Fulness of Life Is in the Center of God's Will

“Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.” (1Sa 25:29 AV)

 

These words are uttered by Abigail to David as David sought the life of her husband Nabal.  For the better part of a sheep shearing, the men of David offered protection about the entire perimeter of the shearing floor to keep predators and robbers away.  Sheep, in their sheering, are extremely vulnerable.  It was not uncommon to lose some sheep in the process.  The custom of the times and place were such that if someone offered a service, whether requested or not, he was compensated.  There was also the expectation of hospitality.  For two reasons, Nabal should have offered to David and his men some compensation in the form of nourishment.  However, the foolish of Nabal refused any kindness whatsoever, but rather, rebuked David for something of which he was not guilty.  The words above are spoken by Nabal’s wife and according to commentators, can have several meanings.

The first meaning is an obvious one.  The LORD will protect David and deal with Nabal and Saul.  For the LORD to keep David in the bundle of life is understood that God will keep David alive.  The second understanding is the meaning of a bundle.  Precious items meant for the expenses of life are referred to as held in a bundle of life.  Money, jewelry, or precious metals were kept in the bundle to spend them for the necessities of life.  In this understanding, Abigail might be implying that David is precious in God’s sight and protected for the plan and purposes of God.  The third, which is what we want to consider this morning, is the bundle of life could mean a quality of life David enjoys that Nabal and Saul do not.  This quality of life is not based on circumstances, but rather, a standing before God.

When I was younger, going to nursing homes was not a pleasant experience for me.  The environment coupled with my lack of experience or understanding while ministering to the elderly is what concerned me.  However, as I matured, there was a blessing attached to ministering to those in the nursing home that was extra special.  Several years ago, our bluegrass picking group went to a nursing home and played for about two hours.  We did so on several occasions.  We were not that good.  But they didn’t know that nor care.  The LORD blessed us with twenty or more residents at any one time.  Although circumstances may vary slightly, by and large, they are all in the same boat.  What is so fulfilling about nursing home ministry is it causes those who are ministered to realize just how blessed they are.  In fact, I dare say the saved who are in that age bracket seem to be more alive with joy than their much younger counterparts.  Even though they deal with the trials of getting older.  They seem to be in the bindle of life.  Playing checkers, sitting and talking, or having someone play Amazing Grace is a simple joy that cannot be equaled.

The point is, David’s life at this point was not something anyone would prefer.  David had lost his wife, left his family in a foreign country, and fled for his life from his own father-in-law.  He is now being insulted by someone who took advantage of him and who seems beyond correction.  Saul is free.  Nabal is free.  Yet David flees for his life.  Abigail, who is perhaps David’s best wife of them all, encourages David and tells him despite the circumstances of life, as long as he is in the center of God’s will, he is in the bundle of life.  Regardless of circumstances, there is no better place to be.

Hear

“Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.” (Pr 8:6 AV)

 

Wisdom requires two primary elements.  The first is fear of God.  Solomon clearly tells us the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD.  Second to that is hearing.  The wisdom of God is speaking here.  The entire chapter regards the wisdom of God.  The wisdom of God cries out to the children of men and begs them to harken.  One might even say that fear of the LORD and hearing His wisdom go hand in hand.  Oddly, one word can be the subject of so great a principle.  Hear.  Hearing implies we stop speaking.  Hearing implies we do not know.  Hearing implies there is something to learn.  Hearing implies we humble ourselves before a great God and allow Him to speak.  Hearing requires silence on the part of one while the other is speaking.  Not just verbal silence, but mental as well.  To hear is an act of submission.  It is an acquiescence of the will to the opinion of another.  It is not merely taking in the words of God.  It is more than that.  It is not the simple acquisition of facts.  It is the evaluation of what one knows or doesn’t know in the light of another’s input.  Specifically speaking, God.  For us to gain the wisdom of God, we must be willing to hear.

