There are great, yet hard, lessons be learned from this week’s Bible study. These lessons are applicable any time in life but have profound and particular application here in 2020. We currently seem to be living in an US vs. THEM atmosphere. Right vs. wrong. There seems to be no middle ground. Mercy, grace and forgiveness seem to not even be a consideration. Yet they are exactly what God’s “upside down kingdom” call for in our Christian journey. In our current culture it seems more noble and righteous to stand on our rights and beliefs rather than on God’s instructions and truths from His Word. He beckons us to travel the “higher way” and the “road less traveled.” The personal causes that people are fighting for (even good and righteous ones) often over-ride our Christian obligation to live a life of exemplary personal conduct. Have you seen this in your life and behavior? Small things (such as Saul’s jealousy of David) can take root and become divisive and destructive. Could something be taking root in your life?
Woven in this week’s study are some great principles from David’s treatment of Saul:
Show Mercy
Speak Truth
Stay Safe
See the Bigger Picture
Bigger judge
Bigger plan
Bigger beauty
INVITATION: Are you willing and courageous enough to dive in this week? It might involve repentance, forgiveness, grace and mercy…..even toward those who have wronged you. At the same time this story brings comfort, healing and hope. Pray for God to walk with you through these scriptures. May you have eyes to see and ears to hear God’s still, small voice in your heart and life. Can you allow David to be an example of how to handle (with God’s help) betrayal, abuse, hurts and wounds? Where might you be standing on your rights, power and authority as opposed to showing mercy, grace and forgiveness? Are you ready for freedom from the bondage of unforgiveness? It is a poison that only hurts you.
MONDAY: I Samuel 24:1-4: Saul chose a huge army of his best soldiers to hunt down David. Low and behold Saul ended up taking a bathroom break in the same cave where David and his motley crew were hiding out! David’s men encouraged him to take advantage of the situation and kill King Saul. It must have seemed obvious. David COULD have done that. He had the opportunity. Yet all he did was cut a corner of Saul’s robe. Even in the midst of what must have been an adrenaline rush (and everyone around him encouraging him to kill Saul), David chose love and mercy. He chose what seems upside down, counter-cultural and counter-intuitive. Look up Matthew 5:44-45. Love your enemies. As you give time, space and prayer to this, who might be your “enemy” today? Does something or someone bubble to the surface? How are you being invited to take that into prayer?
TUESDAY: I Samuel 24:5-7: David actually had remorse for cutting the corner of Sauls robe. Seems crazy, but these verses show that David trusts GOD’S plan and sovereignty over his own rights. It was God who allowed Saul to be King. Who was David to take such matters into his own hands - no matter how unreasonable and unfair Saul was? Could David have gotten away with killing Saul and claiming the throne? Probably. But David’s refusal to take action is not based on strategy or even moral grounds. It is based on the profound respect David had for Yahweh - the fear of the Lord. David knew it was GOD who made Saul King - even if he could not understand the reasons. For David, rebellion against Saul would be tantamount to rebellion against the Lord himself. The fear of the Lord. Respect. Awe. Honor. Do these things exist in your life and opinion of God? How do they play out - or NOT play out in your daily life?
WEDNESDAY: I Samuel 24: 8-13: David speaks truth with honesty, humility and hope. What would it look like for you to consider such motives in your own speech? Do you seek to humiliate or to convert? To speak life or death? Theologian Dallas Willard has a famous quote, “I’m practicing the discipline of not having to have the last word.” Is that a discipline that might be helpful in your life? Scripture tells us to speak the truth IN LOVE (Eph. 4:15). Too often we do one or the other, but not truth and love together. Pray for an opportunity to speak the truth in love this week in your life and situations.
THURSDAY: I Samuel 24:16-22: Just because you forgive and show mercy, it does NOT mean you stop being careful, staying safe, having healthy boundaries and keeping watch. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you think people can be irresponsible or thet God will not hold them responsible for their actions, it means that you let them off the hook within your OWN life. You choose to let go of bitterness, rage and unforgiveness. Ephesians 4:31-32 instructs us to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another FORGIVING EACH OTHER, just as in Christ God forgives you.” As you pray today, is there someone you need to forgive?
FRIDAY: Psalm 59:1-3: Do you keep the bigger picture in mind in your life? It is hard to be the bigger person when you cannot see the bigger picture. David saw beyond his current situation and chose to trust God’s plans and purposes. Within that bigger plan there is bigger beauty. David wrote this Psalm while on the run from Saul. These initial verses are a lament of his situation. David honestly expresses himself to God. Are you honest with God in your prayer life? The Psalms give us permission to express the human condition - even in terms that are not necessarily theologically or doctrinally “correct.” God knows your heart anyway - why not be honest?
SATURDAY Psalm 59:16-17: Within the same Psalm, David gets to a place of singing God’s praises and expressing his trust in his protection and provision. Forgiveness sometimes only makes sense in the shadow of the cross. God freely forgave you and offered up his son. Will you now forgive others? It is a matter of stewardship. Will you be found faithful?