them down and making them feel like dirt. The Word of God that we share in kindness and love, and the Spirit of Christ that we manifest with all meekness and gentleness, will minister conviction, life, and the hope of change. Judging them will not.
What I am against, however, is the thoughtless or flagrant use of Matthew 7:1 that produces a silence about sin where there ought to be none; and the use of our Lord’s prohibition to foster the accommodation, tolerance, and acceptance of sin among God’s people. Sin’s killing us. And our silence has resulted in a tragic and lamentable lowering of the righteous morality that Christ wants His followers to have.
What I’d like to do in these blog posts is provide balance to the prohibition by bringing out the whole counsel of Scripture.
NOT AN ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION
Jesus told us here in Matthew 7:1 not to judge others. His words are clear enough so that we’re not confused or misguided about what He means here. Don’t judge means don’t judge.
But the fact of the matter is, CHRISTIANS CAN, WILL, AND ARE EVEN COMMANDED BY CHRIST, TO JUDGE!
Jesus commanded us in John 7:24, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. This is the same Jesus telling us to judge righteous judgment who told us in Matthew 7:1 not to judge. He used the exact same word judge in both verses (Greek krinō), so we know He’s talking about the same thing. On the one hand He told us not to judge. Then on the other hand He told us to go ahead and judge, but judge righteously.
So is Jesus being contradictory here? It appears that way at first sight. But when you read the rest of Scripture and put the whole counsel of Scripture together I think you’ll see quite readily that Jesus isn’t being contradictory at all.
While Matthew 7:1 is very clear about Christians not judging other people, John 7:24 is equally very clear about Christians being able to judge people, albeit judge righteously.
So what we see here is THE PROHIBITION AGAINST JUDGING IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION. JESUS DIDN’T MEAN THAT WE CAN’T EVER JUDGE. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN CHRISTIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO, EVEN COMMANDED TO, JUDGE. Which is to say, there are times when it’s not wrong for us to judge.
So when it is alright for us to judge? Coming up on my next blog post on JUDGE NOT PART 2, I look at the times or situations where our Lord allows and commands us to judge people.
KNOWING WHERE YOU’RE GOING WHEN YOU DIE
July 3, 2012 at 4:56 PM (Doctrine, Knowing You're Saved)
Tags: After Life, Death, Heaven, Hell, Life after Death, Salvation
In teaching through the life of Christ the other day the Lord brought me to Matthew 7:13-14. It’s the familiar analogy of the two roads of life: Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. (14) But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.
For too many of us, our concept of salvation is glued to John 3:16 and Acts 16:31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! It’s so easy to get saved! That’s the way the Lord made it so that everyone can get saved if they wanted to. All we have to do is believe. I mean, how hard is that? It isn’t. It’s so ridiculously easy that anybody can believe and be saved. Nobody, but nobody, can ever accuse the Lord of making it so hard to get saved!
But, like all of us, the Lord couldn’t say everything in a single verse, a single sermon, or a single point of time. There’s always the rest of the story, the whole picture, or the whole counsel of Scripture. Jesus went on to say more things about salvation and Matthew 7:13-14 is a good case in point.
I was musing on these verses when the Lord reminded me that the sermon on the mount was given to believers (Matthew 5:1-2). Jesus isn’t talking to heathens here. He’s talking to people who believe and follow Him. In other words, they’re already saved.
So if we’re already saved, why does Jesus tell us to enter the strait and narrow gate? When He tells us to go through the strait and narrow it’s because we’ve not gone through the strait and narrow yet. We’re outside the gate and He’s telling us to go through, and inside, the gate.
But wait a minute, Lord. I’m already saved. I already believe in you. Aren’t I already on the strait and narrow?
Obviously not. Conversion takes us off the broad road and it brings us to the gate of the strait and narrow. Getting saved doesn’t automatically put us on the strait and narrow. We get there only when we make a personal, knowledgeable decision to go through the gate and spend the rest of our life walking the strait and narrow. If we haven’t made that decision, then we’re not on the strait and narrow. Since there are only two roads in life, not three or four, then not being on the strait and narrow means we’re still on the broad and wide.
Each road takes us somewhere. Each road leads us to its ultimate destination. The strait and narrow leads us to life (Heaven); the broad and wide takes us to destruction (Hell). {BTW, there is life after death. When we die we either go to life, or Heaven; or we go to destruction, or Hell.}
Here’s the kicker. WHERE WE GO WHEN WE DIE IS DETERMINED BY WHAT ROAD WE’VE TRAVELLED ON. If we’ve walked the strait and narrow, we’ll go where that road takes us: to Heaven. If we’ve walked the broad and wide, we’ll go to Hell because that’s where that road takes us. There’s not a snowball’s chance in Hell that we’ll end up in Heaven when we’ve spent our whole life walking the broad and wide. We’ll go wherever the road takes us. And the broad and wide road definitely doesn’t take us to Heaven.
