The Famous God Who Saves a People for the Glory of His Name [Family Worship lesson in 1Samuel 17]

What are we to learn from great battle victories? 1Samuel 17 looks forward to the second reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fifty-eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the purpose of great battle victories is not to impress us with the men who fight them but to impress us with God, Who gives all victories.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2022.11.03 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 17

Read 1 Samuel 17

Questions from the Scripture text: What was the arrangement of the camps of the Philistines and Israelites in 1 Samuel 17:1–3? Who went out from the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:4)? What was he like (1 Samuel 17:4-7)? What challenge did he make (1 Samuel 17:8-10)? How do Saul and Israel respond (1 Samuel 17:11)? What is Jesse’s condition (1 Samuel 17:12b)? What are his sons doing at this time (1 Samuel 17:12-14)? What did David sometimes do (1 Samuel 17:5)? What does Jesse have him do on one of these occasions (1 Samuel 17:12-19)? What is happening when David arrives (1 Samuel 17:20-23)? How do the men of Israel respond (1 Samuel 17:23-24)? What additional info do they give us in 1 Samuel 17:25, 1 Samuel 17:27, 1 Samuel 17:30? Why is David incredulous at this reward offer (1 Samuel 17:26)? Who is irritated at this, and what does he say (1 Samuel 17:28-29)? Who hears and sends for David (1 Samuel 17:31)? What does David say to him (1 Samuel 17:32)? But what does Saul say (1 Samuel 17:33)? What has David done (1 Samuel 17:34-36), and why is he certain that this will be the same (1 Samuel 17:36-37a)? How does Saul respond (verse 37b)? What does Saul try to give him, and why doesn’t it help (1 Samuel 17:38-39)? What does David take instead (1 Samuel 17:40)? What does the Philistine think of David (1 Samuel 17:41-42)? What does he say to/about him (1 Samuel 17:43-44)? How does David respond in 1 Samuel 17:45? What does he say Yahweh will do, and what does David say that he himself will do (1 Samuel 17:46)? What will this assembly then know (1 Samuel 17:47)? How does David respond when the Philistine approaches (1 Samuel 17:48)? What does he do in 1 Samuel 17:49? But what did David not have (1 Samuel 17:50)? So, whose does he use to do what in 1 Samuel 17:51? And how do the Philistines respond? How do the Israelites respond (1 Samuel 17:52-53)? What does David do with the Philistine’s head (1 Samuel 17:53, 1 Samuel 17:57)? Armor (1 Samuel 17:54)? What (kind of odd, considering chapter 16) question does Saul ask Abner in 1 Samuel 17:55 and David in 1 Samuel 17:58?

What are we to learn from great battle victories? 1 Samuel 17 looks forward to the second reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fifty-eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the purpose of great battle victories is not to impress us with the men who fight them but to impress us with God, Who gives all victories.

Famous me and famous victories. This is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. That’s a challenge for us: is what we see here the  famousness of the details, the actors, the actions, and the outcomes? Or is what we see here the honor and glory of God Himself? All of Scripture, 1 Samuel as a whole, and this passage all urge us to see that God Himself is the real story.

We’ve had Saul (1 Samuel 9:2) and Eliab (1 Samuel 16:6–7) described to us as physically impressive, so the Holy Spirit has prepared us not to be as impressed with Goliath as everyone else is. Israel (1 Samuel 17:24), Philistia (1 Samuel 17:51b), Saul (1 Samuel 17:25), Eliab (1 Samuel 17:28), and Goliath himself (1 Samuel 17:43) all seem quite impressed with him. 

David’s famous God. But David’s big problem is that none of them seem to be impressed enough with God (1 Samuel 17:26, 1 Samuel 17:36). Goliath, Saul, and Eliab may be on different sides, but they all seem to agree about David, because they’re all failing to see the greatness of David’s God.

Let us not make the same mistake—whether with Goliath, or with David. It’s God with Whom David was impressed when it came to the lion and the bear (1 Samuel 17:39), and it’s God with Whom David expects us all to be impressed by the time this is over (end of 1 Samuel 17:46). 

If we come away content to be impressed with David, 2 Samuel is going to end up to be a rather deflating experience in the deficiencies of our hero. But, if we come away impressed with God, we will come away impressed by far more than the courage He worked in David through faith in Himself. 

If it is God Himself Who is impressing us in this passage, we will come away sobered that He does not take despising Him lightly. We will come away encouraged that He destroys all of His and our enemies. We will come away remembering that this was one event, among many, by which God Himself was coming in Christ to be our Savior. We will come away reverencing and trusting and worshiping. 

1 Samuel 17 is not telling us to identify our Goliaths, or even so much to be swift and courageous like David. 1 Samuel 17 is inviting us to behold our God, and trust in Him, and honor and serve Him, regardless of what faces us or comes to us in the process.

How is God being underestimated by the culture? By the church? By your own heart?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for not having our hearts tuned to see Your glory and greatness in every circumstance, let alone in great battles and victories. We grieve that our hearts are so easily impressed with others, and even with ourselves, but not easily enough impressed with You. Give us adoration and admiration for You, through Christ Who has adored You perfectly, we ask in His Name, AMEN!

 ARP45A “My Heart Is Greatly Stirred” or TPH45A “My Heart Is Greatly Stirred”

God Regards His Own Glory and Avenges Himself upon False Worship and Religion [Family Worship lesson in 1Samuel 4:1–11]

Why did God kill thirty-four thousand (and two!) Israelites? 1Samuel 4:1–11 looks forward to the first reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eleven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that in all things, God acts for His own glory, especially avenging Himself upon manmade worship and religion.(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2022.11.02 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 4:1–11

Read 1 Samuel 4:1–11

Questions from the Scripture text: What did Israel go out to do (1 Samuel 4:1)? Where did each army encamp? What happened in the battle (1 Samuel 4:2)? What did the people ask (1 Samuel 4:3a)? What did they think would change the outcome, and what did they think would save them (verse 3b)? Who dwelt between the cherubim (1 Samuel 4:4)? Who else were right there, when they were retrieving it? How did Israel respond when the ark arrived (1 Samuel 4:5)? What did the Philistines ask in 1 Samuel 4:6? What did they understand? What did they call the ark in 1 Samuel 4:7? Where did they assume that God was not, before? What did the Philistines think of this new development at first (1 Samuel 4:7-8)? But how did they determine to respond (1 Samuel 4:9)? How did the outcome of this battle compare to the outcome of the earlier one (1 Samuel 4:10, cf. 1 Samuel 4:2)? What was captured (1 Samuel 4:11a)? Who died (verse 11b)?

