Old Jerry

I think the thing that happened to Michal that she is so bitter at David is because he made her come back to him. She had a loving husband and was probably happy with him and David made her leave. I think that the bitterness caused her to misjudge what she sees because she is all wrapped up in herself. Therefore grudges David for everything that he does. I’m not bitter toward God about anything in my past. If I were it would affect my spiritual life because I have seen some Christians that do hold a grudge against God and they don’t even go to church anymore. I think that if David would have changed his worship expression to his wife’s preference that God wouldn’t have called him a man after his own heart. David was doing things God’s way and that is the reason that he was so great.

I would describe David’s approach to worship is uninhibited. He knows the one and only God and he wanted to praise him and it didn’t matter what thought. The psalms that David wrote show his enthusiasm for the Lord. He would go to him no matter the situation. You know in a way I think that what others think of me when I praise God does affect my ability to worship. I have changed recently but I am still inhibited. God is working with me and He is teaching me to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

The ark was suppose to be transported by the Levites. Uzzah and David were responsible for the provisions of the Mosaic Law even if they weren’t aware of it because they had the scrolls and they should have read up on it before moving the ark. David’s mistake in this incident teaches us that we are to do things the way God wants them done or we will pay the consciences.

I think that God struck Uzzah because the ark was not being moved in the way that God wanted it to be. God needed to get his point across and since Uzzah touched the ark he was the one that caught the wrath of God. David was so angry because he was moving the ark with the right intentions and had the right heart. David thought that he was doing the right thing.

David inquired of the Lord before he attacks the Philistines the first time because his forces were overwhelmed and David needed to know if attacking the Philistines was the way to go. I think that if David would have attacked the Philistines the second time and didn’t inquire of the Lord he would have probably attacked them the same way as before because that he had been successful. If you are successful, don’t change. By listening to God he was successful because he did change the way that he attacked them. We often want to figure out the process so we can act independently because we don’t have the patience to wait on the Lord. And besides we know how to do it anyway because that is the way we have always done it. By doing this it is saying that we know better than God and God says to go ahead and try it.

From the way I figure it has been 22 years since David had been anointed King by Samuel. Some of the reasons that it took so long was because David was still loyal to Saul and Saul was God’s appointed King over Israel. Maybe it was because God was testing David to see how he would react to different circumstances. I feel that David’s patience was very good. I would have lost patience and would have eliminated Saul when I had the chance. I think that this is the reason the God chose David because of his patience. I know that I don’t have the patience that David did. If God promised me something I want it now.

Joab salyed Abner because Joab thought the Abner had murdered his brother. He was not justified because it could either be called an accident or that his brother was trying to kill Abner. Abner was protecting himself. The unification plans still went through but it probably was a harder to accomplish. I think that Joab was so blind because he didn’t know what was going on between his brother and Abner or maybe he just wanted Abner’s position. The way that our spiritual blindness can get in the way of God working out His plan in our lives is that we don’t hear what God wants to do with us. We keep on doing thing our way rather than listening to God.

David remembers Soul’s live as one that was lived graciously and that he was pleasing to those that he lead. David talked of him as a hero. The Chronicler remembered Saul’s life as being unfaithful and was put to death for this unfaithfulness. I don’t know how God evaluates Saul’s life. He used him as an example in the bible by having someone write about what he had done. We learn that we should always be faithful to God for all things. We should not look to other idols or witch craft to make decisions for what we are about to do.

From the Psalms of David it looks like he calls on the Lord for his protection, his hope comes from the Lord and his rest comes from the Lord. The focus of his faith is on the Lord.

They blame David because he was their leader and he is the one that told them to go to war. The reason that the situation is so explosive at this point is because their loved ones and all that they owned had been captured by the enemy. David also sits down and cries with his men. All that he has had been taken away. So they all cry until the as completely exhausted. David had to let them men get this out of their system so that is the reason that he didn’t act immediately.

I think that God condemns occult practices from communicating with the dead and channeling spirits of the dead because we are to look forward and not backward. We should not be consulting the dead for the living. These practices are open to Christian victimization and oppression by evil spirits because they would be able to tell you anything they wished to tell you and you have no way of verifying what was said. So in effect you would be communicating with the evil one. If we have been involved in such practices in the past we should repent of them and not do it anymore.

We learn that David’s character in the incident with Nabal and Abigail that he can become hot headed. That he can be insulted and is ready to kill somebody for that insult. We learn that Abigail’s character is one of quick thinking and acting so that she can protect the one that she loves. She will do what it takes to make peace. But Nabal’s character is one of being selfish and hard hearted. He probably wouldn’t do anything for anybody. I think that the story was included in 1 Samuel to give us a lesson on vow keeping and to show that even the hero’s of the story are human and they can become angry. But we must control our anger. It is also one in keeping the peace and how it can affect others.