So if we’re saved, but not walking the strait and narrow; if we’re Christians, but walking the broad and wide; how in the world can we expect to go to Heaven? Do we seriously believe we can live like heathens on the broad and wide and still make it to Heaven because of the “Christian” nametag that we wear? Because we say we believe? Because we say we’re saved?
Just so that none of us are surprised by what Jesus would say to us on Judgment Day, here’s what He’s going to say to all those who aren’t walking the strait and narrow (Matthew 7:21-23): Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in. (22) On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, “We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles.” (23) But I will tell them, “I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!”
Okay. So you’re saved. You’ve gotten saved. That’s great! Way to go! But don’t stop there! Don’t keep on walking the broad and wide road that you’ve known all your life. Go through the strait and narrow gate and start walking the highway that leads to Heaven.
If you’re counting on going to Heaven just because you’ve gotten saved and can therefore continue living like the heathen you’ve always been, the Lord’s got news for you. You’re not going to make it to Heaven if you don’t walk the strait and narrow. What road are you on?
Getting saved is the start of your journey. Where you end up depends on the road you choose to take. So choose wisely. YOU CAN CHOOSE THE ROAD YOU TAKE, BUT YOU CAN’T ALTER ITS FINAL DESTINATION. You will go where the road leads you.
In this sense, then, IT’S POSSIBLE TO KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING WHEN YOU DIE. TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE ROAD YOU’RE ON AND YOU’LL KNOW WHERE YOU’LL END UP.
BEST DECISION EVER: A MOTHER’S CHOICE
June 26, 2012 at 11:14 AM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
Tags: Amalekites, David, Disobedience, Eli, Hannah, Hannah's Prayer, Israelite Kings, Judges, Priesthood, Samuel, Saul, Tabernacle, Vow to God
In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.
Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?
In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!
A MOTHER’S CHOICE
Many of you are familiar with the story of Samuel, the renown prophet, priest, and judge of Old Testament times. He was one of the most important transitional figures in the Bible. Transitional because he was the last of the Judges. After him, and ever afterwards, the nation of Israel would be ruled be Kings.
In fact, when the people asked him if they could have a king to rule over them, Samuel at first objected (1 Samuel 8). He saw it as the people’s rejection of the Lord as their ruler. As far as the prophet was concerned, Israel was asking to be like the rest of the nations of the world. Every other nation had kings and it just seemed natural to the Israelites to have a king also. But to Samuel, Israel wasn’t like the rest of the world. She wasn’t supposed to be like everyone else. She was unique. She alone worshipped the one true God. God was her Ruler. Israel was a theocratic nation and that’s the way Samuel wanted it to remain.
But God intervened and persuaded Samuel to accede to the people’s request. The people wanted a king and that’s exactly what God would give them. So God had Samuel begin the search for the man who would be Israel’s first king. This man, it turned out, would be Saul (1 Samuel 9). He was truly a handsome man. Head and shoulders taller than any man in Israel. He came from a fine stock and was a marvelous specimen of manhood. He would be a good military commander and king. So Samuel summoned the entire nation to Mizpeh, which was the ancient capital of Israel at that time, and there in the sight of the people he anointed Saul to be King over Israel.
Well, Saul was doing great as a King and General of the Army. For a time it seemed as if the nation had done good by getting themselves a king. But the honeymoon would eventually end. It always does when you’re outside of God’s will.
God told the King to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). No one was to be spared alive. Not even the women and children. Even the Amalekites’ animals and livestock were to be killed. God wanted that entire race of people to be extinct from off the face of the earth. The Lord’s instruction was pretty clear and straight forward. There was no mistaking the Lord’s order.
But the King failed to obey the Lord. The army wanted to keep some of the spoils of war for themselves. Besides, we could use all these sheep and oxen and sacrifice them to the Lord! We know what we’re doing! Let’s not kill them, Saul. So the King listened to the army. He even went one step farther and saved the King of the Amalekites alive.
Well, it wasn’t long before the man of God came along. The bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen told him the story: the King had disobeyed the Lord’s order. It was this single act of disobedience that spelled the end and downfall of the King. God would henceforth reject him as Israel’s King. So God told Samuel to go out and search for a new King for Israel.
The prophet’s search ended with David (1 Samuel 16). Of course, you know the rest of the story. The entire nation was changed by David’s Kingship and Israel became a regional superpower.
So, in hindsight, Samuel was a truly pivotal and landmark ruler in Israel during his lifetime—both politically and spiritually. He galvanized the nation behind him. The people looked to him for guidance. And even in an hour when the nation turned its back on God, Samuel continued to serve God’s people and direct them in the knowledge and obedience of God. Israel’s history was forever changed by the lone and solitary voice of God speaking and working through this one man named Samuel.
Like I said at the start, many of you know the story of Samuel. He got his start in the priesthood because his mother, a woman by the name of Hannah, was barren. She was so distraught with her inability to conceive and have children that she finally had a meltdown with God at the Tabernacle in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1). She made a deal with God. God, if you give me a child, a boy, I’ll give him back to you. I’ll bring him back to this Tabernacle and leave him here for you, to serve you all the days of his life. You can have him, dear Lord. Only let me have him first for a few years, then I’ll give him back to you (1 Samuel 1:11).