The most important factor in turkey hunting is the gobble of the male turkey.  Hearing where it is coming from, the direction in which it is moving, and the intent of the gobble will determine in large part whether the hunter will be successful or not.  The thing is, many factors can lead to a misinterpretation of that gobble.  If, as a hunter, I had preconceptions about the topography, the nature of the call, or the intent of the bird, then I will miss the opportunity to bag a bird.  Other birds sound close enough to a distant turkey that if one is not listening, one will mistake it for a turkey and pursue a bird that is not there.  Distance is my hurdle.  When turkeys are far away, their gobble seems much louder than it is.  It probably has something to do with the topography amplifying his call.  Then as they get much closer, it seems as though they are hundreds of yards away.  Knowing the difference between a single gobble, and double gobble or even a triple gobble will tell you the interest of the male turkey.  When the gobble happens in association with the hens calls will tell you who that male turkey is focused on.  Listening to other indicators are also helpful.  Especially crows.  Watching and listening to them can tell you a great deal in regards to the male turkey.  The point is, to be a better turkey hunter, he has to be willing the hear.  If he is unwilling to hear, he will not learn what he needs to learn to be successful in his endeavor.

There is a program my wife and I are watching.  It tours the Holy Land and takes the viewer to different places pertinent to the ministry of the LORD Jesus.  I am learning quite a bit.  One thing, in particular, is the oft used phrase, “He that hath ears, let him hear.”  What I learned was the phrase our Savior used was actually an invitation to learn and do something with what they had just heard.  It was spoken at the end of a sermon or parable.  Not the beginning.  It was spoken after the words had entered the ears.  It was spoken as the truth of what they just heard was mulled over in their minds.  Hearing isn’t the act of allowing information to go into the ears and mind.  Hearing involves opening the mind to what one just heard and allow it to affect the hearer in a way God intends.  It is the difference between hearing and listening.  We use them the opposite in which the Bible uses these terms.  If we truly hear (or listen), we are intent on the information and willing to allow the truths to change the person we are.  This is why wisdom is founded upon fear of God and hearing.  Putting it another way, respect and humility are the beginning of wisdom.  Hear.

Mistrust, or Love?

“And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” (1Sa 20:17 AV)

 

Does anyone else find this odd?  One would think that if two people really loved one another, then reaffirming an oath would not be necessary.  Or even more strange is how forcing someone you love to reaffirm an oath is considered an act of love.  The covenant between the two was a promise on Jonathan’s part that he would let no harm come to David and he would do everything in his power to see David ascend to the throne.  In return, David promised to protect the house of Jonathan.  Even to his offspring in a perpetual promise.  This love they shared was meant to protect one another against potential threats.  Again, one may find this odd that two men who cared as deeply as they did for one another would be motivated by love and ask the other to reaffirm this oath.  In fact, one would think as deep as their love was, there wouldn’t be a need for an oath at all.  Right?  If I deeply love someone, I would seek their protection.  I would try to do all I could do to help him and keep him out of harm’s way.  And I wouldn’t have to make a promise.  It would be automatic.  However, relationships don’t work that way.

When I made my wedding vows to the most wonderful woman on the planet, I promised to do some things.  I promised to love, honor, and cherish her.  I promised to remain faithful.  I promised all my worldly goods to her and I promised all that I am or ever will be.  These promises were based on several factors.  My love for her was only one of those factors.  When I married my best friend, I did so because God told me to.  I knew she was God’s will for me and regardless of how I may feel at any moment, I would be in disobedience if I didn’t marry her and honor those vows.  I also made those vows because I knew emotions can fluctuate.  In the weakness of my own flesh, I may not feel like honoring them.  My flesh or temperament may get in the way and challenge those vows.  But I made a promise.  Although my lovely bride and I have never, nor will ever, renew our vows, that doesn’t mean we never do.  We may never have a ceremony.  Nor do we need one.  We affirm these vows every day.  Why?  Because we love one another.  It is not because we mistrust one another.  Rather, reaffirming a promise is an act of love.  This is what Jonathan required of David and himself.  A reaffirmation of a covenant as an expression of love.

We make many agreements with the people closest to us.  As a pastor, I promised to pastor the sheep God gave me.  I didn’t get to pick my sheep.  And I am glad I didn’t.  Pastoring is not for the faint of heart.  There are times when caring for the sheep strains those promises.  However, love means there is a reaffirmation of the vows I took almost forty years ago.  Being a husband and a father is not easy.  There are times when the promises we made become a challenge.  Yet, it is in the midst of these challenging times God requires of us to express our love by reaffirming our commitment we made decades ago.  Building relationships means we make promises and we keep those promises as an expression of our love.  Emotion is fickle.  True love is not mere emotion.  True love is sacrifice and commitment.  This is what Jonathan is driving at.  Mistrust of David was the furthest thing on his mind.  Jonathan was putting his own life at risk for the sake of God’s anointed.  He would eventually fall by the sword to protect his best friend.  Sacrifice and commitment are the bedrock of a relationship and not emotion.  Therefore, for the sake of love, make a promise and keep to it.

