Only a Boy Named David

It started innocently enough.


In season and out of season, through sunny days and stormy nights, David and his men had protected the sheep and shepherds of another man.  Even though David was still running from Saul, he and his band of a few hundred men guarded the shepherds.


Now the day had come to return the favor.  It was a feast day, and David and his men were hungry.  Who better to visit than the man whose shepherds and sheep they had protected?  So David sent some messengers to see Nabal.  "'Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David'" (1 Samuel 25:8).

"And Nabal answered David's servants, 'Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters.'" (1 Samuel 25:10).

It was a simple concept, really.  Even young children can understand the trading concept of "I give you this, you give me that."  Not Nabal.  Commonly considered a "fool" by those who knew him, Nabal rashly and angrily responded to David's men, utterly refusing to give them anything.  Not a good idea on Nabal's part.


David was angry.  He and his men had expended so much energy to protect the sheep and shepherds of a man who did not even acknowledge the favor.  David's men had labored without reward or repayment.  And when they asked for a kind return, they were not only refused, but insulted.


Fuming, David led his men to the attack.  They were men of war, after all.  Four hundred men went stomping to Nabal's place, but they never got there.  David halted in his warpath, dissuaded by the words of a woman.  Nabal's wife Abigail humbly asked David to turn from his murderous intentions, telling him that "'...the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand...'" (1 Samuel 25:26).


Saving with his own hand.


Throughout the Bible, God proves Himself faithful to His faithless people over and over and over and over again.  When all else fails, when every earthly support crumbles away, God is the One who saves.  When Moses faced a despairing crowd and a lack of food, the LORD asked him, "'Is the Lord's hand shortened?'" (Numbers 11:23).  He saves us when we feel we can go no deeper (Psalm 103:4).  He rescues us and fulfills our desires (Psalm 145:19).  Paul told the Romans (5:10), as is true for us today, that we are saved by the life of Christ, not by our own doing.  After all, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).


Jesus.  His very Name means "Savior."


David was distracted.  Blinded by his fury and hate, he forgot all that had brought him to where he was.  Earlier, when he was dangerously close to his pursuer, Saul, David knew that God was sovereign over David's earthly situation, and that God would be faithful to fulfill His promises to him.  David had only to trust, obey, and wait.


David wasn't doing any of that as he hurried to confront Nabal.  Instead, he was seeking to be master of his own destiny and avenger of his reputation.  But God led Abigail to block David's path.


"'If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God,'" Abigail assured David.  As for his enemies, she told him, God would "'sling [them] out as from the hollow of a sling'" (1 Samuel 25:29).  A sling.  David was well acquainted with the sling.  Years before, he had been catapulted to royal recognition with a sling and a giant named Goliath.


It was as if Abigail was reminding David of his calling - his charge - from God.  It involved fighting God's battles, not executing vengeance in personal matters.  David had more pressing concerns.


David humbly thanked Abigail for her reminder, and praised God for leading her into his path.  He and his men retreated, leaving Nabal in the hands of God.  Within a few days, Nabal was dead.


God didn't need David's help with Nabal.  God didn't need our help in bringing salvation to earth.  Jesus alone saves us from our sin, its consequences, and the prison of a life addicted to that sin, even as he equips us to live a life of service to Him.  He has a sovereign plan for our life and it will come to pass.  No matter what struggles, trials, or unexpected circumstances we face, we can rest in the knowledge that God is in control.  We can trust Him as we obey His will in our lives.


Fight in God's time, strength, and cause.  But leave personal vendettas with Him.  As David (and Nabal's servants) found out, it just works better that way.  It always does.  After all, His ways are higher than ours.

The Way

The Author of Life consented to die

Death had a victory.

The earth gave a shudder, the land was dark,

No good soul could see.

How could this be the good plan of God,

Above the thoughts of man?

Either God had lost or else turned bad,

How could this be His hand?

As evil triumphed and good men wept,

All that was right seemed gone.

Yet when the LORD is in the fight,

The battle is not done.

How often in this earthly world

Our eyes don't truly see.

Where we see despair or certain defeat,

God works mightily.

With a triumphant quake one early morn,

The truth was seen at last.

The Author of Life could not be held down,

Death's dark rule was past.

Wonder of wonders, joy of joys,

Beyond all earthly thought!

God granted to us this great victory,

The peace for which He fought.

No matter the struggle, sin, or setback,

No matter the earthly loss,

We as God's people are assured of great gain,

Because of the Tomb and the Cross.

Death seemed at first to have full rein,

Wreaking grief and strife.

But God knew all along that this would be

The way to give us Life.

by Lauren
image credit

Surprises in the Hall of Faith

By faith.  By faith.  By faith.  By FAITH.


So reads the famous "Hall of Faith" chapter in the New Testament - Hebrews 11.  As I read this chapter the other day, most of the names fit comfortably in my idea of "faith."  There was Abraham.  Noah.  Moses.  Easy - they all had much faith.


But then my eyes stopped at a name I didn't expect to see in Hebrews 11: Samson.


Samson?


Is this the same Samson who blatantly defied his parents - and God?  Is this the same Samson who chose a bride among the "uncircumcised Philistines" (Judges 14:3)?  Is this the same Samson who left his God-given purpose for a woman?  Is this the same Samson who foolishly gave away his 'secret' to the same woman who had betrayed him not once, not twice, but THREE times before?  Is this the same Samson?


Yeah - that's the one.


Samson chose a wife, not by his parents' guidance or God's precepts, but because "she was right in Samson's eyes" (Judges 14:7).


Eventually, Samson's self-centered foolishness led to his downfall.  His enemies, paid by his girlfriend, captured him, enslaved him, and blinded him by putting out his eyes.  For some time Samson performed servile tasks for his captors.


But little by little, Samson's hair grew back.  Day after monotonous day, it grew longer.  Matthew Henry points out that the growth of Samson's hair was not so much a sign of his strength as it was a sign of God once again working through him.  Samson was penitent of his past sins, and turned to the God who had orchestrated his entire life.


Then one day, the Philistines brought Samson out to gloat over him.  At long last, they had captured the elusive and legendary Samson of the neighboring Israelites.  Samson came out, led by the hand as his own eyes were no longer any good for him.  At Samson's request, the young man leading him placed Samson's hands on the pillars that were upholding the building.  Samson prayed to his God: and pushed hard on the pillars.


Thousands of Philistines died that day as they were having a good time and praising their god for delivering Samson to them.


I guess God had the last word.


Samson is only mentioned one more time in the Bible after his death in Judges 16.  That one time is in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith.


Who would have thought that a stubborn and rebellious young man would be named as a man of great faith?  God changed Samson's heart.  Once Samson turned to God, he put his faith in the only One deserving of his trust. Once Samson's own eyes were out of the question, he saw what was right in God's eyes - and acted on it.


God can redeem the lowest sinner.  And Samson could still follow God after refusing His leading for so long.


Just like Jonah still preached to Nineveh - after literally running away from God.  Peter still led the disciples - after denying Christ three times.  And who can forget Saul, who changed his name to Paul?  He wrote nearly half of the books in the New Testament - after agreeing to the stoning of the first Christian martyr.


Every great man or woman of God is also a great sinner.  "For all have sinned," Paul wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  But God is a God of redemption, of saving that great sinner and making him or her a great servant of God.  All of history shows God's redemption.  All of our lives showcase His faithfulness.


Great men or women of faith are not great in and of themselves.  They are great because they have placed their faith in a faithful God - and they know that He is worthy of that faith.

"Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God..."

Hebrews 11:16