Well, God heard her anguished cry and gave her a son. She named him Samuel, which means asked of God. Hannah asked. And God gave.
As you can imagine, Hannah cherished every day with her son. Samuel was the answer to her heart’s cry. He filled a void in her life that only a child could fill. She was thankful to God and you can be very sure she savored every moment of every day with her son. She knew a day would come when she would have to give him back to God. After he was weaned (which most scholars believe took place when a boy was 3 to 5 five years old), she’d have to take him to Shiloh and leave him there for the rest of his life—just like she vowed to God.
Samuel is now weaned and it’s time for Hannah to make this dreaded trip to Shiloh. But in the years since her vow, conditions in Israel have deteriorated badly (1 Samuel 2). Eli the High Priest was too old. And inept in the priesthood. His sons, also priests, were sons of Belial. Which is to say, they weren’t the holy men they were supposed to be. They were as heathen as the priests of a false god. They robbed from the people. They even had the audacity to have sex with women at the Tabernacle! Their sins were so flagrant and irreverent that the whole idea of worshipping God was a mockery. Anytime you came to the Tabernacle you’d be raped or robbed. So, quite understandably, you can imagine how God’s people really hated showing up at the Tabernacle at all.
Now, knowing these things and the despicable conditions in the Tabernacle, place yourself in Hannah’s sandals. You made a vow to God to give your son back to Him if He gave you a son. God keeps His part of the bargain. Now it’s time for you to keep yours. But, quite clearly, the Tabernacle is no place to give your son, much less raise him. God, these sons of Belial are going to teach my son to be a rapist and robber. He isn’t going to be priest of God. He’s going to be corrupted. He can’t serve you if I give him over to these wicked, despicable priests!
So what do you do? Do you keep your bargain? Or do you find a way to conveniently postpone or delay it until conditions improve in the Tabernacle? Surely God would understand! He wouldn’t want a boy growing up in that kind of deplorable, immoral environment!
Hannah’s got a choice. She’s got a difficult decision to make. She’s a mother. And a mother, by nature, isn’t wont to hand over her son to immoral men who would only teach her son the ways of sin. What good would that accomplish? So you keep your side of the bargain, but your son doesn’t become the man of God that you always imagined he would become. He’d be a robber and rapist like the rest of them. So what good is a bargain kept if it’ll only result in a godless priest? Hannah doesn’t have it easy. Not by a long shot.
Of course, you know what Hannah ends up doing. She takes her son to Shiloh and, tearfully I’m sure, she leaves him there just as she promised the Lord she would do. Not an easy thing to do, especially when you’ve got pictures of a beloved son becoming a rapist and a disgrace to the family name. Hannah left her son in God’s hands. God gave him to her. He belonged to God. And Hannah somehow must have found the grace, and courage, and faith, to believe that God would watch over her son and keep him in spite of the deplorably sinful condition of the priesthood.
As it turned out, this was Hannah’s best decision ever. She gave her son to the Lord. And in doing so, she gave the nation the hope of change. The nation was changed—and remarkably so—because her son was preserved by the Lord and he cleaned house. He started with the Tabernacle. He restored the true worship of God. Then he ventured forth out of the Tabernacle and went throughout the nation, teaching God’s laws and bringing God’s people back to the worship and obedience of God. Israel was forever changed—all because a mother kept her promise to God.
So you’ve got a thousand and one reasons not to keep your promise to God. You made Him a promise. God kept His end of the bargain. Will you keep yours? Think of Hannah. And let your promise kept be the beginning of a change that will change your life forever and the lives of those around you.
FIGHTING OUR GOLIATHS PART 8
June 11, 2012 at 12:05 PM (Fighting Our Goliaths, Spiritual Warfare)
Tags: David, Defeating the Devil, Goliath, Spiritual Battles, Spiritual warfare, Trials, Victory Over Satan
OUR GOLIATHS SEEN NATURALLY
1 Samuel 17:4-11, And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (5) And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. (6) And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. (7) And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. (8) And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. (9) If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. (10) And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. (11) When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
The Israelite army saw a giant, a champion. They saw a formidable foe against whom victory was impossible and against whom death and defeat were certain and imminent. No doubt, in the natural, all these things that they saw in Goliath were true. The circumstances that they were faced with were all real. They were not imaginary or make-believe. Goliath was very much real and the threat of death that he posed was very much real.
That’s the natural point of view. That’s what we see. And when we go by sight and appearances, when we’re governed by our present natural reality, we’ll cower in fear and defeat in our foxholes just like the Israelites because natural realities many times appear to be invincible, unchangeable, unwinnable.
OUR GOLIATHS SEEN THRU FAITH
But that’s not how David saw Goliath. When David saw Goliath he never once saw the giant in terms of his size, strength, power, skill, armament, weapons, previous military experience and mighty, victorious feats or accomplishments.
