Who is God? And, how can we find God - Bible answers.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/22/1-samuel-31-commentary/

First Samuel 31 Commentary

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First Samuel closes with chapter 31. King Saul dies. His three sons also die, including Jonathan. It is a sad day for Israel. The army is decimated. Chapter 31 makes a mockery of the word of the LORD that, "One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised." Joshua 23 verse 10. Instead, it's Israel that is routed by the enemy. But this is expected, if not deserved.

Saul's trip to Endor to consult a spiritist is representative of a life that had clearly derailed. Without the Spirit of the LORD, Saul was walking dead. This is probably our pick from the Book of Samuel. The presence of the Spirit of the LORD means life. The absence means death. When David sins by committing adultery with Bathsheba, his main concern is the Spirit of the LORD departing in the manner of Saul's experience. He genuinely repents: "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51 verse 11.

Thanks for loving the word of the LORD.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/21/1-samuel-30-commentary/

First Samuel 30 Commentary

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Understanding your wife's shopping lingo is important in avoiding a budget overrun. She might find a good dress and then ask if you also like it. The question is a budget approval request and not just a mere opinion poll. “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” It's not a plain information extraction exercise. David is asking the LORD to intervene.

The events in this chapter appear quite natural given the nature of the times we are reading about. But the more we think about these events, the more we become suspicious.

This chapter and the three acts of kindness show us how the LORD may lead one to his destiny. An act of kindness may lie in a critical path to one’s destiny. The recovery mission was okayed by the word of the LORD via the Urim and Thummim. The LORD spoke again by directing David to the raiding party. But the second message was wrapped and hidden. It needed an act of kindness to unlock it. Attending to a nearly dead Egyptian man might be considered time-wasting when there is an urgent rescue operation. In the economy of the LORD, generosity can be a huge and indispensable capital.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/20/1-samuel-29-commentary/

First Samuel 29 Commentary

We owe it to the endless mercies of the LORD!

Some kings are scrapping for a living here and there, or begging for a piece of bread, or running away from oppression, or are actually on the other side of the fence. How and why the LORD does what He does is a function of grace. You understand when you read the psalms of David.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/19/1-samuel-28-commentary/

First Samuel 28 Commentary

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Thanks to Saul, and because of him we can learn something about the way the LORD spoke to his people back in time: by dreams, or Urim and Thummim, or by prophets. The Urim and Thummim were dice-like objects that would be used to determine the will of the LORD. But not for Saul. The LORD remained quiet. The stranded Saul has an option: consult a medium. So he disguises himself and finds his way to Endor where the woman spiritist resided.

Saul should have known better. God is option 1 and option 2 and option 3. It should end there.

Saul reaches his lowest point here. Saul wants to talk to the dead prophet Samuel. The LORD intervenes and Samuel does speak. The message is the same. Mene, mene tekel parsin. Saul had been weighed and found wanting. And his time was up. The kingdom would be given to David, but where is David?

On the LORD’s program, David should be taking over the kingdom. While the arisen prophet Samuel is delivering the LORD’s verdict, David is plotting an assault on Israel from the enemy camp. But the LORD is merciful. Achish’s plan to have David accompany the Philistines in the battle against Israel fails. How thankful the saint is when the LORD intervenes to prevent this kind of a mess. We have more details on this story tomorrow.

We can go back to Endor where Saul is consulting the medium. This very strange event may raise questions. Can the dead be consulted? It would be wrong to formulate a rule based on a one-off event, just like one wouldn’t want to conclude that donkeys speak simply because Balaam’s donkey spoke. The shocked medium probably didn’t expect her trick to amount to anything as real as she eventually got. Suffice to say the LORD intervened and the impossible happened.

We are quickly winding down a rather sad story of Saul’s downfall. A man who started off with huge promise and under the power of the Spirit is now nothing but a pile of flesh on the floor in medium’s hut. How you wish this was the floor of the temple! Then you can hope the unending compassion of the LORD would have saved the day for him. But there is no temple. His own hand had brutally killed the very means of his personal restoration.

In the unlikely event that the saint finds himself in this position, don’t go to the nightclub. Go to the temple. The mercies of the LORD are new every morning.

Saul lies down without strength on the floor of the spiritist, having eaten nothing all that day. You can be the wrong person but ensure to lie prostrate in the right place. Ensure the right time. It should be in the morning when the mercies are new. There is something like being late. Ensure the motive is right. The brokenness of heart in repentance is the right motive; not fear of personal loss.

