“Day of the Lord” An Examination of Zephaniah Chapters 12-14

 Introduction

The Lord stands on the Mount of Olives on the day of battle on the day of the Lord (Zech. 14:3-4). There will be darkness, and men will flee as if being chased by a lion on the day of the Lord (Amos 5:18-19). There will be blood, fires, pillars of smoke, and the moon will be like blood on that day of the Lord (Joe 2:30-31). These are three of the many instances throughout the Scriptures where “the day of the Lord” language is used to communicate the coming of divine judgment. It is this language that the prophet Zephaniah uses to communicate God’s coming judgment in his day (Zeph. 1:7).

The Day of the Lord: Original Audience

As Robert B. Chisholm Jr. notes, the day of the Lord in Zephaniah’s day covers the conquest of Judah by the Babylonians and a worldwide judgment. J. J. M. Roberts connects Zephaniah’s understanding of the day of the Lord to the prophets Amos and Isaiah. This understanding sees the coming judgment as a way for God to refine Jerusalem. Roberts also sees that this transformation of Jerusalem follows the prophet Isaiah in that both prophets proclaim judgment on the ruling classes of the city. Coupled with this judgment, Isaiah and Zephaniah point to God’s ultimate goal to bring about a humble and righteous remnant who will rejoice in the Lord. 

To the first hearers and later readers, the urgency builds as the prophet looks to the day of the Lord, as S.D. Snyman points out. The language of the day of the Lord begins in verse 7 of chapter 1, and by verse 14, the word “great” is added, increasing the significance of this particular judgment of God. The mere sound of that “great day” will be “bitter” to those who hear it. The six phrases that follow in verses 15-16 added to the urgency of that “great day,” with a point being made that no one will be able to escape it. The universal reach of that “great day” can not be missed as it bookends God’s judgment (v.1:2, 18); Judah’s judgment will be complete and long-lasting. 

The Day of the Lord: Hope and Restoration

However, not all is lost; there is a glimmer of hope. Zephaniah calls the people to prepare for the day of the Lord (v.2:3). The people do this by seeking the Lord and being humble. Even then, as David Gunn notes, there is no guaranteed rescue from God, “… only the possibility.” To the first hearers, this is a small ray of light in the darkness that lies ahead; yet it is still hope. The hope continues even through the judgment of the nations. It is “the remnant” who will see the nations brought to justice and who will receive the possession of God’s enemies (v.2:9).

Possessions are not the only things that will come out of the nations’ judgment. False gods and idols will “famish (v.211, [ESV]).” They will be made emaciated to the point where they will no longer exist. Instead, there will only be the worship of the Lord throughout the whole world. The hope that rests ahead of those who turn back to the Lord is that not only will they receive the spoils of the nations, but God will receive the worship that is due him.

The Day of the Lord: Relevance and Application for Today

As VanGemeren rightfully notes, the Israelites would see some fulfillment in the Jewish Diaspora, as there would be God-fearers from the Gentile nations. However, a greater fulfillment in the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Yet, the complete fulfillment is left to the return of Christ. The New Testament picks up “the day of the Lord” concept and applies it to the bodily return of Jesus, which will come swiftly as a thief (2 Pet. 3:10-11). On that day of the Lord, the heavens will pass away, heavenly bodies will dissolve, and the works done on earth will be exposed. Therefore, Peter calls the disciples of Christ to live holy and godly lives. Jesus’ disciples are to wait for the day, and hasten it by preaching the Gospel (v.11-12).

Therefore, every believer, until the day when the Lord returns, is commissioned to be about the Father’s business. They are to preach Christ’s work on the cross, and proclaim that there is still time to repent and be saved. For God “… is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)” Hope his still available for those who would receive it, yet that time is running out as the world moves closer to the final day of the Lord. On that day, which will come swifter than expected, there will no longer be an opportunity to turn to the Lord, for he will separate the goats and the sheep (Matt. 25:32-33)—one to destruction and one to everlasting life. 

Conclusion

The day of the Lord is not something that will be a joyous time for everyone. For the believer, it is a day in which the Lord will come and set all things right. They will see the one whom they have trusted and rejoice as they enter into his eternal life. Yet for those who do not know the Lord, it will be a day of wailing. They will enter into everlasting punishment, having all that was good ripped away form them as payment for their sin (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, the day of the Lord should be a clarion call to every disciple of Christ not to let the preaching of the Gospel fall to the wayside, but fulfill Christ’s commission until the Lord returns.

Bibliography

Chisholm Jr., Robert B. Handbook on the Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Minor Prophets. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002.

Gunn, David, John W. Rogerson, and Anthony Gelston. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible: Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019.

