On the Way to Wonder

1 Samuel 23:7 – 24:22.  Saul is king but paranoid of David’s popularity and determined to kill him.  Jonathan, Saul’s son and heir apparent, “helped him (David) find strength in God.”  Jonathan knows, Saul knows and David knows that some day David will be king.  Amazingly Saul, in pursuit of David, enters a cave to relieve himself, unaware that David and men are hiding in the back of the cave.  David sneaks forward and cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe, refusing to kill Saul as his men wanted.  David confronts Saul with the proof, “May the Lord be our judge and decide between us.  May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hands.” David is waiting on the Lord.

         Being king for Saul was harder than just being chosen.  The fear of competition for the throne plagued Saul and stole peace and concentration.  He was busy chasing David rather than ruling and fulfilling his role.

         Waiting for God’s timing is harder than just knowing God’s will for David.  Samuel had anointed David as a youth, Jonathan had confirmed the future but David needs to discern the time and refuses to seize the position while Saul, “the Lord’s anointed,” was still alive.

         We dream of getting married, of getting that perfect job, of buying that wonderful house, of taking the dream vacation or maybe just retiring.  It seems so idyllic in the movies or as we watch someone else do our dream but then we achieve–are appointed, are chosen and we discovered the reality is a lot of work.  Not only is there work but there is the battle with fear that someone better will come along.  Saul did not have peace even though he had achieved so much.

         I find it interesting that David has multiple opportunities to grab his destiny and yet he does not.  Getting his dream by devious or immoral ways ie killing Saul, is not what he wants.  He is willing to wait for God’s time.  That is hard.  I love the scene from “Chariots of Fire” where Eric Liddell is preaching on Sunday morning as he feels it would be unethical to run an Olympic trial race on Sunday.  He uses as his text Isaiah 40:28,

         “Do you not know? Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting         God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or      weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength          to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow         tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope     (wait) in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings    like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not      be faint.”

         I do not know where you are feeling impatient and finding it hard to wait on the Lord’s timing, but trusting God’s timing is important.  Keep focused on God rather than who might do what you’re doing only better.  They might do it better but God has you in the situation and trusting his timing and keeping his peace is important.  Be kind as you critique others doing their jobs and wait on the Lord in doing yours!

1 Samuel 16:1 – 18:16. This is one of the famous stories in the Bible that most people know.  David, a youth, fights the giant Goliath who is challenging the Israelite army.  It has become symbolic for any struggle where the odds are terribly mismatched and the fight looks hopeless.  In this case Saul was still king but he was scared and he had lost God’s blessing by lack of obedience.  God had Samuel anoint David to be the next king but David was not king yet and David seems to know it is not his time yet.  God tells Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (16:7)” David was known for being “a man after God’s own heart.”  Our story today lets us look into David’s heart as he faces Goliath.

         Unlike King Saul, David is not afraid of Goliath.  The outward appearances do not determine his courage.  He remembers all the times God has helped him as a shepherd to kill the beasts that threatened his flocks.  David sees his source of power as outside himself.  He can be brave.

         Unlike King Saul, David is not threatened by the status of King Saul or height of Goliath.  After David kills Goliath, the people sing praises of David who killed “his ten thousands” while Saul killed “thousands.”  Saul realizes David is a threat to his throne.  Fear begins to plague Saul’s kingship.  David, on the other hand, obediently does as requested and refuses to be jaded by jealousy or false aspirations.  We do not see David playing politics with his popularity.

         Unlike King Saul, David forms a deep friendship with Jonathan, son of Saul.  “Jonathan became one in spirit with David” and this friendship would provide a loyalty and “north star” during his time before he becomes king.  David was able to cross party lines and see issues and talents clearly.

         Possibly most importantly, David realizes that Goliath has not picked a fight with the Israelites but with God. “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (17:45)”  Clarity of vision to understand the core issues in an argument is important.

         It is easy to look at our world today and feel overwhelmed – environment/fires, immigration and displaced people and assigned leaders, potential spread of disease, and all the other issues we hear about on the news.  We are like David facing Goliath.  May we remember that God looks at our hearts, not our looks.  May we remember all the times when God has helped us in the past and remember that he is able.  May we not be distracted by petty jealousies and may we be loyal in our friendships.  May we see clearly what the core issues are and seek God’s heart.  Blessings as you face your challenges.

