Notice that the Lord did not tell David what to do with Saul (v. 4). He simply told him that He would deliver Saul into David’s hand, to do whatever seemed good to him. Surely this was test, one that David passed. Would David take vengeance into his own hands? Would he wait on the Lord’s timing or make up his own? David waited upon the Lord. Here again is a sign of his greatness and preparation for his becoming great.

The Lord exalts those who wait on Him.

v. 1-5 Notice the way in which David decides what to do. He goes to the Lord. Then, after facing opposition, he goes to the Lord again. And upon receiving the same answer, the matter was deemed settled. The men followed him and the Lord fulfilled His Word. Here then was a test. The Lord could have easily moved David’s men to follow him immediately. Yet He did not do so. But he forced David’s hand, as it were. What would he do? How would he respond? Here is one way the Lord prepares leaders. He ordains various situations in which the leader must make a decision that those who follow aren’t exactly crazy about. But in the beginning of stages, the Lord will often make Himself clear enough that any disobedience is plain. Here it was with David.

Unlike Saul, David passed the test and thus, received more of the Lord’s blessing. How are we doing when our tests come?

v. 7 Notice Saul’s deception. Though it should be plain that the Lord is no longer for him (and hasn’t been for years), Saul still somehow believes that the Lord was giving David into his hand. Those who do not know the Lord’s favor usually will not see clearly the Lord’s hand.

v. 10 Notice that David knew what Saul knew. No doubt he had his share of supporters within Saul’s camp (including Jonathan of course). The Lord used normal means to accomplish His purpose, namely, David’s preservation. So let us not despise normal means in some over-spiritualized attempt to trust in the Lord. Let us instead, prepare the horse and the chariot while always fighting to trust only and ultimately in the Lord.

v. 14 “…but God did not give him [David] into his [Saul’s] hand.” In whose hand is David’s life? Answer: God’s hand. In whose hand is my life? Answer: God’s hand. In this is great comfort, great joy, great peace. No one can even touch me without the Lord’s ordaining it. God gives. God takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

v. 16 Here is what a good friend will do….“strengthen one’s hand in God.” Jonathan did not encourage David to hope in his good gifts and talents and wisdom and fighting ability. Instead, he encouraged David to hope in the Lord. Here then is friendship. Friends serve one another, but helping one another hope in the Lord.

v. 17 Here then is how we strengthen each other in the Lord: with the promises of God.

Sure, in this instance the promise was very personal, but for those who hope in the Lord, all the promises of God are personal!

Notice also in these words Jonathan’s statement concerning Saul. “Saul my father also knows this.” This is amazing isn’t it? Why then was Saul using all this energy chasing David down in order to kill him? I suspect the answer is that Saul both knew and didn’t know. Or at least, Saul didn’t want to face the truth. Deep down he realized what the answer was. He knew that he was striving against the Lord. But he did not want to face it. He still wanted to impose his will. We are foolish aren’t we? For we do the very same thing, though not to the same extent. Deep down we know what the will of the Lord is. Yet we manage to strive against it! O Lord, have mercy on us. Help us to embrace that which we know.

v. 27 Here is yet another way that the Lord preserves David. Nothing fancy, but the timing is perfect. The Lord tested David’s faith. Surely He heard David’s prayer and acted accordingly. When we get to Heaven, I believe we will be able to see the thousand ways in which the Lord preserved us. What a wonderful sight that will be!

v. 7 “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

How often do I need to hear this simple words! You know, it is not that we need to hear anything new, per se. Instead, we need to hear the same realities over and over again. We are so slow in our learning. Sure, we might acknowledge a reality quite readily with our head, but for reality to sink down deep so as to inform our thought and feeling, we must meditate upon the truth with great consistency. Here again is another reason why we ought to read our Bibles a lot! Here also is another reason for why we ought to (need to) read other great books consistently.

I have nothing that I did not receive. How then can I not consistently overflow in genuine thanksgiving? Is it not because I am not really gripped by the fact that all that I have is a gift? I think so. Every single bit of it. Every inch of my life. Every encounter. They are all gifts, given freely from the Father of light with whom there is no shadow due to change. Through Christ Jesus, He bestows upon me nothing but good. How then can I complain? How then can I grow bitter–at anyone or anything?

All of life is a gift from the hand of my heavenly Father. He is working for my good. He is for me, not against me. What do I have that I did not receive? Answer: nothing. How then can I boast? Answer: I cannot.

