…So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” - 1 Samuel 16:11

The verse above describes the moments that preceded David’s anointing by Samuel, at the command of the Lord. Jesse prepared a banquet in his home for Samuel and presented his first seven sons to the prophet. At first they did not think it was important to have David present because he was the youngest. Even Samuel the prophet thought to himself that the Lord would choose one of the seven older sons to be king. When they passed before Samuel without the Lord choosing any of them, Samuel was nervous and asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse responded, “There is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel then said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

The stories about David give us a prophetic foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus. David was from Bethlehem, disdained by his brethren, the one who established the kingdom and obtained victories, the man after the Father’s heart, eager to do God’s will - all of these aspects point forward to the Lord Jesus himself. Jesus lived following the heart of the Father, and David did as well, as the Bible tells us: “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13:22)   David was a shepherd, just as Jesus is the Good Shepherd. In the event described here, David’s family thought it was not important to include him at the feast. When Jesus came to this world, he was born in a manger, far from the palaces of the political leaders and religious clerics of his day. After growing up in Nazareth, people would ask, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” During his earthly ministry, Jesus was rejected and despised by men.

We focus here on the last part of the text: “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” We see two applications, one looking to the future, and one for our present situation today.

Future application. Ultimately, this passage points us forward to the Rapture of the church. The banquet here points us forward to the true banquet in eternity, at the wedding of the Lamb. (See Matthew 22:2-9; Matthew 25:10). “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 14:15) “…many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast…” (Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:29). Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” (Rev. 19:9; see also Rev. 19:7). This is our destiny, this is the “Blessed Hope” of the faithful church (Titus 2:13). People from every nation, tribe and tongue (”…from the east and the west…”) will be at the table at the wedding of the Lamb.

“On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine - the best of meats and the finest of wines.” (Isaiah 25:6 - the “aged wine” refers to the Holy Spirit that comes from eternity, whose outpouring God prophesied for hundreds of years).

This banquet will only happen after the Rapture of the church. Our true feast, our eternal celebration, begins when Jesus comes, and we meet him in the air. Our souls long for this day, for the wedding of the Lamb. The Lord’s command from eternity is: “We will not sit down until he arrives.” When he returns, we shall have our eternal rest, our final deliverance.

For the present time. Even in our lives now, we recognize that we cannot do anything until we invite Jesus to come in and be Lord in our lives. As a church, we cannot start anything until the Lord Jesus is present and in charge. We have no true blessings until the Lord Jesus is present in our midst. “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” A church that proceeds without first seeking the Lord’s presence and direction will not enjoy the blessings of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus makes himself present in our lives through the Holy Spirit. There is a banquet in our lives through fellowship with the Lord and the filling of the Holy Spirit. “He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.” (Songs of Solomon 2:4) “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalms 23:5) We have sustenance through fellowship with the Lord; He is the living bread and the fountain of living water.

“Send for him.” The prophecy points to Jesus in the sense of directing man to let him into his life and hail him as King and Lord. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) To “send for him” means to seek him, to go find him where he is and invite him to come. We find Jesus in the Body, in the house of the Lord, caring for the flock. This is just the way they found David, out ending the flocks of sheep. When we take Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we can then proceed with the feast of salvation.

“We will not sit down until he arrives.” More churches - more pastors - need to have this attitude about the Lord’s presence and direction. We do not proceed unless He is leading the way, until He is with us. Too often Christians run ahead, following their own dreams and ambitions, and then pray that the Lord will catch up to them and bless them. The Lord wants a people who follow Him, who wait for him. (Zephaniah 3:8).

]]> http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/379/feed http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/376 http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/376#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:09:37 +0000 josiah http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/?p=376

“…When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” - 1 Samuel 16:6-10

In this story, the prophet Samuel visited Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem, to anoint one of his sons as king. The Lord sent him there, but did not tell him ahead of time which son He would choose. Jesse followed the custom of the time – he prepared a banquet for his guest of honor (the prophet) and had his sons appear before him one by one, starting with the oldest, as the way to introduce them to this great man of God. It appears that nobody but Samuel knew the real reason that he was there that day. Even the prophets make mistakes in their own reasoning; this is why we inquire of the Lord about everything. The prophet Samuel looked at the oldest son and thought he looked like a king, and the Lord had to correct him. The Lord rejects the oldest sons, because the Lord does not look at the things man values. The Lord looks at the heart. Man looks at outward appearances. These brothers later joined David, when he was fleeing from Saul; but at this point in the story, they are still in competition with him. The text gives us the names of three of the sons.  The Lord gives us a lesson in the three brothers whose names we see here.