We can apply the principle of not lifting a hand against the Lord’s anointed one in our day by what we say about them. We can dislike what their decisions are but we must respect the office that they hold. The provisions that are in 1 Timothy is that any accusation that is brought against a leader be done by two or three. And then if they are true that person is to be rebuked publicly. I think that God will give those who slander, persecute, and martyr his appointed leaders their just award.

David doesn’t kill Saul when he had a chance because Saul is God’s appointed leader. The motivation that David and his men have in killing a king who is trying to kill them is it might spare their lives and they wouldn’t have to run any longer. David’s rationale for sparing Saul is because Saul is God’s anointed one and David doesn’t want to go against God. This action tells us that David’s character is that he trusts in God for all things. His faith is going to carry him through. I think that this says volumes about David’s leadership. To persuade a bunch of men that the king is trying to kill and they have the opportunity to kill the king and yet David is able to convince them that it wasn’t the right thing to do mean that his leadership is the greatest.

Of the ones listed Psalms 18 would have been the only one that celebrated a happy occasion. All the rest seem to arise from struggles. This tells me that David had a close relationship with God and that he always trusted God during the trials of his life. Psalm 18 is my favorite among those that are listed because it is one of being a conqueror.

I think that Jonathan visited David in the wilderness in order to encourage him. It had to be pretty hard on David to be fighting the elements and keeping out of Saul’s way. I don’t think that there was any risk to David but Jonathan was at great risk talking to David. I think if Saul would have found out then he probably would have killed Jonathan and Saul always had spies hanging around. I have been able to see my friends when I am in need. They seem to always lift me up by some of their stories and their understanding of the Bible.

Since Abiathar was a priest he was able to go to the ephod and do the drawing of the lot. The questions were always “yes” or “no” type questions and therefore drawing the lot would be a “yes”, “no” or maybe answer. David would inquire of the Lord because he knew that the Lord was the only one that knew the answers. When we seek the Lord’s answer before acting then you know that He is going to guide you through the process. We can find God’s will at key points in our lives be keeping in touch with the Lord through bible study, reading the bible, and associating with God’s people. You never know which one of these processes He is going to use to give you the answer.

I think that David’s men were attracted to him because they were all running away from the Saul. These men were people who may have owed Saul some money or they may have been robbers but they were all fleeing Saul. These men were probably use to doing things their way and they wouldn’t listen to instructions or probably not able to submit to authority.

Q4. (1 Samuel 20:35-42) What is the nature of the covenant between David and Jonathan? What does David receive? What does Jonathan receive? Who benefits the most from this covenant? Is it self-serving -- or not? What is the significance that God is witness to the covenant? The nature of the covenant between David and Jonathan is that of friendship. They have sworn not to betray each other. They both receive a friendship that will last for their life time. They both benefit from this covenant. It is not a self-serving covenant. The significance that God is witness to the covenant means they will be able to trust that each of them will comply with the covenant.

I think that when Saul pursued David even when he sought sanctuary of the prophet Samuel that he has lost his faith. He is more worried about his own good to care about others and his main object was to kill David. I think that people prophesy when the Holy Spirit comes upon them because that what was put on their heart. There are other things that people do when the Holy Spirit comes upon them. They will put some of their gifts into action. I think that the relationship between this incident and the Day of Pentecost is very familiar but at the day of Pentecost there were a lot more people involved.

I think that David’s chief motivation for marrying Michal is pride of his military prowess because he not only killed the 100 Philistines but he went on to kill 200. I think he enjoys the parade that he gets when he comes back from combat.

Saul sends David into battle to get him out of his hair and maybe it will kill him. But the result was that he became more powerful and was a great leader of the men that he was commanding. The narrator attributes David’s success to Lord because He was with him.

We so often forget that “the battle is the Lord’s” because we think that we are strong enough to do things ourselves. To turn the battle over to the Lord we think that shows weakness within us. The phrase actually means that we go to God for guidance. We can avoid the arrogance of pulling God into our battles by engaging in His battles. If we are fighting a useless battle that has nothing to do with salvation then we are engage in a battle that is showing our pride. If we are engaged in a fight that means salvation then we are doing it for God.

David’s explanation to Saul of his combat experience says that David has great faith. He knows that God will take care of him. David was really lethal as a warrior because he did kill that lion and the bear. I think that Saul allowed David to go and battle Goliath because they needed the morale boost and Saul didn’t have anything to lose. If Saul faith was strong he would have battled Goliath. I think that Saul only had faith in himself but not in God.

I think that David is so upset with Goliath’s taunt because it is insulting God’s people and David knows that nobody can defeat his God. David’s brother Eliab was so upset with David because David wasn’t afraid of the giant and Eliab was and he thought that his younger brother should keep his mouth shut. This teaches me that David’s faith is great because nobody can intimidate him or God. I just wish my faith was that strong. This teaches us that Eliab’s faith was not as strong as David’s because Eliab wanted David to keep quit so that maybe the giant wouldn’t see him.