O Lord, humble my heart under the reality that everything I enjoy (and don’t enjoy) is a precious gift from your hand. Help me to see clearly Father. Open my eyes, not so that I can figure everything out, but so that I can humble myself under this reality. O God, help me to view the entirety of my existence as a precious gift. Humble me, Lord. Make me see for the sake of your name.

v. 8-13 AGain, we ought not to be overly ambitious in our desire to teach people the Word of God or to gather in God’s people through the work of missions. It is by no means a comfortable life.

v. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. Do we live as if this were the case? Often, we can express and explain with great eloquence, yet our lives do not bear witness to a supernatural work. Our attitudes. Our responses. All the little things especially it seems. Do these bear witness to the kingdom of power?

O Lord, before you ever grant me the gift of great speech, grant me the grace to live with power. Let my life bear witness to a supernatural work, so that my speech bear point many to my supernatural God. Do no allow me to fumble around with a powerless religion. But visit me by your Spirit and make me all that I can be in Christ. For your name’s sake, O Lord, do not allow me to belittle your name. Guard my heart. And fill me so that the world might see you.

Here Ezekiel receives the Lord’s call. Surely it was overwhelming to him, because he tells us in verse 15 of chapter three that after receiving this vision, he sat down overwhelmed for seven days. We are resistant to this aren’t we? At least I am. This I am willing to admit. Though he was able to peer into the heavenlies, I can’t help but think that we often do not want to peer into the heavenlies because we might be called as Ezekiel was called. All our dreams and desires would have to be set aside. The hand of the Lord would be heavy upon us.

Notice also in this call the Lord’s empowerment of Ezekiel and his consistent reminders that Ezekiel will speak to a ‘rebellious house.’ And the two certainly go hand in hand. The Lord made sure that Ezekiel understood what he was getting into, that he was prepared to speak with power, but to little effect.

v. 8-11 Imagine hearing such words. Would not you be inclined to wonder why the Lord was sending you at all? Yet note that the strength to remain steadfast comes from the Lord. The Lord tells him that he has prepared him for this call. He has prepared him to preach to little affect–and to keep on preaching to little affect. It takes a special man with a special call to steadfastly preach to a people who do not want to hear, indeed, who are not willing to hear. No one should take on such a job apart from a clear sense of divine calling.

v. 16-21 To take on the preaching of the Word of God apart from a clear call is utter nonsense. I can’t help but think that many preachers today have no idea what they have really gotten themselves into. Do they realize that they are watchmen? That their concern is for the eternal state of mens’ souls and that they will be held responsible for being faithful in their preaching to those souls? Surely most do not. For if they did, they would most assuredly proclaim the Word of the Lord with greater boldness and power and steadfastness. Do they realize what is at stake? O, if we understood it, we would tremble. And we would not be as quick to receive speaking engagements either!

Lord, raise up for us faithful watchmen! In your mercy, raise up men who will persist in speaking the truth to those who are desperate to hear it. Raise up men who understand their calling, O God. Raise up men of burden, of vision, and of tears. For your name sake O God, visit your people. And make preparations for that sweet visitation by preparing men to boldly proclaim your truth. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen and amen.

v. 27 Ezekiel’s job was to be faithful. His calling was to speak the words that the Lord gave him to speak. Nothing fancy here. Just be faithful with God’s words. O may the Lord raise up men who would stick to that simple calling! O God, raise up leaders who will simply study your truth and proclaim your truth, for we are desperate to understand your Word. Have mercy, O Lord. Have mercy for the sake of your name.

You have the read this chapter and, if you are honest, wonder what in the world is going on. Ezekiel is constantly saying that ‘this was in the likeness of this, but then it also had this or that….“ You get the picture. I can’t help but read the chapter and ask, ”Huh?“ Yet I have to think that this is actually a good place to be. A glimpse into Heaven should leave us fumbling around a bit shouldn’t it? Here we are, limited human beings who are often overwhelmed at realities on this plain of existence. What then shall we say when we are confronted with things now unseen? How shall we respond when confronted with glory beyond all comparison? What will we do when we see God?

Peter fumbled around when Jesus was transfigured before him. Here Ezekiel aims to describe that which seems largely indescribable. Let us not be so arrogant as to think that we would somehow have a better grasp on things that these men. Instead, let us be humbled by the fact that there are realities that will one day confront us that will far outdo anything we can possibly imagine now. These realities are so great and glorious that we, in large part, will not know what to say. Worship we will with a new song. Because all that we behold will demand a new song. O Lord, hasten the day!

It is obvious in this chapter that the Lord was granting David great success as a means of gaining the popular support of the people, in preparation for his kingship. He was surely also preparing David for his place as king. He had not arrived to that place yet, but certainly the Lord was preparing David to be successful in his future position as king. The Lord has given each of us a particular calling and consequently, has set the perfect curriculum for all of us to fulfill that calling. How responsive are we to His lessons?

