Man on the Run

1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. 2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5 For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

8 And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. 9 Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. – 1 Samuel 19:1-10 ESV

David had to be one confused young man. On two separate occasions, the king of Israel had tried to pin him to the wall with a spear. But then, that same man turned around and offered David his daughter’s hand in marriage. In his humility, David reluctantly refused to accept this honor from the king, which allowed Saul to award his eldest daughter to another man. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Saul offered David the opportunity to marry his younger daughter, Michal. This on-again-off-again relationship with the king must have left David in a constant state of anxiety. One minute he was the king’s golden boy and the next the king was using him for target practice.

David eventually married Michal, making him a permanent member of the royal family. Yet David seems to have remained blissfully unaware that his new father-in-law was continually plotting ways to exterminate this threat to his reign. Perhaps David simply wrote it all off as nothing more than a symptom of Saul’s anger issues. After all, David had originally been hired to serve as Saul’s “music therapist,” using his harp-playing skills to calm the king when he had one of his bouts of uncontrolled rage. He would have known first-hand just how violent Saul could become. Even when Saul had attempted to kill David with a spear, he probably convinced himself not to take it personally. It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet things were far worse than David knew.

Saul was so desperate to eliminate David that he ordered his son Jonathan to oversee the execution of his best friend. He ordered a hit on David and expected his own son to carry it out. This was likely an attempt to force Jonathan to defend his path to the throne by eliminating all competition. Saul had come to see David as the most likely candidate to fulfill the words of the prophet.

“You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” – 1 Samuel 13:13-14 NLT

If David was that man, then Jonathan’s path to the throne was in jeopardy. As the son of the king, he was the rightful heir to the throne but David posed a serious threat to any kind of dynastic order for the house of Saul.

Saul was appealing to Jonathan’s sense of self-preservation and expecting his son to defend the family’s honor. He was hoping his son’s intimate relationship with David would provide an easy opportunity to carry out the deadly deed. But Saul didn’t understand the depth of Jonathan’s friendship with David. He was also unaware that his son had already come to grips with the fact that David was God’s choice to be the next king of Israel. He had reconciled himself to that reality and demonstrated his allegiance to David.

Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David, together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt. – 1 Samuel 18:3-4 NLT

Jonathan had no ambitions for the throne of his father. Instead, he longed to preserve the life of his friend because he knew that David had been set apart by God to serve as the next king of Israel. He knew that it was only a matter of time before David replaced his father on the throne. Jonathan was so sure of David’s success that he begged his friend to not use his future power to seek vengeance on the house of Saul.

“May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die. Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth  and called David’s enemies to account.” – 1 Samuel 20:13-16 NLT

So, when Jonathan received his father’s order to take the life of his friend and future king, he took the news hard. He was conflicted because he was being commanded by his father and king to kill someone he cared about deeply. In a desperate attempt to stop this abhorrent plan, he pleaded with his father to reconsider and reminded him of all that David had done for him.

“The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all.” – 1 Samuel 19:4-5 NLT

Saul seemed to listen to the words of Jonathan, vowing to spare David’s life and welcoming him back into his presence as before. But this happy reunion would prove to be short-lived; it would simply be the calm before the storm. The king whom God had rejected and the man whom God had anointed as his replacement could not coexist for long. Eventually, Saul was going to have to go away. He was the one who would have to be eliminated, not David. God’s plan to place David on the throne of Israel was not going to be curtailed or compromised by anyone or anything. Yet the situation was going to get worse before it got better.

Things appear to have returned to normal, with David winning victories over the Philistines by day and playing his harp for Saul in the evenings. Yet, Saul’s hatred for David remained unchanged. Eventually, in one of his tormented moments, Saul made a third attempt on David’s life. Once again, David narrowly escaped and went into hiding, providing an ominous foreshadowing of David’s future fate. He would soon discover that running and hiding would be a permanent part of his life for years to come. He was to become a fugitive with a bounty on his head and a relentless pursuer on his trail who would stop at nothing until he was dead.

