David wrote over half of the psalms, with the title of that book meaning “praises” in Hebrew. At least 78 of the 150 Psalms have been attributed to David, who in his songs to the Lord, carries us through all the highs and lows of life. Yet the common thread in those poetic psalms is the consistency of David’s praise. He praises the Lord in his happiness and he praises the Lord in his sadness. Certainly, he understood as we all should that the Lord is worthy of our praise! David was a simple shepherd boy and a musician, as we read in the Bible that he was very skillful with the harp. In fact, David played the harp for King Saul, though Saul was threatened by the presence of the Lord in David’s life, which was obvious to all after David killed the giant Goliath when the rest of Israel shook in fear.
6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. 7 So the women sang as they danced, and said:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.”
8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward.
1 Samuel 18:6-9
David did not immediately flee from King Saul’s angry hand, but tried to earn Saul’s respect by his loyalty. When David did decide to flee, it wasn’t in fear, for if David understood the power of God when facing Goliath, he also was aware of that same power when facing an enemy of a different stature. While Goliath might have been large in size, King Saul was large in power. Yet David fully accepted that God was larger in every sense than any enemy.
Still, David fled to the caves of En Gedi. In Hebrew, En Gedi means the springs of the wild goats, and to this day, wild goats are prevalent in that area. With Dave in a cave, King Saul and his army were seeking to find the lad and kill him. Saul separated from his army to find a little privacy in a cave. (If you don’t understand the reasoning behind this, they didn’t have Porta-Potty’s back then)! When Saul’s robe fell to the ground to cover his feet, David crawled to a spot near enough to kill Saul, and instead, cut a piece away from the hem of Saul’s garment. Now we know why caves smell so musty! Once outside the cave, David confronted King Saul.
8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? 10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. 12 Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.
1 Samuel 24:8-12
David’s trust in God was apparent. He was not promoted to be the King of Israel because of his own pride, but instead, because he was God’s anointed. For God understood David’s heart. Though just like the rest of us, David made good and bad decisions, his heart loved and followed God completely. That is what it means to be a man after God’s own heart! When David’s son died, the result of his adultery with Bathsheba, David responded differently than most of us in adversity.
So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped.
2 Samuel 12:20
We have the tendency to blame God for the difficulties we find ourselves in, though most of the time, those situations are the result of our own bad decisions. God loves us so much that He is incapable of hurting us, and if we are in extreme circumstances, they have been designed by the Most High for our own benefit. Trust Him and praise Him. God has the power to bring every situation to the close He desires, even if you find yourself sequestered in a random cave in the wilderness. If He delivered Dave in the cave, He will deliver you!
And he said: “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
2 Samuel 22:2
No comments:
Post a Comment