Why did God kill thirty-four thousand (and two!) Israelites? 1 Samuel 4:1–11 looks forward to the first reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these eleven verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that in all things, God acts for His own glory, especially avenging Himself upon manmade worship and religion.

God acts for the honor of His own glory. We do a dreadful thing, when we take God lightly or treat Him as an easily manipulated genie in a bottle. Israel asks an important question in 1 Samuel 4:3, “Why has Yahweh struck us down”? 

The answer (or at least a significant part of it) is buried way down in 1 Samuel 4:11: “and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.” Their death is a sign that we have been expecting for the desecration of God’s worship ever since 1 Samuel 2:34, and especially after 1 Samuel 3:12, 1 Samuel 3:19, 1 Samuel 4:1a. So, if we have been paying attention, the answer is, “Out of respect for His own honor in His own worship!”

That God cares so much about right worship may be startling to us, if we live in a day of worship chaos, where “everyone does what is right in his own eyes, and there is no king in Israel.” If that’s true of our worship situation in the churches, then we can see the parallel with Samuel’s situation, coming out of the period of the Judges.

Yet, we have seen that this is the answer to the “why” the army of God’s people was defeated and slaughtered: “Out of respect for His own honor in His own worship!”

Worshiping according to our will belongs to a superstitious approach to God. Israel was treating Yahweh as a deity that could be easily manipulated. His worship was being desecrated, but this was not their answer to why they lost. Instead, they concluded that they had forgotten the magical furniture (1 Samuel 4:3-4). It was as if the ark had God’s power infused in it in such a way that God would have to give them what they wanted. It turns out, from 1 Samuel 4:7, that this was also the Philistine view of how deities work.

The Lord punishes Israel’s superstitious, manipulative approach to Him with a defeat more than seven times as bad as before (cp. 1 Samuel 4:4 with 1 Samuel 4:10). He takes from them that symbol of His presence that they had treated as more important than Him Himself (1 Samuel 4:11a). And He crowns the defeat with the fulfillment of His judgment (verse 11b).

We must recognize and refuse those compromises by which we provoke God in His worship. The question for us, then, is where we might be doing such things. 

Are we bowing to God’s complete authority over His worship, or do we seek to modify worship to be more pleasing to ourselves or others? 

In those things that God has given us as means by which He works, are we trusting in Him and interacting with Him, or are we trusting the means and using them in a way that is not mindful of Him? 

If Scripture teaches us that God acts in such a way as to vindicate His glory and honor over against the church’s cavalier approach to the means of grace, then let us bow and worship and repent and confess that He is righteous and just and holy to bring upon us whatever judgments that He determines.

What are some manmade additions to God’s worship that are widely tolerated and approved in the churches? What are some judgments in which the church has been defeated by the world around it? What does this passage teach us might be the connection between those things?

Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for doing in Your worship that which pleases us instead of that which You have prescribed. Truly, You are righteous in the devastating defeats that Your church has been losing to the world around it, just as You were righteous in the slaughter of Israel, the loss of the ark, and the deaths of Eli’s sons. Grant repentance to Your church and the purification of her worship we ask, in Christ’s Name, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH130A “Lord, from the Depths, to Thee I Cry”

"Of Good Works" part 3, WCF 16.1.2, The Danger of Defining Good Works for Ourselves (2021.10.03 Sabbath School in Romans 15:1–13, John 16:1–3, 1Samuel 15:13–26)

When we decide for ourselves what are good works, we put ourselves in danger of sinning greatly against ourselves, against others, and against God.(click audio title within player for a page where you can download mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2020.01.06 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 31

Read 1 Samuel 31

Questions from the Scripture text: What is happening as David and his men split the spoil from the Amalekites (1 Samuel 31:1)? What happens to the men of Israel in this fight? Where? After whom do the Philistines follow hard in 1 Samuel 31:2a? Whom do they kill (verse 2b)? Against whom does the battle then become fierce (1 Samuel 31:3)? Who hit (lit. “find”) him? With what effect? What does Saul ask his armorbearer to do (1 Samuel 31:4)? Why? Why wouldn’t he? What did Saul do instead? What does the armorbearer see in 1 Samuel 31:5? What does he do? What was the cumulative effect of all of this (1 Samuel 31:6)? What men were where in 1 Samuel 31:7? What did they see? What did they do? Who came and did what? What are Philistines doing the next day (1 Samuel 31:8)? What do they find? What do they do to Saul (1 Samuel 31:9)? To whom do they send word? Where do they proclaim it? Where do they put his armor (1 Samuel 31:10)? His body? Who hear about this in 1 Samuel 31:11 (cf.1 Samuel 11:1–11)? Who arise (1 Samuel 31:12)? How long do they travel? What do they take from where? What do they do with the desecrated bodies? But what do they do with their bones (1 Samuel 31:13)? And then what do they do?

God’s Word is always true, but His people often aren’t.  

We’ve been kept waiting for two chapters to find out how Samuel’s words from 1 Samuel 28:19 to resolve. And resolve they do, to the great grief of Israel. 

Jonathan and brothers die in 1 Samuel 31:2. Saul kills himself in 1 Samuel 31:4. The armorbearer kills himself in 1 Samuel 31:5. All his men die in 1 Samuel 31:6. An entire region of Israelites abandon their homes and are displaced by Philistines in 1 Samuel 31:7.

But there is comfort in this grief, precisely because it is exactly as God has said. The reliability of His precious and faithful Word is upheld. And the fact of His good and wise purposes in the most grievous of circumstances is repeated.

Dreadfully, however, 1 Samuel 31:9-10 hearken back to 1 Samuel 5, in which Yahweh and the ark humiliated the Philistines and their gods, Dagon in particular. Now, the necessary judgment upon Saul has come at the cost of shame being cast upon Israel and (much worse) Israel’s God. If 1 Samuel 4 ends in Ichabod (the glory has departed), this is even more grievous: the glory has been humiliated.

Let us take comfort in the reliability of God’s Word and the reality of God’s purposes, but let us never take them as excuses for our own unfaithfulness—lest we become occasions for bringing shame uon the church and (much worse) the church’s God!

Instead, trusting ourselves to Him, let us be like onetime weak men of Jabesh Gilead (1 Samuel 31:11, cf. 1 Samuel 11:1–11). They had once depended upon the rest of Israel to come to their aid, but now with the rest of Israel dead, defeated, or running, the men of Jabesh Gilead go alone to salvage what they can of the dignity of Israel’s king and princes (1 Samuel 31:12-13). The mutilated flesh is even disposed of so that the bones may be buried in anticipation of the resurrection. 