David must have looked back on his anointing by Samuel and wondered what it all meant. Why had the prophet chosen him? What had he been anointed for? David must have assumed that he had been chosen by God to be a great military leader. His miraculous defeat of Goliath and his subsequent victories over the Philistines would have supported this view. But why would God give him success in battle and then allow him to suffer at the hands of his own king? How was he supposed to do his job when his own commander-in-chief was trying to put him to death? None of it made sense and David’s confusion and consternation are clearly seen in the psalms he wrote during this phase of his life.

David had some frank and open conversations with God. He bared his heart and soul before the Lord, learning to communicate with an honesty and openness that only suffering can create. Many of his psalms reflect the nature of his relationship with God, revealing his total transparency and somewhat shocking honesty.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? – Psalm 13:1-2 ESV

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest. – Psalm 22:1-2 ESV

I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.
    Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you are silent,
    I might as well give up and die. – Psalm 28:1 NLT

David was going to learn to trust God but first, he had to learn to be honest and open with God. He would soon discover his own limitations and come to grips with his own weaknesses – the hard way. His anointing by Samuel was just the beginning of his preparation. The Spirit of God coming upon David was instrumental in his early success, but the Spirit of God transforming his heart and character was going to be the key to his future rule and reign.

What would eventually make David a great king are the lessons he would learn while on the run. The time he spent hiding in caves would play a vital role in preparing him for the crown. David was going to learn a lot about himself over the next few years. But, more importantly, he was going to grow in his knowledge of God. What would eventually make him a great king would be his understanding of God’s greatness.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Who Am I and the Great I Am

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” – Exodus 3:1-12 ESV

Moses is living in the land of Midian, on the far side of the Gulf of Aqaba. He has married a daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian, and settled into his new life as a husband, father, and sheep herder. Moses has experienced a great deal of change since leaving Egypt. Long gone are the fine clothes and gourmet meals served in regal splendor in the Pharaoh’s palace. He was once a member of the royal family, but now he is a murderer and a fugitive from justice. He finds himself living on the lam in a distant land and relegated to the lowly role of a common shepherd. Safely ensconced hundreds of miles away from the scene of his crime, Moses is oblivious to all that is taking place back in Egypt. He has no way of knowing that, in his absence, the suffering of his fellow Hebrews has increased significantly. He may be living in relative peace and security, but they are not. 

…the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. – Exodus 2:23 NLT

It’s interesting to note that Moses, the author of the book of Exodus, penned these words long after the events took place. Somewhere between the exodus of the people from Egypt and their arrival in the land of Canaan, God inspired Moses to record all the events that led up to his calling as God’s deliverer. He is writing from a different vantage point which enables him to look back with clarity and see how the hand of God was orchestrating every phase of his life.

While he was living in Midian, he had no concept of the difficult circumstances under which his parents, siblings, and fellow Israelites were being forced to endure. In retrospect, he writes that they were suffering so greatly that they cried out for help. They were desperately praying for someone to deliver them from their pain and misery. And he states that “their cry rose up to God” (Exodus 2:23 NLT).

God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act. – Exodus 2:24-25 NLT

Moses was oblivious, but God was not. Moses was ignorant of their plight, but God was fully aware. Moses could not hear their cries, but God not only heard, but He decided to do something about it. It was time to act. 

And what Moses didn’t realize at the time, was that he was going to play a major role in God’s unfolding drama of deliverance.

At the same time that God heard the cries of His people, He made a surprise visit to Moses. Unhindered by time or space, God was able to hear and act. But this does not mean that God was reacting to what He heard. He was responding as if He had just become aware of the Israelites’ plight. He had known all along that they would suffer, and He already had a plan and an appointed time in which He would act.

Centuries earlier, God had told broken the news to Abraham that his descendants would one day end up living in a foreign land as slaves.

“Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.” – Genesis 15:13 ESV

This prophecy had a timeline attached to it, and the end date had come. Four hundred years had passed, which meant it was time to implement the second phase of His promise.

“But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.” – Genesis 15:14 ESV

The persecution of the Israelites was about to end and the judgment of the Egyptians was about to begin. But before any of that could happen, God needed to notify the one He was going to use to bring it all about, and that happened to be Moses.

