David and Saul

When we think of David we usually pair him.
David and Goliath
David and Bathsheba
David and the Psalms
But the interactions between David and Saul intrigue me on a number of levels.

When we first meet Saul we're told that he was " an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites". He has been sent by his father to find some missing donkeys. He meets up with Samuel, who has been warned by the Lord to watch for him, and Samuel anoints him as king somewhat privately.

Saul starts out humble...hiding amongst the baggage when he is to be introduced as king...but pretty quickly stumbles about in the early days of his reign with his most significant early failure described in 1 Samuel 15 - 16 where he fails to destroy the Amalekites as instructed.

When we first meet David we're told that we was "ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features". He has been out in the fields caring for his father's livestock. He meets up with Samuel, who has been sent by the Lord to find him, and Samuel anoints him as king somewhat privately.

Immediately following David's anointing by Samuel we find Saul described as being tormented and the solution to the problem is to find a musician to calm his spirits. Scripture tells us that David is recommended and then we have this:
"David came to Saul and entered his service/ Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him." 1 Samuel 16:21-22

Now compare that with this tidbit that comes AFTER David defeats Goliath:
1 Samuel 17:55-58
"As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, 'Abner, whose son is that young man?'
Abner replied, 'As surely as you live, O king, I don't know.'
The king said, 'find out whose son that young man is.'
As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistines head.
'Whose son are you, young man?' Saul asked him.
David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.'

Saul is apparently clueless, completely missing the spiritual reality that is before his eyes...David the harp player/armor-bearer whose playing calms the kings spirits is now David the military hero. This servant of God has been in his midst and yet Saul can't seem to see beyond the momentary physical realities.

Reading through this this time I was struck by the parallels to Moses and Pharaoh.
Pharaoh's heart is hardened by a spirit from the Lord just as Saul is tormented by a spirit from the Lord.
Pharaoh is given signs pointing to the fact that Moses comes from God just as Saul should have seen the signs of David's coming from the Lord.
Pharaoh chases Moses and the people out of Egypt into the wilderness just as Saul will chase David out into the wilderness.

It seems to me that there are deeper truths to be mined from these stories of David and Saul than the stories we get on the flannel graph. (Although I love those too.) Truths about leadership and the paths that lead to it. Truths about how God establishes leaders and what happens when He takes His hand away. Truths that circumstances on the outside often belie spiritual truths on the inside.

I think I'll mark this as one of those places...yet again... that is worthy of much further digging

Judges: What a mess

I have to confess that reading this particular book of the Bible generally leaves me depressed. Some of the stories contained therein are just insane.

• Abimelech murdering seventy of his brothers
• Jephthah vowing to sacrifice "whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return"
• The Levite who surrenders his concubine to the rabble in Gibeah
• Samson's abject stupidity in dealing with Delilah

Quite frankly? This is NOT the book to use as "suggested reading" for friends and family who are young in their faith. These people are just mind bogglingly stupid!!!
I'm not sure I'd count many of these guys amongst the "heroes of the faith"...with the possible exception of Deborah.

So what is the point of Judges?

I think it is a book of proof.

The progression goes something like this:

• The end of Deuteronomy has Moses telling the Israelites what life will be like once they go into the promised land: blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.
• The book of Joshua is about being strong and courageous and, more importantly, remembering.
• The book of Judges follows as an illustration of exactly what the warning's of Moses are all about.

In Deuteronomy 28 we read:
20 "The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything you put your hand to..."
28 "The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind."
34 "The sights you will see will drive you mad"

These curses aptly describe the goings on in Judges and they describe, equally as well, the sort of thing from which I want to sprint in the opposite direction.

I'll be glad when we get out of the craziness that happens during these years which come under the heading:
"In those days Israel had no king."

Gideon's Fleece

Judges 6:1 - 7:25

If one of the major themes of the book of Joshua is "remembering" then it is fair to say that one of the major themes of the book of Judges is "forgetting". Maybe better put the theme here is, "what happens when you forget."

An oft repeated phrase in this book is found right at the start if chapter 6: "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord..." As usual they then "cry out" and God "hears their cry".
In this case He comes to Gideon.

The opening interaction with Gideon is interesting. He is hiding, almost cowering, in a wine press threshing wheat when the angel of the Lord appears and says, "The Lord is with you mighty warrior." (If this was played out on film today that would probably come across with a LOAD of sarcasm behind it but that isn't the case here.) Gideon's response is indicative of the tensions between remembering and forgetting:

Judges 6:13: "But sir", Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

So Gideon knows the stories at least, he sems to know something about what it looks like when God is "with" the Israelites but he claims to not understand why God has let them fall into the hands of Midian. Fast forward to verse 27 where Gideon is tearing down his fathers alter to Baal along with his Ahera pole. Hello?!?!? WHY has God put them into the hands of Midian? Worshipping the gods of the people of tha land? Pretty clear instructions have been given about THAT for generations. Did you perhaps forget that bit Gideon?

The back and forth that follows as Gideon puts out his famous fleece, as God winnows down the army, as Gideon and his servant enter the camp of the Midianites all serve to show God's patience. I think it is safe to say in this particular case that Gideon has grown up in a household that recalls the forms of their relationship with God without recalling the substance. He has been taught the stories but not the outcomes or spiritual truths contained within those stories. He dad and all the people of the town have been worshipping false gods perhaps alongside their own traditions...covering all their bases as it were.
God deals gently with Gideon, showing him the truth in answer to his question, "why?"

I love this story not because of the cool military victory or the "magic fleece" but because it shows God's heart towards Gideon, and man whose heart is good but who lacks understanding. It shows God's patience in teaching wisdom. It shows God's faithfulness to His people. I love the fact that if, by my actions, I "forget" what God has done in the past He still reads past those actions to the heart.

Lord, help us to remember and please be as gentle with us as you were with Gideon when we forget.

Talk about a freak show!

The book of Judges...mind boggling.

The first generation after the wandering generation forgets God. As soon as Joshua is off the scene the dive straight into the weeds. Now, is this their fault or the fault of their mothers and fathers for not teaching them correctly? I think both parties may be liable but it does make me want to closely examine how well I am doing at teaching my own kids about spiritual things.

The story from chapter 17 is a great example of just how sketchy things got almost immediately:

• We start with Micah, from the tribe of Ephraim, stealing money from his mother bu feeling guilty enough to bring it back.
• Mom is so happy she has the silver made into a idol...apparently forgetting all about that 10 commandments thing.
• Micah recruits a wandering Levite, (tribe number 2) to be his household priest, apparently as some sort of nod to religious tradition because he had previously made his son a priest.
• A group of Danite spies come by, (tribe number 3) and notice the sweet setup...idol, shrine, Levite priest...and so they enquire whether their upcoming raid will be successful.
• The spies come back through with their army after receiving a prediction of success from the priest and recruit the priest to come along with them...and while he is at it to bring the "household gods"...apprently there was a variety available.
• MIcah gets miffed when he finds himself looted, calls out the neighbors, chases down the Danites and says. "What the heck?"
• The Danites, who must see the Levite and other goodies as a good luck charm in battle, respnd by telling Micah he had better go away or one of them may lose his temper and kill Micah's family.
• The Danites go off and conquer Liash and set up Micah's rig as their new shrine to God...which persists for generations!

I truly hope that after I am gone I have managed to teach my children, and more than to have taught them but to have lived out in front of them, what it means to follow God faithfully on His terms rather than on our own. AND...that as a result of having taught, and shown, and discipled them...that they will live out their faith in amazing ways.
Please Lord let it be so.
Amen.