1 Samuel 8-10.  “When Samuel grew old…”   At this point the elders of Israel gathered and came to Samuel, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways, now appoint a king to lead us, such as the other nations have. (8:5)”  We are headed to another transition.  Samuel had been mentored by the high priest, Eli, whose own sons were undisciplined.  Samuel too had two sons who were also dishonest and disrespectful of the priesthood.  At the same time, the people of Israel are observing the nations around them.  Please note that even the most godly men in the Bible had wayward children.  Perhaps they were too busy being priests.  Perhaps the sons were spoiled by all the perks of being the sons of the high priest.  We don’t know but we do know, but the elders thought a new process of leadership was needed.

         The request for a king sounds reasonable but note the motivation is to be like the other nations.  The human desire to belong, to be like everyone else, is dangerous because it often leads to compromise to fit in.  Samuel realized the implicit rejection of God but God allowed the people their king.  Samuel warned the people of the dangers but they wanted a king.  Tall, handsome Saul was chosen.  How often are we so sure of what we want that we cannot listen to honest feedback from our friends?  It reminds me of the song, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, that we sang in the 60s.  The people were determined to have a king.

         When Samuel tells Saul, Saul is speechless, “But am I not a Benjamite  from the smallest tribe of Israel and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?  Why do you say such a thing to me?”  God has again chosen an unlikely person to lead his people, someone  with a humble heart at this point but someone who fits the job description of a stereotypical king – tall and handsome!

         Growing a nation of loyal people who will choose to follow God’s ways is a process of character formation.  We are not the person we were as a youth with our dreams and aspirations to climb mountains and “leap over tall buildings with a single bound” but as maturity settles in and the bumps and bruises of life form us, we become and make choices that keep us moving forward.  We may not always choose the easiest route but God works with us, teaching us and loving us.  Most of us may feel as unlikely and unworthy of God’s attention but God sees beyond the surface to qualities he wants to work with.  I find it comforting that God works with us even in our detours and God always has some unlikely person he is willing to use.  It may be you!  Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Epic stories involve epic heroes, epic villains, and have multiple subplots or iterations that can be told.  The first iteration in the Bible, we heard our epic hero, God, lay out his agenda, that through Abraham he would raise up a nation that would bless all people.  Our epic villain, Satan, has done his best to lead the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses astray.  In Egypt the original clan of about 70 people grew into a fledgling nation of slaves that were freed, that crossed the desert, received the Ten Commandments to guide them, crossed into the Promised Land and then during the time of the Judges, occupied the land.  So far God has communicated with this nation through leaders and then through judges.  God’s “leadership style” is dissonant, though, with how the people of Israel see other nations being governed.  Jehovah has strict rules, worship in a tabernacle and he is invisible!  Others have kings, baal figures that can be kept in houses, and sensually pleasing worship practices. Tension is growi

         1 Samuel 1-3 starts the next iteration.  God again uses a humble woman who has been barren and ridiculed for her infertility.  She has a son, Samuel, whom she sends to be raised under Eli the priest.  As a young boy, God speaks to Samuel.  Eli has not disciplined his own two sons who thus have lost the privilege of following in their father’s fame. God will go with plan B. The leadership of the country is turned over to Samuel.  God seems to delight in taking ordinary people who seek him and then he molds them into his purposes.  Samuel is probably the most famous of all the priests and eventually will be instrumental in anointing King Saul and King David.  His outstanding characteristic at this point was his listening to God and obeying.

         Age does not seem to be a factor as God first speaks to Samuel when he is a small child.  Education does not seem to be a factor as Samuel is a small child.  There is no identified talent. Samuel simply answers God’s call, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  Today let’s ask ourselves if we are finding time and places when we can listen for God’s voice speaking?  Are we willing to be servants?  Good questions.  Blessings as you seek that wee small voice leading you.

This week we looked at the period of history called Judges in the epic story of the Bible.  It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to forget how God has helped us is in the past.  The story of Exodus is told and retold throughout the Bible.  After the Patriarchs and the formation of a young nation in Egypt and now led into the Promised Land, a period of time passed where the people of Israel fell into cycles of forgetting God, getting themselves into trouble and God sending a judge to help them get out.  But invariably once the judge died, the people forgot and fell into the cycle again. Deborah, Gideon and Sampson were three of those judges, each with flaws but each choosing to obey.  Yesterday we looked at an outsider, Ruth, who joined the line of heroes.  It is amazing that God repeatedly comes to the rescue of his wayward people, not because they are good but because he is good and determined to bless that nation and all nations through them.

