March 16, 2014

• waiting on God's promises

   

  1 Samuel 19 -

  "¹¹ Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. ....

  ¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth."

   

  Samuel was the one who had anointed David originally, with the message that he would be king of Israel some day (1 Samuel 16).   David believed God, and Samuel his prophet, and this probably helped him in his bold exploits like fighting Goliath, etc... it must have been pretty nifty to have a prophecy spoken over you that you would some day be king... if the prophecy came from a trustworthy spokesperson of God (since God knows the future), one could be certain that one would not die before becoming king, and that would tend to give one great boldness in battle and life in general.

  However, David's success as a soldier and general caused the existing king, Saul, to become envious of him and try to kill him, multiple times and over the course of many years  (1 Samuel 18ff).  David could have simply fought against Saul and captured the kingship.  But interestingly, he did not, though he repeatedly had "perfect opportunities" to do so, including twice sneaking up behind Saul when he had no protectors.  Instead, David kept running and hiding and fleeing, rather than fight against King Saul (who was also his father-in-law!).

  1 Samuel 24 relates one of these times, when David was close enough behind King Saul to secretly cut off a piece of his robe, without Saul even noticing.  David's men urged David to kill Saul.  But he refused, saying "I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed."  In other words, David resolved to wait until he could have the kingship "in the right way", rather than seizing it for himself "the wrong way" out of impatience.

  He believed (enough) in God's promise, such that he was content to wait, and wait, and wait.

  From whence came this faith/trust?

  Probably from many factors... but perhaps one of these factors was this brief meeting with Samuel in 1 Samuel 19:18.   David was telling Samuel.... "Remember, you anointed me the future king!?!? But then why is all this happening to me?  The king is trying to take my life!?  Where is God?  I try to follow God and do the right thing, and what do I get for it?  I'm on the run for my life.  My own king, the one I have served sincerely and faithfully, is trying to take me out.  Why?  What's the point of continuing this approach of 'waiting' and 'doing things the right way'??"

  What did Samuel tell David?  ...that old prophet, who had counseled and provided justice for thousands of Israelites over the years, who had originally anointed Saul and had seen Saul's heartbreaking perfidy and turning-away from God... then had anointed David but had not yet seen the fulfillment of his prophecy.

  His words are not recorded.  But he apparently listened to David, went with him on a trip to a town where he could be temporary safer, and gave him some powerful advice, which kept David on the path of walking with God for the next few months or years.  Many times in our lives too, the advice of an older godly person at the right moment can be extremely beneficial.   Maybe Samuel shared with David what he had seen in his own life, that God's answers to prayer are often very slow, but worth waiting for... and that God always keeps his promises.

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