All David saw was an uncircumcised Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:26, And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? All David saw was another uncircumcised heathen. And do you know what? HIS VIEW OR PERSPECTIVE OF GOLIATH NEVER WAVERED OR CHANGED!
1 Samuel 17:32, And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:36-37a, Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. (37) 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 this Philistine.
All David ever saw, I am saying, was just another heathen fellow. He never saw Goliath in terms of his size or strength or power.
A PICTURE OF GOD THAT WE BEQUEATH TO THE WORLD
Israel’s army looked at the giant and trembled at what the giant could do: he could easily kill anyone who dared go out and fight him. But David looked at the giant and saw him in terms of what the giant was doing as far as his mouth was concerned: he was defying the armies of God.
Now the word ‘defy’ in verses 26 and 36 means ‘to say sharp things’. It was a Hebrew way of saying that Goliath was taunting, teasing, dishonoring, or reproaching Israel’s army. Worse yet, Goliath was reproaching or making fun of Israel’s God, verse 45. He was telling the world that the God whom the Israelites served was a powerless God. God was no match for him. In the eyes of the world, the God of Israel is the God whom Goliath beat.
Clearly, in David’s eyes, Goliath simply couldn’t talk that way about the Israelite army and God and not be punished for it. Goliath’s mouth had to be silenced! Why? Because under no circumstance must Goliath be allowed to bring dishonor upon the Name of Israel’s God. GOLIATH SIMPLY MUSTN’T BE ALLOWED TO GIVE THE WORLD A FALSE VIEW OR IMPRESSION OF GOD!
David, you see, was zealous for God’s glory and honor. He was consumed with one, and only one thing—that everyone in the Valley would know God for who He really was—a God of power and might.
1 Samuel 17:45-47, Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. (46) This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. (47) And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.
David believed God for help and victory in the battle. Do you know why? Because, by beating Goliath, the world would come to see the real God. The real God is not the god who, in the natural circumstance and reality, seemed utterly powerless to fight and defeat Goliath. The real God is in the unseen reality. And, by faith, David wanted that unseen reality to be seen so that all the world would know that there is a God in Israel. (47) And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands, 1 Samuel 17:46-47.
THE REAL GOD, YOU SEE, IS SEEN IN OUR FAITH AND IN OUR TRIALS AND BATTLES. Our trials are a stage, a theater, where God’s glory can be seen by all. Our battles are a battleground where the God of power and might could be seen by all.
OUR BATTLES AND TRIALS ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SHOW THE WORLD WHO THE REAL GOD REALLY IS. THEY ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GOD TO SHOW ALL OF US HIS POWER AND LOVE WORKING MIGHTILY ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO TRUST AND OBEY HIM.
The only thing of it is, THE WORLD’S CONCEPT OR VIEW OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT WE BELIEVE AND DO. The world doesn’t read the Bible or go to church. They don’t know the first thing about God. The only God they know is the God we tell them or the God we show them. If, like the Israelites, we cower in fear in our foxholes and refuse to fight; then the world sees a god who cannot beat the Goliaths that we face in life. A god who can’t heal cancer. A god who can’t restore broken marriages and relationships. A god who can’t save our loved ones. A god who can’t prosper His people and get them out of debt. A god who can’t inspire His people with faith, hope, and courage. A god who can’t calm the storm-tossed seas. A god who can’t do anything to help us or save us. A god who can’t help a drunkard rise above the bottle. A god who can’t set a druggie free from his drugs. A god who can’t help a porno give up the cursed addiction. A god who can’t forgive our baddest, blackest sins. A god who can’t help us get rid of our resentments and unforgiveness. A god who can’t answer prayer. A god who can’t overcome or control the forces of nature. A god who can’t work miracles today. A god who can’t whop the Devil.
Brethren, is this the god you want this world to see and know? Is this the god you have? If so, I mean no disrespect, but you’ve got the wrong god! No wonder why the world doesn’t want, or need, God. If our god is no better or stronger than men; if our god can’t beat the Devil or thwart the worst things that Satan can do to us or throw at us; then I don’t want your god! And neither should you! We need a God who’s mightier than men and demons and nature. We need us a God who knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations (2 Peter 2:9). We need a God who can do the miraculous. The unscientific. The unnatural. The impossible!
Do you, like David, want the world to know who the real God is? The God of power, might, and miracles; the God of answered prayers; can be seen by your faith and by your willingness to go out there on the battlefields of life, fight the Goliaths you’re faced with, and whop them in Jesus’ Name and for Jesus’ glory.
What concept or view of God are you willing to give and bequeath to this world? What picture of God do you want to give to your children, your family, your friends, your world? Like David, be zealous for God’s glory and honor. Let the whole world know who the real God really is! How do you do that? Get your faith out of the natural realm of sight and appearances. Place your faith in the God of miracles and wonders. Fight your Goliaths. Beat him. And by faith, let the glory of God be seen in your battlefield of life.
