Once more, David passes on an opportunity to take out Saul, because David refuses to touch God’s anointed, even though he knows that Saul is unjustly after his blood. David knows that God has promised to give the throne to him, and he won’t force the issue by taking matters into his own hands.
Have you ever heard the phrase “God helps those who help themselves”? Wouldn’t it make sense for David to take advantage of the situation here? Well, not really. Because that phrase is not in the Bible. God gave David the promise, and it is up to God to make it come to pass. It is not up to David.
When David shows Saul the spear and the water jug, Saul is finally convinced that David is not after him, and we have no more recorded instances that they ever saw each other again.
So what of David’s statement at the beginning of the next chapter that “One of these days Saul will sweep me away.” David may have convinced Saul, but David doesn’t trust Saul, and he is having an episode of weak faith. If his faith was strong, he would know that there is no way God will allow Saul to harm him.
I have known some wonderful men of God who sometimes had doubts. I have had periods in my own life where I wasn’t sure of God’s will for my life or whether I was even on God’s radar. This is a good reminder to pray for our pastors and other people in our lives, who come under attack. Our leaders, whether they be spiritual leaders or family leaders or governmental leaders often come under really intense pressure from all kinds of sources. Even those who we think are pillars of strength. In their hearts, they sometimes doubt. Pray for them. Encourage them. Lift them up.
Some background might be in order before we start 1 Timothy.
Up to this point, Paul’s letters have been directed at specific churches. Beginning now with 1 Timothy, Paul’s letters are now directed at individuals. There are two letters to Timothy, a letter to Titus, and one to Philemon.
Like Paul, Timothy and Titus were evangelists. They went from place to place, preaching the Good News.
Timothy received the message of the Gospel from Paul at the age of about fifteen, which is why Paul refers to him as his son in the faith. At the time of this writing, it is thought that Timothy was around 35 years old.
Timothy is pastoring the church at Ephesus, and Paul is offering some words of advice on how he should conduct himself and lead his congregation.
Paul first addressed the subject of false teachers. There was a sect that had arisen called Gnostics. Briefly, these folks believed many strange things that were completely contrary to what Scripture said, and Paul told Timothy that they didn’t know what they were talking about. And he told Timothy that some of these folks were beyond help.
And now, I go where angels fear to tread. I’ll address Paul’s teaching on women. I hope I’m not beyond help as I go into this very un-politically correct subject. Pray for me. 🙂
In chapter two, Paul has advice for the young preacher about worship services.
Note that he instructs all of the people in Timothy’s church to pray for everyone. He didn’t say only the men should pray. And he told them to pray specifically for those in authority.
And then he says that women should come to church in modest dress. They shouldn’t be dressed to the nines. Church is not the place to draw attention to one’s self. In a worship service, the focus is supposed to be on God, not us. And certainly not the woman who looks like she’s trying out for the next cover of Vogue magazine.
Can we get real for a moment?
Men are easily distracted by a beautiful woman. Billions of dollars are spent every year in fashion and makeup because of that fact. You know this to be true. Do you really think it’s helpful for men or women to be in a worship service and have their attention drawn away from God by overly made up, and under dressed women?
I expect some of you might say, “Well if they’re distracted, then it’s the mens’ problem.” But here’s the thing. It’s biology. Men are wired that way. Yes, we can redirect our attention away from the beautiful woman who walks by, but that doesn’t mean that our attention wasn’t first drawn for at least an instant.
Then there’s the subject of respect. Yes, men should respect women by not staring. And women should respect men by not dressing so as to draw those stares. It goes both ways.
And now the big one. Paul says that a woman should be quiet when she is learning. That too is respectful. And he says that he does not allow women to teach or have authority over men. In today’s culture, that’s like a nuclear bomb. We have been so sensitized to women’s rights and women’s equality that to say such a thing will draw an avalanche of derision and outrage.