This man Saul is impossible to understand. We don’t want to emulate him by being stubborn even when the writing is on the wall.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/17/1-samuel-26-commentary/

First Samuel 26 Commentary

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A man like Saul in a backslidden state will make several good promises but fail as many times. But we know this latest promise not to try to harm David will be kept. Not by a transformation of heart, but because Saul will die not too long from now. We have followed Saul for a long time. We can tell from his voice that Saul is a beaten man. He is fast approaching his own end.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/16/1-samuel-25-commentary/

First Samuel 25 Commentary

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Priest, Judge, Leader, and the nation’s father, the great prophet Samuel dies. Accordingly, the nation mourns. One important era is closed. In reality, Samuel’s time closed a long time ago. The ‘Era of the Kings’ is well underway, save for the problems that the now-dead prophet had foretold.

It is impossible to overestimate the critical role that the LORD enabled Samuel to play in the history of the nation. In his formative years, the boy priest learned to hear the voice of the LORD from the High Priest Eli. As Judge and leader of the people, he crucially won important battles against Israel’s enemies. The book that bears his name should be about the works of the great prophet. Instead, the book gives us details of both King Saul and the would-be king, David. It highlights the important role that the prophet plays during the establishment of kingship in Israel.

By the time of Samuel’s death, Saul was a wasted and fading monarch. The focus had shifted to Jessy’s son. This chapter is highlighted by Abigail’s intelligence which in essence becomes the intelligence and wisdom from the LORD.

In the face of danger, intelligence demands quick action. Abigail is praised for it. Many believers are derided for being too slow.

Our superhero David is not so super in this chapter. He is on a mission to needlessly shed blood. This itching but sinful desire to teach Nabal a lesson is curtailed by a rare combination of beauty and intelligence in Abigail.

Indeed, when the LORD has fulfilled His promises to you, why should there be on your head a heavy burden of guilt of having needlessly sinned? At the right time, the LORD does come through, but when that time comes let there be no such feeling of having committed sin without cause or reason.

This intelligence still rings loud. As every man knows, there comes a time when you don’t have to wait for others to say it. You say it yourself: “I’m a fool”. Your own stupidity shocks you. Why did I do that? If only I sat down to reason out the entire thing. And it is painful. Thanks to the LORD as we all have an Abigail to help us in moments of potential personal foolishness.

The contrast is interesting. On one hand, is beauty and intelligence as represented by Abigail. On the other are Nabal’s wealth and stupidity. It is wrong to always associate wealth with intelligence.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/15/1-samuel-24-commentary/

First Samuel 24 Commentary

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By his own confession, Saul hasn't been good to David. You sense a tone of regret. Here is David, the hunted; and here is Saul the hunter. But logic seems to temporarily take over. Saul is in the wrong. David is in the right. Saul knows it. He also knows that David would be king.

Eventually, goodness wins. The hunter fails to lift his weapon when the hunted shows up. Forgiveness has won the day. Light is more powerful than darkness. David spares his life and the forgiven Saul returns to his home. But we know Saul is not in control of himself. He will return to this very point.

Salvation by logic, resolutions, or promises doesn’t exist. The story of Saul speaks to us very loudly that when the Spirit of God departs, Ruler on and His dominion will have departed. Man is left in the hands of demons. They decide what happens, often so irrationally that even the sinner himself is left wondering what got into him.

“When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed?” This is the rule in Saul’s evil world. David’s world of righteousness is very different: “From evildoers come evil deeds.” He knows evil comes from evildoers. He is not one of them; so his hand will not touch Saul.

It should be simple: believers shouldn’t do what sinners do. We all need help on this one. David gives us encouragement that indeed this is possible.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/14/1-samuel-23-commentary/

First Samuel 23 Commentary

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“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” David was a jumbo jet in midair without fuel. The LORD attends to this crisis by sending Jonathan. We know this meeting at Horesh is the last time David's heart is warmed by Jonathan's tender yet brave spirit.

With hindsight, we can tell Jonathan’s prophetic word came true. Saul never laid his hand on David. And David became king over Israel. How sad we are that one piece of the prophecy had to wait in eternity. Jonathan would die not too long from this moment. This selfless love; this unmatched concern for a brother in need; and this bravery to vacate your own comfort zone and your own throne for another, is clearly a God thing wrapped in human appearance. Is it this what the LORD had intended for all? That by being in God’s image, we mirror His very character?