FIGHTING OUR GOLIATHS PART 7
June 1, 2012 at 6:53 PM (Fighting Our Goliaths, Spiritual Warfare)
Tags: Boldness, Courage, David, Faith, Fear, Giants, Goliath, Philistines, Proper Perspective, Spiritual warfare, Trials, Victory Over Satan
BEFORE YOU FIGHT, GET RID OF FEAR
If you want the Devil to flee you’ve got to fight him. Fear, however, will keep you from fighting. So in order to fight the Devil, or before you fight the Devil, you’ve got to deal with the fear that’s got you paralyzed in the foxhole. So how do you get rid of fear?
1. QUIT LOOKING AT THE GIANT. To get rid of fear you’ve got to get your eyes off of the giant. The sight of the giant is what makes you afraid. Brethren, as long as you’re looking at the giant, at the circumstances, at the symptoms; you’ll be afraid. YOU’VE GOT TO STOP LOOKING!
Instead of looking at Goliath you’ve got to look at God. If you read the narrative of Scripture very carefully you’ll notice that, until David came along, God was nowhere found in the Valley. That is, His name wasn’t mentioned or brought up by the Israelites. No one thought to call a prayer meeting. No one looked to God for help. God wasn’t on any one’s mind. All everybody could think of, and see, was this Incredible Hulk that stood in front of them. Shame on us, I say shame on us, if God isn’t on our mind, if we don’t bring Him into our Valley of Elah. WITHOUT GOD WE’RE DOOMED! NO WONDER WE’RE AFRAID!
To get rid of our fear we’ve got to get our eyes off of Goliath and get them focused on God. We’ve been going about this fight the wrong way. We’ve compared ourself to Goliath and we’ve come out the loser because we’re smaller, he’s bigger; we’re weaker, he’s stronger. Brethren, take your Goliath and compare him to God. Set him side by side with God. Now look. Look who’s a lot smaller and who’s a lot weaker. Goliath just doesn’t seem so big now, does he? He isn’t so invincible and unbeatable, is he?
Brethren, THE GOLIATH YOU FACE ISN’T A GOLIATH TO GOD! THE NAME, SIZE, OR SEVERITY OF YOUR BATTLES AND TRIALS DO NOT MATTER TO GOD. They’re not any harder for God to heal or remedy. Nothing is too difficult for God, Jeremiah 32:17. Nothing. That includes your Goliath. He may be a giant to you, but HE’S NO GIANT TO GOD and don’t you ever forget that. A mosquito, yes. Maybe even as big as a cockroach. But a giant? You’ve got to be kidding me! Goliath doesn’t have a chance or a prayer against God! GET GOD INTO YOUR VALLEY AND IT’LL BE THE DEVIL’S TURN TO BE AFRAID!
2. QUIT LISTENING TO THE GIANT! Goliath’s got some of you bound up with fear because everyday for the past forty days, morning and night, you’ve been listening to him.
*Friends, YOU DON’T GET FAITH BY LISTENING TO THE DEVIL. LISTENING TO HIM LEAVES YOU FAITHLESS AND DOUBTFUL. You get faith by listening to God’s Word, Romans 10:17, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
*YOU DON’T GET COURAGE BY LISTENING TO THE DEVIL. LISTENING TO HIM MAKES YOU A COWARD. You get courage by looking at God. Psalm 27:14, Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
*YOU DON’T GET STRONGER BY LISTENING TO THE DEVIL. LISTENING TO HIM MAKES YOU WEAKER. You get strong by going to the Lord and letting Him fill you with His strength. Ephesians 6:10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Friends, you know what Goliath’s said. You’ve listened to the doctor, lawyer, banker, and the judge. You’ve heard what the Devil’s told you. But God has His two bits to say. Are you listening? What’s He saying? He’s saying…
3. THIS BATTLE—YOUR BATTLE—BELONGS TO THE LORD. 1 Samuel 17:47, And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands. What does the Bible mean when it says, the battle is the Lord’s? It means that the battle’s outcome, the battle’s victory, belongs to the Lord. Not to anyone else. GOD ALONE DETERMINES WHO WILL WIN AND WHO WILL NOT. HE GIVES THE VICTORY TO WHOMSOEVER HE WILL.
Folks, stay with me. Keep focused. God’s got His bullhorn and He’s driving home a very important point here. Victory doesn’t belong to the biggest and baddest. The strongest and severest. The invincible and incurable. The inevitable and impossible. GOLIATH DOESN’T DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF YOUR BATTLE. NO GIANT OF A MAN, NO GIANT OF A DEMON, AND NO GIANT OF A TRIAL, DETERMINES WHO’S GOING TO WIN THIS FIGHT YOU’RE IN! THE VICTORY IS NOT THEIRS TO HAVE.
