The Monday Memo from John Stanko

Memo 1053: Like a Wall

We saw in 1 Samuel 23 that David ended up doing King Saul's job of rescuing his people because the king was preoccupied with the idea of destroying David. When the village of Keilah was captured, the Lord directed David to go in and save the day, even though it put him in a vulnerable position for Saul to attack. Now in this study, we look once again at David having to do the king's job in a story that ended well for David, for it gained him a noble wife and imparted another lesson in the ways of God. Let's get busy taking a deeper dive into 1 Samuel 25.

A SECURITY FORCE

It seems that David's presence in an area provided protection for the locals and their businesses. We read,

One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. Yet 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. Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him" (1 Samuel 25:14-17).

One of the local businessmen named Nabal refused to give David's men any provisions of his own accord, and when he insulted them, David "strapped on his sword" and set out to teach Nabal a lesson. What we read in the passage above is the hired help going to Nabal's wife, Abigail, because they knew something bad was about to happen. Notice the wonderful endorsement they gave David and his men, who operated in complete integrity as they provided a police presence, a job that once again should have been carried out by the king.

David did not demand tribute or payment for the services he rendered. He treated the people like he had treated his father's flock—not as people he could shake down for personal gain, but as sheep to be protected. Yes, he requested supplies from Nabal but he did not demand or seize them. David was doing what he did because it was consistent with the servant leader he was, and the servants told Abigail, "Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them." Beleaguered David, surrounded by a band of malcontents who were greatly outnumbered by the forces loyal to the king, was a wall to the people who needed one.

NO PAY

God will sometimes have you do work for which you get no recognition or monetary return. You do it "as unto the Lord" who is watching and will eventually reward you, but initially He may test your desire to serve Him for no other reason than it is His will. This story reminds us of what Paul told the Ephesian elders:

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive''" (Acts 20:32-35).

Paul said he set an example of hard work that benefited the weak. David and Paul had a chance to be blessed by being a blessing and giving freely with no expectation of any return. Neither man was a "hired gun" or "independent contractor" with specific duties spelled out in a job description. They were servants of the Most High who neither put their services out to the highest bidder nor put boundaries or limits on the good they could or would do. What's more, God expected them to do so without apology.

Are you a servant or a hireling? Do you only do what is mandated by those who pay you or do you look for opportunities to serve others, especially the weak? While it's true that David claimed Abigail as his wife when Nabal died suddenly, we can easily miss what the writer inserted in 1 Samuel 25:44: "But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim." Saul had "given" Michal to David as a reward for his victory over Goliath, but Saul took what was David's and gave it to another.

In other words, Saul shortchanged David after David had initially taken the role of his people's protector. God will test you to prove your motives and when He does, we should remember that David was sorely tested and found faithful. May the same be said for us in the day when God tests us, asking us to be a wall to others while our own needs are not being met. Have a blessed week.

1052: Entrusted to the Lord

After David narrowly escaped Saul after he rescued the residents of Keilah, he had no time to rest for Saul was soon at it again, bent on wiping out his son-in-law and heir to his throne by God's decree. We read,

After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe (1 Samuel 24:1-4).

These few verses give us some idea of what David was facing so let's look at what we can learn to help us in our own life and leadership journey.

FIVE TO ONE

We learned in 1 Samuel 23 that David had 600 men with him. We learn in 1 Samuel 24 that Saul gathered a fighting force of 3,000 young men who knew how to fight to go looking for David. If you do the simple math, you see that David was outnumbered five to one. That meant there were many men looking for David and, if it came down to a battle, they would have quite a fight on their hands.

It seems that God will always allow it to seem like the forces against you are too great so you learn now to walk according what you see but by what you cannot see:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

How about you? Are you acting based on what you see or on what God promised? David had the promise of God but few men; Saul had a lot of men but no promise. In the long run, the promise won the day because God comes with the promise and we also know what Paul wrote centuries later:

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32-33).

David had the promise but then he started to hear other voices advising him as to how to see its fulfillment, urging him to take matters into his own hands.

THIS IS THE DAY

When Saul went into the cave to rest, he did not know David and his men were also in the cave. it would seem that this was a fortuitous moment when God was delivering Saul into David's hands. David's men reminded him of the promise and urged him to act decisively and kill Saul. David went so far as to deface Saul's robe, a sign of disrespect, but went no further, for he explained to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed" (1 Samuel 24:5).

David's values would not allow him to eliminate the man sitting on the throne God promised to him, for he knew he would eventually reap what he sowed. Then when he became king, someone would try to take him out the way he had done to Saul. Therefore, David decided to ignore the advice of those closest to him and to wait on the Lord. When Saul realized what had happened, he seemed to promise he would cease pursuing David, but we know he did not keep his oath. Saul had no values except to maintain power and position at any cost, while David had the power of integrity, and in the long run, that proved to be the deciding factor in his favor.

You don't ever have to seek your promotion. You just have to prepare for its inevitability. What are you doing to get ready, or is your focus how you can help God fulfill His promises to you? Are you cutting corners and dropping hints, or have you entrusted what God has promised to His watchful care? Once again we turn to what Paul wrote: "That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).

