Saturday, April 21, 2012

Great Distress

Reflections on 1 Sam. 30:1-6

No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.
-- 1 Cor. 10:13 NET
Saul and David lived in the same world and faced similar trials, but one found strength in the Lord and the other did not. The difference was not in God, who is impartial, but in the seeker.

SIMILAR TRIALS. Saul was in “great distress” (1 Sam. 28:15) because he and the Israelite army were facing a formidable Philistine army. At about the same time, David was “greatly distressed” (v. 6) because David had found Ziklag plundered and his family taken captives by a marauding band of Amalekites. Both were under added stress because their men and the families of their men were also at risk. Some of Saul’s officers had deserted him to go to David, and David’s men spoke of stoning him (v. 6). In their distress, both sought the Lord, but only one was strengthened.

ONLY ONE STRENGTHENED. Saul did not find strength in God because he had cut himself off from God by disobedience. He cut himself off from the prophet Samuel when he refused to acknowledge his sin, and he cut himself off from the priests when he murdered an entire family in Nob. Even when he finally sought the Lord in desperation, he was seeking his favor without seeking his will, for he was seeking the Lord in an unauthorized way, through a medium. David, on the other hand, had a dynamic relationship with God. He regularly sought the will of God, and he followed the will of God whether spoken by the prophet Gad or Abiathar the priest. His psalms show that he regularly meditated on God’s words and blessings, and praised God in all circumstances. Consequently, when he sought the Lord, he found strength in him.

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