Paul’s reasoning for this teaching was this: Man, Adam, was the first created human. Eve was created from his flesh. And it was the woman, Eve, who was tricked into believing Satan’s lie in the Garden of Eden, and it was through her that sin entered the human race. Yes, Adam also sinned, but he wasn’t tricked. He chose to disobey God’s warning. And God’s judgement on them was severe. Man would provide for their needs by the sweat of his brow, and the woman would be ruled by the man. If you doubt this, see Genesis 3:16.
Paul was following the teaching of Genesis. There are differences in our roles and our responsibilities.
But if I could ask you to listen for just another moment, if I could ask you to put away the tar and feathers, I have what I think is good news.
It is imperative to take the whole of scripture to learn the heart of God, and even Paul’s heart. Neither God nor Paul hate women. And certainly Jesus does not.
God wants *all* to be saved. He made provision for both men and women to come into relationship with Him. Jesus refers to His church as His bride. He was respectful to every woman we have record of in the New Testament. God chose a woman to be the way Jesus came into the world. He could have just created the Messiah out of the dust of the earth, or out of nothing. But He chose a woman.
Paul taught that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church. Do you know what Christ did for the church? He gave His very life for her. And Paul even had great respect and admiration for several women that he mentioned specifically in his letters.
So, though our culture would like to paint both God and Paul with a misogynistic hue, they do so without a proper understanding of Scripture.
I’m pretty sure that if Bildad was my friend, that friendship would’ve ended with this speech of his.
He starts off by saying, in essence, “Are you through yet? You are talking nonsense.”
Granted, I’m not in Job’s position right now, but I was, to a lesser extent a couple years ago. I’ll get to that in a minute.
But my goodness gracious! What a terrible way to begin, when your “friend” is sitting there covered in ashes, with sores all over his body, having lost everything but his wife and his life.
Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down. I’m wondering if there was some jealousy going on with these three friends. Job had been the richest guy around, with a wonderful family and an all-around good life. Maybe these guys were jealous of Job. And now that it’s all gone, maybe they’re feeling a bit smug. Maybe they’re thinking, “I knew it was too good to be true. I knew Job just lucked into that life. And now God is evening the score. Job thought he was so good. Ha! How does it feel to be down in the pits? Huh, Job?”
So this guy, Bildad now says, “Your children sinned against God, so He punished them.”
Ok. You can say what you want about me, but if you attack or accuse my kids I’m coming after you. Especially when they’re sick.
A couple years ago, my 21 year old middle son Steven came down with an extremely bad case of ulcerative colitis. It was so bad the gastroenterologist that first saw Steven said it was the worst case he had ever seen.
For those of you that have heard this story, don’t worry. I’m not going to tell the whole ordeal here. Stick around.
Long story short, shortly after having been diagnosed, Steven suffered a perforated colon. The UC had gotten so bad that the contents of his colon began leaking into his abdomen. He woke us up at about 2 in the morning in extreme pain. By now he had already lost 30 or so pounds in just a matter of weeks, and he was extremely weak.
So we rushed him to the hospital, and within an hour or two he was in an operating room having his colon removed. The infection in his abdomen was so bad that he ended up being on round the clock IVs of four different high powered antibiotics for something like seven months. It took nearly ten months for him to return to work.
That first night in the waiting room, while Steven was being operated on, LeeAnn and I cried out to God, asking him to spare our son. We had no idea what the outcome would be, but we knew that Steven’s life was in His hands.
Friends and family came to be with us as we waited. And believe me when I say that if one of them had said what Bildad said to Job, that would’ve been the last words ever between us. They would be out of our lives.
Of course Steven is not perfect, but he is a good young man who loves the Lord. To accuse him of suffering some kind of punishment from God because of some moral failing would’ve been beyond the pale.
Thankfully, we have a wonderfully loving and supportive family and that sort of thing didn’t happen. All through the ordeal with our boy, they were supportive in a thousand different ways, as was our astounding church family. They were truly what the New Testament church is supposed to be.