It seems like little; but, trusting the whole to the Lord, it was what they could do. So on the one hand, seek that you do not become an occasion for shame. But rather, do what you can for the honor of the church and her King, however little it may be. You can count upon the reliability of His Word and reality of His purposes.

To what shame-bringing sin are you tempted? For what righteousness and service do you have opportunity—and why might this require courage? Where will you get it?

Suggested songs: ARP46 “God Is Our Refuge and Strength” or TPH539 “Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

2020.12.30 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 30

Read 1 Samuel 30

Questions from the Scripture text: To where did David and his men return, how long had they been gone, and what had happened (1 Samuel 30:1, 1 Samuel 30:3, 1 Samuel 30:5, cf. 1 Samuel 27:5–6)? What had the Amalekites not done (1 Samuel 30:2)? How did David and his men respond (1 Samuel 30:4)? Of what did the men speak and why (1 Samuel 30:6)? In Whom does the text mention David strengthening himself (for the first time in a while, end of verse 6!)? For what does David ask (for the first time in a while, 1 Samuel 30:7, cf. 1 Samuel 23:1–13!)? Of Whom does David inquire (for the first time in a while, 1 Samuel 30:8, cf. 1 Samuel 23:1–13!)? What does Yahweh say? How many go with David in 1 Samuel 30:9? How many were left behind and why (1 Samuel 30:10)? Whom do the four hundred find (1 Samuel 30:11)? What do they give him and why (1 Samuel 30:12)? What does David ask, and whose servant does he turn out to be (1 Samuel 30:13)? What does he confirm (1 Samuel 30:14)? For what does he ask in order to help David (1 Samuel 30:15)? In what condition do they find the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:16)? What does David do, and with what success in 1 Samuel 30:17-19? What additional spoil do they take (1 Samuel 30:20)? To whom do they return in 1 Samuel 30:21? What kind of men were among David’s men (1 Samuel 30:22)? What did they want to do? What reasoning does David give for opposing them (1 Samuel 30:23)? What rule does he establish in Israel, upon the basis of this reasoning (1 Samuel 30:24-25)? What does David do with some of his portion (1 Samuel 30:26-31, cf. 1 Samuel 27:10)?

Sometimes, the Lord brings us to the extremity of desperation to snap us back to our senses and grow us in grace. We had noted in chapters 27 and 29—when discerning the Spirit’s opinions on David’s actions as a backdrop for God’s unmerited grace—that during this stint of his life it seemed like everyone but David seemed to be inquiring of Yahweh. 

But the Lord now brings him back to asking the priest for the ephod (1 Samuel 30:7), back to inquiring of Yahweh (1 Samuel 30:8), back to obeying Yahweh (1 Samuel 30:8-9), back to crediting Yahweh for his protection (1 Samuel 30:23) and crediting Yahweh for his prosperity (1 Samuel 30:26). He has gone from “now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul” and simply trying to escape (1 Samuel 27:1) to providing for God’s people and galvanizing support for his coming kingdom (1 Samuel 30:26-31). He was hindered from doing this before by his unbelieving strategy of trying not to let word get out of his helping the people of God!

There is instruction here for what to aim at in terms of maintaining a life of calling upon the Lord (prayer) and seeking His instruction (hearing Bible preaching, reading the Bible, etc.). There is instruction here for living by the wisdom that seeks to serve God and His people as well as possible, more than the mere shrewdness that is involved in trying to protect ourselves and provide for ourselves.

But the thrust of the text seems to be about the extremity to which the Lord brought His servant in order to set him back into these paths. David and his men hadn’t been permitted to participate in the war (1 Samuel 29:10-11), so the exhaustion of 200 warriors in 1 Samuel 30:10 was that of the weeping in 1 Samuel 30:4. Apparently the only thing the men still had energy for at that point was for executing their leader (1 Samuel 30:6). In many other difficulties David had his men, and the comfort of the good and wise women who loved him dearly, but now these last supports had been taken away!

We see what God is sometimes after in the difficulties of our lives. Not trial for trial’s sake, or even just for growth’s sake, but sometimes for repentance’s sake. David was under fire from Saul, but he responded in unbelief (chapter 27). Perhaps he thought he was responding in wisdom (many commentators on 1 Samuel seem to think so!). Then David was under fire from the Philistines, before a king of Gath (1 Samuel 28:1–2, 1 Samuel 29:1-5), and didn’t respond with the former holy boldness with which he had faced a champion from Gath (1 Samuel 17:45–47, as called to mind by 1 Samuel 29:5).

But, until David repented, the Lord kept bringing him even lower. Providence pulled the Amalekite hammer out of the bag and brought it down on God’s wayward servant until he was wifeless, friendless, and under threat from even the men whom he had found dependable in many hard circumstances until now.

We may think, after a sustained streak of hard trials, that the suffering is complete. But, if we belong to God by faith in Christ, He has purposes in all of our trials—including and especially our repentance (cf. Hebrews 12:3–14). So until we arrive at that holiness in which we will see the Lord, let us not be surprised if, however low the Lord has brought us, His wisdom and love deem it necessary to bring us even lower. And, let us always be ready to ruthlessly consider what repentance might yet be necessary in the current state of our heart and behavior.

What great trial have you faced/been facing? Why might it get harder? What is one thing you should be doing in light of it? To Whom should you look for wisdom to do this? At what is He always aiming for you?

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH231 “Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right”

 

God's Grace Our Only Hope to Save Us from Our Remaining Sin (Family Worship in 1Samuel 27–29)

What are we to think about what David is doing in this passage, and why does the passage about Saul interrupt it? Pastor leads his family in today’s “Hopewell @Home” passage. In these forty-eight verses, we learn that David still has within him the capacity for great sin within him, and that the only thing that keeps him (or us!) from becoming Saul 2.0 is God’s saving grace.

2020.12.16 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 27–29

Read 1 Samuel 27–29

Questions from the Scripture text: What does David surprisingly (cf. 1 Samuel 16:10) say in 1 Samuel 27:1? Where does he go with whom, and whom do they bring (1 Samuel 27:2-3)? What did this accomplish (1 Samuel 27:4)? For what does he ask (1 Samuel 27:5), and what does he receive (1 Samuel 27:6)? For how long (1 Samuel 27:7) was David doing what, where (1 Samuel 27:8-9)? But where did he tell Achish he was doing this (1 Samuel 27:10)? So what did Achish believe (1 Samuel 27:12), and why (1 Samuel 27:11)? What was Achish going to do in 1 Samuel 28:1, and whom did he tell to come as what (1 Samuel 28:2)? What does the Holy Spirit tell us about (1 Samuel 28:3-25), while letting the suspense and drama of this situation hang in the balance? How does God get David out of it (1 Samuel 29:1–11)? What does Achish still believe at the end of all this (1 Samuel 29:3b, 1 Samuel 29:6)? How does David act at the news (1 Samuel 29:7-8)? Meanwhile, who is on the other side of this Philistine lead-up to war (1 Samuel 28:4)? What did he desperately seek and how at first (1 Samuel 28:5-6), and then later (1 Samuel 28:7)? Why was this challenging (1 Samuel 28:8-10)? What happens, and what does the woman conclude (1 Samuel 28:11-14)? What does Saul do and ask (1 Samuel 28:14-15)? What does Samuel explain as the reason (1 Samuel 28:16-18) for what is about to happen (1 Samuel 28:19)? How does Saul respond to the news (1 Samuel 28:20)? How does Saul end up having what for his last supper (1 Samuel 28:21-25)?

Was David right or wrong? Well… yes. Things are often more complex than that. But the introduction to the episode, the contrast to his former actions, and the parallel with Saul that so rudely interrupts the passage all point to significant error—even sin, as we should call it when it appears—on David’s part. 

But Yahweh saves Him and does Him good! Yes, and that is a great part of the teaching of the text. The Lord Who is saving us does so not based upon how well we are doing, but upon His gracious intentions. Almost certainly, David doesn’t feel that everything is going swimmingly. 

When Samuel’s death—and Saul’s attempted undeading of his services—so rudely interrupts us in 1 Samuel 28:3 (cf. 1 Samuel 25:1), David is between a Ziklag and war-place. How will he squirm out of this one? The text actually leaves us under that pressure until 1 Samuel 29:1–4, reminding us in the meantime of how bad things have gotten with Saul. That all leaves us wondering if David’s faithless feeling/thinking in 1 Samuel 27:1, and the fact that he is no longer consulting Yahweh as in 1 Samuel 23:1–13, means that we may be on the verge of Saul 2.0.

So, yes, Yahweh saves him, but the flow and force of the text seem to be saying that it is not so much by cleverness and shrewdness with God’s enemies, but by the sheer grace of what God does in the hearts of the princes of the Philistines in 1 Samuel 29:4.

But how about the eliminating the threat of raiding bands (Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, 1 Samuel 27:8) in the Judean hill country? Isn’t that a good thing for a king to do? Well, yes, to an extent (God hadn’t commanded him to do so, and 1 Samuel 27:11 makes it plain that David wasn’t carrying out conquest-judgments but rather closing lip-holes in his Achisch-pacification plan. And it’s telling that the brutal completeness of his modus operandi in 1 Samuel 27:9, 1 Samuel 27:11 draws a contrast to the comparative (self-interested, and wickedly intended, to be sure) mercy of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 30:2.

So, God does good to those upon whom He has set His grace, even when they are not doing particularly well. And God does good through many who are not doing particularly well spiritually. I’m sure the Israelites “south of the Jerahmeelites or south of the Kenites” (1 Samuel 27:10) were happy for God’s reprieve from the wicked raiders.

But God takes our sin extremely seriously, and that’s the point of the Saul narrative that the Holy Spirit uses to build pressure while we and David are cliff-hanging. Saul has done much by now that is rather wicked; but it is ironic that while David does not seem to be seeking Yahweh at all, Saul wants the (earthly, to be sure, rather than spiritual) help of the Lord of Whom he had made an enemy (1 Samuel 28:16) by half-obedience and neglect of His honor (1 Samuel 28:18). 

It’s amazing that it’s this incident—“you did not obey the voice of Yahweh nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek”—that is still the primary cause of Saul’s demise. How easily Samuel could have added the sin of consulting a medium! But there are no small sins. And that’s a big part of the point.

Which brings us back (literally, 1 Samuel 29:1) to David and sharpens the focus of chapters 27–29 upon the grace of God. He is not inviting us to be sympathetic with David’s actions, but rather to hope in David’s God, and that God’s great grace. For, in that grace, God would be bringing great David’s greater Son, Who would speak and do only as He saw from His Father in heaven, and yet would suffer a punishment far worse than Saul in order to bring a deliverance infinitely better than David’s.

When we read this passage, but especially when we consider what our King had to offer in His perfect obedience and suffer in His fully-atoning sacrifice, we realize that none of our sins are small. But, we also realize that the grace of this God is infinitely bigger. So, we see His love and respond to Him with repentance that seeks to be holy even to the level that He is holy. And, rather than being dismayed when we keep committing these very not-small sins, our loving and grateful repentance comes also with the confidence that He has been doing good to us and through us, throughout it all!

When has God worked in or through you, while you were sinning? Why isn’t this an encouragement to sin?

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH433 “Amazing Grace”

The Lord Is on His Own Side. Are You? (Family Worship in 1Samuel 26)

Is Yahweh on David’s side or Saul’s? Pastor leads his family in tomorrow’s “Hopewell @Home” passage. In these twenty-five verses, we learn that since the Lord is on His own side, we need to obey His instructions rather than try to accomplish His plans, trust His justice rather than provoke His discipline, and look to please Him who rewards us rather than hoping that men will be pleased enough to reward us.

2020.12.09 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 26

Read 1 Samuel 26

Questions from the Scripture text: Who told whom what, where, in 1 Samuel 26:1? Where did Saul go (1 Samuel 26:2)? Who went with him? To do what? Where did Saul encamp (1 Samuel 26:3)? Who saw (1 Samuel 26:3-4)? Where did David come in 1 Samuel 26:5? What did he see? What was Saul doing in the camp? Where were the rest of the people laying? Whom did David ask to do what (1 Samuel 26:6)? What did David and Abishai find in 1 Samuel 26:7? What did Abishai say had happened (1 Samuel 26:8)? What did he ask permission to do? What did David command him (1 Samuel 26:9)? Why? What did David suggest could happen (1 Samuel 26:10)? What does he suggest doing instead (1 Samuel 26:11)? Why didn’t any of the men wake up (1 Samuel 26:12)? Where did David go in 1 Samuel 26:13? To whom did he call out (1 Samuel 26:14)? What did Abner ask? What does David ask in reply (1 Samuel 26:15)? What does he declare in 1 Samuel 26:16? What does he ask about? Who responds instead, and what does he ask (1 Samuel 26:17)? How does David answer? What does David ask (1 Samuel 26:18)? What two options did he suggest for why Saul was chasing him (1 Samuel 26:19)? How did David respond to each? What does David ask, and why, in 1 Samuel 26:20? What does Saul say he had done (1 Samuel 26:21)? What did he ask David to do? Why? How did he evaluate his own behavior? What does David offer in 1 Samuel 26:22? What does he call on Whom to do in 1 Samuel 26:23? But what does David refuse to do? What did he ask Yahweh to do in 1 Samuel 26:24? What does Saul say in 1 Samuel 26:25? Where does David go? Where does Saul? 