         As we end the week, it makes me think of one of the most favorite hymns, Amazing Grace, written by John Newton.  At age 11 he began the life of a hardened sailor and eventually was immersed in slave trade.  A fierce storm at sea put fear in his heart and he began to read Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.  God used John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, famous preachers then to help change this slave trader into an Anglican pastor.  Newton introduced simple heartfelt hymns into the church.  Newton knew there was no person beyond God’s grace and that even evil slave traders could be redeemed.  Judges tells stories of Gods continual attempts to reach out and rescue his people when they call out to him in despair.  He sees, he hears and he cares.

Following the book of Judges comes the book of Ruth.  In Judges the Israelites “did what was right in their own eyes” rather than obeying God and thus fell into trouble. God would appoint a judge to help them rescue them and they would forget.  The book of Ruth is one of two books named after female heroines.  Ruth was not an Israelite!  She was a Moabitis, from across the border, distantly related to the Israelites, as Moab was the grandson of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. 

         Famine came to Bethlehem and a family fled to Moab.  Ruth married one of the two sons but her father-in-law, her husband and husband’s brother had all died.  There was no male leadership or protection in this little family.  Her mother-in-law, Naomi, decided to return to Bethlehem.  Ruth, in her famous speech, begged Naomi to be allowed to go with her.  As an immigrant to Bethlehem, living with a starving bitter woman, Ruth showed character but also showed that Naomi, even in her most discouraged, perhaps lowest time in life, lived a faith that inspired Ruth to follow her.  Perhaps we are not the best judges of the testimony of our life!

         Ruth followed Naomi back to Bethlehem, went to the fields to glean that is pick up fallen grain after the harvesters, followed culture by going to the threshing floor at night to signal Boaz, the owner, of her availability for marriage and was praised by the Bethlehemites as a woman of integrity and faith.  That’s a pretty good resume and a story worth reading.     Sometimes in the detours of our life, we learn and grow in ways that develop an epic life story unfolding and that impacts the direction of our life and the direction of the future.  Yes, Ruth marries Boaz and has a son who is the grandfather of King David.  Ruth is one of the four women listed in the genealogy of Jesus.

         Detours in life are so hard to understand at the time.  The Israelites keep falling into a cycle of forgetting God and then being called back to faith by the judge.  Ruth experienced death and loss of country.  So hard, but during the hard time Ruth had to reach inside herself and learn in a new way what she believed and who she could trust.  Perhaps today it would be helpful to reflect on a rough time in your life or perhaps you are going through a rough time.  What lessons did you learn and what might you be learning now?  Ruth aligned herself with a woman of faith and trusted God to bring about a blessing.  God is working to bless you today too even if life feels difficult.  Blessings as you stretch your spiritual muscles to trust him.

Judges 13-16 finds the Israelites again doing “evil in the eyes of the Lord” and so being oppressed for 40 years by the Philistines.  This time God chooses an old barren couple and blesses them with a son who is to be raised as a Nazirite, a child dedicated to God from birth.  This meant no fermented drink and no cutting of hair.  They named the boy Sampson and that name we associate with strength.  When the spirit of God came on Sampson, he could do great feats of strength and help the Israelites but Sampson had a temper and he became involved with the wrong women.  He lacked self-control in his passions.  The woman who brought about his downfall was Delilah.  Delilah managed to get Sampson to tell her that the secret to his strength as a Nazirite was his hair.  It had never been cut.  Delilah tells the secret and men come and gouge out Sampson’s eyes and make him work pushing a grindstone

         I think one of the saddest verses in the Bible comes as Sampson awakes, not realizing his hair had been cut in his sleep by his “love” and we read, “But he (Sampson) did not know that the Lord had left him.”  How many gifted leaders fall because of lack of self-control and moments of weakness?  In the midst of sinful self-indulgence they do not realize that God has left them.  An eternal relationship that is the source of blessing and power is traded for a moment of pleasure.  That which is sacred, his vow as a Nazirite, is traded to appease a momentary problem, Delilah’s whining.

         What lesson might we carry away from this story?  Most of us are not Sampsons.  But, perhaps we need to reflect on the source of our power.  We each are gifted as part of the body of Christ and we have a part to play.  Everyone is important.  We may not be a judge but we are part of God’s epic story that is unfolding.  Are we being tempted to trade the eternal relationship for a momentary pleasure?  In the end Sampson repents and we can repent also, but I wonder what might have been.  How sad to wake up one day and not realize that God has left you and you are weak.  Let us guard that which is precious and our source of strength.  Our relationship with God is eternal and he wants to use you! 