ELIAB – Eliab in Hebrew means “My God is a Father.” This reminds us of the kind of religion that preaches only about God’s love all the time. God forgives. God is longsuffering. They look at man’s appearances. If a member commits a scandalous sin, something that brings shame on the whole church, and then glibly repents, these churches immediately accept such confessions and even allow such people to continue in leadership roles in the church. They have no concept of God’s justice, righteousness, holiness, discipline, etc. God is Love, but the Bible also says that our God is a Consuming Fire. The angels in heaven do not sing “Love, Love, Love,” but rather, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” (Revelation 4:8) We should have a healthy fear of the Lord. In religions that emphasize only love, they never test whether repentance is sincere, they never practice discipline, never walk in the fear of the Lord. They say all religions are good. They lack discernment. Their love is unsanctified, and their mercy is cheap. The Lord does not entrust the Work of His Spirit to this kind of church. Samuel did not anoint Eliab.

ABINADAB – This name in Hebrew means, “My Father gave” or “My Father is Generous.” Many who are in religions today preach that God is all about giving us money and material prosperity. They say God is ready to give his children anything their flesh desires – money, riches, physical healing, big houses, luxury cars, etc. They do not understand that Jesus’ kingdom is NOT of this world, and that the Lord’s supreme intention is to bring us to eternity. The things of earth have no lasting value. If we solve people’s material problems alone, they are comfortable for a few years, only to go spend eternity without God. God is mostly concerned about our spiritual lives. The early church grew at an amazing rate, despite persecution and poverty. They had no sound systems, no big buildings, no buses or airplanes. Yet they grew at a faster rate, converting more people, than those today who say such things are necessary for reaching the lost. Some churches spend more time talking about the offering than they do explaining the gospel. We have never taken a single public offering. Yet many religions today are all about getting wealthy, instead of being spiritual. The Lord does not entrust His Work to such churches. Samuel did not anoint Abinadab.

SHAMMAH – This name means “Fame” in the original language. This reminds us of the type of religion that exalts its heroes, that has famous preachers or distinguished leaders. Sometimes these are “famous evangelists” or the founders of a denomination. Our flesh craves fame and recognition, and many young preachers yearn to be well-known, to promote their own names, to take credit for everything they accomplish. They stand at the pulpit and brag about how many people they converted, or how many degrees they earned, or how many members they have in their churches. The Lord does not share his glory with any man. (Isaiah 42:8) Jesus said not elevate our leaders. (Matthew 23:9) They advertise for their crusades, with large photographs of themselves. They put their name on the church signs or buildings. Everything is about becoming a famous preacher or religious leader. The Lord does not entrust the Work of His Spirit to such a church. Samuel does not anoint Shammah.

Instead, the Lord chooses David, a man after his own heart – ready to obey his will. (Acts 13:22) David was tending the sheep – not even invited to the lunch. He had no human qualifications to earn the kingship. The same happens today. The Lord chooses not many noble, not many wise, not many strong (1 Corinthians. 1:26). The Lord entrusts his Work to those who will serve him in humility, focused on eternity, eager to do His will.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians. 1:27-31)

1 Samuel 15:23 - “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king…”

Saul sinned and lost everything God had given him. The prophet Samuel even called Saul’s sin “idolatry,” even though Saul had not worshipped any statue or graven image. How was Saul guilty of idolatry? Why was his sin so serious that God permanently rejected him? This study examines these two questions.

Saul’s sin was a common one for religious people. He simply followed his own opinions and will. He departed a little from what the Lord revealed. He offered sacrifices to God, and he thought God should be satisfied. Yet he sacrificed something the Lord had said He did not want. Human religion does not care what God really wants; religion gives God what it wants to give, and expects God to accept anything. When it came to obedience, Saul would obey parts of what the Lord revealed, and he thought God should be satisfied with that. He did not understand that neglecting the other parts of God’s will constituted simple “disobedience.” God sent Saul into a battle with a specific enemy, and told him to take no plunder and no captives. Yet Saul took a little plunder to offer as a sacrifice to God, and a few captives who were royalty, who seemed special. Saul disobeyed, deviated from God’s plan. The prophet Samuel calls this idolatry.

Today, God has a project, a Work that He is completing according to specific plans and guidelines. When we deviate from this plan and follow our own preferences and desires, this is idolatry. We can be idolaters even if we do not have statues or religious images. Idolatry is deviating from the revealed project. We are not talking about emotions or sentimentalism here, or about the vague idea of “idolatry in our hearts.” We are talking about what we do - whether we obey God or not.