Is God for David or for Saul? This is another version of the question that Joshua famously asked of the Lord in Joshua 5:13. And the answer is the same, “No.”

David knows this, and gives the theological underpinnings of that answer in 1 Samuel 26:23 of the chapter before us. Yahweh is for Himself and His own righteousness.

The reason that David is bold to approach Saul’s camp is also the reason that he refuses Abishai’s request to pin Saul to the earth. When Saul had previously thrust that spear at David (cf. 1 Samuel 18:11, 1 Samuel 19:10), he had “stretched out his hand against Yahweh’s anointed.” 1 Samuel 26:9 cuts both ways: Saul cannot be held guiltless (cf. David’s confidence in what Yahweh will do in 1 Samuel 26:10), and David won’t allow himself or Abishai to join him in that category.

Abishai thought they had great boldness because they were about to strike the decisive blow (1 Samuel 26:8), but David’s great boldness instead came from the Lord’s decisive Word. Saul may sound convinced in 1 Samuel 26:25, based upon the success of his action and mercy of his interaction. But for David, it was God’s Word and sign (anointing, cf. 1 Samuel 16:1–13) upon him that was convincing enough to produce such an action. 

But it’s not just Abishai that David here instructs. He instructs king Saul by pointing out that as king he is supposed to be doing the Lord’s bidding, rather than his own (1 Samuel 26:19), which does include punishing evil (1 Samuel 26:18). But, David says, if that’s actually what is going on, David hopes that the Lord would accept a substitutionary sacrifice.

In fact, David’s primary complaint against those who are chasing him is that they are keeping him from public worship (end of 1 Samuel 26:19). Saul is moved more by being spared (1 Samuel 26:21) than by the worship of the Lord. David has no hope that Saul will find David’s life precious, but he has a gloriously sure hope that the Lord will do so (1 Samuel 26:24)!

May the Lord so convince us of His faithfulness to His promises that we would be enabled to take bold and courageous action, while having very tender consciences to honor His command and very eager desires to offer Him His worship!

What are some Bible promises that sometimes feel like they are in jeopardy? Why aren’t they? What bold action might you take in response to them? What difficult obedience might you offer in response to them?

Suggested songs: ARP119W “Lord, Let My Cry before You Come” or TPH245 “Great Is Thy Faithfulness, O God My Father”

Jesus, Our Help for Approaching a Holy God (Family Worship in 1Samuel 7:3–12)

Who is able to stand before this holy Yahweh God? Pastor leads his family in tomorrow's "Hopewell @Home" passage. In these ten verses, we learn that God Himself is our help for drawing near to God Himself, by the grace of Jesus Christ—our Prophet, Priest, and King.

2020.12.08 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 7:3–12

Read 1 Samuel 7:3–12

Questions from the Scripture text: To whom was Samuel speaking (1 Samuel 7:3)? What did he tell them to do with all their hearts? What did they have to put away? What would they need to prepare, if they were to serve the Lord only? What did Samuel promise, as God’s prophet, would happen if they did this (verse 3)? How do the people respond in 1 Samuel 7:4? Then what does Samuel offer to do in 1 Samuel 7:5? Even though the people have changed their ways, what do they do and say in 1 Samuel 7:6? And what does Samuel do there? What do the Philistines do, when they realize that Israel is gathered in one place (1 Samuel 7:7)? And what do the people, now all the more, ask Samuel to do in 1 Samuel 7:8? What does Samuel do, first, before he prays in 1 Samuel 7:9? How does this verse describe his praying? What was Samuel doing in 1 Samuel 7:10? How did the Lord respond? What did the Israelites do in 1 Samuel 7:11? What did Samuel set up in 1 Samuel 7:12? 

Next week’s Call to Worship, Prayer for Help, Song of Adoration, and Prayer of Confession all come from 1 Samuel 7:3–12, so that we will see that we are singing God’s thoughts after Him with Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.

At this point, the Lord had severely humbled the Israelites. He had killed more than fifty thousand of them (1 Samuel 6:19). This was so unbelievable that a few Hebrew manuscripts went ahead and deleted the fifty thousand and just left the seventy!

The question in 1 Samuel 6:20 had been one that we all need to ask: “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God?” And there are three good answers here.

The first good answer is: those who come to God through His appointed Mediator. Samuel, here, is acting as a prophet (1 Samuel 7:3), as a priest (1 Samuel 7:5, 1 Samuel 7:8-9), and even as a ruler of sorts (a judge, 1 Samuel 7:6). He is a foreshadowing of Jesus—the ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King. Who is able to stand before the holy God? The one who comes to Him in Jesus.

The second good answer is: those for whom there is an atoning sacrifice (1 Samuel 7:9-10). Again, this looks forward to Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Only with His atonement having wiped out every last particle of our guilt can we stand before God.

The third good answer is: certainly not God’s enemies! The holiness of God, and His almighty power, are great comforts to those who belong to Him in Jesus Christ. We know that no enemy, however powerful, can stand before Him (1 Samuel 7:10-11).

We must live in continual remembrance of how the Lord has helped us in Christ. Samuel raised the stone of help (“Ebeneezer,” 1 Samuel 7:12). The Lord has given us His Supper, nourishing us upon Himself, as in our eating and drinking He shows forth His death until He comes.

At some point, every single one of us is actually going to stand before the holy God. Will we do so, as those who are coming to Him through Jesus Christ, our Prophet, Priest, King, and Atoning Sacrifice? Or will it be as an enemy who is about to perish? Lord, bring us to faith in You!

If you were to stand before the Lord, the holy God, today… could you? And if so, how is that possible?

Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH429 “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”

Looking to the Lord for Provision, Vindication, Justice... & the Faith to Look to Him (Family Worship in 1Sam25)

How can we look to the Lord for provision and vindication, when everything seems to be going against us? Pastor leads his family in today’s “Hopewell @Home” passage. In these forty-four verses, we learn that even when the Lord has graciously spared us in previous temptation, we must be watchful against the next temptation. We already know that He provides, He vindicates, and He avenges. But, we don’t have it in us to rest upon and respond to those things. God Himself, however, graciously spares us. This is what He did for David, who had spared Saul, but was about to avenge himself upon Nabal. The LORD graciously sends Abigail to remind David of the truth to which he needs to cling, sparing David (again!) from committing the sin of avenging himself.

2020.12.02 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 25

Read 1 Samuel 25

Questions from the Scripture text: Who died in 1 Samuel 25:1? Who lamented him? Who buried him? Where? Where did David go? What was the status of the man to whom 1 Samuel 25:2 introduces us? What was his name (1 Samuel 25:3)? Who was his wife, and what was she like? What was he like? Who heard that this man was doing what in 1 Samuel 25:4? Whom did he send (1 Samuel 25:5)? To greet Nabal as whose representatives? What were they specifically to say (1 Samuel 25:6)? What were they to point out about how this peace had come to Nabal (1 Samuel 25:7)? With whom could Nabal check out this story (1 Samuel 25:8)? What kind of a day was a sheep-shearing day? What are the young men to ask for? What do they do (1 Samuel 25:9)? What does Nabal’s response in 1 Samuel 25:10 suggest is his position on David’s trouble with Saul? What is his response to the request (1 Samuel 25:11)? What do David’s young men do (1 Samuel 25:12)? What instruction does David give to whom in response (1 Samuel 25:13)? How many went with him? How many stayed back? Whom did one of Nabal’s young men tell (1 Samuel 25:14)? What witness did he also give (1 Samuel 25:15-16, cf. 1 Samuel 25:8)? Why was action needed (1 Samuel 25:17a)? Why was it Abigail to whom they came for it (verse 17b)? What provision does she make (1 Samuel 25:18)? Whom does she send (1 Samuel 25:19)? Whom doesn’t she tell? Where does she meet him for cover (1 Samuel 25:20)? Why was David so troubled by lack of provision for him (1 Samuel 25:21)? What had he told himself (1 Samuel 25:22)? In what manner does Abigail meet him (1 Samuel 25:23)? Against whom does she ask him to count the offense (1 Samuel 25:24a)? What does she at first request (verse 24b)? How does she explain the first response that David had received (1 Samuel 25:25)? To Whom does she credit that vengeance has not yet been taken (1 Samuel 25:26a)? Upon whom does she assert that Yahweh will take His own vengeance, and whom does she curse to be like him (v26b)? What does she ask David to do in 1 Samuel 25:27? In 1 Samuel 25:28? What position does she take on David’s trouble with Saul (1 Samuel 25:29)? What does she remind David that Yahweh will do (1 Samuel 25:29-31)? What does she say David will have been glad to have done when Yahweh has finished keeping His promises? Whom does David bless for what in 1 Samuel 25:32? Whom does David bless for what in 1 Samuel 25:33? How does he agree with and follow Abigail’s thinking in 1 Samuel 25:34 (cf. 1 Samuel 25:26a)? What information does he add now? How does David respond to her requests (1 Samuel 25:35)? What does Abigail find Nabal doing when she returns (1 Samuel 25:36)? What does she tell him then? What has happened by morning (1 Samuel 25:37)? What does she tell him then? What happens to him at that point? What does Yahweh do to him ten days later (cf. 1 Samuel 25:26b)? Whom does David bless for what two things in 1 Samuel 25:39? What additional action does he take? Who delivers this proposal (1 Samuel 25:40)? With what manner/attitude does she reply in 1 Samuel 25:41? With what action does she respond in 1 Samuel 25:42? Whom else did he have as a wife at this point (1 Samuel 25:43)? Whom did he not have (1 Samuel 25:44)? Why not?

We would do well to do like David and have our attention correctly redirected by Abigail. 

Of course, David was right about what a fool (literally, 1 Samuel 25:25) Nabal was. God gives the rather decisive vote of agreement in 1 Samuel 25:38. But David almost committed against Nabal in chapter 25 (cf. 1 Samuel 25:26, 1 Samuel 25:33, 1 Samuel 25:39) the sin that he avoided committing against Saul in chapter 24. 

It was Abigail who reminded David that the Lord was caring for his needs and would avenge him so that David didn’t have to (and shouldn’t). Yes, David had faithfully protected Nabal’s men and flock, but ultimately it would be the Lord who repaid him/them, even if Nabal did not.

Dear Christian, seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all that is needful—indeed, all that is beneficial—will be added unto you. Do not worry (as David might have done, with 600 mouths to feed in the wilderness), and do not indulge a desire to avenge yourself. Look to God to provide and to avenge!

But, don’t forget to look to God for the looking to God. Yes, in this chapter God gives David provision and vengeance. But the story of the passage is how God provided the wise intervention of Abigail to stir up David’s faith to look back to the Lord. As you and I read of this, and realize that we need to be mindful of depending upon our God, let us look to Him to keep giving us His Word and stirring up our faith by His Spirit.

About what are you tempted to worry? Against whom are you tempted to avenge yourself? How will God help avenge yourself? How will God help you not to?

Suggested songs: ARP46 “God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength” or TPH46A “God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength”

Keeping a Tender Conscience by Trust in God (Family Worship in 1Sam 24)

Why doesn't David do the easy thing and kill Saul? Pastor leads his family in tomorrow's "Hopewell @Home" passage. In these twenty-two verses, we find that instead of smiting Saul, David's tender conscience smites him; because, instead of fearing what Saul may do, David trusts what the Lord will surely do.