Roberts, J. J. M. Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: A Commentary. Louisville, KY: Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 1991.

Snyman, S.D. Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah: An Introduction and Commentary. Lisle, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020.

VanGemeren, Willem A. “Zephaniah,” In The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, edited by Gary M. Burge, and Andrew E. Hill, 891-901. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012.

1 Samuel Series Wk 18 - “Will Walkers”

  There are a lot of movies and T.V. shows that deal with the subject of time travel. There’s the “Terminator” series, which starts off with A.I. becoming self-aware, attacking humanity, and then creating a time machine to kill humanity’s greatest warrior before he’s born. There’s one called “Edge of Tomorrow” where every time the main protagonist dies, he’s sent back in time to learn more so he can defeat the bad guys. There’s “Ground Hogs Day” where the man is stuck in a time loop, living the same day, again, and again. Some of these movies make sense, like Terminator with its closed cause and effect concept, but then there’s others that when you begin to think through them, make you go “What?”

One of these is the “Back to the Future” Series. This type of time travel creates multiple timelines. Where in Terminator, there is only one timeline that may be shifted a bit, but will always have certain inevitable things happen, “Back to the Future” plays fast and loose with what happens. 

In the first movie, Marty goes back, and changes his parent’s future. Where the family was lower middle class, and had lost their love for life, in the new timeline, the family is upper middle class, have really good jobs, romantic prospects, and disposable income. In the second movie, Marty creates a whole new horrible timeline where his dad is dead, Doc is put into an insane asylum, and the antagonist of the series, Biff, is rich and married to Marty’s mom. 

Then once this is fixed, the third movie, adds that Doc had gone back to the old west and was murdered. So Marty goes back, they save a woman who, in the original timeline died by falling into a canyon, but also change that canyon’s name to Eastwood, even though that name wasn’t known until the actor came on the scene in the 1950s. 

This type of time travel makes the timeline malleable. It can be changed, there are not set points in history that can’t be effected. This is the type of idea that leads to the many worlds/universes theory. Where, due to every individual’s choices throughout all of history, there are an infinite number of timelines. This morning, I had a choice between wearing brown shoes or black, I chose brown, but there’s another world where I chose black. It looks identical other than I would be wearing black shoes today. This is the concept of how many comic books deal with time travel. And tt is this many world’s theory that some naturalists argue is real, and that’s why our universe appears designed for life, because there are infinite other universes where life can’t happen, and we just got lucky to live in this one. 

It’s this possible choice universes that brings us back to our study in the book of First Samuel, where we’ll be picking it back up in Chapter 23, verse 1. And as we open up to First Samuel 23:1, let’s look back on where we are in the book.

We were introduced to David as God’s anointed king because David had an eagerness to follow God. This led him to carry God’s peace to people around him, exercise confident faith, and love those that were not loving towards him. We walked away from David’s introduction with the understanding that God calls us to eagerly follow him, carrying his peace, exercising confident faith, and loving everyone.

Following this, we saw in the life of Saul, how easily it is to descend into sin, and so we must recognize when we start to step in the direction of sin, and we need to surround ourselves with people who will help us recognize when were headed into sin.

Finally, last week, we saw how even David can stumble in his faith, and yet, he took reasonability for what he did, even though his part was minimal in the outcome. Because of that, we talked about how God calls us to judge situations rightly, seeing our fault in them, and being humble about it.

Now with the last six week refreshed in our minds, we can now dive into First Samuel 23:1-14. Let’s read it together.

1 Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3 But David's men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7 Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

v.1-5

The first five verses of the passage show us David acting in his proper position as king. Though he is yet to be crowned, David acts kingly. First, he hears of a town in that is being attacked by the Philistines, and he wants to go and defend it. However, instead of just heading out, David seeks God, and God tells him to go. 

But when David announces this to the men, the men are scared that they will not be able to overcome the Philistine army and they will be exposed to Saul’s forces. This is understandable, because learn later that there were only about six hundred of them. So the odds were not in their favor. Yet, instead of ordering his men to go and just follow him, David again seeks God on behalf of his men. God then confirms that he will defeat the army through David and those that were with him. So David’s men go and beat the Philistines. 

Contrast this with what we have seen with Saul. Saul should be the one going down to the city to help out, yet he doesn’t. The reason why he doesn’t, is because his focus is fixated on David and not protecting his own people, which we see in verses 7-8. Also, Saul only seeks God when it pleases him and not any other time. Saul has acted brashly without seeking the Lord, and has been defeated because of it. So David is acting kingly, while the king is acting childishly.  

v.6-14

It’s then, after Saul hears of David’s whereabouts, and David knows Saul is out to get him, that we get a deep theological insight about God that the Scriptures do not state explicitly, but rather takes for granted.