Suppose God reveals that He does not like a certain kind of music in worship, or that He wants us to baptize people in a certain way. Perhaps the revelation does not fit with our personalities, our culture, our preferences, or our opinions. As a result, we decide to obey everything except the parts we do not like. This is what Saul did. The Bible calls it idolatry.

Idolatry takes subtle forms, as when people take a good thing – like family – and turn it into an idol, something we obey instead of God. Family should be a priority, and it is godly to have a loving family. Yet Jesus cautioned us: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37). Sometimes the Lord reveals something in the church, and one of the mothers in the church wants the pastor to make an exception for her son or daughter. If the Lord revealed the exception (not to the mother, who is biased), that is one thing – but if we are deviating from God’s revealed plan or project because of family affection, this can be idolatry.

Idolatry also takes blatant forms. We must be careful about this as well. False religions make statues of their imaginary gods and the men who founded their faith. Even Christians sometimes do this, thinking idols are acceptable as long as they represent Jesus, angels, or characters from the Bible. When God gives Moses the Ten Commandments, He explicitly forbids making or worshipping carved images. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above…you shall not bow to them nor serve them…” (Exodus 20: 4-5). Making them and worshipping them are both violations. The Lord forbade even images that represented the true God – this was not just a prohibition against false gods. “…you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you…lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female…” (Deut. 4:15-19). Because of these rules, the Israelites could not make images representing God, the prophets, or any other image, whether carved images or drawings.

The warnings about idolatry run throughout the New Testament, just as they are everywhere in the Old Testament (1 Corinthians 5:10-11; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 10:7; 1 Corinthians 10:14-22; Ephesians 5:5; Galatians 5:20; Colossians 3:5; 1 Peter 4:3; 1 John 5:21).

1 Samuel 14:36-37 - Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.” “Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied. But the priest said, “Let us inquire of God here.” So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day.

Perhaps the worst thing that could ever happen to a believer is for the Lord to stop speaking to him. How could this happen? It happened to Saul twice - the first time was only temporary (in the passage above). The second time was permanent (1 Samuel 28:6; see also 1 Samuel 15:35, where it started).

All of 1 Samuel 14 is a confusing chapter. It portrays the confusion that results from religious leaders operating outside of God’s will and God’s revelation. Just like any anointed leader today, God raised Saul by revelation and anointed him for his role (as king of Israel). God used him powerfully to achieve great victories (1 Samuel 11:11). Therefore, Saul’s fall from grace serves as a warning to all those whom God has called, anointed, and used in His Kingdom - men and women of God everywhere. We want to avoid being like Saul. We want to please God in every way. We never want to find ourselves in that situation where God refuses to answer us.

Most people could understand why God might remove ministers who fall into scandalous sins, like immorality or financial corruption. Yet the Lord rejected Saul over a sin that is much more subtle, something commonplace among Christians today. In the previous chapter, Saul became impatient waiting for the prophet Samuel to arrive, and he decided to offer the sacrifices by himself - which violated what the Lord had revealed. Ironically, on two occasions Saul sinned by offering a sacrifice (see 1 Samuel 13:8-14; 1 Samuel 15:21-23) - a warning to those of us today who think that God is always impressed with our sacrifice of praise or our financial gifts. The Lord rejected Saul as King because he interjected his own human opinions, ideas, and preferences into God’s Work. Saul’s spiritual justifications did not matter; God stopped speaking to him because he was following his own opinions and ideas.

Chapter 14 begins with Saul’s being vastly outnumbered by the enormous Philistine army, hiding in fear, with most of his men unarmed and unprepared for battle. Many religions today have followers, but lack the spiritual resources to fulfill God’s Project. Saul had 600 men with him at his headquarters. Six is the biblical number of man, falling short of the number seven, which symbolizes God’s perfection. Saul was relying on human resources.

Saul’s son Jonathan went alone with his armor bearer to attack a Philistine garrison. The Lord intervened on their behalf and their enemies fell before them. This skirmish, combined with a well-timed earthquake, then sent a sudden panic through the entire Philistine army. It was a panic from God. (See 1 Samuel 14:15). Some of their troops scattered; others attacked their own comrades. Saul was so blind to what God was doing that day that he did not even know his son Jonathan had left, or what had happened to the Philistines that surrounded him.