God Overcomes Our Poor Choices

“19  And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20  And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;” (1Sa 12:19-20 AV)

 

The people had asked the LORD for a king to lead them like all the heathen nations around them.  Samuel was chosen because Eli, his mentor, failed to raise his own family sufficiently to carry on his calling.  They abused the office of priest and fulfilled their own lusts by it.  Samuel was chosen and anointed to judge the nation of Israel.  However, Samuel also failed as a father to adequately raise his sons to carry on.  They, too, used their office as a means to profit thereby.  Now, faced with a new enemy in the Jebusites, Israel did not see a possibility for ethical leadership in the sons of Samuel.  What they had forgotten is if God could raise a man to replace Eli and his sons, surely He can raise another to replace the sons of Samuel.  They had lost patience with faith.  They wanted the predictable.  A king would do that.  The monarchy would pass from one generation to another. Once Saul was anointed by the wishes of God’s people and permission of God, Samuel rehearses in the ears of the people the abuse they would suffer at the hand of a king, how God had always raised up a godly man when the need arose, and their desire for a king was contrary to God’s will.  This caused Israel to believe God would destroy the nation.  They saw their choice to reject God’s plan for leadership as a choice with only one consequence: God’s judgment.  However, Samuel’s response on behalf of the LORD teaches us something different.

There are times when we make decisions we think are impossible to overcome.  We think the consequences will be unavoidable and devastating.  These decisions we know, or knew, were the wrong ones.  In fact, there may have been a leading of the Spirit to encourage us to make a different decision than we made.  The Spirit convicts our hearts of disobedience or weak faith.  We admit our guilt.  Then we muse the path of which we have chosen is one that cannot be reversed and that God is so displeased with us we are about to face His full wrath.  But that is not what happened with Israel  Samuel did remind them of God’s faithfulness and ability to overcome what they feared.  He reminds them of the history they have of making unwise decisions.  He then reminds them of God’s love for them.  Samuel states, “For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.” (1Sa 12:22 AV)  Just because they chose not to trust the LORD, God still was by their side.  He is a God that can overcome our choices.  He does so all the time.

The adversary wants us to believe that a choice we make has thrown us over a point of no return.  That somehow, the choice we made cannot be overcome and the LORD can do nothing.  Or, will do nothing apart from judging us.  We think our life is unredeemable.  We think we have failed so much there is nothing God desires more than to put a quick end to our pitiful life.  Not so.  Our life is a growth process.  Growth means we make mistakes.  Growth means we fail to trust the LORD when we should.  Growth means we give in to the flesh when we shouldn’t.  Growth means we sometimes choose a different path than the one which the LORD had chosen for us.  When we do these things, the adversary wants us to believe there is nothing God can do with us.  This last wrong choice was the last choice which the LORD will tolerate.  Israel made the worst of all decisions.  They rejected their promised Messiah.  If there was a choice that would completely destroy a nation, it would be that one.  Yet, prophetically, we know the LORD will restore Israel and she will be reconciled to her King!  God loves us more than our mistakes.  He loves us with a greater love than our sin.  God loves us more than our lack of faith.  His patience is eternal.  The key is to learn from those errors and go on.  If we allow the Devil to convince us we are living under the constant judgment of God’s displeasure, we will never rise and walk again.