The scene for this divine encounter was a place called Mount Horeb, located in the southern region of the Sinai Peninsula. It lies opposite the land of Midian, on the other side of the Gulf of Aqaba. The memory of that life-altering day has been seared into Moses’ brain. Writing in the third person, Moses vividly recalls exactly what he was doing when God showed up.

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. – Exodus 3:1 ESV

His reference to Horeb as “the mountain of God” is a hint that the much older and wiser Moses is the one recording this story. The Moses shepherding sheep near the base of Horeb would have had no reason to see this particular mountain as holy or associated with Jehovah. It was just another mountain in the middle of the wilderness of Sinai. But Moses, the author, is hinting that this place is about to become a sacred spot in his life and that of the people of Israel, Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai would become the place where God revealed Himself to His chosen people, and it would begin with Moses.

Moses, the shepherd, suddenly stumbles upon a startling scene.

…the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. – Exodus 3:2 ESV

It seems that Moses saw the bush before he ever saw the angel of the Lord. He came upon this flame-engulfed shrub and noticed that it kept on burning as if fueled by some outside source. The brittle branches of the bush were not consumed by the heat of the fire, and Moses was forced to take a closer look. And as Moses stepped forward, God spoke up.

“Moses! Moses!…Do not come any closer…Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.” – Exodus 3:4-5 NLT

Moses was stunned to hear a voice emanating from the middle of the burning bush. It completely caught him off guard. And then he received a second and even more discomforting shock when the disembodied voice introduced itself.

“I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” – Exodus 3:6 NLT

And recalling that incredible moment, Moses records that he “covered his face because he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6 NLT). It can’t be ignored that Moses knew he was a murderer, and to find himself standing before the holy and wholly righteous God of his ancestors must have left him in paralizing fear. He was in the presence of God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth. He was under the gaze of the judge of the universe and he stood condemned before Him. But God was not there to condemn Moses; He was there to call him.

“I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land.” – Exodus 3:7-8 NLT

For the first time since leaving Egypt, Moses receives an update concerning the situation back home, and it came from the lips of God Himself. The Lord wanted Moses to know that things were not going well but that He already had a plan in place that would guarantee not only their deliverance but the inheritance of their own homeland. Moses would have been familiar with the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He probably heard his birthmother tell of God’s covenant promises regarding the land of Canaan. Now, God was assuring this displaced Hebrew that those promises were about to be fulfilled.

And just in case Moses isn’t quite sure what “fertile and spacious land” God is talking about, the Lord provides clarification.

“It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.” – Exodus 3:8 NLT   

In other words, the descendants of Jacob, who had arrived in Egypt 400 years earlier, were about to return to Canaan. They were going home. But for that to happen, God was going to need a deliverer/leader who could act as His representative. And what Moses didn’t realize at the time was that he was God’s choice.

“Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” – Exodus 3:9-10 NLT

This news must have hit Moses like a brick to the forehead. What in the world was God thinking? Why would Jehovah choose a convicted murderer and the disinherited adoptive son of Pharaoh to lead His people? When Moses had left Egypt, he was disliked by Egyptians and Hebrews alike. Yet, here was God issuing Moses a summons to enter His service. This was not an invitation to be accepted, but a call to be obeyed.

But Moses responded to God’s call with a simple three-word statement: “Who am I?”

Moses knew exactly who he was. He was the son of Amram and Jochebed, two obscure Hebrews who had been forced to give up their son and watch him be raised by Egyptians. He was a well-read and sophisticated byproduct of the Egyptian educational system. He was a convicted murderer and a fugitive from justice. As far as he could tell, he broke ever HR protocol for hiring effective leaders. He had no business standing before Pharaoh, especially with a bounty on his head. And he was the worst possible candidate for taking on the extraction of a disenfrachised and disheartened people group. But Moses was about to learn that arguing with God was both pointless and unproductive. His reluctance, disqualifying resume, and debilitating fear were irrelavant. God assured Moses:

“I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” – Exodus 3:12 NLT

The problem had been revealed. The plan for its solution had been disclosed. And the  person to implement it had been called. But Moseswould prove to be a tough sell. “Who am I” had just had a personal encounter with the great “I am” and his life would never be the same.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Calm Before the Storm.