Here’s the set up: David asks God about a possible scenario: If Saul comes down to get David and he threatens the city with destruction, will the people of the city turn him over? God’s response to David’s hypothetical scenario, is that the outcome with be that the people of the city will turn David over to Saul if Saul does come down to get David.

David then makes a decision to leave the city. However, since David left, Saul did not go down to the city, and the people were not given the opportunity to turn David over to Saul. So David’s hypothetical scenario never came to pass, because David chose not to stay in the situation.

The theological insight is that God not only sees what will happen, but understands who people are so well that he knows what we would do if we were given different options. God knew that if David stayed in the city, Saul would come down, and the people would turn against David to save their own skins, even though, David just saved them. However, given knew information, David left the city, so Saul did not come down, and therefore the people did not turn over David. 

When we talk about God’s ability to know all things, we use the word omniscient. Which, theologically means: “The attribute that denotes God’s knowing all things … that all events are present to the divine mind; that is, God has direct cognition of everything in creation.” However, when we think of God being all knowing, we tend to think of God knowing things like the future, or the secret things of people’s lives. But God knows all things so well, that he knows us not only in what we will do, but what we would do given different situations. 

This puts into perspective Jesus’ words in Luke 12:6-7, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” God knows all things about us, as our hair grows in, he knows where each strand will pop out of, and he knows when each one will recede.

God’s understanding of all things that will be or could possibly be, is seen in places like the Psalm 44, where the Psalmist recognizes God’s ability to know all things. “If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. (v.20-21)”

God knows us so well that he knows what we will and won’t do, and possibly what we would have done in any given situation given the opportunity. So the people of Keilah can go on thinking that they were saved by David and would do anything for him, but God, and now David, knows that they would have turned their backs on their rescuer in a heartbeat if it meant to save their own skins. This puts into perspective the old adage, “There but for the grace of God go I.” Because given different circumstances, without the guidance of God, we might end up in situations that would have appalled us otherwise.

However, there’s another theological insight here that follows. God reveals what will possibly happen, so what does David do? Does he resign himself to be given over to Saul by the people he just rescued? No, he leaves. David leaves the city. This event shows us that we have the ability to choose to do things, and yet, at the same time, not affect the overall will of God.

God’s overall will was to install David as king. Through the turmoil of Saul’s life, God has a plan to bring about the Davidic dynasty, which would eventually lead to the coming of Jesus. If David would have stayed in the city, Saul would have come down, and the people would have turned David over. Would God’s plan been thwarted? Wasn’t God the one who sent David down to the city in the first place? Would his capture by Saul end God’s plan to use David to bring about Jesus? Of course not, and yet David’s choice to leave the city, though God foresaw what would happen if he stayed, also did not change God’s plan to bring about Jesus. 

Our choices are important, they can actually effect how events come about, and yet, those choices are not outside the understanding and knowledge of God. 

And this is what we need to see throughout this whole passage. As we seek the Lord, we will be given many insights into how we should make choices in our lives. Seeking God’s will brings about the greatest possible situation for our lives. It is the life that God calls us to, a life where we seek to love him with our whole being, and love others as ourselves. 

So no matter the situation we find ourselves in, if we are following the will of God to love him and people, our path will be directed in the best possible way, God’s way. Yes, we might experience horrible situations. Sometimes those situations lead to death. The great story of Jim Elliott and his colleges is one where they felt God’s call to reach out to a hostel tribe in the Amazon. Their deaths led the wives of the men to continue reaching out. Not only was that tribe saved, but now they reach out to other unreached tribes. 

God is calling us to a place where no matter the pressures that surround us, we are to follow him. The reason why is, because God knows what will and won’t happen, and he knows all possible outcomes we could possibly choose. There is nothing that God doesn’t perceive and so we can trust that when we follow him, he will work things out for our good and his glory.

My challenge then is this, first seek the Lord in making your decisions. Don’t be like Saul who just does whatever he wants, be like David seeking the Lord for yourself and on the behalf of others. As you do, recognize that as you walk in obedience to his will, he will provide the best outcomes that will bring him glory and you fulfillment. So everyday should be opened with, “God I trust that you know what today will bring, help me walk in your will.”

Let us be a people who are will walkers, that God may be glorified in our lives. Amen.

