1 Samuel 23
David and Saul are diametrically opposed characters at this point in their narrative. Saul is fixed on himself, regarding anyone’s effort to help his cause while betraying the Lord’s as a ‘blessing’ (v.21). On the other hand, David is willing to obey the Lord, potentially at the cost of his life (v.5) and for the sake of other people’s survival (v.10-13). Saul is fighting the will of God while David is fighting to believe Gods will come to pass. In the midst of Saul’s relentless pursuit of David in the wilderness, David displays a righteousness that can be easily seen as foreshadowing the life of Christ. But what does he do exactly that makes his actions Christ-like?
Firstly, he inquires of the Lord… a lot. David asks first if he should defend the city he and his men were taking refuge in from the attacking Philistines (v.2-4). Though strategically not the smartest move, and with paying mind to the objections of the men with him, he still does it in obedience to the Lord, and wins. Then again when he hears Saul is coming after him, he sincerely asks if he should leave. He doesn’t do this the same way though. Instead, he doubles down on his spiritual connection with the Lord and uses the Ephod to inquire (v.9-12). This should come as no surprise to us, given God, Himself chose David specifically because he is after His own heart.
Secondly, David obediently responds to the word of the Lord. As mentioned above, fighting back against the Philistines was not an easy decision because it puts himself and his men at risk to Saul who he knows is coming for him. David also could have just as easily said it wasn’t his responsibility and let the people of Keilah suffer under the sword of the Philistines. It wasn’t some impressive number of skilled fighters (as they were pretty much the opposite) that gave David confidence and assurance to fight. No, the word of God assured him the victory, and it was crushing. Even more so, David had no choice but to continue to trust the Lord in the wilderness. Men in the town nearby were betraying him and turning him into Saul, confessing David’s whereabouts. Yet in the midst of this, we receive Psalm 54.
Read Psalm 54.
It is clear where the eyes of David’s soul are fixed. He knows God is the one who sustains him, the one who helps him and delivers him from his troubles. But it may be easy for us to hear these things that are true and praiseworthy about God’s character while looking over the sacrifices David is making. He sacrifices a “freewill offering” for God to praise His name because “it is good” (Psalm 54.6). Considering his heart posture in both texts, he is in surrender to the Lord’s plans and wants triumph over his foes to be provided by him alone.
I had a leader of mine once semi-jokingly say “instead of the Kairos circle being ‘repent and believe’ it might need to be ‘listen and obey.’” Listening to God’s voice and obeying His commands is not easy, especially in the context of the fallen world we live in. Nonetheless, we may find ourselves like David, calling Him our “deliverer”, our “help”, and our “sustainer.” Not because those are the good Christian words to say when we are praying, but because we are seeing Him come through on His promises. And if we are living by the Bible’s examples of how this all starts, we seek to be like David, no, even more so, we seek to be like Christ and pray! Inquire, ask, petition. Then most importantly, listen and obey. Surely as we gaze upon the Lord’s faithfulness we will have the eyes of our souls lifted to view that which is better than life; the love of God. That we may praise His name and seek truly to bring Him glory.
Questions to consider:
Where are you scared but not talking to God about?
What rhythms can be set in your life to embrace the discipline of prayerfully navigating difficult or stressful circumstances?
What is a victory you have seen God perform in your life that you need to praise His name for? Meditate on this, don’t just point one out. Soak in the goodness of His character.
