Rev
Peter Tsukahira
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03-12-2017
1 Samuel
24New King James Version (NKJV)
David Spares
Saul
24 Now it
happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was
told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then
Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and
his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the
road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David
and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 Then the men of David
said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will
deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to
you.’” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it
happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s
robe. 6 And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to
my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he
is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 So David restrained his servants with these
words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the
cave and went on his way.
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. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from
the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king
of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? 15 Therefore let
the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and
deliver me out of your hand.”
16 So it
was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is
this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 Then
he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with
good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. 18 And you have shown this day how
you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you
did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away
safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to
me this day. 20 And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that
the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Therefore swear now
to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that
you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”
22 So David
swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the
stronghold.
David
was a man after God's own heart. He put God's kingdom first.
Saul was trying
to kill him. He misused his authority to go after David in an unfair way.
But David
said this man was still a leader in the eyes of God.
He
convinced his men that Saul's God's business--that he was God's chosen.
This was a
heart of a man after God's own heart.
Whatever
God does, He will do what's right.
"This
is God's kingdom. We'll find a way to work this out for God's glory and
continuing to walk before Him."
In life,
very rarely, almost never, do we find out "What if...?"
God never
tells us "What if...?"
Imagine...
What if this conversation that David had with Saul had ended differently?
Saul to
David: "David, let's agree that we'll work it out together so that we can
go on. Together."
But in reality,
according to the bible, 1 Samuel 31 happened.
1 Samuel
31New King James Version (NKJV)
The Tragic
End of Saul and His Sons
31 Now the
Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the
Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed
hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab,
and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The
archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.
4 Then Saul
said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest
these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.”
But his
armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword
and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell
on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer,
and all his men died together that same day.
7 And when
the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were
on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that
Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the
Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines
came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on
Mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent
word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of
their idols and among the people. 10 Then they put his armor in the temple of
the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11 Now when
the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul
and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh
and burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the
tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
And led to
King David's fall. (2 Samuel 11-24)
We're
chosen because we have a place in God's kingdom.
We need to
find a way to honour God's choice and work out our differences by the grace of
God.
John
17:20-21New King James Version (NKJV)
Jesus Prays
for All Believers
20 “I do not
pray for these alone, but also for those who will[a] believe in Me through
their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in
You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent
Me.
Ephesians
4:1-6New King James Version (NKJV)
Walk in
Unity
4 I,
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling
with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with
longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one
baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in
you all.
We are
their spiritual heirs.
Ephesians
4:13
13 till we
all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Jesus says
a house divided will not stand. But the kingdom of God will stand forever
because we have the encouragement, gifting in the house of the Lord.
Psalm
133New King James Version (NKJV)
Blessed
Unity of the People of God
A Song of
Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren
to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like
the precious oil upon the head,
Running down
on the beard,
The beard of
Aaron,
Running down
on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like
the dew of Hermon,
Descending
upon the mountains of Zion;
For there
the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life
forevermore.
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