When we can't understand disappointments - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 29:8,

"'But what have I done?' asked David. 'What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can't I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?'"

David found himself caught up in the concerns of others. David had fled to the Philistines to avoid capture by King Saul. Achish was the ruler of Gath, where David had fled. Now that the Philistines were forming up to fight the Israelites, David was expecting to join the Philistines in the battle. However, David was not allowed and voiced his complaint to Achish in verse 8.

David's complaint here sounds very similar to me as does his complaint to Jonathan in 20:1, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?"

David found himself in the midst of disappointments in life, turmoil, agitation and commotion. David plays a key role in the Lord's plan of redemption that will unfold over the years. For this simple reason, both his use by God and the threat he posed to Satan and his ilk, David found himself embroiled in things that probably often escaped his understanding, as documented in his two complaints quoted above.

I am reminded that when the Lord's agenda of redemption is afoot, and the forces of hell feel the threat, believers will at times find themselves caught up in things bigger than themselves and perhaps embroiled in things they struggle to comprehend.

It is to our great comfort and solace that we can take our troubles to the Lord during those times, like David, when we struggle to understand the disappointments we find ourselves in. Fleeing to the Lord as our refuge is a major theme in the book of Psalms, of which David wrote a substantial part.

Here is a thought-provoking question... how often do we find ourselves caught in a disappointment we may not understand, and yet may reflect we are engaged in God's agenda of redemption? Does that ever happen?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Sheol, Hades, Paradise, Place of Torment: where will you spend eternity? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 28:15,

"Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"

Samuel had died, the Lord had abandoned King Saul because of his disobedience to him, and now Saul was terrified at the threat the Philistines posed as they arrayed themselves against the army of Israel. Due to his great fear, Saul went to a witch or "medium" at Endor to inquire of Samuel as to what he should do. When Samuel rose from the dead, this was his question to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"

Several observations here for those interested in what lies beyond the grave...

-- Samuel did not cease to exist when he died. Following his death, he left his body in the grave and went to a place called Sheol in the Hebrew language, the place of departed spirits. Jesus described this place in Luke 16:19-31 and called it "Hades" (Greek).

-- In Hades, or Sheol, Jesus described in his account two parts to this place where dead people went, "Abraham's side" verse 22, a place he referred to as "Paradise" in Luke 23:43.  and a second part, a place of torment, verses 23-24. Jesus recounted a conversation between Abraham and a rich man who was an unbeliever and who had died, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."

It is my understanding that following the death of Jesus Christ, when he ascended into heaven, he emptied out Abraham's side of Sheol (or Hades) and took all who were with Abraham, (all the people of faith in God), with him to heaven when he assumed his position at the right hand of God. In his sermon, Peter points out that Jesus is currently in heaven where he will remain, until he comes his second time to earth at the end of this age to usher in the next, Acts 3:21.

Paul points out that when believers die now, they go to heaven to be with the Lord, "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord" 2 Corinthians 5:6-7.

The exciting thing about all this is the recognition that this life we live here is temporary, but an eternal life awaits those who place their faith in Jesus Christ, "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.

The outlook for all who do not embrace Jesus Christ in faith is as horrific as can be imagined. John likened it to a "fiery lake of burning sulfur." Revelation 21:8. All who currently inhabit the place of torment in Sheol, those left behind when Jesus took with him all who were at "Abraham's side", will find their eternal future in this miserable lake of burning sulfur.

Where will you spend eternity?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Living among the enemy - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 27:2,

"So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath."

Gath is the town that the giant Goliath was from, the one David had killed. In an earlier episode, in 1 Samuel 17, we read Goliath had gone out every morning to taunt the army of Israel until David showed up. Having killed Goliath, David and the army of Israel chased and slaughtered the Philistines all the way to the gates of Gath - the town where now David sought sanctuary from King Saul who was trying to kill him.

David, the future king of Israel, now living among Israel's enemies!

I am reminded that we, too, live among what might be considered the enemies of the Lord, the "world." When we respond to the gospel message, we are not immediately removed from this world to join the Lord in heaven, but are left here for the furtherance of the gospel. We live among the enemies of the Lord.

In a parable the Lord gave concerning those of us who remain in the world as his own family members, he said, "Let both [meaning believers and non-believers] grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." Until the Lord returns, his people live among those who hate them. "Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." 1 John 3:13. Believers live among their enemies, just as David lived among the Philistines. 

David did it to seek sanctuary. We do it to further the work of the gospel. The question I have of myself: am I remaining in this life to further the Lord's agenda of his gospel, or am I just simply living for myself? How about you?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A man of deep faith - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 26:9-11,

"'Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the Lord lives,' he [David] said, 'the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed.'"

In his insane hatred of David, Saul took three thousand of his select soldiers down to the desert of Ziph. David was hiding there and Ziphites had gone to Saul to tell him where David was.

In the account, David found a second chance to kill Saul to end his unwarranted pursuit to kill him. However, David refused and instead, told Abishai, who had accompanied David when they sneaked into Saul's camp in the middle of the night, what we read in verses 9-11.

In his statement it is clear David was man of deep faith. He knew the Lord would take care of Saul, who was threatening his life. In a psalm he wrote about this incident he says, "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me... You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes." Psalm 54:4,7.

Will I face the challenges I may encounter in this life with faith in the Lord as manifested by David? We read in Romans 15:4, "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Abigail: God's gift to David - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 25:27,

"And let this gift, which your servant [Abigail] has brought to my lord [David], be given to the men who follow you."

The gift Abigail speaks of is the load of supplies she brought out to David and his men. It included two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already butchered up, sixty pounds of grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs.

However, the real gift was Abigail herself. In her coming to David bearing the supplies for David and his men, she provided him an escape from an impossible situation. It is my perspective that God himself provided David a way out of what appeared to be an insurmountable dilemma through her. As David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me."

David and his band of six hundred warriors had moved down to an area where a wealthy man, Nabal, had livestock. While in the area, David and his men provided stability there by protecting the folks and their belongings. As Nabal's servants told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them." Verses 15-16.

Now that it was harvest time, David sought out Nabal to provide his men with much needed provisions. There was nothing inappropriate about David looking to Nabal for compensation for what he and his men provided Nabal, but Nabal's response was, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?" Verses 10-11. This was a horrible disrespect and an affront to David and his men... not bordering on, but a fully contemptuous act.

A part of the strength David enjoyed was the acknowledgement of his superiority as a warrior. This is the man that destroyed the giant Goliath. This is the man that defeated Philistines while the king dithered (as an example see 1 Samuel 23:1-6.) This is the man that will be king and Nabal and Abigail knew it.

For David to be mistreated by a fool like Nabal, after he and his men provided protection for his servants and livestock, placed David in an awkward position, both with the people living in the area, as well as with his own men. Were a man, as Nabal, known to be "surly and mean" disrespect David and get away with it, it would have severe consequences for David. Couple this with David's proclivity to bloodshed and to avenging himself, to slaughter Nabal's family would result in him gaining a reputation as a mean and wicked man himself.

However, the Lord is always there... "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." David's temptation was to slaughter Nabal and his household, but God's gift, his provision of "a way out" was Abigail. She provided David, not just supplies, but also a way to overcome Nabal's affront without having to resort to bloodshed and the loss of his good name. She brought the supplies her husband, Nabal, should have provided in the first place.

What is your challenge today? What gift is God sending your way so you can stand up under it? Our God is faithful and always provides "a way out."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's people are hated by the world - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 24:11-13,

"I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, 'From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you."

There is a proverb that approximates this situation David found himself in, "The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright." Proverbs 29:10. David was a person of integrity and demonstrated that by not killing Saul in the cave when the opportunity presented itself. As he told Saul, "This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, 'I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord's anointed.'" 1 Samuel 24:10.

Of course Saul felt threatened by David, as the Lord had anointed him to replace Saul as king, which was why Saul pursued David to kill him. And, following David's protest that although he had opportunity, he would not harm King Saul, Saul "wept aloud", verse 16.

Nevertheless, Saul was bent on killing David due to David's standing with the Lord. David was a person of integrity, David was upright. Just the kind of man that is hated by others, the kind of man an evil person desires to kill.

It is perhaps wise to keep in mind that the world hates those who abide in God's tent. Those of "the world" exist outside and deeply resent those who dwell inside.

As John said, "Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." 1 John 3:13.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A man of faith recognizes his dependency upon God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 23:19-20,

"The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, 'Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.'"

I wonder from time to time, as I read these narratives of David, as well as others, what was going on in their minds - what frame of mind did they have as these events unfolded? In Psalm 54 we read  a psalm David wrote about this event. The title to the psalm includes the following, "For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, 'Is not David hiding among us?'"

"Save me, O God, by your name;
    vindicate me by your might.
Hear my prayer, O God;
    listen to the words of my mouth.

Arrogant foes are attacking me;
    ruthless people are trying to kill me—
    people without regard for God.

Surely God is my help;
    the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
    in your faithfulness destroy them.

I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
    I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.
You have delivered me from all my troubles,
    and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes."

What I see in David's frame of reference, as a great man of faith, was his utter dependence upon God. David was crafty, he was a skilled fighter and had great instincts for strategy and tactics, yet David recognized it was the Lord who sustained him and so he placed his dependence on him, "Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth."

Some of his comments, "the Lord is the one who sustains me", verse 4, makes this point. He acknowledged it was the Lord who delivered him from his enemies, verse 7, and that God was his help. David called for God's help, verse 1, and he called for God to curse his enemies, verse 5.

David was such a man of faith, that at the time he called for God's help, he looked at his deliverance as an already accomplished act, verses 6-7, "I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good. You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com