I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
After returning from fighting the Philistines, Saul resumed his pursuit of David. He brought 3,000 men into the wilderness where David was hiding. At one point, Saul left his men and went into a cave to relieve himself. Unbeknownst to Saul, David and his men were hiding deeper in the cave. David’s men encouraged David to kill Saul at this moment of opportunity. David crept up on Saul intending to do just that, but he could not bring himself to do so. Instead, he cut a piece off of Saul’s robe. David neither killed Saul, nor would he allow his men to do so. We see here the first sign of an important element of David’s character which will come out even stronger later when he has more power. Not only does David not do something which he saw as wrong, but which would have advanced his interests, he prevents his supporters from doing so on his behalf (if the Lord wills, I will come back to this in later passages).
Once Saul had left the cave, David came out after him. David called after Saul, referring to him as his lord and king. When Saul turned around, David showed him the piece he had cut off of his robe. David then pointed out that if those claiming that David wished to kill Saul were correct, Saul would now be dead. David explained to Saul that despite the urging of his men, he would not harm Saul because Saul was God’s anointed king of Israel. When Saul realized what had happened, he acknowledged that he would not have done what David had done. Saul recognized that God had put him in David’s power and it was only by David’s dedication to doing the right thing that he still lived. Saul responded to his good fortune by asking David to promise not to kill his family and destroy his descendants when David became king. David happily made this promise. Saul then withdrew with his army. I believe that Saul withdrew in part because after this exchange, he would have lost status in the eyes of his men had he continued to pursue David (and perhaps their support). It would have been too obvious that Saul’s pursuit of David was in response to David’s popularity rather than because of any threat which David posed to Saul.
After this we have the story involving Nabal and his wife Abigail. Nabal was a wealthy man in the region where David was operating at this time. This story gives us insight into what David did during the time he was in exile from Saul’s court and how he rose to become king after Saul’s death and even into how he gained the power we are told he acquired while king (and how such a powerful king left so little archeological evidence). David and his men had protected Nabal’s men and flocks from bandits while they were in the wilderness. When shearing time came, which was a time of festival and traditionally a time to be generous, David sent some men to Nabal requesting that Nabal give them some supplies in reward for having protected his interests throughout the previous year. Nabal not only refused David’s request but insulted him and called him (and his men) an outlaw. When David received word, he was furious and determined to pay Nabal back for the insult.
Meanwhile Nabal’s servants knew what a deadly insult Nabal’s response was and were in fear for their lives. One of them went to Nabal’s wife, Abigail, who already had a reputation as a sensible woman, and told her the reply which Nabal had given to David’s messengers. In addition, they told her how well David’s men had protected them while they were in the wilderness. Abigail immediately, and quickly, gathered a goodly amount of food and had her servants take it to David. She followed behind them. When she saw David, she greeted him and begged his forgiveness for her ill-tempered and foolish husband. She predicts that great things will happen for David in the future and requests that he remember her when that happens. David expresses his gratitude both for her gift of supplies and for her intervention to keep him from committing needless bloodshed. He promises that neither he nor his men will kill her husband.
When Abigail returned home Nabal was in the middle of a great feast and completely drunk, so she told him nothing until morning. When he was sober in the morning, Abigail told him what she had done. When he heard her news, he had a stroke (or at least the described symptoms sound like a stroke) and after ten days he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he praised God for giving him revenge for the insult which Nabal had given him and for preventing him from extracting that revenge himself. David then sent word asking Abigail to become his wife. She gladly accepted and became his wife.
David’s offer to marry Abigail and her quick response gives us an additional insight into David, his ruling strategy and the society of the day. However, I will write about that another day. I just realized that I never fleshed out my earlier point about how the story of Nabal gives us insight into David’s rise to power. David rose to power and built his kingdom by protecting merchants and others from bandits. He made it safe to do business in the areas that he controlled. Merchants and others did not need to hire as many armed guards to travel through areas controlled by David because he hunted down and either killed or drove the bandits out of it. The thing is, he did this not only to those bandits who preyed on the wealthy, but also those who preyed and the “little guy”. He made life better for everyone.
After Jesus gave the illustration of the Good Shepherd, the people listening asked Him to tell them outright if He was the Messiah. He tells them that He has already answered their question, but that they have refused to believe His answer. Continuing His Shepherd illustration, Jesus tells them that they do not believe Him because they are not His sheep. His sheep listen to His voice, are known by Him and follow Him. And no one can take them away from Him because they were given to Him by His Father, who is more powerful than any other. He concludes this by saying that He and His Father are one.
At this, those listening to Him take up stones to stone Him. He asks them for which of His good works they are going to stone Him? They reply they are not going to stone Him for anything He did, but because He claimed to be God. Jesus then quoted Psalms to them where it says “I say, you are gods!”. Jesus then asks them if the Scripture says that some are gods, why are they stoning Him for saying that He is the Son of God? They should judge Him by His works. If what He does is the work of God, they should believe Him because of His actions, even if they have trouble believing His words. The heat of the moment in the crowd being broken, the religious leaders tried to arrest Him, but He evaded them and left the area. Many started to follow Jesus after this, commenting that John had not performed miraculous signs, but what he had said about Jesus was true.
This passage has some elements that are very heartening. If we listen to Jesus voice and follow His instructions, we can know that we are known by Him and are held in His hand. No one can snatch us away from Him because the Father is holding us in Jesus’ hand and none has the power to take that which belongs to Him. Are we willing to be Jesus’ sheep? Sheep are dumb and stupid animals which need to be carefully guided by their shepherd. Am I willing to acknowledge that I am a dumb and stupid person who needs God’s careful guidance?
I never saw this psalm the way I read it today. Today I see it as being my testimony (or at least part of it being part of my testimony).
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
That comes so close to the experience that led me to fully commit myself to God. I was struggling with knowing whether or not God existed. I could find nothing which would convince me that God actually existed, but when I considered living in a world that was nothing more than the material, I found life not worth living. After months of struggling with bouts of what I now realize were a manifestation of depression, I finally had an epiphany, I could not accept that the world was nothing more than the material, so I would live as if the Bible was true. I called out to God and said that I would act as if I knew that He was real and see what happened. The results were amazing, within days there no longer existed any doubt in my mind that God was real. I received incontrovertible proof that He was real (understand that this was proof to me, I will not expect another to accept it as proof. They will need to receive such proof direct from God). My soul is at rest again because the Lord has been good to me.
for all he has done for me?
I am your servant, oh Lord, and I will strive to serve You as my parents did.
The first of these two proverbs is interesting. Fathers are given joy at the thought that they raised a child who shows wisdom. Those who are foolish disregard and despise their mother. Usually these couplets in Proverbs compare and/or contrast how opposite behaviors effect things. In this case, it tells us that a father is happy to have wise children, but that we can recognize that someone is a fool if they despise their mother.
The second proverb today tells us that taking pleasure in foolish behavior is the signpost of being a fool. If you recognize that something is a foolish thing to do, but do it anyway, you can know that you are well on your way to being a fool.