The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.
The doctrine of divine providence can be summarized this way: “God in eternity past, in the counsel of His own will, ordained everything that will happen; yet in no sense is God the author of sin; nor is human responsibility removed.”
These are the notes to Session 3 and we look at why God chose David.
For our study we will be using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, by Charles R. Swindoll, and The Hand of God by Alistair Begg. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people. Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.
God is Sovereign
Saying God is sovereign means He has ultimate control over everything and determines all outcomes. In other words, God is able and free to accomplish everything He wills. (1) Nothing exists outside the scope of His perfect control. (2) All that was, is, and will be operates under His authority:
The rise and fall of nations
Daniel 4:34-35 NIV At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”
Details of our daily lives
Acts 17:24-27 NIV “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
Satan’s opposition
1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Calling people to salvation
Romans 8:29-30 NIV For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Awakening dead hearts to seek Him
Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Aspects of God’s sovereignty are beyond our ability to comprehend fully. We have questions like, If God is in absolute control, how can He hold people responsible for their choices?
Romans 1:19-20 explains why God’s sovereignty never eliminates human responsibility. Instead, each individual is accountable for responding to the light God shines into our lives.
Romans 1:18-20 NIV The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Because God is perfect, everything God wills and accomplishes is good. He upholds His glory and the highest and best possible purposes. God’s goodness exists in perfect measure with His sovereign power, even His wrath. None of God’s attributes compete with or compromise any of His other attributes.
Resting in God’s sovereignty provides peace in a chaotic world. God:
knows what we do not.
controls what we cannot.
accomplishes what He desires.
always desires and does what is best.
With God in control, you can cease striving and rest in Him. With God in charge, you no longer need to be anxious. You can obey without worry and rest in Him because He will accomplish what He intends. He has numbered your days and charted your path.
(Psalm 46:10 puts it together so well, “Be still and know that I am God.” Or, as the angelic chorus tells the shepherds, “On earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). Do you trust God with your life and know His peace?
Why Did God Choose David?
Spirituality
God uses people who, like David, are "after His own heart.”
1 Samuel 13:14 NIV But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
That means that you are a person whose life is in harmony with the Lord. What is important to Him is important to you. What burdens Him burdens you. When He says, “Go to the right,” you go to the right. When He says, “Stop that in your life,” you stop it. When He says, “When He says, “This is wrong and Iwant you to change,” you come to terms with it because you have a heart for God. That's bottom-line biblical Christianity. When you are deeply spiritual, you have a heart that is sensitive to the things of God.
The second quality God saw in David was humility.
Psalms 78:70-72 NLT He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants— God’s own people, Israel. He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.
James 4:6-10 NIV But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
The third quality David had was integrity.
Psalms 78:71-72 NIV from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
Synonyms for this Hebrew word thamam, translated “integrity”: “complete, whole, innocent, having simplicity of life, wholesome, sound, unimpaired.” Integrity is what you are when nobody's looking. It means being bone-deep honest.
Saul's selection then he blows it and God rejects him
Samuel was the last great judge of Israel and his sons did not lead the people because they were for themselves.
1 Samuel 8:1-5 NIV When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
Samuel didn’t like it but the people prevailed.
1 Samuel 8:19-22 NIV But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”
Saul got full of himself and forgot that he was not God and that in order to be successful he needed to obey God and He didn’t and since he was leading God’s people God had to intervene. So, in His divine providence He chose someone else to lead His people.
1 Samuel 13:13-14 NIV “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
MAN PANICS . . . GOD PROVIDES
MAN CHOOSES . . . GOD CORRECTS
Samuel knows that God has selected someone, but he assumes that he will select the most physically impressive on Jesse's sons.
1 Samuel 16:1 NIV The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
What a surprise.
1 Samuel 16:6-10 NIV When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
We will find out some things a out Eliab later that Samuel didn't know but God, because He knows everything already knew which eliminated Eliab for kingship and apparently the others had some things too. You see Samuel, like us, looks at things we can see.
1 Samuel 16:7 NIV But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Remember, God had said, “I’ve already chosen my man; I will designate him.” And wayback in chapter 13, God said, “I’m looking for a man after My heart. I’m searching for that person.”
Nobody thought about David, not only his father.
MAN FORGETS . . . GOD REMEMBERS
1 Samuel 16:11-13 NIV So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
Then to show you what kind of person he was, what did David do? He went back to his job as a shepherd.
1 Samuel 16:14-19 NIV Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our Lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.” So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.” One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.” Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
David was sensitive enough to hear the whisper of God’s voice, “You will be the next king.” But as soon as the big moment was over and they turned out the lights, he washumbly back with his sheep. People had to actually pull him from the sheep to gethim to do anything that was related to the limelight.
GOD SPEAKS . . . WE RESPOND
First, God’s solutions are often strange and simple, so be open.
We try to make God complex and complicated. He isn’t. Amid all the complications with Saul and the throne, God simply said to Samuel, “Go where I tell you to go. I've got a simple answer. A new man. You just follow Me and I’ll show you.” Don’t make the carrying out of God’s will complicated. It isn’t. Stay open to His strange yet simple solutions.
Second, God’s promotions are usually sudden and surprising, so be ready.
At the time you least expect it, it’ll come. That’s the way His . He watches you as you faithfully carry out your tasks and He says to you, “I Know what I’m doing. In a sudden and surprising moment, you be ready. I know where you are, and I know how to find you. You just stay ready.
Finally, God’s selections are always sovereign and sure, so be sensitive. That applies to choosing a mate as well as losing a mate. It applies to our being moved from one place to another, even though we thought we’d remain there ten more years. It also applies to those God appoints to fill the shoes of another. How easy to second-guess God’s selections! How necessary, when tempted to do that, to remind ourselves that His selections are sovereign and sure.
Bible Study Audio
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