More Than a Salt-free Diet

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Pr 4:23 AV)

 

To look at this verse in a purely physical way, one would conclude the Bible far ahead of medical science of the time.  Coronary health is by far, the most important of all.  As the ancients used to say, the heart is the first to live and the last to die.  As heart health goes, so goes the life.  The literalness of the verse above is astounding.  It just goes to prove how far advanced the word of God is compared to the knowledge of mankind.  That being said, I don’t believe Solomon was referring to a salt-free diet here.  Solomon is speaking metaphorically.  The definition of ‘…heart…’ here is important.  Often, we use the term ‘heart’ to mean the seat of emotions.  However, in the Hebrew mind, the term ‘heart’ is where all three portions of the individual meet.  The heart is where the mind, emotions, and will come together.  The heart is were center of the individual and is what determines his or her choices.  When Solomon tells his son to keep his heart, it is more than thinking right.  When Solomon teaches his son to keep his heart, is it more than emotional discipline.  When Solomon instructs his son to keep his heart, it includes more than mere conformity of the will.  Keeping the heart is the unification of the whole man into a way of life that gives life, and not death.

Life is a bit more complicated than it first appears.  There is often a balance that is maintained in order for life to be what it can be.  My wife and I are into cooking shows.  Especially the ones which exhibit more complicated skill.  The more complicated or sophisticated, the better.  There are two we are watching regularly.  They are competition-themed shows where the contestants must continue to improve from challenge to challenge.  One of the problems contestants consistently deal with is time management.  Everything is cooked from scratch.  That means there is a lot of prepping.  However, there are different ingredients with different cooking times.  The chef cannot concentrate on only one element of the dish.  He may have a protein, a sauce, and a side dish.  Depending on what they are, the chef has to be working on elements of all these components.  As the competition progresses, it is not so much technique as it is managing the clock which becomes the greatest of all challenges.  All the components must be plated at the last second and all at the same time.  The chef cannot prepare the protein and then set it aside for the remaining half of the time.  It will become soft and cold.  He cannot completely prepare the side and then move on to the protein.  There will not be enough time to cook the protein all the way through.  What the chef needs to do is consider the entire project and balance all tasks so the end product is completed all at once.

Solomon is telling his son to keep the entire man.  Discipline the emotions.  Learn truth in the laboratory of critical thinking.  Check the will and make it subservient to the right thing.  These things must come together at the right time.  Otherwise, one will overpower the other.  Or, two will ignore the third.  If keeping the will and the mind is not balanced with keeping the emotions, the emotions cancel out the other two.  If the will is stronger than the mind and emotions, the reason and commitment are canceled.  If the mind is stronger than the will or emotions, then justification for error determines our choices.  Solomon is telling us, as simple as can be put, self-discipline in all areas of our being is necessary to enjoy the fullest life of which God intends.  Keeping the entire person in subjection to the will of the Father is the only way in which we can truly enjoy the life of which the writer says:  the heart is the issues of life.

You Are Not Cursed

“Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.” (Ru 1:13 AV)

Naomi felt the LORD’s hand was on her for evil and this adversely affected her two daughters-in-law.  Her belief was if they continued with her, there would be more of the same.  The fact of the matter is, nothing that happened to her was a result of any choice that she made.  Naomi left with her husband and two sons because of a famine that had hit Judah.  They left and went to Moab.  Moab was not where they needed to be.  However, it was not Naomi who made this decision.  Her husband died while in Moab and that left Naomi under the care of her two adult sons.  The word of God makes Naomi subject to her two adult sons.  These sons married wives of Moab.  Which they were not allowed to do.  Again, the choices made which resulted in her husband’s death and the death of her two adult sons were not a result of her.  Rather, the consequences of her life were caused by others.  There she sat, believing she was cursed and her daughters-in-law would continue to suffer if they followed her back to Israel.  The thing is, the unfortunate circumstances of life were not a result of God’s judgment on Naomi.  She doesn’t know it yet, but her life will be richly blessed as she will be in the line of King David, and Jesus Christ.

We can believe we are cursed because of a series of unfortunate events.  There was a program I watch when I was much younger and there was a line in a song they regularly sang which said, “if there was no such thing as bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”  I cannot begin to tell you how many mothers feel exactly how Naomi felt.  Many years ago, we were privileged to minister to a family where kidney disease ran on the family.  It was discovered the mother was the one who carried the gene which resulted in her children suffering from kidney failure.  She beat herself up on a regular basis.  When she had to take her daughter for dialysis, she was very depressed.  When her son was struggling and needed a transplant, she took it personally.  Then she found out a grandchild was diagnosed with kidney disease.  That was the straw that broke the camel's back.  She believed in her heart of hearts there was something in her past which God felt was so horrible she was forever cursed.  The problem was, she was not suffering.  She had the recessive gene which did not manifest into disease in her body.  It skips every other generation.  The reason her grandchild was diagnosed was both parents carried the gene.  She sat in her home, often in tears, because she felt she was cursed by God for something she had not done.  This was where Naomi was.  She truly believed she would never be free from curses and those near here would be better off as far away as possible.