Saul beckoned the priest to bring up the Ark of the Covenant immediately so they could inquire of the Lord there. This is a sad picture of how so many Christian leaders operate - they get desperate for a word from God only in the moment of crisis, instead of staying attuned to the Spirit all the time. The priest brought the Ark and they began inquiring of God about what they should do.

“Withdraw your hand.” (1 Samuel 14:19) - Saul interrupted as they were inquiring of God and made his own decision. How does God speak? The Old Testament mentions three main ways - through dreams, prophets (who had visions and revelations), and the Urim and Thummim (see 1 Samuel 28:6, where it mentions these three as the possible ways to hear from God). The Urim and Thummim were small objects that the High Priest kept in the secret pouch of the priestly breastplate (part of the ephod), over his heart (see Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8). Ancient Jewish traditions say that one pertained to the blessings of the Covenant and another to the curses (see, e.g., Deuteronomy 28). The priest could cast the Urim and Thummim like lots before the Lord, and God would answer with a “yes” or a “no” (blessings or curses) - see Prov. 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” Sometimes the answer would be something neutral, that is, no answer at all (we will discuss this more later). The godly people would not make a major spiritual decision without first asking the Lord in this way (see Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:75). The early church incorporated this method as one of the ways to hear from God (see Acts 1:26), along with dreams, prophetic words and visions. Today, the faithful church continues this by consulting the Word, where God gives a yes or no answer through a single verse in the Bible, selected at random.

In this story, just as the priest was casting the Urim and Thummim before the Lord - a very sacred moment - Saul said, “Withdraw your hand.” In other words, “Stop inquiring of the Lord - I already decided what to do.”   Then Saul rushed into battle. We see people do this all the time. There are religious leaders who suddenly want to hear directly from God at the time of crisis. Then they feel they cannot wait for God to answer (because it is a crisis, after all), and they interrupt the process and go ahead with their own human ideas. Following his own ideas instead of God’s revelation was a recurring problem for Saul, just as it is a persistent characteristic of religion today.

God was already moving against the Philistines, and the Israelites chased after them. Then Saul made another mistake: he bound all the people by an oath to keep a strict fast that day, eating nothing. It is strange that immediately after interrupting the priest who was inquiring of the Lord, Saul wants to do something super-spiritual, like forcing everyone to fast on a day of strenuous physical activity. Unfortunately, this was the opposite of what God wanted that day. God had provided abundant honey for the troops in a place where they would all find it, because the Lord knew they needed strength and nourishment for the hard physical strain of battle. Yet Saul was already following his own plan, and did not have time to ask God anything. So all the people missed the blessing God intended.

What arrogance - for religious leaders to think they can control God by imposing fasts and lengthy prayer vigils on the people. God wants people who will ask Him what to do, and carry out His will - not people who follow their own ideas and then attempt heroic feats of fasting or prayer in order to make God bless their human plans.

The situation that day deteriorated more and more, despite the fact that it was supposed to be a day of deliverance from God. Saul’s son Jonathan - the very one who had stepped out in faith and attacked the Philistines, setting them all to flight - had not heard Saul’s oath, and he ate some of the honey. This presented a very awkward situation spiritually. Jonathan was correct that the troops needed to eat, and that the Lord had provided the honey. At the same time, Saul’s oath was still binding on Jonathan, even though the oath was a foolhardy mistake (see Ecclesiastes 5:5-6). God is offended at our broken promises. Jonathan’s inadvertent violation of the oath meant the people were in breach of the king’s vow. Saul set the stage for this mess when he stopped the priest from inquiring of God and imposed a rule on the people that came from his own heart or mind. Religion makes this same mess today. The people must choose between missing God’s intended blessing (the honey, the revealed Word) and rebelling against their anointed pastor. It is such a pity. Jonathan broke the vow, and the people who kept it could not finish the victory that day - they were too faint from hunger.

Worse still, Saul’s soldiers were so desperate by day’s end that they ate the captured animals raw, without cooking, and with the blood still there. This was a serious sin under the Old Testament law (see Leviticus 17). They were supposed to keep blood separate from the flesh they ate. The blood, as it says in Leviticus 17:11, points forward to Jesus’ blood that makes atonement for sin and gives us his life. Saul made his men so famished that they mixed the blood with flesh. It is a tragedy today when Christians lack the revealed Word, and they end up mixing the blood of Jesus with fleshly things. Saul stopped this and insisted that they cook the food and separate the blood. He built an altar to the Lord there to seek forgiveness for the men’s sin of eating blood (verse 35). He had never before built an altar - another picture of religious leaders who become serious about seeking God only when a crisis comes, not before.

