Cute phrase of the day from my 3 year old when asked how much he weighs...."69 dollars." Ahhh, when do they stop being so cute?
If you've ever wondered why things just don't seem to feel right with the world, you are right. We live in enemy territory....for now. Sometimes we find ourselves in a place, like Joseph, with Pharoah, or in prison. That surely can't be where God wants us, yet there we are.
This was David's new location, out of the cave, but into enemy territory. As I read more in 1 Samuel, I came to one of the strangest passages. Saul is still pursuing him and he is just sick and tired of it and so he says, "There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines." He finds refuge among his enemies! That does not make sense and yet for over a year and 4 months, that's where he stays. Still doing battle, gets married, has a couple wives, brings along 600 men and they settle there! He even gets his own "country town", Ziklag.
It really doesn't make sense, but in a way, it was a time of peace for him as Saul was not about to chase him anymore if he was living in the land of the Philistines, his arch enemies. It struck me that even though we are also living in our enemy's territory, by being in bondage to the bank, God has still given us a time of peace, too. We have food in the fridge, children running around, a marriage from heaven.....there is peace (other than the squabbles with 3, 5, and 9 year old boys). That seems to be the pattern in Scripture, too. Joseph rose to power even when he was in prison. David had a peaceful arrangement with the King of Gath, also, "Achish trusted David" and even made him his personal bodyguard. Perhaps it is just a matter of perspective, finding peace even though our setting is less than peaceful? What a challenge!
David couldn't get away from the Lord's presence, it followed him everywhere, even in the wilderness of his enemies. "David was greatly distressed...But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." (1 Sam. 30:6) We are not where we want to be long-term. We want to be out of the prison we are in, as I say over and over, and occasionally we find ourselves in great distress. David went away for a battle and while he was gone, everyone had been taken captive, including his wives. This was what led him to his great distress. All his people were thinking of stoning him because they were "bitter in soul", but that was when he called on the name of the Lord and he was strengthened. Not only that, God gave him a plan and reassurance that all would be ok, that he would be able to retrieve all that had been taken and more. In our distress, God gives a plan, too. He reassures us of His presence. Either through His Word, through a message at church, through a friend....so many different ways that we hear His voice reminding us that we just need to "pursue", like David. He was told, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue." (1Sam. 30:8)
Isn't that a great verse, a great command? Pursue! We are doing that, too. We are pursuing all sorts of ways to clear a financial path. David did not just sit there hoping his wives would somehow come back to him. He pursued their rescue. This is our daily plan.
Along the way, God brought an Egyptian, who had been left behind to die. After they helped him recover, he was able to lead them to the place they had all the captive people. What a strange source of information, a dying man. At first he probably seemed like an inconvenience, "Do we really have to help this man? Can't we leave him to die? We don't have time to help, we're busy trying to rescue our people?" Perhaps those were their thoughts. It is a great reminder to think about the people and situations that God brings into our path that at first look seem like an inconvenience and yet God is using them in our lives to help us. That dying man actually helped them find their lost people, but I'm not convinced they knew that when they first stumbled upon him. We can't get so focused on our debt-free course that we miss opportunities that God is bringing across our path.
David set out with 600 hundred men, but only 400 were strong enough to cross the river. They were "too exhausted" (1 Sam. 30:10). Later, after they were coming back from rescuing the captives, they came to the 200 men left behind. Those who had fought with David were "wicked and worthless fellows". They did not want to share any of the spoil they had recovered. So selfish. David was a wise man and said, "You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike." (1Sam. 30:23-24) David was already acting like a king, a wise ruler, though he had no palace, luxuries, or even a crown. He knew who he was even though his situation didn't quite seem to match it.
It also shows that David didn't get stuck in a pity party. He didn't complain about what was fair and what wasn't fair. He saw everyone having a role in some way. Some fought, some watched the baggage. So many lessons in that passage. I'll be sharing that verse with my kids today for sure! Our big boys do all the hard outside work. It must really bug them that the girls are inside sometimes in the warm house. But they don't complain. Ok, sometimes they do, but very rarely. It's clear that we all have different roles in our families, as husbands and wives, as boys and girls, and big kids and small kids. No one gets to complain. I don't feed my older boys more just because they do the outside work. No, we all eat the same food. Conflict comes into our lives as soon as we start trying to figure out what is fair and what isn't. Even with our financial situation, I get so frustrated when I become an observer of someone's apparent easy life. I see wealth and what appears to be "easy street" and yet it doesn't seem like they worked for it. Meanwhile from my vantage point, we're working like dogs over here and find ourselves in a pinch more often than not. I'm a "wicked and worthless fellow" because I say, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered..." (1 Sam. 30:22) Translation? "It's not fair!!!!"" This passage reminds me to shut up. Even if it isn't fair, it is not up to me to decide what is or isn't fair. I'm grateful that I don't have to be the judge and I'm even more grateful that God doesn't give me what I deserve! I just need to be faithful in the place we find ourselves and that brings back the contentment that so easily gets taken captive. I need to be rescued from myself!
David was so generous with the spoil that he even sent some to his friends, it says, "...he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, 'Here is a present for your from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.'" (1 Sam.30:26) Generosity is the message here. We aren't to wait until we are rescued, we are to be generous now, but even moreso once we reach financial freedom. These messages of sharing and being generous were laws David made from that time on, "And he made it a statue and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day." (1Sam. 30:25) I should tell the kids that, too, "Be nice. Be kind. Be generous. It's the law." Well, actually it already is, we just have a few rule-breakers over here.
Now David's out of the cave, but in the land of his enemies. But he acts like a king, gets comfort and wisdom from God and refuses to be selfish. I need to do the same in my own home. I may not be a king, but I'm a queen in my own home. I can act like one with wisdom from God, refusing to fall into pity parties, refusing to fall into the "what is fair" pit, and watch for opportunities to be generous in and out of my home. That's a good plan for my day!
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