1 Samuel Series Wk 17 - “Accepting Our Culpability”

  In August of 1995, Jimmy Steele was found dead in his garage. Due to his injuries, the police initially thought a dog had mauled the man. However, after an autopsy, stab wounds were found. This led police to realize he was murdered. Steele’s wife and boyfriend, Bryce, were soon convicted of the murder. Jimmy’s story reentered the public sphere because of a news article that was published in 2016. The article tells the story of Jimmy’s mother meeting the killer in 2014. In the prison, the two talked. Jimmy’s mother walked away in a better place than when she entered, and Bryce has since taken responsibility for his crime.

Some say that there isn’t anything in the prison system that challenges criminals to take responsibility for their crimes. In fact, the separation allows them to detach themselves from the acts. However in some states, victims can reach out to criminals to confront them. This challenges the criminals to face what they did. Some find that the experience changes their perspective and sets them on a more honest path.

It’s this idea of taking responsibility for ourselves that brings us back to our study in the book of First Samuel, where we’ll be looking at two chapters, starting with First Samuel 21:1. As we open up to First Samuel Chapter 21, let’s take a brief look at where we are in the book. 

In the last five weeks we have been introduced to David, the long awaited figure that the book of Ruth first discloses. In David we have seen a person that has a deep desire to follow and trust God, and due that he is a carrier of peace to king Saul, he then exercises a confident faith when he slays Goliath, and he loves the unlovable Saul even when the king tries to kill him. David has shown himself to be the seemingly perfect candidate for God’s chosen king.

Yet, last week we ended with David on the run for his life, and Saul descending deeper into sin. It was then that we talked about how we need recognize and avoid those things that cause us to sin, and we need to surround ourselves with people who will help us see our own descent into sin, that we might avoid it. Saul didn’t, and enters his downward spiral and as we’ll see, David isn’t immune either. 

With that in our mind, we can begin to read chapters 21-22. However, what we see in these two chapters are a casual event, where something happens, and an effect event follows, where the cause works itself out. And in between, we get some minor information that is important to the overall story of David. 

So let’s jump into the casual event in First Samuel 21:1-11.

v.21:1-9

1 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.

8 Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.” 9 And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”

Here we see that David is on the run and he goes to the city of priests, Nob, to get supplies. There he meets the grandson of Eli, Ahimelech, who is now the leader of the priests.

It’s in this interaction that we see the first crack in David’s faith. Instead of telling Ahimelech the truth, David lies to the priest on why he is there. Telling him that he’s about the king’s business.

David then requests food and a sword. Ahimelech informs David that he only has the holy bread and Goliath’s sword. But after the priest inquires of the Lord, he gives David both and sends him on his way. The giving of bread was an act of mercy and showed that the Law of Moses with its “do’s and don’ts” is based on this law, which all of God’s laws are founded on. It’s why Jesus would later point to this event in Matthew 12:3 as reason why it is okay to eat on the Sabbath. Jesus’ reasoning was, if David ate the holy bread because of mercy, then why couldn’t the Law Giver himself, Jesus, extend mercy to allow for picking food for nourishment to those who are hungry. 

Going back to the event, David is then sent away with the food and the sword. 

However, while all this is going on, there is a king’s man there who is watching. We’re told that Doeg, the Edomite is there and that he is, “detained before the Lord. (v.7)” Doeg is most likely a convert to Judaism, he came to the town of the priests but hadn’t left because it was the Sabbath and he wasn’t going to travel on the holy day as was the custom. But it is understood in the passage, that it is only a matter of time before Doeg relays the message of David’s whereabout to Saul. 

v.10-15

Dropping down to verses 10-15 we read, “ 10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ’Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”

12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

It is here that we are given two back-to-back situations of David’s travels. First in verses 10-15 we’re told that David goes to the Philistine city of Gath where Achish is king. However, David hear’s people talk about his reputation and becomes fearful (v.12). So to hide who he is, David starts acting like a madman. He does this my marking up the gates with symbols, and allowing his spit to run down his beard. 

Because of this, we see the second crack in David’s faith. First he lied to the priests, then he coward in front of his enemies. The man who once had unmoving faith to overcome a giant, now, sees his faith waning as he leads a life on the run. This shows us how the grind of life’s difficulties can take their toll on our ability to walk faithfully with God. As the conflicts and catastrophes happen around us, it’s easy to have our faith whittled away at. So this isn’t uprising to see with David. It’s understandable, though not where God desire us to be.

 

v.22:1-5

Dropping down to Chapter 21:1-5, we see that from Gath, David escapes to a cave about ten miles outside of Jerusalem. The news that Saul is out to kill David must be spreading, because David’s family finds him to flee for their safety. 

But David does something unexpected. He takes his family down to a strong hold along the Dead Sea called Mizpeh. This place is a home to a Moabite king. David does this because his family has connections to the Moabites through Ruth. And so, due to the familial connection, David is able to find a safe place for his family. 