Now Saul wants God to speak, to tell them what to do next. It was unclear whether they should pursue their enemies immediately, or wait for a better opportunity. The men told Saul, “Do whatever seems best to you” (v. 36). Like many church members today, they had learned to tell their leader whatever he wanted to hear. Saul beckoned the priest again to inquire of God; but God does not always tell us what we want to hear. “But God did not answer him that day” (verse 37). The Lord took offense at the series of events that had unfolded. God remained silent.

Saul continued. He made the priest cast lots with the Urim and Thummim to determine who had broken the oath. The Lord began to speak again, revealing through the Urim that Jonathan had been the first to break the vow. Then Saul makes another rash vow before God: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”

This is stunning - he quickly switches back from inquiring of God to following his own heart or mind. Many do this.

Just as the first vow was broken (first by Jonathan, then by the men eating blood and flesh), this second oath also goes unfulfilled. The people intervened and refused to let Saul execute Jonathan - they even made a vow of their own (”As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help” - v. 45). This foreshadowed another weakness of Saul - he did what his men wanted (see also 1 Samuel 15:15, 30). We sometimes hear religious leaders say, “The people here will not accept that revelation - they demand that we do things another way.” In a sense, we are glad to see that Jonathan survived, as he was a good man. The people were in the same awkward situation that Jonathan had faced - they were correct that God used Jonathan and that it would have been a tragedy for him to die. Yet there was another breach of a vow.

How did that day end? It was similar to the way it began: “Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land” (v. 46). Instead of pursuing them and finishing the victory, Saul just stays there in his weakness, in the mess he had made of that day. God did compel the Philistine army to withdraw, which was a blessing - albeit with no help from Saul. God was already looking for a new leader (David) who would “do everything I want him to do.” (see Acts 13:22). That is what God looks for even today.

See vv. 41-42. The Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament from about 250 B.C., renders Saul’s prayer as follows: “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault, respond with Thummim.” This gives us a little picture of how the Urim and Thummim worked, giving yes-or-no answers to specific questions.

]]> http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/356/feed http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/359 http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/359#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:08:46 +0000 josiah http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/?p=359

1 Samuel 14:24 - “Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food…”

“They feared the oath” - Unfortunately, Saul bound his army with an oath that forbid anyone to eat that day. Saul had started well, as the Lord’s anointed, but by this time God had already rejected him due to his disobedience. (1 Samuel 13:14). Saul is like a prophetic picture of empty religion, which sadly characterizes a lot of Christianity today. Other lessons explore Saul’s spiritual problems in more detail, but here we focus only on his rash vow. Saul thought he was being a spiritual strongman by imposing a strict fast on his army. Yet fasting does not always please God; rather, God only accepts fasts that we do when He reveals it. Fasting is a sacrifice, but obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). Saul never understood this. God wanted the army that day to have nourishment for the battle, but Saul decided it would be better to fast - the fast was from his own mind, not from God. Many preachers do this today. They impose their own opinions on the flock instead of God’s true revelation. Some churches even disavow the revealed Word, teaching their members that God no longer speaks today, and that all we have is the letter of the Bible. They keep God’s people from eating the honey that God has provided for us, in order for us to fulfill our mission here on earth. Religious leaders place unnecessary burdens on the backs of the members (see Matthew 23:4).

Remember that Saul’s entire army lacked swords (1 Samuel 13:22). Swords are also a biblical symbol of the revealed Word. “Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17). We see a consistent prophetic theme here - Saul’s army was unequipped, a picture of God’s people when they lack true revelations from the Word. They lack weapons and nourishment. Overall, Saul stands as a prophetic illustration of worthless human religion (which may even call itself “Christian” in some places). Only the two leaders had swords.

This reminds us of churches today that require their ministers to get diplomas in Biblical studies or Theology from professional ministry schools. As a result, there is a “knowledge gap” in the churches between the pastor and the sheep - only the pastors have the “sword” of the Word, and the rest of the church suffers through the battle without it. They cannot all go to Bible colleges, of course. All the other people in the church must earn a living and provide for their families. In contrast, a church that uses the revealed Word makes the message of the Bible accessible to every member, because the Holy Spirit gives the revelations. When a church abandons the worthless human traditions about sending pastors to Bible college and seminaries, and focuses instead on having the revealed Word (the sword of the Spirit, the honey God provides as we enter the woods), then everyone is equal. The members can have revelations from the Word that the pastor will preach to the church. Yet religion operates like Saul’s army, where only a few leaders have the necessary equipment (the Word) to fulfill the mission of the church. The Work of the Holy Spirit is opposite. Any member can get the Spirit’s meaning from the Word.

