Good morning, today we read 1 Samuel chapters 21-24.
According to 1 Samuel 13:14, David was a man after God’s own heart. This does not mean David was perfect or without sin. Only Jesus fit that description.
On mission is not perfect
We see in our opening verse today that David goes to a priest in Nob, and he lies to him about being on a secret mission.
Christians should all be on a mission for God. This should never be a secret. We should be like a city on a hill, (see Matt 5:14-16) a light to those around us.
Persecution awaits us (see 2 Tim 3:12), but God will be with us, and he will bless our perseverance (Matt 5:10-12).
Lying is a sin. (Ex 20:16) We should never deny our allegiance to Jesus Christ. (Matt 10:33) Here, we see David lying to a priest.
He compounds this sin by eating the consecrated bread. Anyone other than the Levites (see Matt 12:3-4) should not eat this.
Signifying that we can pursue God with all our hearts. We can be a shining example of a person whom God loves. Yet, we still will not be perfect.
Like most creative people, I’m a perfectionist and harder on myself than others are. Sunday morning, when I play my guitar, I am cringing on the inside because all I hear are the missed notes and mistakes.
Perfection awaits us, but not in this life. We will all fall short (Rom 3:23) and disappoint the Lord. He still loves us and has already forgiven those transgressions.
People try to be “good enough” to enter the Kingdom of heaven. We never achieve this.
If you think you are that good, you are deceiving yourself and calling God a liar. (1 John 1:8) That would make him equally culpable for the wrongful execution of Jesus. He is not.
We all sin constantly. Sins of commission and omission. Intentional sins, and unintentional sins. Sins of action and of thought.
You know you are saved when you experience the same pain from those sins that Jesus felt at Calvary.
Usefulness of our past
When I was an atheist, I reveled in my sins. I thought they were entertaining and even fun. It was not unusual for me to boast about them.
We see many segments of our society that like to flaunt their sins today.
The story here in 1 Samuel 21 shows us that God is not seeking perfect goody-goody people to follow him. He came to save sinners. David’s story contains many sins.
He shows some restraint, however, in that he and his men refrained from having women when they were on missions.
He then takes the sword of Goliath. This is a reminder that we all have pasts. Some of those relics of our past can be useful.
I frequently recount stories and make confessions about my life before my salvation. These help others connect.
This should not become a celebration of the sin, but a mourning over it.
David finds this emblem of his past and takes it to use for his future.
Centered on God
He also protects his past by hiding his parents in Mizpah. It is important that we protect our families. This includes our biological siblings and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
While going on the run, and into battle. David continues to bring the ephod with him. This is keeping God at the center of all he is doing. It is easy to be overwhelmed with circumstances and focus only on the situation at hand. He remains centered.
He is to be king, but still shows respect for Saul. God had anointed Saul and David therefore, bows to him and refuses to harm him in the cave in chapter 24.
Respect authority
I did not appreciate the last administration, but I respected their authority. Knowing God appoints rulers to accomplish His purposes, I didn’t like the man, but I respected the office.
This was what David showed in the cave.
He could have killed Saul and taken the kingdom by force. God had already anointed him.
Even there in the cave, God was delivering Saul into his hands.
But he had respect and spared his life. This lead to the ending God had planned.
David will be king, but not by treachery.
How are your actions showing the world around you that Jesus is your Lord?
Are you visibly demonstrating the love of Jesus when you deal with your enemies?
Seek the Lord and ask Him for the strength of character that He gave David.
