Day #103

Sermon - Audio
1 Samuel 18-20 & Psalm 11 & 59 - Audio
1 Sameul 18-20 & Psalm 11 & 59- Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Chapter 18

1-4 When David and Jonathan met, they became great friends, their friendship is one of the deepest and closest recorded in the Bible. It is interesting to note that their friendship was based on their commitment to God, not just each other. They also held their friendship in higher regard than family ties. The old saying, "blood is thicker than water," did not apply to them. As they went through difficult experiences they seemed to bond even more.

8 Saul's feelings regarding David seem to vacillate between admiration, love, and jealousy. Saul's appreciation for David turned to jealously as people began to celebrate David's victories. In one moment of fear/anger he attempted to kill David with his spear (18.11, 12) Jealousy may not seem like a big deal at all, but as we see here, can lead to evil actions and deeds. It starts when we resent another person and the success that God has granted them.

11-12 Saul tried to kill David because he was jealous of David's popularity, yet David continued to protect and comfort Saul. David seems to embody the teachings of Jesus regarding forgiveness and giving others the benefit of the doubt.

Chapter 19

1-7 Saul suggests to Jonathan and others that David should be put to death. Jonathan begins to intercede with Saul appealing to his sense of gratitude for what David had accomplished on Saul's behalf. Saul has a brief moment of clarity and remorse.

8-17 This section records more of Saul's attempts to kill David.

10 He struck the spear into the wall. David came close to losing his life, but "the Lord was with him" (see 18.12). David fled and escaped also in 19.12,18. See note on Acts 9.25 (sometimes God does not call his people to stand and lose their lives but rather to escape from the danger that he has revealed to them. Because his disciples took decisive action, Paul's life was preserved for his future ministry, for at this point he had not begun his major missionary journeys or written any of his letters.) RSV Study Bible

20-24 The messengers of Saul began to "Prophesy." This probably means that they began to speak God's word and participate in praise. Their mission to harm David was turned into the praise of God.

23-24 Even Saul's murderous rage is turned into the praise of God.

Chapter 20

5 At the beginning of each month, the Israelites gathered to celebrate the New Moon festival. This may have been a time for each family to dedicate the new month to God. Other nations had celebrations regarding the full moon and worshipped the moon itself. The Israelites celebrated their festival at the time of the new moon, when the moon was not visible in the sky. This was an added precaution against false worship.

13 "The Lord do so to Jonathan and more also," is an oath formula.... "as he has been with my father." The past tense may show that Jonathan recognizes that the Lord has left Saul. ESV Study Bible

15 Jonathan asked David to keep a promise to treat his children kindly in the future. Years later David took great pains to fulfill this promise; he invited Jonathan's son Mephibosheth into his palace to live (2 Samuel 9).

31 Neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. This was true, but Jonathan had already come to terms with it (vv. 14-15). Saul took for granted that kingship was hereditary, though there was no divine justification for his doing so. RSV Study Bible

31-32 Saul was trying to secure his throne for future generations even though he had already been told there would be no more kings from his family. Even worse, he was trying to do this by sinning against the Lord by killing David.

Psalms

I would encourage everyone to read the excellent introduction to the book of Psalms found in the ESV Study Bible. It does a great job of explaining the history, purpose, and theology of the Psalms. Just a few of the highlights are listed below:

The book of Psalms, or Psalter, has supplied to believers some of their best-loved Bible passages. It is a collection of 150 poems that express a wide variety of emotions, including: love and adoration toward God, sorrow over sin, dependence on God in desperate circumstances, the battle of fear and trust, walking with God even when the way seems dark, thankfulness for God's care, devotion to the word of God, and confidence in the eventual triumph of God's purposes for the world. (RSV Study Bible)

The English title comes from the Greek word psalmos, which translates Hebrew mizmor, "song," found in many of the Psalm titles and simply translated as "psalm" (e.g., Psalm 3). This Greek name for the book was established by the time of the NT (Luke 20:42; Acts 1:20). The Hebrew name for the book is Tehillim, "Praises," pointing to the characteristic use of these songs as praises offered to God in public worship. (RSV Study Bible)

For the most part, the psalms were not intended to be precise descriptions of historical events. However, they often parallel events in history, such as David's flight from Saul and his sin with Bathsheba. In doing so, they describe the emotions connected to many of these events.

The Hebrew label for the psalms, "Praises," may have originally reflected the idea, readily found today, that adoration and thanks to God are the primary acts of worship; but it would be better to learn from the title of the entire Psalter that the whole range of the psalms-from adoration and thanks to the needy cry for help (even the desolate moan of Psalm 88)-praises God when offered to him in the gathered worship of his people. (RSV Study Bible)


Psalm 1

Psalm 1 is an introduction to the rest of the Psalms. The Psalm gives a rather stark choice: We can choose to live for the Lord and know the delights of following Him, or we can go after the way of wicked and suffer the consequences. This kind of writing is what we refer to as "wisdom literature," in that it grants the ability to make wise choices and be blessed. We see here that absolute necessity of God's Word for living is wise ways that are blessed. We also see that the Word of the Lord is for "transformation" as well as "information." James 2.14 tells us that, "faith without works is dead."

Psalm 58

God's people should sing this song when they are confronted with injustice among their own rulers (community lament). In the time of David, of course, the focus was on those who ruled Israel, a theocracy (which was thus, at least in name, supposed to be governed by the principles of the Pentateuch); and yet Christians may pray this way since the rulers of God's people, indeed all people, everywhere and at all times, ought to embody the highest human ideals of justice (see notes on Prov. 31:1-9). Singing this in worship helps the faithful to pray more earnestly for godly leadership, and forms in the leaders of the community a true moral compass for their own leadership. It also celebrates the prospect that-one day, sooner or later-God will vindicate his justice in the world, and those who trust him will rejoice exceedingly. (ESV Study Bible)

The Old Testament is filled with references to justice and it is a constant topic in the Psalms. Unfortunately, many judges and rulers in ancient times perverted justice. They had complete authority without accountability and the power to make their own laws. When earth's judges are corrupt there is little hope of justice in this life. But God loves justice, and those who obey him will experience justice in eternity.

Of all people our national leaders should be just and fair. When they are unjust and unfair, people suffer. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Politicians (Red and Blue) wrest power from people, confiscate money from citizens, and enact legislation to increase their own power. They enact laws they will not live by. They govern and live by the lie. This Psalm assures us that there will be a day of accountability and that God judges fairly. We must be careful not to side with injustice.