Jonathan did not know about his father’s foolish oath. With his rod (which represents the Shepherd’s staff, or the guidance of the Spirit), he got some of the honey and took it to his mouth with his hand. The hand represents the five ministries raised by God in the church (see Acts 11:21; Ephesians 4:11). Once he did that, Jonathan’s eyes brightened. Brightened eyes talk about discernment, the ability to see which way to go, and the end of spiritual blindness. This is what revelation does for a man. The honey was available to all. Anyone could take it. It was only a matter of following the Spirit’s guidance. At the same time, the people under Saul’s direction were fainting, falling by the wayside. They could not finish conquering the enemy that day.

Saul’s oath created an awkward situation spiritually, where Jonathan was in violation of an oath even though he was doing the very thing God originally intended. When we make an oath or vow before the Lord, God expects us to fulfill it, and does not excuse us just because we later realize that the vow was foolish (see Ecclesiastes 5:5-6). Saul was the anointed leader of Israel and he had the spiritual authority to bind the army under and oath. We see the spiritual damage that a church leader can do when he injects his own opinions and ideas into God’s Project - he puts the people under a curse even when they are pursuing the proper goals and trying to get the proper spiritual resources.

Saul was trying to be a radical leader with his oath, but it led to two failures eventually. First, the army was unable to finish exterminating the enemy that day. Their victory was incomplete. Second, the soldiers were so famished and desperate by the end that they ate the captured animals raw, without cooking, and with the blood still there. This was a serious sin under the Old Testament law (see Leviticus 17). They were supposed to keep blood separate from the flesh they ate. The blood, as it says in Leviticus 17:11, points forward to Jesus’ blood that makes atonement for sin and gives us his life. Saul’s men were so desperate that they mixed the blood with flesh. It is a tragedy today when Christians lack the revealed Word, and they end up mixing the blood of Jesus with fleshly things. They think that pleading the blood of Jesus is merely for gaining material things like wealth or physical healings, or even worldly things that their hearts desire. Their religious leaders have left them so desperate and spiritually malnourished that they mix the Blood with their own flesh. The important thing here is to understand that God has indeed provided honey - the revealed Word. We need it every day. Each day we need the revealed Word so that we can have enough strength to serve the Lord effectively and faithfully. His Word feeds us and renews our strength.

Acts 13:20-22 - “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”

When the Lord began to work in our midst – in the group that became known as Maranatha – one of the first great experiences was having the Bible come alive for us in a new way, as never before. The Spirit began to take us beyond the letter, beyond a surface reading of the text, into the deeper, prophetic message contained in every story and every passage. It became clear that the entire Old Testament pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the work of the salvation that he would accomplish for us. God’s unfolding project of salvation is a constant theme running through the Scriptures. God’s project often conflicts with man’s projects, including man’s well-intentioned religious projects that follow human opinions and agendas instead of God’s will.

We want to please God; and we want to know how to please God. We are not merely interested in Christian ethics, rules, or traditions. Many ethical people have failed to please God, like some of the educated, self-disciplined Romans who persecuted the early Christians. Jesus himself died at the hands of the most religious people of his day, men who knew the Old Testament Scriptures by heart, who kept every religious rule and observed every ritual. It is clear, therefore, that God wants something more from us than being religious or being ethical. In the Bible, there are many stories about people who pleased God and people who did not; these have valuable lessons for us.

Perhaps no characters illustrate this as clearly as David and Saul in the Old Testament. They lived at the same time and their stories overlap. They have many important things in common. Both were kings of Israel, chosen by God. Both received anointing with oil from the Prophet Samuel himself. (1 Samuel 10:1; 16:13) Both won battles for the Lord. (1 Samuel 11:11; 1 Samuel 18:30; 1 Chronicles 18:1)) Both even prophesied under the influence of the Holy Spirit. (1 Samuel 10:10; 2 Samuel 23:1) Their lives, however, had completely different endings: David continued in God’s blessings, and received amazing promises from the Lord for his descendants (2 Samuel 7:5-16). Saul died far from God’s presence or blessing (1 Samuel 31), under a curse, persecuting God’s servants, and even consulting with a witch the night before his death (1 Samuel 28:8). Decisions they made years before had set their course, whether toward destruction or life.