We are grateful that God has restored Steven’s health. He’s back to work and living the life of a newlywed. Actually he and his lovely bride Tarynne are quickly coming up on their first anniversary.
Yes, God heard our prayers and spared Steven, but I’m very aware that not every situation has the same outcome. When I was sixteen I had a sixteen year old girlfriend who was diagnosed with cancer and exactly one month later was gone. She was very well known, and there were thousands of people praying for her, including her extremely devoted and doting parents. But for some reason, God did not choose to heal her.
Does that mean God was not good in that situation? Of course not. God does not change. God is always good. God is love. And His plans are seldom revealed to us. Like Job did, on that day that he lost everything, the appropriate response is still to praise Him.
What do you think? Have you suffered a great loss? What did that do to your relationship with God? Did it cause you to doubt God? Did you question Him? Did you ask, “Why me?”.
Did you notice what happened with the Doeg situation?
David is running from Saul, and he goes to the priest Ahimilech, because this is where the Tabernacle now is, since Shiloh has been deserted. David wants to get a word from God. Ahimilech asks David why he’s there, and David lies to him. He tells Ahimilech that he’s there on King Saul’s business. David was usually a man of faith and courage, but here, as he was fleeing Saul, both failed him. And the consequences were horrific.
Because of David’s lie that he was doing King Saul’s bidding, Ahimilech was convinced to give David supplies. But there was a man named Doeg, who was loyal to Saul (and not of Jewish descent. He was an Edomite), who saw what happened. And later, when Saul learned of David’s whereabouts, Doeg saw an opportunity to get on Saul’s good side and he told Saul what Ahimilech had done.
Saul went into a rage and sent for Ahimilech and his entire family, and then he accused Ahimilech of treason. Remember, Ahimilech thought that he was serving the king by supplying David. And he told Saul, “Everyone knows that David is your most faithful officer,” etc., implying that he, Ahimilech had no reason to suspect that David wasn’t telling the truth about being on a mission from Saul.
But Saul wouldn’t hear it, and in his rage he ordered his guards to kill Ahimilech and his family then and there. The guards, being aware that this was a priestly family, wouldn’t do it, so Saul ordered Doeg to do it, which he did with no hesitation. He killed 85 priests, and then Saul ordered all the inhabitants of Ahimilech’s city, Nob – a city of priests, killed. Every living thing.
And all this killing was because David lied to Ahimilech.
The consequences, the ramifications of our sins can and often do hurt many more people than we could ever imagine. That is why God hates it so much.
Don’t you just love it when someone starts a conversation with you by saying, “Can I say something to you without you getting mad?” You know it’s going to be one of those conversations.
That’s how Eliphaz, one of three friends that came to visit Job, began his discourse. That’s just how I would want a friend to start things off when I’m in agony.
Then he goes on to say that people reap what they sow, the implication being that Job must have done something to deserve what he’s going through. Chapter 5, verse 6 says, “Evil does not grow in the soil,
nor does trouble grow out of the ground. No indeed! We bring trouble on ourselves, as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.”
Now remember, the only thing Job has done to deserve what’s happening to him is to have lived a blameless life. Imagine what he must be thinking right about now as his well-meaning friend is speaking. Job was a better man than I, so maybe I can’t really put myself in his place. But my guess is that he wasn’t smiling in agreement with Eliphaz.
Then Eliphaz continues by saying how happy Job should be, since God is correcting him. And he concludes by saying that he and his friends are speaking from having studied these things for a long time, and that Job ought to just accept it.
Well there you go. So much for flowers and a get well card. It’s amazing how hurtful some people can be when someone they know suffers some sort of calamity. Listen. When a friend of yours is hurting or sick or has suffered some sort of loss, don’t try to make this a teaching moment. The best thing you can do is just be with them. Sit with them. Pray with and for them. Bring them a meal. Love them.
When my son, Steven was so sick a couple of years ago, the people we appreciated the most were those who demonstrated love to us and him with their time and with meals and even financial assistance. They knew that all our time and emotional energy was invested in caring for our boy. That kind of friend is like a breath of fresh air. They help bring healing and a ray of sunshine to a dark place.