2020.11.25 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 24

Read 1 Samuel 24

Questions from the Scripture text: From what had Saul returned in 1 Samuel 24:1? What was told him? Whom did he take with him in 1 Samuel 24:2? To do what? To where does Saul come in 1 Samuel 24:3? Where does he go to do what? Who else is in there? What do David’s men say to him in 1 Samuel 24:4? What does David do? But what happens to David in 1 Samuel 24:5? To whom does he speak in 1 Samuel 24:6? What does he say about his situation, and how does this compare to what they had said in 1 Samuel 24:4? What did David do to his servants in 1 Samuel 24:7? What does Saul do? Where does David go in 1 Samuel 24:8? What does he call Saul? What does David do when Saul looks back? What does David now ask (1 Samuel 24:9)? What does he point out in 1 Samuel 24:10? What does he call Saul now in 1 Samuel 24:11? What does he point out about his own actions? What does he point out about Saul’s actions? Upon Whom does David call to set things right (1 Samuel 24:12)? What does he promise about his own hand? What does he quote in 1 Samuel 24:13 (cf. Proverbs 20:11)? What does he call Saul in 1 Samuel 24:14? What does he call himself? Again, upon Whom does he call to vindicate and deliver him (1 Samuel 24:15)? What does Saul now call David in 1 Samuel 24:16? What does Saul do? What does he say about David in comparison to himself (1 Samuel 24:17)? Upon what basis? Whom does Saul say delivered him into David’s hand (1 Samuel 24:18, cf. 1 Samuel 24:4)? What does Saul now acknowledge that David is not (1 Samuel 24:18-19)? What does Saul say, in 1 Samuel 24:20, that he surely knows? What does he say will happen to Israel? What does he ask David to swear (1 Samuel 24:21)? What does David do (1 Samuel 24:22)? Where does Saul go? Where does David go?

“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice, and kill Saul in it!” So might have sung the men of David in v4. Indeed, the Lord had promised to David that he would be king, and the question of how that promise might or might not get answered is on people’s minds (cf. 1 Samuel 24:20).

But that’s not the question that should have been on David’s mind, and it’s not the question that the Spirit places on our minds in this chapter. No, that question is: “will David try to compel God’s promise, or will he rather comply with God’s precepts?”

At first David listens to his men. He’s got the fabric to prove it at the end of v4. But thankfully, he doesn’t smite Saul. Instead, his heart smites (literal translation of 1 Samuel 24:5) him. David didn’t even kill Saul, and he’s still remorseful for doing as much as he did do. Praise God! And just in time, because he has to give his men the theological reasoning (1 Samuel 24:6) by which he restrains them from finishing the job (1 Samuel 24:7).

But then David becomes an example of Christ for the Christian. Do not repay evil for evil, but overcome evil with good; leave room for the vengeance of the Lord (1 Samuel 24:17, cf. Romans 12:17–21, 1 Peter 2:20–25). Rather than prove himself the enemy that Saul suspected (cf. 1 Samuel 24:13, 1 Samuel 24:17-19), David has shown himself the son that Saul has betrayed (cf. 1 Samuel 24:11, 1 Samuel 24:16). 

The key to keeping your head like this, forgiving like this, and restraining yourself like this is to trust that the Lord is in control, and that He takes seriously, and judges, and responds to the things that men do. So David won’t touch Saul because Saul is the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:6). And David is content to let the Lord judge Saul (1 Samuel 24:12a), so he doesn’t need to avenge himself on Saul (verse 12b). And David is content to let the Lord judge himself (1 Samuel 24:15a), and entrust both his case and his deliverance to the Lord (verse 15b). 

Even Saul learns to talk this way, at least for a moment (1 Samuel 24:19-21). David doesn’t put much stock in it; rather than go home to be son-in-law, he and his men go back up to the stronghold (1 Samuel 24:22). Will the language of God judging, controlling, avenging, and rewarding be just a way of talking that we use around others who talk the same way? Or will it control what we do so that our heart smites us when we do wrong, and we are enabled by trust in God to overcome evil with good?

Who has been giving you the “opportunity” to bless the one cursing you and do good to the one abusing you?

Suggested songs: ARP109A “God of My Praise” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

2020.11.18 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 23:14–28

Read 1 Samuel 23:14–28

Questions from the Scripture text: Where did David stay and remain (1 Samuel 23:14)? What happened every day? Why wasn’t he successful? What could David see while this was happening (1 Samuel 23:15)? Who was able to find David (1 Samuel 23:16)? What did he do? How? What did he tell David not to do (1 Samuel 23:17)? Why not? Who else knew that David would be king above Jonathan? What did the two of them cut (make, 1 Samuel 23:18)? Who went where? Who came to whom where in 1 Samuel 23:19? What did they report? What did they tell Saul to do (1 Samuel 23:20)? What did they say they would do? What kind of language does Saul use in his response (1 Samuel 23:21)? What does he ask them to do (1 Samuel 23:22-23)? What boast does he make at the end of 1 Samuel 23:23? Where did they go, but where had David gone (1 Samuel 23:24)? How did he know to go there (1 Samuel 23:25)? How was Saul closing in (1 Samuel 23:26)? What stopped him (1 Samuel 23:27-28)? What did they call the rock where this happened? 

Sinners are so good at deceiving themselves. 1 Samuel 23:21, right at the heart of this passage is astonishing: Saul, pronouncing blessing in the name of Yahweh, and talking about compassion. And then he follows that up with talking about how crafty David is. How dreadful to be so blinded by devotion to oneself! But the only antidote to it is for us to be so devoted to God that we are suspicious even of ourselves.

But thinking ourselves righteous and others wicked, when we’re really just serving our own interests, isn’t the only kind of self-deception.

Sometimes, we get hung up on our circumstances more than trusting in God’s Word or in His favor toward us in Christ. In events where we are tempted to feel like everything is against Jacob, the Holy Spirit repeatedly reminds us that God is with him.

“God did not deliver [David] into [Saul’s] hand” (1 Samuel 23:14). Foolish Ziphites, who think in 1 Samuel 23:20 to overcome the living God in this!

“[Jonathan] strengthened [David’s] hand in God” (1 Samuel 23:16). What a strengthening thing it was that Saul’s own son bound himself to David by covenant! But Jonathan knew that there was something that would be even more strengthening to David: the remembrance and reality of the goodness and mercy of God to him!

Finally, as the noose tightens around David at the end of 1 Samuel 23:26, the messenger conveniently arrives. Some days or weeks before, wheels of Philistine invasion were set into motion so that just as Saul approached the rock behind which David hid, he would have to give up chasing God’s servant to go chase God’s enemies. From then on, that rock would be called “the Rock of Escape.”

So, let us always remember that God is for us, and the hearts of Philistine kings are in His hands like water to direct wherever He wills. And, let us serve Him with all our hearts, that we might be protected from the self-righteousness that can so easily mask envy and spite.

Over whose enmity are you tempted to obsess? In what situation do you need reminded that God is for you? 