It may seem like God isn't watching or that your day of testing will never end, but it will. Just don't take back what you have entrusted to Him. If you can do that, then one day you will have testimonies like David had of how he was outnumbered and poorly advised, yet God was faithful through it all—as was David. Have a blessed week.

Memo 1051: Betrayed

Have you ever felt used and even abused in God's service the very people you were trying to help? If so, David would have known how you feel as we learn from one my favorite stories in 1 Samuel 23. David was on the run from Saul who should have been using the army to chase the Philistines. Instead, he was using the soldiers for his own purpose and that was to eliminate his son-in-law and rival to his throne. Let's look at that story and the lessons we can learn in this week's Memo.

ARE YOU SURE, LORD?

David was on the run, attracting all the malcontents in the kingdom to his side. Then we read that the people in a town named Keilah were in trouble and see David's heart for the people come through:

When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," he inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The Lord answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!” Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah (1 Samuel 23:1-5).

David's untrained men were already afraid when David announced his plan to attack the Philistines. When the heard his decision, they asked him, "Are you sure you heard from the Lord?" Rather than entertain second thoughts and doubt, David went back to the Lord to ask again what he should do and got the same answer to proceed. Have you ever had a "crazy" impression in the expression of your own purpose that seemed too big or risky? If and when you do, the answer is not to entertain those doubts but to dispel them as quickly as possible, remembering what James wrote:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do (James 1:5-8).

UH-OH

God gave David victory and used him to save the inhabitants of Keilah, but then there was a cruel twist to the story:

Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men (1 Samuel 23:7-8).

Crazy Saul heard where David was and set out to destroy him and his forces, for as a military man, Saul knew that David was in a vulnerable spot. David got wind of Saul's plans (were there spies in Saul's midst who were informants for David?) and again went to the Lord, His source of wisdom and guidance:

David said, “Lord, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will.” Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will.” So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there (1 Samuel 12:10-13).

As usual, God gave David divine guidance, but the point to notice in the story is that the residents of Keileh, whom David had jus saved, were more than willing to cooperate with Saul against him when the king arrived. Imagine how David and his men felt after the news of that predicted betrayal. They had done good but were about to be rewarded with evil.

Notice, however, that David had 400 men in 1 Samuel 22, but in this story the number had increased to 600. God will help you establish the work of your hands, but He will do it His way and on His own terms. God wasn't going to give the people in Keilah any opportunity to say they did something to help David on his way to the top. God alone was going to do that for David. He will also do the same for you.

As you pursue your purpose and serve others, God will test you to determine why you're doing what you're doing. Is it to truly help others or to fulfill your own agenda of personal gain or notoriety? Are you serving Him as you serve others, or are the others your primary focus? Have those you helped not helped you, perhaps even trying to do you harm? If others have disappointed you, and it's just a matter of time before they do, don't lose heart. Remember, God is watching and will give you all the wisdom you need as you seek to do the right thing, regardless of what others think or say about you, or do to you. Have a blessed week!

Memo 1050: God Was With Him

Last week, we saw how David managed to escape from King Achish through his madness act. Then he took refuge in a cave while he figured out his next move:

David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?” So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold. But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth (1 Samuel 22:1-5).

In this week's study, let's examine how God began to establish David's kingdom through this post titled "God Was With Him."

THUS SAITH THE LORD

In this passage, we see the only mention of David's family after Samuel's declaration that David was the next king. Perhaps they were in danger from Saul as well, so they joined him on the run. David then placed his parents in the care of the king of Moab while others heard about David's plight and joined him for a life in exile. What kind of men joined David at first? We are told men "who were in distress or in debt or discontented." That must have been a motley crew, not exactly prime candidates upon which to build a thriving nation.

Then the word of the Lord came to David through the prophet, telling him not to stay in the stronghold but to depart for Judah. This message tells us the Lord was mindful of David's situation, but had no intention of changing the circumstances in which he found himself. That means God had a hand in David's predicament. either permitting it or actually motivating Saul to act as he was.

The lesson is simple: God uses your tough times to prepare you for good times. As I stated in previous weeks, David learned a lot about leadership from Saul: He learned how not to lead. Yet he was also learning much from God's hand, and was a precursor of the truth Paul proclaimed in Acts 14:22: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." Paul did not say we may, he said we would go through many hardships. God will not deliver you from hard times; however, He will be with you in them.

MORE OF THE SAME

How intense can it get when you are serving the Lord and He is preparing you for your destiny? We find out later in 1 Samuel 22:

But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family. Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me" (1 Samuel 22:20-23).

Saul killed the priests because they had helped David and the one who escaped had to take refuge with David to join the others. Yet notice what David told him: "You will be safe with me." That's quite a faith confession for a man who was a fugitive, being hunted by his people's army.

Are you going through tough times? Do you see them as a statement that you have done something wrong or a confirmation that you are on the right path? And are things unfolding in a manner that isn't providing you much relief? If any of that is true, or if things are worse than I can possibly describe, then take consolation from David's story. God was with him, but only to the extent that He told David what to do and where to go. In the meantime, Saul was free to roam about the countryside with seeming immunity from consequences of his evil deeds. Remember that many tribulations are your lot, not because God is displeased, but because He has a plan to develop you for His purpose and He always knows what He's doing. Have a blessed week.