The battle belongs to the Lord. And ONE THING’S FOR SURE: THE LORD ISN’T GOING TO GIVE GOLIATH THE VICTORY! Goliath may be victorious for now over the cowards of Israel. But God will raise for Himself a shepherd boy of faith and God will once again prove to all that the battle is the Lord’s and He will deliver every Goliath into your hand—if you would but believe and fight. Psalm 60:12, Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is who shall tread down our enemies. Psalm 118:15, The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Psalm 68:1, Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered. Hallelujah! Brethren, bring God into the battle and let the voice of rejoicing and salvation be heard in the tabernacles of the righteous!
4. THE FIGHT YOU FIGHT IS WINNABLE! In order for you to get rid of fear you’ve got to understand in your heart of hearts that the fight you fight is winnable. Lamentably, when you consider the size and strength of the Philistine giant that stands before you, there is little cause for optimism. This is how the Israelite army saw it. IT WAS THIS NOTION OF AN UNWINNABLE WAR THAT KEPT THE ARMY IN FEAR AND IN THE FOXHOLE.
But THE NOTION THAT THE ISRAELITES WERE IN AN UNWINNABLE WAR WAS SIMPLY NOT TRUE! David came along and proved them wrong. Friends, let this be a lesson. You can be so utterly convinced about how this battle or trial is going to end. As far as you’re concerned, the fight you’re in leaves no room for survival, victory, or miracle. You’re a goner. You haven’t got a hope or a prayer. You’re as good as dead. But as convinced as you are about the outcome of the fight, YOU CAN BE WRONG ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE SO SURE AND CONVINCED ABOUT. The faith and God of a shepherd boy proves you’re wrong.
Brethren, WITH GOD THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LOSING BATTLE. AS AN UNWINNABLE FIGHT. AN UNDEFEATABLE FOE. A HOPELESS CASE. GOD WINS EVERY FIGHT HE’S IN! Hallelujah! He hasn’t lost a fight yet and He isn’t going to start losing now.
5. YOU CAN FIGHT GOLIATH AND WIN! To get rid of fear you’ve got to get rid of the notion that you can’t possibly fight your Goliath and win. That’s what every Israelite soldier in the valley thought—that’s why none of them went out to fight Goliath. He bluffed, fooled, and convinced them they couldn’t fight and win.
But David came along. And when the Philistine army saw him hold up the severed head of the giant, they fled in fear. 1 Samuel 17:52 reads, And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
When the Israelites saw David’s awe-inspiring victory and saw the Philistines running in terror, the once-frightened Israelites were instantly invigorated with faith and courage. They got out of the foxholes and went on the attack. And when it was all said and done, the battlefields between Elah and Ekron were littered with the dead bodies of once-invincible, once-formidable, once undefeatable, Philistine giants and warriors.
Do you see what I mean? THE ISRAELITES WHO ONCE THOUGHT THEY COULDN’T FIGHT AGAINST ONE GOLIATH AND WIN WENT OUT AND FOUGHT HUNDREDS OF OTHER GOLIATHS AND WON! THEY DID SOMETHAT THAT, FOR FORTY DAYS, THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD NEVER DO. THEY FOUGHT AGAINST GIANTS AND WON!
Learn the lesson, dear friends. YOU CAN DO WHAT GOLIATH SAYS YOU CAN’T. You can fight him and beat him. He isn’t invincible to God. Get rid of fear. Bring God into the Valley. Let faith arise. Then get out of the hole you’re in and put the giant in his. With God’s help, you can! God bless you and give you the courage and faith to fight. And win!
Coming Up On My Next Blog, the conclusion of these faith-inspiring messages. Don’t miss it!
GOD, IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! REALLY?
May 24, 2012 at 8:19 PM (Christian Living, It's Your Fault)
Tags: Abinadab, Ark of the Covenant, Bethshemesh, Blame Game, Blaming God, God's Way, King David, Kirjathjearim, Kohathites, Obededom, Personal Responsibility, Philistines, Uzzah
We all have a tendency to blame other people when things go wrong or when bad things happen. To be sure, there are indeed times when other people are to blame. People make mistakes. And when they do they need to assume responsibility for their decisions and actions, accept the blame, and work to clean up the mess they’ve made. Not everything, I repeat, not everything is our fault!
But when we’re the leading characters in a tragedy, when we’re at the helm of a sinking ship; then passing the buck just isn’t cool. It doesn’t make us look good. We can find creative ways to look at an error or a disaster and make a scapegoat of others. But people aren’t dumb. They can smell a skunk when they see one. And they don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know who shot who when they catch us with a smoking gun in our hand.
In the anger and panic of the moment we seldom take the time to look at ourself and see if we bear any blame for the nightmare that we’re faced with. We’re so busy blaming others because it makes us look good. It makes us look innocent. But are we?
In these series of posts I’d like to step into the sandals of several Biblical characters. They were human like you and me. You can be dead sure they passed the buck, or were tempted to do so, when they found themselves in hot water.
By looking at these familiar Biblical figures I’m hoping we’ll learn from the mistakes and examples of our forebears. I hope we’ll learn not to pass the buck, but accept the guilt and blame that are rightfully ours.