Judges 6 and 7 is about Gideon.  Israel is in trouble again.  They are living in caves, hiding from enemies and Gideon is threshing wheat in a winepress to trick the enemy. The angel of the Lord appears and blesses Gideon.  “If that is so, why are we struggling?” Gideon asks.  The angel says God is going to use Gideon.  “If that is so, I am the youngest, weakest, least respected – the runt of the litter.”  Have you felt that way?  How could God use you – old, uneducated, not so smart, poor, and the list goes on for why God can’t use a person like me.  But God had chosen Gideon.  Gideon asks for proof, a sign.  We call it a fleece because Gideon laid out a fleece from a sheep and asked for the fleece to be wet and the ground dry in the morning if it truly was God’s will to use him.  So it was the next morning.  Gideon realized that could be explained scientifically so then asked for dry fleece and wet ground.  So it was.  Gideon raised an army of 32,000 men.  This time God objected.  Too many men.  So Gideon sent home any scared, any just married, and unwilling and he was down to 10,000 men.  God objected again.  Too many men.  Gideon sent the men to drink water.  Only the 300 men who cupped their hands and lapped like a dog were chosen to go into battle.  Gideon had his men but he still had doubts so he snuck down to the enemy camp and heard a soldier tell his friend that he had just had a nightmare about Gideon defeating them.  Gideon was finally convinced and rallied his 300 men and defeated a vast army of trained soldiers!!!  40 years of peace followed.

         Doubt is a terrible crippling force.  I have often joked, “If only God would send me a fax!”  Discerning and confirming God’s will is often a genuine challenge.  Some decisions are fairly straight forward.  Breaking the Ten Commandments is not advised.  Other decisions like choosing a job or choosing a spouse is much harder.  Then there are those choices that confront my will like forgiving a wrong done to me by someone.  Tithing sometimes falls in this category.  Very few decisions truly need to be settled so urgently that we cannot seek confirmation.

         I note from our text that God is willing to work with Gideon so that Gideon is convinced God is speaking.  I also note that might does not necessarily make right and that God is willing to use a humble, ordinary person to accomplish his will.  It would seem that God had more confidence in Gideon than Gideon had in Gideon.  God has more confidence in us than often we have in ourselves.  As we step forward in obedience we often will see our faith grow and strengthen as we see God work.  Perhaps you are feeling a challenge – to share your faith with someone, sing in the choir, visit a neighbor, or forgive.  Seeking confirmation is ok.  Gideon had to rely on God’s Spirit and God got the glory.  That’s the way it ought to be.  Right?  Of course right!  Blessing as you step into your challenge!

Judges 4 and 5 tells the history of two remarkable women who were significant during the period of the judges.  “Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.”  The Israelites would go to her to settle their disputes.  Deborah sent for General Barak and told him that God wanted him to raise an army of 10,000 to take against their Canaanite oppressor, Jabin.  Deborah was obviously listening to God and willing to obey.  Barak was not so sure but agreed to go if Deborah went with him.  Her ability to hear God’s command and her presence made a difference and gave her the courage to go with Barak.

         In the battle, Jabin’s general, Sisera, escaped and hid in a tent of another woman, Jael.  Jael, of a tribe related to the Israelites through Moses, welcomed Sisera and gave him some milk and let him sleep.  While he was sleeping, she summoned her courage and drove a tent peg through his brain!  Ouch.  Chapter 5 is Deborah’s song praising the way God used these two women, both courageously.  The chapter ends, “Then the land had peace forty years.”

         “Nine hundred chariots fitted with iron” were defeated by the Israelite army with few weapons, yes, but mostly because two women were listening to God in overwhelming circumstances and acted courageously.  I suspect it was not their gender that counted but that they were in tune with God.  Barak is mentioned in Hebrews 11, the faith chapter that lists heroes in the Bible.  Sisera did lead an army but was ultimately defeated by a woman obedient to God when the chips were down.

         We all face challenges.  It may just be the eternal battle with the bathroom scale.  It may be a wayward child.  It may be a problem at work that needs the wisdom of Solomon.  Our leaders are facing decisions that need to be made in our polarized political world regarding immigration, environment, voter rights, or what.  None of these are easy answers.  It is easy to become discouraged and passive.  Our passage today encourages us to listen for God’s voice as we deal with our problems and encourages us to be courageous in doing what needs to be done.  But likewise we need to remember to pray for our leaders whether they “sit in court” making difficult decisions, lead armies, or are busy at home but sensitive to the moment when it presents itself.  Let us pray for our leaders today in whatever field God lays on your heart that they will be listening for his voice, and may be wise and courageous.  Blessings.