Suggested songs: ARP46 “God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength” or TPH256 “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”

2020.11.11 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 23:1–13

Read 1 Samuel 23:1–13

Questions from the Scripture text: Whom did people tell when the Philistines were attacking and robbing Keilah (1 Samuel 23:1)? Whom did David ask about it (1 Samuel 23:2)? What did He answer? Who answered differently (1 Samuel 23:3)? On what grounds? What does David then do (1 Samuel 23:4)? What additional info does he receive in the second response? What does David do in 1 Samuel 23:5? How do 1 Samuel 23:2 and 1 Samuel 23:5 summarize what he did? What does 1 Samuel 23:6 now mention about 1 Samuel 22:20? What does Saul think is the reason/result of David going to Keilah (1 Samuel 23:7)? What does Saul now do—that he hadn’t done when Keilah was being attacked and robbed by Philistines(!) (1 Samuel 23:8)? For what does David ask in 1 Samuel 23:9? What does he use it to ask in 1 Samuel 23:10-11? What is Yahweh’s answer? What does he ask in 1 Samuel 23:12? What does Yahweh answer? What does David to in 1 Samuel 23:13, with what result?

The crown doesn’t matter at all, by comparison to the presence and blessing of Yahweh. David has a ragtag group that is now up to six hundred men (1 Samuel 23:13), but the people are still coming to him to help Keilah instead of coming to Saul (1 Samuel 23:1).

Part of the reason is that it is Yahweh, ultimately, who saves. And David inquires of Him (1 Samuel 23:2a), and Yahweh answers him (verse 2b). 

By comparison, Saul has been abandoned by the Word of Yahweh, instead asking anyone and everyone for intel on David, and rarely getting any useful response. As far as the text lets us know, the first he hears of the situation in Keilah is when news of David’s saving them arrives in 1 Samuel 23:7.

The Lord is with David, and He is patient with David. When David balks at the reaction of his men in 1 Samuel 23:3, even after being told by the Lord what to do in 1 Samuel 23:2, the Lord not only repeats the command but attaches a promise to it: “I will deliver the Philistines into your hand” (1 Samuel 23:4).

David is under siege from Saul (1 Samuel 23:11), and escapes the treachery of those whom he just saved only by the Lord’s forewarning him (1 Samuel 23:12). But the Lord is with him, not only to save him, but to make David useful in the Lord’s saving others.

Dear believer, you have the Word of the Lord. And not just a priest with an official ephod (1 Samuel 23:6), but your Great High Priest on the throne of heaven. Whoever attacks you, whoever betrays you, you can trust in this Lord and be useful in His work.

Who is attacking you? Who has let you down? What comforts do you have? Whom is the Lord using you to help? 

Suggested songs: ARP23B “The Lord’s My Shepherd” or TPH23A “The Lord’s My Shepherd”

2020.11.04 Hopewell @Home ▫ 1 Samuel 22:6–23

Read 1 Samuel 22:6–23

Questions from the Scripture text: What did Saul hear in 1 Samuel 22:6? Where was he? Who was with him, and what did he promise them (1 Samuel 22:7)? Of what does he accuse them (1 Samuel 22:8)? Whom else does he accuse of this? Who answers (1 Samuel 22:9)? What does he say (1 Samuel 22:10)? What does Saul do in 1 Samuel 22:11? How does Ahimelech answer him (1 Samuel 22:12)? Of what does Saul accuse him (1 Samuel 22:13)? What does Ahimelech say about David in 1 Samuel 22:14? What did he say had not started during David’s recent visit (1 Samuel 22:15)? What did he claim, with respect to David’s running from Saul or potentially rising against him? What does Saul say will happen in 1 Samuel 22:16? To whom? Whom does Saul tell to do what in 1 Samuel 22:17? What reasoning does he give? With what evidence? How did the guards/servants of the king respond? Whom did Saul now command to do it in 1 Samuel 22:18? How did he respond? To how many? Of whom? How are the priests described at the end of verse 18? Whom else did he kill, from what city, and which types of people, and even what else (1 Samuel 22:19)? Who escaped (1 Samuel 22:20)? Where did he go? Whom did he tell about what (1 Samuel 22:21)? What had David suspected would happen (1 Samuel 22:22)? What does David feel was his responsibility? What does he tell Abiathar to do (1 Samuel 22:23)? Why?

It's been about 20 chapters (and 45 or so years) since God pronounced just judgment upon Eli’s house (cf. 1 Samuel 2:31–33). Without downplaying the wickedness of Saul and Doeg, we can take to heart the reminder that sin has far-reaching consequences. The believer, and especially the believing head of household, ought to be constant in pleading God’s mercy to keep him in the path of righteousness and to overrule all of his sin and shortcomings. For apart from grace, if a Doeg were to slaughter our extended family in order to get in good with the powers that be, it would be no worse than we deserve and could rightly expect.

Now, back to not downplaying the wickedness of Saul and Doeg. As we are about to be taught in Genesis 37, all murderous hatred is ultimately hatred of God, and there is no one who is the target of this murderous hatred more than Christ.

In fact, to be associated with Christ is to be hated for His sake. “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.” John 15:18–21 (cf. John 16:1–4; John 17:14; 1 John 3:13; Matthew 10:21–25; Matthew 24:9).

Ahimelech had a good case of why to do David good and that he meant Saul no harm (1 Samuel 22:14–15), but he did not know that the mortal sin before Saul was even to be associated with “the son of Jesse” as Saul now calls him (1 Samuel 22:7, 1 Samuel 22:8, 1 Samuel 22:13) and Doeg so astutely follows (1 Samuel 22:9). Doeg understands the times and acts accordingly.

Even being a donkey that is associated with a group (Nob) that is associated with a family that includes a man who was associated with David was enough cause to be slaughtered. 

This is not merely what communism and fascism do to the enemies of the state or of “the party,” as is happening more and more in America. This is not merely what Islam has been zealously doing for a millennium and a half. This is what Satan has been doing to man from the beginning, simply for his being created in God’s image. This is what he has been doing to all who are the seed of the woman, what he tried to do to Christ, what he tries to do to all who are Christ’s.

So, we should expect it. Jesus told us to expect it. Taking up our cross is not only denying the desires and impulses of our flesh, but to live in full expectation that our fellowship with Christ will include having fellowship with His sufferings (cf. Luke 9:22–24; Philippians 3:10; Colossians 1:24). 

But we should also expect that there is, for us, the same safety as Abiathar (1 Samuel 22:23). Great David’s greater Son is the Shepherd with whom we are safe in death’s shadow, even in death itself, and for life forevermore!

In what ways do you expect to suffer for belonging to Christ? In what ways are you “staying with” Him? 

Suggested songs: ARP23B “The Lord’s My Shepherd” or TPH23A “The Lord’s My Shepherd”