The Bible does teach we will suffer for the wicked choices we make.  But it also teaches those around us may not directly suffer for our choices.  The Bible also teaches every uncomfortable event is not necessarily chastisement.  Sometimes they are a trial of faith.  Sometimes unfortunate events are merely the result of living in a fallen world.  Death will come to all.  Either tragically or naturally, we shall all die.  The LORD does not have it out for us simply because someone whom we love passes away.  Passing from this life to the next is part of life.  Sickness, financial hardships, relationships that are strained; are all part of life and they might not be a result of our choices nor an indication the LORD is dealing with us. In fact, Naomi can only see the death of her husband and sons.  What she cannot see is her land and station restored when she returns.  She cannot see there is hope.  She cannot see that life is not one big curse.  She is blind to it because all she can see is the most obvious.  These things will pass.  God is a God of blessings.  Naomi is blessed because she becomes the great-grandmother of the greatest human king Israel ever had.  And she is in the line of Christ.  This would never have happened unless her husband and sons pass away.  What she saw as a curse turned into a great blessing!

Being Wise Means Never Arriving

"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:  To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.” (Pr 1:5-6 AV)

Wisdom here is not defined by what one knows.  Wisdom here is defined as an individual who will learn.  Not an individual who already knows what should be done.  Not that knowing the right choice isn’t wise.  It is just that this passage defines someone who is wise as someone who is still learning.  In our observations, we would consider someone who consistently shows self-discipline manifested by making good choices as a wise person.  Often, those observations are confined to the obvious.  Those things which can be easily discerned.  Finances, family issues, personal health, etc.  Success in these areas is often seen as evidence of wisdom.  And they are.  Solomon here is not being critical of those who find success in life by living according to biblical principles.  Clearly, these people are wise.  What Solomon is stating is wisdom doesn’t stop with what one knows and lives.  Wisdom also implies a continuing habit of learning, evaluation, change, and maturity.  We may have great success in obvious areas and are known as wise individuals, but if we stop learning, then we become fools.

There is a danger in getting older.  The older and wiser I get, the more I am apt to think there is less for me to learn.  The more I learn the hard lessons of life that come by way of foolishness, the less apt I am to think myself a fool.  The more I look at the actions of those less experienced against the experience I may possess, the more apt I am to think I have little to learn.  Sometimes the hardest people to teach are those who think they have little to learn.  I may think there is some success in life for which I can credit the LORD.  There may be temptations that plagued me in my younger years that have no influence any longer.  Perhaps I have grown wiser.  The trap which I find set for me is to think I can come to a place in my experiences of life where there is little left to learn.  At that point, our author would consider me to be a fool.  And he would be right.  It doesn’t matter how old or experienced a soul can get, there is always something to learn.  Paul told Timothy to let no man despise his youth.  He was giving Timothy the boldness he needed to pastor his first church.  No doubt he had men who were far more experienced than he.  If he wasn’t careful, he would allow their experience and his inexperience to reverse the direction of ministry designed by God.  Those men had the experience, but not all the experience.  There were still things they needed to learn.  Even if it was from someone of less experience than they.

I have three sons all of who have more formal education than I do.  In my church, I have two young men who have or will have more formal education than I.  From time to time, I may ask in the process of my preaching, if I have the understanding of the original Biblical languages correct in my assessment.  I don’t do that because I feel the need to submit to someone who has information that I do not have.  Rather, I do so because they have the information I do not have and I would be a fool to think I have all the information necessary to do my job.  I am learning.  That requires humility and vulnerability.  Some see this as a weakness.  But it is not.  It is avoiding becoming a fool.  To be a perpetual student is far more wise, even if we don’t have all the wisdom of others than to have much wisdom and stop learning.  The person who shuts off their mind and ears to correction and change is a person who is a fool no matter how successful he or she has been in most other areas of life.