The contrasts between the two interest us the most, because the similarities they share could apply to us as well – to anyone who has been chosen by God, anointed with the Spirit, and used to get a victory for the Lord on some occasion. We share the common features that these men shared (God’s call on our lives, the indwelling of the Spirit, etc.), so it is crucial for us to see what led Saul to lose his blessing, and what enabled David to keep his, and to nurture it so that it grew. In many ways, David’s life became a prophetic picture of Jesus himself and the work Jesus would do.

1 Samuel 11:2 – “But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel…”

“Nahash” literally means “serpent.” He was the enemy of Israel. He lived in or near the city that is called Amman, Jordan in modern times. This was not part of the Promised Land, but was next door to it. The Enemy of our souls has no place in the Inheritance, but he lurks nearby seeking our destruction. (See Genesis 4:7).

Here, he attacks Israelites living on the east side of the Jordan River. They had not wanted to enter the Promised Land generations before. They represent Christians who try to live in compromise, who try to live as close to the world as they can. These are believers trying to see how much they can get away with and still be saved. They are on the periphery of the church, not part of the core group of the church that really serves the Lord. The people of Jabesh Gilead also had a practical disadvantage (which was a big advantage for their enemy Nahash) - they were geographically isolated from most of the tribes of Israel. Christians today who isolate themselves from the Body of Christ, instead of being integrated into the heart of it, make themselves vulnerable to the Enemy.

Nahash is our archenemy, the father of lies, the deceiver. Here again we find the result of the serpent’s tracks, his plan to deceive. He proposes a false truce.

Our Enemy’s desire is always to enslave man to himself through sin and deception, spiritual blindness. His plan continues to be to kill, to steal and to destroy.

Not only he wanted to disable the soldiers of Jabesh Gilead, he also wanted to deprive them of their dignity. To put out the right eye was to reduce in 50% their ability to see. That would bring them discomfort, insecurity, and inability to fight in battle. How could a soldier fight without his right eye, with his seeing ability compromised? How could he use the shield? He would certainly be defeated.

The right eye put out speaks of the spiritual inability to see, to understand, to discern things as they really are - the perception of depth is gone. The Enemy seeks to remove the REVELATION from those who are isolated and uncommitted. Once revelation is missing, the person cannot fight or resist. The Enemy of our souls is not concerned about keeping us from books, human ideas, showy or pretentious church activities, etc. His goal is to eliminate revelation, our spiritual sight.

The people seek deliverance from the rest of Israel, the place where the king regins, where the Ark and the Tabernacle is located, and the Prophet Samuel guides and judges. This is the solution for us when we are threatened with the loss of revelation – the BODY. There we can find deliverance. That is how we can continue to have Light.

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In this story, Samuel is a little boy who lives at the Tabernacle in Israel and helps with chores. This was the twilight of the period of the Judges in Israel, a time of great spiritual confusion. The priests in that day had lost connection with God. The Bible says that it was very rare then for anyone to hear directly from God. The people had stopped listening. The priests themselves were unfaithful. There were awful scandals surrounding the new generation of priests, and the old generation had grown weak, lazy, and ineffective.

God wanted to bring spiritual renewal, to restart His relationship with His people. He called to the boy Samuel in the night. Samuel awoke to the sound of someone calling his name, but he had no idea that it might be God speaking, because that was outside his experience up to that point. He rushed to the elderly high priest, Eli, assuming that he had been calling out for him. The priest himself did not imagine that God might be calling the boy. Instead, he initially instructed the boy to go lie down and sleep.

Eli’s instruction to Samuel is an illustration of what religious leaders always tell their flocks after the connection with the Lord is lost. The message of having an obedient relationship with the Living God fades away, and the new message is simply reassurance, vague words of hope. Relax, they tell their audience. You can sleep peacefully tonight. Do not worry about sin, or God’s will, or judgment, or anything like that. Everything is fine. Sometimes the members begin to hear God calling - and they go to their leaders, who encourage them to ignore it, to go on with their lives as usual.

God was persistent. He kept calling Samuel; Samuel kept getting confused and running to the priest. The priest told him repeatedly to lie down and ignore it. Eventually, the priest realizes that something extraordinary might be happening - he remembers that God used to speak to His people in previous ages. So Eli told Samuel to wait for the voice to call again, and to respond, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Samuel did so, and God began to speak to him in detail - and continued to do so throughout his life!

This is the instruction for us today. If we want to hear from God, we must be willing to listen and obey. When God calls, we should ask Him to speak more to us, whatever He wills. Unfortunately, many of us have such a strong attachment to our own opinions and preferences that we have limits on what we will tolerate from God. In such cases, we are not truly open to whatever the Lord wants to say. God looks for individuals who will listen when He speaks.