Yet, David cannot stay. He is told by a prophet of God named Gad, that he has to move on. So he does, and David heads off to a new place. 

It is in Chapter 22, verse 6 that we get the effect part of the event that we saw at the beginning of Chapter 21. Let’s pick up reading in 21:6.

v.22:6-23

6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

There are several things to notice about this passage. First, we can see Saul’s further descent into sin and madness. First, he tries to turn the tribe of Benjamin against David (v.6-7). We saw something similar in the days of the Judges, where it was the tribe of Benjamin against all of the Israel (See Jdgs 20). History is repeating itself. But then Saul accuses his servants of not telling him about his son’s treachery (v.8). So he tries to bring others into his fight against David, and then tries to sniff out those who are not going to be loyal to him. Finally, after one does come forward with information about the whereabouts of David, Saul sends for the priests and accuses them of conspiracy (v.11-13). Saul is looking for those who are with him and are willing to kill all others who are not. Yet not once, do we see Saul seek God to correct his actions. 

However, God is in Ahimelch’s pleading which is similar to Jonathan’s back in Chapter 19. The priest uses similar reasoning as to why the king should not be after David, and because of all the good things about David, there was no reason to doubt David was anything but loyal to the king.

Yet unlike when Jonathan pleaded his case, this time Saul would not listen to any reasoning and has the priests, their family, and their assets destroyed.

But notice that it is not a Hebrew who gives up David, (v.9-10) nor is it a Hebrew who dares strike the Lord’s priests. Doeg the Edomite, might be a convert, but his allegiance is more with the king than with God (v.18-19). This shows us how far Saul is from both God and the people. That the Hebrews will not give up David, nor will they carry out the king’s order to kill God’s priests. 

But also notice that Saul did not fulfill God’s order of total destruction of the Amalekites in Chapter 15, but he does act on his own order of total destruction of what is God’s. Saul shows that he has fallen completely away from the Lord, he is truly like the worthless men of the Judges era, and God has given him fully over to that worthless mindset. 

The chapter ends with one survivor getting the message of Nob’s destruction back to David. And it is here that we see the reason why David was chosen by God. We have seen the cracks in David’s faith in two instances in these two chapters. First, David lied to the priests, which got them killed. Secondly, he was afraid of the Philistine king and so acted like a madman to avoid being caught. In both instances, David did not rely on the Lord for his help. His circumstances chipped away at the confident faith he showed when facing Goliath. And yet, he takes responsibility for his sin.

David states, “I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. (v.22)” He recognizes that it was his actions that led the destruction of men, women, children, and their assets. This a monumental act of humility. Someone who stays on course to settle down in sin will never admit they are wrong in a situation. They will justify their reasons because of the circumstances they find themselves in. 

David could have easily pointed to Saul as to why he was justified in lying and that it was Saul who ordered the killing, so David had no reason to feel guilty. Yet, David shows what true faith rests on: a realization that we do, do wrong, and must be honest about it. 

And this is what God is calling us to today. It is very easy to justify our own actions in situations. We say things like, “They hurt me, so that’s why I did this” or “They deserved what happened, because I had to do this.” Now, what I’m not saying is that there are not real justifications for why we cannot be around certain people, or why certain actions have to be taken. But if we’re not able to see anything wrong with anything we do, there is a barrier of sin that is between us and God that needs to be knocked down. 

David did nothing wrong and yet Saul was out to kill him. David only told one lie, nothing that warranted the deaths of so many. It was Saul, not David, that ordered the destruction of Nob. It was Doeg, not David, who carried out Saul’s order. And yet, David took responsibility for his own role in the whole thing. The word, “occasioned” means that David bordered the situation. In others words, he recognized that his lie created the spark that lit the flame. He wasn’t responsible for how he got there, or the aftermath, but he took responsibility for his part in the whole thing. 

God is calling us to assess situations rightly to see where, if any, fault is with us. If we are unwilling to take a hard look at ourselves, we have already take a step in the direction of sin. If we see ourselves as always right, then we will be found more wrong than all others.

So my challenge for you this week is to take something that you have been harboring. It might have been something recent, or it might be something that you’ve carried around for years. Take it and go before the Lord and really wrestle with it. There is a reason it still plagues you. It could be that there needs to be active forgiveness, or it could be that there was un-repented sin. Either way, taking it before the Lord and dealing with it is the only way for that burden to be laid on Jesus and off of you.

Let us be a people who are honest with ourselves, because it is better to be humble and deal with the sin we participate in, then to have God call us out on it. Let us be the humble people God is calling us to be. Amen.