And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.– 1 Samuel 19:1-10 ESV

David had to be one confused young man. On two separate occasions, the king of Israel had tried to pin him to the wall with a spear. But then, the same man turned around and offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. Yet David’s demureness and subsequent delay caused Saul to give his daughter to another man. But this was followed by Saul offering to David his younger daughter, Michal, who David eventually married. He became the son-in-law of the king. He was part of the royal family and best friends with the king’s own son. And yet, unbeknownst to David, Saul was continually plotting ways to rid himself of his new son-in-law, who he believed posed a major threat to his reign. Perhaps David simply wrote it all off as nothing more than a symptom of Saul’s fits of rage. After all, David had originally been hired to serve as Saul’s “music therapist,” playing his harp in order to calm the king when he had one of his bouts of uncontrolled anger. He would have known first-hand just how violent Saul could become. Even when Saul had attempted to kill David with a spear, he probably convinced himself to not take it personally. He had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But things were much worse than David knew.

Saul was so desperate to eliminate David that he commanded his son, Jonathan, and all his servants to kill him. Basically, he ordered a hit on David. He put a bounty on his head and brought in reinforcements. But Jonathan took this news hard. He and David were best friends. He was being commanded by his father and king to kill someone he cared deeply about. It’s interesting to note that Jonathan, the heir to the throne of Saul, did not perceive David as a threat. He did not share his father’s paranoia regarding David. In fact, he pleaded with his father to reconsider and reminded him of all that David had done for him.

“The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all.” – 1 Samuel 19:4-5 NLT

And Saul seemed to listen to the words of Jonathan, vowing to spare David’s life and welcoming him back into his presence as before. But this happy reunion would prove to be short-lived. It would simply be the calm before the storm. The king whom God had rejected and the man whom God had anointed as his replacement were not going to be able to coexist for long. Eventually, Saul was going to have to go away. He was the one who would have to be eliminated, not David. God’s plan to place David on the throne of Israel was not going to be curtailed or compromised by anyone or anything. But things were going to get worse before they got better.

While things appeared to have gone back to normal, with David winning victories over the Philistines by day and playing his harp for Saul in the evenings, the animosity of Saul remained unchanged. And eventually, in one of his tormented moments, Saul attempted to kill David for the third time. David was forced to run for his life yet again. And this would prove to be a foreshadowing of David’s life for years to come. He was about to discover that his lot in life was to be that of a man on the run. He was to become a fugitive, a wanted man with a price on his head and a relentless pursuer on his trail, who would stop at nothing until David was dead. 

David must have looked back on his anointing by Samuel and wondered what it all meant. Why had the prophet chosen him? What had the anointing meant? What had he been anointed for? David must have assumed that he had been chosen by God to be a great military leader, having killed Goliath and given his numerous victories over the Philistines since becoming a commander in Saul’s army. But why would God give him success in battle and then allow him to suffer at the hands of his own king? How was he supposed to do his job when he was constantly having to worry about the king killing him? All of this must have created a great deal of confusion in the mind of David, and led him to have some frank and open conversations with God. In fact, because of all that David was about to experience, he would learn to talk to God with an honesty and openness that only suffering can create. Many of his psalms reflect the nature of his relationship with God, revealing his total transparency and somewhat shocking honesty.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? – Psalm 13:1-2 ESV

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest. – Psalm 22:1-2 ESV

I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.
    Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you are silent,
    I might as well give up and die. – Psalm 28:1 NLT

David was going to learn to trust God. But first, he was going to learn to be honest and open with God. David would discover his own limitations and come to grip with his own weaknesses – the hard way. His anointing by Samuel was just the beginning of his preparation. The Spirit of God coming upon David was instrumental in his early success, but the Spirit of God transforming the heart and character of David was going to be the key to his future rule and reign. What would eventually make David a great king are the lessons he would learn while on the run. The time he spent hiding in caves would play a vital role in preparing him for the crown. David was going to learn a lot about himself over the next few years. But he was going to learn even more about God. What would eventually make him a great king would be his understanding of the greatness of God. 

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.