Why is that so important? Because assuming responsibility for our actions is the necessary first step towards fixing the mess we’ve made. We can’t fix something that we’re not willing to fess and face up to. It begins with summoning the courage to be honest with ourselves, with others, and with God. With the help of the Biblical characters, I believe we can be honest and say, God, it’s not your fault! It’s mine. And I’m sorry I fingered you for the bed that I made and slept in.
KILLED BY A GOOD DEED & INTENTION
Hello. My name is David, King of Israel. I’d like to tell you about a time in my life when I was really ticked off at God. Through an unfortunate series of events, our enemies, the Philistines, captured the sacred Ark of the Covenant in battle (1 Samuel 4).
Well, it turned out, after seven months of nothing but misfortunes, the Philistines put two and two together and decided that the Ark was bad luck for them. So they put the Ark on an ox cart and sent it back to Israel (1 Samuel 5 and 6).
The Ark stayed in an Israelite village called Bethshemesh. But, there again, bad luck fell upon the townsfolk after some of them decided to take a peek into the Ark. This was something that you just couldn’t do. The Lord ended up killing over 50,000 men in that town because of this unfortunate peekaboo (1 Samuel 6). 50,000!
As you would expect, the Bethshemeshites got the holy fear of God. They didn’t want the Ark in their midst. They couldn’t afford to have any more of their menfolk dying because of the Ark. So they sent a message to their neighbors and the men of Kirjathjearim came and got the Ark. They put it in Abinadab’s house and there it remained for twenty years (1 Samuel 7).
Well, it didn’t seem right to me that a national treasure should be tucked away in someone’s house. It needed to be brought to Jerusalem, our capital city. So preparations were made for the move and on the appointed day, the Ark was brought forth out of Abinadab’s house, placed on an ox cart, and away we went. There was a huge procession of Israelites as we celebrated this momentous event. There was a band and music and dancing. We were in a really celebratory mood that day. You can read all about it in 2 Samuel 6.
Unfortunately, the merriment was cut short soon enough. As the ox cart was moving along, one of the wheels went over a huge rock. One of the drivers, a man by the name of Uzzah, saw the Ark starting to slide off the cart. So he stretched forth his hand to keep the Ark in place and that’s when the Ark’s infamous bad luck struck again. The Lord struck Uzzah dead right there on the spot!
In an instant, from the mirth and merriment of the moment, I was ticked! I was incensed! Uzzah had done a good thing. He was trying to keep the Ark from falling off the cart. He was doing his part to preserve a national treasure. He acted nobly with the best of intentions. I couldn’t understand why God would kill Uzzah for doing such a good deed.
For days after that, I was really riled up at God. It looked as if everywhere the Ark went nothing but bad luck happened to people around it. God, this is all your fault! You had no right killing Uzzah for doing a good deed!
It seemed to me that no one was safe around the Ark. Not even God’s chosen people! God was gonna kill everyone who dared to tamper with the Ark. So I left the Ark right then and there in the house of a fellow by the name of Obededom. I went back to Jerusalem, along with all the celebrants, downcast and afraid to have anything more to do with the Ark.
I was still fuming with God for some time after that until the priests and the Lord started talking to me. Come to find out, it wasn’t God’s fault that Uzzah got killed. Yeah, he was acting with the best of intentions. But THE BEST OF INTENTIONS DON’T AMOUNT TO MUCH WHEN YOU BREAK THE RULES. The rule was, no one was allowed to touch the Ark, plain and simple.
The Ark wasn’t supposed to be transported on a cart. It was carried about on the shoulders of the Kohathites. They were descendants of one of Levi’s sons named Kohath. Anyway, God chose the Kohathites to be the only ones authorized to pack, unpack, and transport the contents of the Holy Place, which is our Tabernacle. But even the Kohathites themselves couldn’t touch the Ark! There were rings in the Ark through which long wooden poles would be inserted. The Kohathites would grab each end of the poles and lift them up on their shoulders. That’s how the Lord ordained the Ark to be transported—on the shoulders of the Kohathites and not on an ox cart (see Numbers 4:1-15).
The Lord’s instructions for the transporting of the Ark were contained in the Book of the Law and they hit me like a ton of bricks. Here all along I was blaming God for killing kind-hearted Uzzah. But it wasn’t God’s fault that Uzzah was killed. It was mine! I was to blame because I was the one who ordered the Ark to be put on an ox cart. I had unknowingly violated God’s Law and Uzzah paid for it with his life. So when the dust of my anger settled and reason returned to my mind, I had to admit that Uzzah’s death wasn’t God’s fault. It was mine…because I didn’t do things God’s way.
So take it from me, dear friends, and don’t make the mistake I made. DO THINGS GOD’S WAY. DO IT THE WAY HE WANTS IT DONE. You might think you know a better way; you have a better idea of how things ought to be done. They may sound good and right to you (Proverbs 14:12, 21:2). But if your ideas don’t line up with God’s ideas, then, believe me, you’re all wet and wrong. God’s way is the only way to do things! So don’t listen to Frankie boy, the ole crooner with baby blues. And don’t let the burger joint fool you into thinking it’s alright for you to have it your way. It’s not. Uzzah’s death stands as an eternal, painful reminder to me that THERE’S A PRICE TO BE PAID FOR DOING THINGS YOUR WAY INSTEAD OF GOD’S WAY. I hope there won’t be an Uzzah in your life to remind you of the same.