Just a short background on 1 Thessalonians before I share a few of my thoughts from today’s reading:
It is thought by many scholars that this is the oldest of Paul’s letters (or epistles) to the churches.
Thessalonica was the major city in Macedonia when Paul wrote to the church there. The church had as its members both Jews who had come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and Gentiles who had been idol worshippers. Paul planted the church during his first visit there, but was forced to leave for his own safety.
From today’s reading I want to focus on two passages.
1 thessalonians 2:19 and 20 says, “19After all, it is you—you, no less than others!—who are our hope, our joy, and our reason for boasting of our victory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes. 20Indeed, you are our pride and our joy!”
and 1 thessalonians 3:6-8 says, “6 Now Timothy has come back, and he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always think well of us and that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you. 7So, in all our trouble and suffering we have been encouraged about you, friends. It was your faith that encouraged us, 8because now we really live if you stand firm in your life in union with the Lord.”
Paul had the heart of a pastor. As we’ve been reading through his letters, it’s clear that he dearly loves the people who are part of the church. He prays for them, he worries about them, he looks for ways that he can be a blessing to them, and he admonishes them to live lives that will be pleasing to the Lord. I hope that sounds familiar to you. I hope I could be talking about your pastor. I know my pastor is like this.
I’ve been blessed to have had some great pastors in my life. While each one has been very different in their personalities, each one loved God and the people who God put in their care. And since I have usually been very involved in every church I have attended, and most of them have been on the small side, I’ve had the privilege to get to know most of my pastors on a personal basis. Most of my pastors have been my friend as well as my pastor. And my current pastor happens to be my brother-in-law, too. We are very close.
The reason I tell you all this about my relationships with my pastors is this: Your pastor’s job is often lonely and difficult and thankless. Most pastors don’t have someone they can go to to unload his heart. They seldom have a peer to share their difficulties with. Your pastor prays for you and seeks God’s will for you. Verse 10 of chapter 3 could probably have been written by your pastor: “Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith.”
Today, I’d like you to encourage your pastor. Let him know that you pray for him (You DO pray for your pastor, don’t you?). Let him know how you have been changed by a recent sermon. Be specific. Don’t just say, “Good sermon” as you leave on Sunday. Let him know which specific words really spoke to you, and what you are going to do to put them into practice. And don’t just tell him in passing on Sunday morning. Write him a note. On paper. With your own hand. And drop it in the mail. Remember snail mail? Use it to deliver your note. And in the note, think about including a gift card to a really nice local restaurant. Most pastors can’t afford to go to really nice restaurants. Or maybe buy him tickets to a local sporting event if he likes that kind of thing.
Let your pastor know that the love he puts into your life means something. Let him see the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in your life.
Do something so that your pastor can say to God, “Now we can give thanks to our God for you.”
I want to focus on the exchange between Job and his wife in chapter 2, verses 9 and 10. It said: “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
There is the belief in some circles that only good comes from God, that He wants us healthy, wealthy and wise. That if you’re sick or poor, then you just don’t have enough faith.
How does that align with what Job said to his wife? “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
God allows both to come into our lives. Sometimes the best thing for us is financial hardship or ill health or relationship problems. God is not interested in our comfort. He is interested in making us grow closer to Him, using whatever means will best accomplish that goal.
So if you’re going through difficulties, fear not. If your heart is centered on Him, He is with you.
The main verse that just caused me to almost stand up and cheer was chapter 3, verse 2. Here it is again: “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Remember, yesterday I spent the entire day writing and producing an episode of the Lifespring! podcast dealing with the SCOTUS decision on homosexual marriage, and then talking about it briefly to you on this podcast. And then when we look at all the other turmoil in the world, with Isis, crazed gunmen killing people in church, the recent riots, etc., it’s tempting to really get bogged down in the cares of the world.