But not for King Saul. He is even blessing others in the name of the LORD while on a very ungodly mission. A human mind has a way to sanctify sin and find comfort in wrongdoing. Saul appears to have reached a point where he thought killing David would be a godly achievement. The will of the LORD can be a very delicate commodity. We are therefore impressed with David by his constant desire to consult the LORD.

Won't life be easier for the saint this way? Should I resign from my job? If your wife casts doubt simply go back and ask again. Proceed and submit your resignation letter if the LORD says yes.

If you hear some disturbing news with the potential to cause harm, again approach the LORD and ask. Will the government increase taxes? If that happens, will my business survive?

Do we still need answers from the LORD for these questions?

For those who care to ask, the LORD does provide answers. For those who care to listen, the LORD does speak. For those who care to seek, the answers do come.

Had David’s life been ruled by fear, he would have easily taken his men’s reaction for an answer. David was serious about the question. It wasn’t meant to endorse his ready-made decision. This is something every saint must learn.

If you analyze your own prayers you will find many gaps. If there is a good opportunity, your prayer is, “let me have it”. Should it not rather be, “should I go for it or not”? If there is danger, prayer is the last thing you do. You begin by taking cover before you settle down to pray. Suppose the LORD didn’t want you to run away in the very first place?

We don’t ask. If we ask, we don’t listen. If we listen, we don’t believe. If we believe we don’t take action. David has a lot to teach us from this chapter.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/13/1-samuel-22-commentary/

First Samuel 22 Commentary

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All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander.

So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

The call still remains: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Being in distress, or in debt, or discontented, or a scoundrel, or a sinner, doesn’t at all means one is useless. From this group of people, David was able to raise an administrative structure that changed the history of the nation. From the tax collectors and sinners and fishermen, the man Jesus was able to raise men and women that have changed the world for good. And for a record, we have empires, cities, cathedrals, and even countless children named after Peter. We have heard very little about the more educated Pirate or even the High Priests Caiaphas or Annas. Today we can read about the fugitive David and draw encouragement from his story. It is set in a far more complicated plan than what is immediately obtaining or even possible through his own means. The LORD is in charge.

But for now, he has a cross to carry. There is King Saul to contend with. And for his part, Saul is an interesting story by himself. There is absolutely no reason why he is hunting David. The reasons he gives here are all fabrications by his imaginations. Yes, Jonathan has made a covenant with David but it is for friendship. He shouldn’t be concerned. Jonathan hasn’t incited David against Saul. David is not lying in wait for Saul. It should interest the reader that there are many times when we have gone to bed with swollen hearts about non-existent matters.

In order to sustain sin and all its relatives; bitterness, anger, worry, and fear, among others, the evil one operates a huge factory of lies. You can easily tell that Saul is misinformed. This leads to more sin. The priests Ahimelek and others are murdered because of misinformation and unchecked anger. Again this is for our instruction. It is terrible to sin against the innocent in this way.

Doeg the Edomite is again mentioned. In Psalm 52, Doeg is described as one who seeks to grow strong by destroying others. Here is another important point for the saint: you don’t have to sink another’s boat in order to float your own. The LORD provides enough water to float both. The thought that I only succeed by destroying those around me is Saul’s problem. It is Doeg’s problem. It is sinful and the LORD hates it.

To the hunted like David, it is the song he sings, Psalm 52 that should help us pull through. This psalm is probably written immediately after the events in this chapter. But I am like an olive treeflourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good. Psalm 51 verses 8 and 9. Amen.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lovingscripture.com/2021/11/12/1-samuel-21-commentary/

1 Samuel 21 Commentary.

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What Doeg, the Edomite, does here is the subject of Psalm 52. What David does here is the subject of the teaching we find in the gospel according to Mathew in chapter 12. What David experienced at Gath is possibly the subject of Psalm 34. These events give context to the many psalms of David. These are not songs meant to top the charts! You want to read them again and again, when you find yourself in David’s situation.  

David’s decision to seek refuge at Gath, in the enemy territory, is every saint’s option. And it is wrong. It is not an open door for the saint. It wasn’t for David. The Philistines at Gath made it clear to David. Now the LORD must save David from the Philistines. He had run away from Saul to another problem; a jump from the hot pan into the fire itself.

So the LORD saves David at Gath, only to throw him back into the right ring. He must fight and not run away. Could this be the message here? When salvation comes in installments, then you know the LORD is up to something.

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