BEST DECISION EVER: THE ERRAND
May 16, 2012 at 3:59 PM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
Tags: Best Decision, Child Rearing, Children, David, Elah, Goliath, Good Decision, Jesse, King David, King Saul, Parents, Philistines, Valley of Elah
In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.
Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?
In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!
THE ERRAND
I’m a father of young adults. I’m a grandpa. And I’m a Christian. The heart and prayer of a father for his children is that they turn out alright in life, make the right choices, be healthy, keep safe, have a good life, and most of all, give their life to Jesus. Life will eventually disrupt the family. Once the kids leave home the family will never again be the same. Life will separate the family by miles. And death will eventually rob us of the loved ones we hold most dear in life. Jesus alone holds the key to an eternal family reunion in Heaven. And that’s why I pray fervently that my children will love the Lord as I do, even more, and serve Him faithfully to the end of days. Having given you a father’s perspective on his children, let me put this train of thought on hold and let’s take a whirlwind tour of David’s life.
We’re all familiar with the story of David. He bursts on the scene in the Valley of Elah where he kills Goliath and leads the once fearful, demoralized Israelite army to victory in the ensuing battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 17). From this point on, David is pretty much stuck by the King’s side: King Saul isn’t letting go of this young warrior and hero. He promotes him to General of the Army and David’s valor and victories in war become the stuff of legend. David’s so successful that King Saul gets really jealous of him and tries to kill him on many occasions. One of the King’s murderous plans, however, backfires on him and, as promised, the King gives David one of his daughters to marry as a reward for a successful expedition against the Philistines. So now, David is a member of royalty and that, as you can imagine, really infuriated the jealously-demented King.
Well, David was a good man and there was no way he was going to lift sword or spear against his King. So he goes on the lam and for the next several years he lives in exile in, of all places, the land of his enemy the Philistines (1 Samuel 19-30).
King Saul gets killed in battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 31). David returns to his homeland of Judah. And there he is crowned King by his tribe (2 Samuel 2). He’s King for 7½ years in Judah.
During this time, in the aftermath of Saul’s death, his son Ishbosheth becomes King of Israel (2 Samuel 2). Ishbosheth reigns as Israel’s King for 7½ years. He eventually gets assassinated and that’s when all Israel came together and asked David to become their next King (2 Samuel 4-5). So altogether, David is King for 40 years. Under his military prowess he enlarges Israel’s Kingdom to its greatest extent ever. His enemies fear him. And Israel is established as a regional superpower.
All this began in the Valley of Elah when David pretty much came out of obscurity and dumbfounded the cowardly Israelite army. He made quick work of beheading the giant, then just as deftly and decisively, he went on to rout the Philistines in battle. In the Valley he emerged as a national hero. Became General. Then son-in-law of the King. Eventually King. And master of a regional superpower. Imagine all the good things that happened to David and all Israel just because he came to the Valley of Elah! If David had not come to the Valley, the course of history would have been drastically different! We would not be amiss at all in saying that the course, future, and destiny of the nation of Israel were forever altered when David showed up in the Valley of Elah!
Friends, do you know how David found himself in the Valley of Elah? What brought him to Elah? Well, David was a young shepherd boy living in Bethlehem with his family. He was tending his father’s flocks of sheep when, one day, his dad sent him on an errand. 1 Samuel 17:17-19 tells the story of how it went. One day, Jesse told David, “Hurry and take this sack of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the army camp. (18) And here are ten large chunks of cheese to take to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back something that shows that they’re all right. (19) They’re with Saul’s army, fighting the Philistines in Elah Valley.”
Dad Jesse was getting worried about his sons. They were in the army. And, being the soldiers that they were, dad was all the time worried about them. He had every right to be. The Philistines were the most feared army in the world at this time and, realistically speaking, the Israelites weren’t much of a match against them. Pictures of death and defeat are probably racing through Jesse’s mind. Are my sons alive? Did they get killed in battle? Are they coming back home safe and sound? So, being the worried father that he was, Jesse sent his son David to Elah to see how his sons were doing. You’d be totally right to say that Jesse was checking up on his sons. Unbeknownst to him, Jesse sending David to Elah would change David’s life forever and alter the course of Israelite history. A worried father’s decision to send David on a domestic errand turned out to be his best decision ever!
As a mother or father, we make all kinds of decisions that impact and affect our kids for life. It’s not always the big decisions that affect them the most. Sometimes, it’s the smallest decision we make—like sending them on an errand—that starts a chain reaction that will change their lives forever. So, parents, pray for your kids. Pray about the decisions you make. With God’s guidance and help, like Jesse, you can make the best decision ever! God bless you with Jesse’s care and success!
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