The Lord often speaks to His faithful servants, through the Word and through spiritual gifts, to remind us that He will take care of us if we are faithful and obey. He constantly brings us the revelation from eternity so that we will have strength to carry on and complete the Work the Lord has entrusted to us.

]]> http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/365/feed http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/367 http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/archives/367#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:16:59 +0000 josiah http://www.kingwoodbiblestudy.com/?p=367 1 Samuel 3:1-2 – “The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place…”

The book of 1 Samuel contrasts the ministry of the boy Samuel, who listened to God and functioned as a prophet, with the ministry of the old priest named Eli, who served in the Tabernacle during a period of apostasy (falling away from God) in Israel’s early history. Most of Eli’s ministry occurred during the period covered by the book of Judges, an era of spiritual confusion, curses, and disobedience. Eli was over 90 years old in this story, so he began ministering a generation earlier.

Eli descended from the High Priest Aaron through Aaron’s son Ithamar (Leviticus 10:1-12). Eventually the high priesthood passed back to the family line of Eleazar, Aaron’s other surviving son, through Zadok the priest (1 Kings 2:35). Eli’s sons, also priests, were wicked men whom the Lord killed (1 Samuel 2:12-34; 1 Samuel 3:11).

Prophetically, Eli illustrates the problem of spiritual aging, and specifically a ministry affected by spiritual aging. We are all familiar with the process of PHYSICAL aging – we grow old, we have less energy, our eyes grow weaker, we develop more health problems, and eventually we die. This is a normal part of human existence and has no spiritual significance (that is, there is nothing wrong with being physically old, from a spiritual standpoint, or with being physically young). Spiritual aging, in contrast, is part of the process of falling away, so the spiritual consequences are very serious. We learn about this process through the story of Eli the priest. A person who is physically young can be spiritually aged (falling away); and a person who is physically old can be spiritually youthful.

Loss of spiritual sight and discernment – Eli’s “eyes were becoming so weak he could barely see” (1 Samuel 3:2; see also 1 Samuel 4:14). He mistook the fervent intercession of a holy woman in the Tabernacle for mere drunken rambling (1 Samuel 1:13-15). Eli overlooked the gross sins of his grown sons. He did not recognize when the Lord was speaking to Samuel. The Bible mentions his dim eyesight together with there being “not many visions” in Israel in those days, when “the word of the Lord was rare” (1 Samuel 3:1). This is the first (and most serious) attribute of spiritual aging – loss of spiritual sight (revelations, visions). A person in this situation is in spiritual darkness, and must lean on his own understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6; Micah 3:6).

Lack of Energy/Spiritual Inertia – At least twice we read about Eli sitting or lying down in one of his “usual spots” (1 Samuel 3:2; 1 Samuel 4:13). Those who are aging spiritually become resistant to change, slow to obey the Lord, slow to serve Him. They may get excited about God for a few minutes, but they lack spiritual endurance or strength to follow through. When Samuel first hears the Lord calling him, Eli twice tells him to lie down and go back to sleep. His heaviness (1 Samuel 4:18) represents the dominance of the flesh in those who are aging spiritually.

All talk, no action - People who are spiritually aging can say spiritual-sounding things and talk strongly about the Lord, but they do not back up their words with actions. Eli rebuked his sons for their horrific sins and wickedness verbally (1 Samuel 2:23-25), but he did nothing to restrain them or discipline them (1 Samuel 3:13). Twice God warned him of impending judgment through prophets, and he seemed unaffected by it.

Very old (1 Samuel 2:22) – These people live in their past, always talking about miracles or victories that happened years ago, or ways they served God in a previous phase in their lives. Yet God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23) and every day God has new blessings, victories, revelations, and tasks for us.

Lost connection with the head (1 Samuel 4:18) – Eli died from a broken neck, symbolizing a complete loss of connection with the head. Jesus is supposed to the Head of the Body (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 4:15; Ephesians 5:23), and the neck symbolizes our line of communication with him (revelation through the Holy Spirit). This must be intact for us to survive spiritually. Eli breaking his neck coincided with the capture of the Ark, which brought God’s revelation to the Israelites at that time.

When we perceive ourselves to be “aging spiritually,” we should respond by seeking the Lord earnestly for a deliverance, in prayer, fasting, studying the Word, and fellowship in the Body. God wants every believer to have a vibrant, powerful, effective faith.

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