The Lord Is With Him

1 Samuel 16:15-23 – Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.” So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.” One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.” Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

1 Samuel 17:32,37 – David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”…The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Judges 9:23 – God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek.

Application:

• ·         The fact that God was with David outweighs everything David was.
• ·         Reliance on the Lord was essential for the true theocratic king.
• ·         The Hebrew for “animosity” is frequently rendered “evil spirit” or harmful spirit”; or a “spirit” of distrust and bitterness. The Hebrew for “spirit” is often used to describe an attitude or disposition.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Evil Spirit From The Lord

1 Samuel 16:13-14 – So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

Judges 11:29 – Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites.

Judges 16:20 – Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

Judges 9:23 – God stirred up animosity between Abimelek and the citizens of Shechem so that they acted treacherously against Abimelek.

2 Samuel 7:15 – But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

2 Samuel 23:3-4 – The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’

1 Kings 22:19 – Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.

Job 1:12 – The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

2 Samuel 24:1 – Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

1 Samuel 15:22-24 – But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.

Application:

• ·         In the Old Testament the unique empowering of the Spirit was given to individuals primarily to enable them to carry out the special responsibilities God had given them.
• ·         “He did not know” was one of the most tragic statements in the Old Testament.
• ·         The Hebrew for “animosity” is frequently rendered “evil spirit” or harmful spirit”; perhaps a “spirit” of distrust and bitterness. The Hebrew for “spirit” is often used to describe an attitude or disposition.
• ·         “My love” is God’s special and unfailing favor.
• ·         David portrays the ideal theocratic king—to be fully realized only in the rule of David’s greater son, Jesus Christ.
• ·         A true prophet was one who had been made privy to what had transpired in God’s heavenly throne room and so could truthfully declare what God intended to do.
• ·         In all the evil he effects among human beings or in nature, Satan is under God’s power.
• ·         Although Scripture is clear that God does not cause anyone to sin, it is also clear that the evil acts of people and Satan are under God’s sovereign control.
• ·         Samuel does not suggest that sacrifice is unimportant but that it is acceptable only when brought with an attitude of obedience and devotion to the Lord.
• ·         A king who sets his own will above the command of the Lord ceases to be an instrument of the Lord’s rule over His people, violating the very nature of his theocratic office.
• ·         Saul’s confession retains an element of self-justification and a shift of blame.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

He Is Tending The Sheep

1 Samuel 16:8-12 – Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

Genesis 37:2 – This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Psalm 78:72 – And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

Genesis 39:6 – So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Application:

• ·         Joseph represented a people who struggled with both God and human beings and overcame and a people who were a source of blessing to the nations.
• ·         Israel under the care of the Lord’s royal shepherd from the house of David was for the prophets the hope of God’s people.
• ·         Joseph came to hold the welfare of his “world” in his hands—but always by the blessing and overruling of God, never by his own wits, as his father Jacob had so long attempted.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Consecrate Yourselves

1 Samuel 16:2-7 – But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Numbers 19:18 – Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death.

1 Kings 8:37-40 – “When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple—then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

Application:

• ·         “Consecrate yourselves” involves preparing oneself spiritually as well as making one self ceremonially clean by washing and putting on clean clothes.
• ·         The Lord is concerned with person’s inner disposition and character.
• ·         “Deal with everyone according to all they do” is not to be viewed as a request for retribution for the wrong committed, but as a desire for whatever discipline God in His wisdom may use to correct His people and to instruct them in the way of the covenant.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

The Lord Said To Samuel

1 Samuel 15:22-24,30-16:1 – But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them…Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord. Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him in chains. And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal. Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

Genesis 6:6 – The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

Micah 5:2 – “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Application:

• ·         Human sin is God’s sorrow.
• ·         Samuel does not suggest that sacrifice is unimportant but that it is acceptable only when brought with an attitude of obedience and devotion to the Lord.
• ·         A king who sets his own will above the command of the Lord ceases to be an instrument of the Lord’s rule over His people, violating the very nature of his theocratic office.
• ·         Saul’s confession retains an element of self-justification and a shift of blame.
• ·         “Ruler” was ultimately Christ, who will rule for God the Father.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Does Not Lie Or Change His MInd

1 Samuel 15:25-29 – Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!” As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

1 Kings 11:11 – So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

2 Samuel 7:15 – But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

Numbers 23:19 – God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Jeremiah 2:11 – Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.

1 Samuel 4:21 – She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

Malachi 3:6 – “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Psalm 110:4 – The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Application:

• ·         Solomon had broken the most basic demands of the covenant and thereby severely undermined the entire covenant relationship between God and His people.
• ·         “My love” is God’s special and unfailing favor.
• ·         These sublime words, “God is not human, that He should lie”, describe the permanence of the Lord and the integrity of His word.
• ·         Balaam is constantly changing—a prime example of the distinction between God and human beings.
• ·          “Has a nation ever changed its gods?” was a rhetorical question, clearly expecting a negative answer and emphasizing how incredible was Judah’s practice of substituting idolatry for the worship of the Lord.
• ·         The glory of Israel was Israel’s God, not the ark, and loss of the ark did not mean that God had abandoned His people—God was not inseparably bound to the ark.
• ·         Yet the removal of the ark from Israel did signal estrangement in the relationship between God and His people, and it demonstrated the gravity of their error in thinking that in spite of their wickedness they had the power to coerce God into doing their will simply because they possessed the ark.
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• All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Sinned

1 Samuel 15:24 – Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.

Psalm 51:4 – Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

2 Samuel 12:13 – Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.

Application:

• ·         Saul’s confession retains an element of self-justification and a shift of blame.
• ·         David acknowledges that his sin was preeminently against God.
• ·         There is a clear contrast between David’s confession and Saul’s. David experienced the joy of knowing his sin was forgiven. The Lord, in His grace, released David from the customary death penalty.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV