Friday, January 15, 2016

Blood In The Street

Blood In The Street                                         01-15-16

1 Samuel 30:6 (ESV) 6  And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.


I awoke this A.M. to this ominous declaration. A financial analyst for one of the major financial houses was explaining his take on the current state of affairs in the financial world, particularly the stock market, that being his field of expertise. His comment predicting that the market had further to fall because there was not yet "enough blood in the street." An expression used by financial guys to describe the condition of a market sell off. I was not acutely distressed, due to the fact that I had as Warren Buffett puts it "no skin in the game." lol. However, for many who do have skin in the game, this is, putting it mildly, distressing.

This "distressing" financial scenario playing itself out today seemed to be a nice fit for what I had been mulling over the past couple days. You know the story,or if you don't here is a brief summary. David had had a run of "distressing" days himself. Read on.

Not quite crowned King David had been in the care of the Philistines while hiding from the soon to be deposed King Saul. As the Philistines were preparing to go to battle against Israel, the Philistine Generals wanted David gone because they did not trust him. In spite of his loyalty and proper behavior while in Philistine custody, the generals would not hear of it. The Philistine king reluctantly gave in and informed him that he had to go. 

So, he takes his men and sets off for Ziklag, a Philistine city where they had left all of their possessions. More importantly, their families, wives, children and all had stayed behind in the city. While David and his men were marching back to Ziklag, the Amelekites attacked the city and took all their possessions and their families captive. Look at the carnage that David and his men saw as they approached the city.   

1 Samuel 30:3 (ESV) 3  And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 

They saw nothing that gave them any hope. In the natural, there was no sign of hope. ALL had been burned with fire and NO ONE was anywhere to be found. David, along with all his men had lost everything. Families, possessions....GONE.
And now for the real kicker. The men, "people" in the Scripture, turned against David. After a time of mourning, they wept until exhausted, the "people" turned against David and "spoke of stoning him." Imagine David's surprise.

These were the same men who earlier(see I Samuel 22) had rallied around David and he "became their commander." Now they were turning on him, considering killing him......and HE HAD DONE  NOTHING WRONG! He didn't deserve it did he?Indeed, David had lost as much, if not more to the Amalekites. Nevertheless, for whatever reason, he was being blamed for the whole ordeal. My,my we humans are a fickle lot are we not? Anyway..

David has invested a goodly part of his life in the men who decided to follow him. He had a concern, even possibly a responsibility for their welfare; and here they were ready to stone him for something that was outside of his control. Add to that the aforementioned fact that David had lost his family too and you get the picture don't you? 

DAVID WAS DISTRESSED!!

And rightly so.But, and here is my point, look at what David did. He strengthened himself in "the LORD his God. Note the emphasis on "his." Not the LORD God...no, no.......the Bible says the LORD HIS God. Get my drift? I went to a commentary for a perspective on that word "strengthened." I believe some translations use the word encouraged. At any rate, that word strengthened implies a confidence that comes from knowing that one is doing the right thing. In other words, David's heart was right before God. He was following the Lord God as best he could. He had a CONFIDENCE because he followed the Lord HIS God. 

Don't you think that David was tempted to react in the same manner as his men? To find a scapegoat. Someone to blame their misfortune on? Do you imagine that the enemy of David's (and yours and my) soul whispered something in David's ear. 

"Well David, where's your God now? He has turned His back on you and your family. And these men are blaming you and they are going to kill you. Your God can't be trusted."  Hmmmm......No this isn't in Scripture.BUT, does it ring true with your experience?  

And here is what sets David apart. Look very closely at this.

 1 Samuel 28:15 (ESV) 15  Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 

All you need do is focus in on that word "distress." You see the anointed King Saul when under the pressure of distressing circumstances, turned to a medium. A witch. Saul well knew the God of Israel. It was that very same God that had anointed and chosen him as Israel's first king. But, one wonders if that God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was Saul's God. The Lord HIS God. I expect only eternity will provide the answer. That was the difference between Saul and David. David knew the Lord HIS God.and had confidence that He could deliver him out of his distressing circumstances.

Hasn't changed much in three thousand years has it? God is still calling us isn't He?
Actually God is SHOUTING isn't He? How do I know that? Look around you. Is the world system and all its collective wisdom a comfort to you? Can you and I put our confidence in the gold and silver? Is there peace of mind to be found in the political process or any other process? I will leave you with this thought.

My friend Shields the other night told me that he had been listening to a Christian radio program at night. He said that he falls asleep every night to the people calling in.And he says this. The people that call in are scared to death. They are panicked because they don't know what to do or what is coming next. And then Shields said this. He asked a rhetorical question. Very simply this. "Why don't people get to know the Lord Jesus?" Profound in it's simplicity.

You need to know the Lord YOUR God. I need to know the Lord MY God. We need to know the Lord OUR God. Amen?

 Psalm 100:3 (ESV) 3  Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.


God Bless




 


  

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