And then we come to this beautiful verse that reminds us that we are really just visitors on the earth. This is not our home. God is in control. He is our hope. He is our strength. He is our provider. He is our all in all. He is the great I AM. Why should we focus on the things of the earth when this place will soon pass away? Even if the earth lasts ten million more years (which I doubt), that is nothing in light of eternity. Whatever the current “crisis” may be, it will pass in an instant, only to be replaced by the next crisis. And the next. And the next.
Keep your eyes up, my friend. God is still God, and He does not change. One day soon, we will be in His presence, and as the old hymn says, “…the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”. Hallelujah!
As you probably know, this book can be read from at least two levels: As just an account of a bride and groom from the purely human level, or as an allegory of the love of Christ for the church. Both interpretations are beautiful, and both have merit.
As I was studying it again, in preparation for how to present it to you, I came upon an interesting fact. Jewish teachers often advised their young people not to read it till they were thirty years old, because they were afraid that the book would stir up feelings of lust in them.
Reading the language with our very different vocabulary, it’s a bit difficult to imagine it having that effect on us, I suppose, but their fears are understandable, don’t you think?
But if we look at the book from the allegorical perspective, we see how much Christ loves His church, and how much we ought to love Him. I ran across the following excerpt from the great 19th century preacher, CHARLES H. SPURGEON. He said, in reference a portion of chapter 5:16, which reads in the KJV:
“Yea, He is altogether lovely” (v. 16).
“Looking at my text I felt much humbling of spirit, and I hesitated to preach upon it, for I said in my heart,
“It is high, I cannot attain unto it.” These deep texts show us the shortness of our plumb line; these ocean verses are so exceeding broad that our skills are apt to be driven far out of sight of land where our timid spirits tremble to spread the sail. Then I comforted myself by the thought that though I could not comprehend this text in a measure, nor weigh its mountains in scales, or its hills in a balance, yet it was all mine own, by the gift of divine grace, and therefore I need not fear to enter upon the meditation of it. If I cannot grasp the ocean in my span, yet may I bathe therein with sweet content; if I cannot describe the King in His beauty, yet may I gaze upon Him, since the old proverb says, “A beggar may look at a prince.” Though I pretend not so to preach from such a heavenly Word as that before us, as to spread before you all its marrow and fatness, yet may I gather up a few crumbs which fall from its table. Poor men are glad of crumbs, and crumbs from such a feast are better than loaves from the tables of the world. Better to have a glimpse of Jesus, than to see all the glory of the earth all the days of our life. If we fail on this subject we may do better than if we succeeded upon another; so we will pluck up courage, seek divine help, and draw near to this wondrous text, with our shoes from off our feet like Moses when he saw the bush aglow
with God.
This verse has been translated in another way: “He is all desires”; and so indeed Jesus is. He was the desire of the ancients, He is the desire of all nations still. To His own people He is their all in all; they are complete in Him; they are filled out of His fullness. He is the delight of His servants, and fills their expectations to the full. But we will not dispute about translations, for, after all, with such a text, so full of unutterable spiritual sweetness, every man must be his own translator, and into his own soul must the power of the message come, by the enforcement of the Holy Spirit. Such a text as this is very like manna which fell in the wilderness, of which the rabbis say it tasted after each man’s liking. If the flavor in a man’s mouth was very sweetness, the angel’s food which fell around the camp was
luscious as any dainty he had conceived; whatever he might be, the manna was to him as he was. So shall this text be. To you with low ideas of Christ the words shall but glide over your ears, and be meaningless; but if your spirit be ravished with the precious love of Jesus there shall be songs of angels, and more than that, the voice of God’s own Spirit to your soul.” —The Treasury of the Old Testament
I can’t improve upon what Spurgeon wrote. So I’ll leave it at that.
Once more, David passes on an opportunity to take out Saul, because David refuses to touch God’s anointed, even though he knows that Saul is unjustly after his blood. David knows that God has promised to give the throne to him, and he won’t force the issue by taking matters into his own hands.