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 6. Now that we know that Saul wants David dead, we let’s look at how things start to slip away from him. He loses his position in the palace, his wife, Jonathan, his best friend, Samuel, the one that anointed him king, and he loses his self-respect.
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.
Remember one of the things we said a few weeks ago about God’s selections are always being sovereign and sure, so be sensitive, so we should never presume how God would do something. When we presume and God doesn’t do things the way we thought he would or the way we would have done it we second-guess God. When we do that, we forget that we that He is God, and we are not.
W sometimes forget that God already knows what is going to happen in the future and we don’t. We can only control ourselves we can’t control anybody else, and we certainly can’t control God. If we knew the future especially when in it there would be some very tough times, we may want to back out of God’s plan for us, what we need to do is to trust God to be with us today and not worry about tomorrow. There are two days which we can’t do anything about, and they are yesterday (the past), and tomorrow (the future).
God never changes but we do. We change where we live, we change jobs, we change relationships. Things happen in our lives that cause us to make changes. Some are good, some are bad.
A quick review. David was anointed king by Samuel, but he did not assume the throne right away in fact he went back to being a shepherd for his father. But because God had a plan for him good things seemed to happen.
David was a musician, and his music was so soothing that when Saul was tormented by an evil spirit because he was not out of favor with God, it would calm him down. So, David is now in the palace working for Saul. While there he becomes not only a help in settling Saul down but he becomes a good friend to the heir apparent Johathan. He then becomes a champion, by killing Goliath, he becomes a military leader in fact such a great leader that they sang songs about him.
So far so good. Remember David already knows that he is going to be the king and he may expect an easy road to the throne although he doesn’t yet know what that road is going to be like. Because of David’s success Paul became paranoid and afraid of David’s popularity.
1 Samuel 18:6-9 NIV When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
So David’s bubble burst so to speak and he was now persona non grata and he had a very powerful enemy Saul. Last week we talked about what we need when that happens to us.
take one day at a time
Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
have an intimate friend helps us face whatever comes our way.
David had a good friend Jonathan who realized that David had God’s favor on his life, and he provided David with a lot of support even to the point of it creating problems with Saul his father.
1 Samuel 19:1-5 NIV Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I’ll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out.” Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”
Third, being positive and wise is the best reaction to an enemy.
It takes a lot of faith and humility to rest and trust God when you’re under attack, when you’re misunderstood, and when rumors are spreading about you. When that happens, it’s tempting to want to do something about it.
But you are most like Christ when you remain silent under attack. Jesus was constantly attacked, yet he never retaliated—even on his way to the cross. He remained silent before his accusers because he had entrusted himself to the care of the Father.
The Bible says, “If you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you” (1 Peter 4:19 NLT).
So now that we know that Saul want’s David dead let’s look at how things start to slip away from him.
1 Samuel 18:10-11 NIV The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
1 Samuel 19:9-10 NIV But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
The first thing to go was his position in the kingdom. He had proven himself a faithful—even heroic— soldier, and now it’s all gone forever.
The next thing was his wife. If you remember when Saul was trying to find someone to fight Goliath, he made a promise to give his daughter to that man.
1 Samuel 17:25 NIV Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”
Well, we know that David kills Goliath and the Israelites defeat the the Philistines. Saul’s oldest daughter was Merab and that is who he was giving to the champion, but David a humble man, as we know didn’t feel that he was worthy to become the king’s son-in-law.
1 Samuel 18:17-19 NIV Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!” But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” So when the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
Saul had another daughter, Michal, who loved David and he David was convinced that he should take the opportunity to become the king’s son-in-law. This was a great opportunity for the man that had already been anointed king. But he needs to be able to pay a dowry because he is not being given Michal as a reward. David is poor and but Saul, who still wants David dead, comes up with an idea that may solve his problem. He will let the Philistines kill David.
1 Samuel 18:22-25 NIV Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’ ” They repeated these words to David. But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man and little known.” When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’ ” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
Well David exceeds Saul’s requirement
1 Samuel 18:27 NIV David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
Saul then concocts another plan to use his daughter, now David’s wife, in his plot to kill David.
1 Samuel 19:11-17 NIV Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head. When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, “He is ill.” Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him.” But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats’ hair. Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?” Michal told him, “He said to me, ‘Let me get away. Why should I kill you?’ ”
Now Michal resurfaces later but this is after her father is dead and David is the king. We will get to that later in our studies.
So now David has lost his position in the palace, and he has lost his wife because he has to split, he is on the run. And the person he runs to is Samuel the guy that anointed him king and who is apparently a counselor, sort of like his pastor.
1 Samuel 19:18-24 NIV When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied. Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
David had to leave Naioth because Saul knew he was there. There is no indication in scripture that David ever saw Samuel again. Ok so David has now lost his position, his wife, and his pastor. So where does he go now? Well we talked about needing an intimate friend when we are facing enemies so David now runs to his friend Johathan. That doesn’t last either.
1 Samuel 20:1 NIV Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill
me?”
Jonathan is in denial and thinks that his father tells him everything but David knows otherwise so they work out a way for Jonathan to check it out and if he’s convinced that his father wants to kill David he will let him know for certain. The plan is in 1 Samuel Chapter 20. To cut to the chase Johathan is convinced that Saul wants to kill David to he wants to see his good friend one more time before David must leave perhaps forever.
1 Samuel 20:35-42 NIV In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?” Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.” After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most. Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’ ” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
Now David is alone for real. He is kicked out our the palace. He can’t go home to his wife, he can’t go to his pastor, and he can’t go to his friend. Remember also that his brothers are not real sympathetic right now either.
1 Samuel 17:28-29 NIV When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?”
So here’s the man after God’s own heart all alone. We know that God is still with him, but we all need people too. Now that he is all alone and thinks nobody love him like most of us, he becomes depressed and thinks it’s over for him and he’s useless. So, he loses his self-respect.
He really loses it, in my opinion because he now runs to the enemy. Today we would call that treason.
1 Samuel 21:10-15 NIV That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: “ ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”
David had hit rock bottom.
David lost what Chuck called crutches and he gives us three warning about crutches.
The first warning is that a crutch becomes a substitute for God.
Only God is to be our strength; in the final analysis, we are to lean only on his everlasting arms.
Deuteronomy 33:1, 27-29 NIV This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will live in safety; Jacob will dwell secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights.”
Isaiah 41:8-10 NIV “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
God says. But as long as you lean on someone else, you can’t lean on Me. As long as you lean on some other thing, you won’t lean on Me. They become substitutes for Me, so that you are not being upheld by My hand.
Second, crutches keep our focus horizontal. When you lean on another person or another thing, your focus is sideways, not vertical.
Colossians 3:1-4 NIV Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Third, crutches offer only temporary relief.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
God doesn’t give temporary relief. He offers a permanent solution.
TWO FINAL LESSONS FOR “LEANERS”
1. There’s nothing wrong with leaning, if you lean ultimately and completely on the Lord. In fact, being human you have to lean; you can’t walk the life of faith alone. That’s why you have Christ.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Psalm 37:3-7 AMPC Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday. Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
2. Being stripped of all substitutes is the most painful experience on earth. There is nothing more painful than being stripped of the toys of the heart. So relieve yourselves of them before He has to take them away. Don’t make an idol out of your mate or your children. Don’t make an idol out of your position. Don’t make an idol out of some possession.
Bible Study Audio
No comments:
Post a Comment