It is a sad thing that many never come to enjoy the calling God has intended for them, because they resist the various lessons that are meant to prepare them for that calling. Our unfaithfulness leads us to wallow in the same place for years, to settle for the good or mediocre rather than the best. O Lord, grant me the grace to learn what I need to learn–right now!

Faithfulness now is a very big deal. For it determines whether or not we will be faithful then. Even more, it determines whether or not we will even have the opportunity to be faithful then.

This is indeed a great chapter of Scripture. A few things come to my attention.

First, no one was willing to go out and fight Goliath, because they saw the situation as if the Lord were not God. They left the Lord Almighty out of the equation and therefore, feared Goliath in such a way that they would not face him. But David comes into the picture and sees the situation with God at the center. From his humble vantage point then, the situation was quite simple: Goliath was not simply defying man, but defying the Lord; and this was simply unacceptable.

Notice in his words the complete God-entrancedness. The Lord’s place as the Lord inundates his every word and in fact, was how he was able to move forward with such confidence. What was special about David? Many things for sure, but especially his faith. He was a young man after God’s own heart and thus, had a big vision of who the Lord really is. Thus, he believed in the Lord and recognized that nothing was/is impossible with Him.

Let us be diligent to always view everything with God at the center of the equation. Are we facing an obstacle that looks to be impossible? Well then, where is the Lord? Is He peripheral or central to how we view the situation? Do we see with the eyes of faith or from the vantage point of man?

God is God. We must recognize this all-encompassing reality and in turn, let this all-encompassing reality encompass the way we view the world. Nothing is impossible with the Lord. Do we believe it? When the giants of life come, do we really believe it? O Lord, have mercy. Strengthen my faith. Inundate my worldview. Simplify my heart so that I see all things in relationship to You!

Second, notice that the Lord had prepared David for this moment. For it was not as if David had not faced a formidable foe before. The lion and the bear are most assuredly enemies much stronger than he. Yet David had defeated them. And were not these preparation for Goliath?

The Lord brings various tests into our lives in order to prepare us for greater tests. Even more, to prepare us for our moment of destiny as it were, a single moment in time that may serve to separate us from the pack, that will serve to catapult us into the place where we were created to be. Life is full of defining moments left undefined. But they are left undefined because we arrive unprepared. For we have not been diligent to learn the necessary, preparatory lessons.

But this is not always the case. For often, the preparatory lessons of life seem so routine that we do not even realize that we have learned them. The Lord prepares us for our Goliath without our knowledge as it were. The lion and the bear come along and we take them in stride, because we have to. David was simply trying to care for his sheep. At the time, he certainly knew nothing of a giant called Goliath, let alone the fact that the protection of his sheep was his preparation for his leadership of Israel.

So what can we do to prepare for our defining moment? What can we do now to prepare for that day when we face something that is entirely beyond our strength to overcome? The answer is simple: we can (and must) be faithful now.

Nothing fancy really. We need to trust God now. We need to walk in faith. He knows our needs. He is fully aware of our weaknesses. He will not test us beyond what we can bear. Our concern need not be for that future day so much. Our concern needs to be now. Vision is good. That is very true. Yet we must not allow our vision to lead to discouragement, as it sometimes can do, by our getting ahead of ourselves.

Today. We must seize it. Opportunities for faithfulness will come. How then will we respond? If we pass the test, we move onto another test, and on down the line, all in preparation of a moment (possibly) that will forever define us. It may not even be a lion or a bear. Something much smaller perhaps. And we may never face a giant like ‘Goliath’. However, our moment will come. And it will most assuredly be a moment that requires a faith beyond our own, an inner strength that we never produce without the help of Almighty God and without a firm belief that He is indeed the Lord.

O Lord, help me to seize this day. Give me grace to be faithful now, in full recognition that it is the only way to prepare for ‘then.’ Inundate my worldview, O God. Help me to know just as great and awesome you really are, so that when that difficult day of battle comes, I am prepared to act in such a way that you receive all the glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Third, notice that David used the tools that he had grown most comfortable with. A sling and stone. That is all it took. David did not concern himself with the armor. He went with what he knew. And he knew his sling and stone quite well. So also the Lord will prepare us with various weapons for a future fight. The fight might be cancer or financial struggle or a defining moment in our work. Whatever really. But whatever it is, we can be confident that we have the Ultimate Teacher who is working lessons through the mundane circumstances of life. What a mighty God we serve! O Lord, give me the grace to be faithful!

v. 8-15 Here was Saul’s test. Needless to say, he did not pass the test. Notice that the test was one of waiting. Because the people were scattering, the Lord was testing Saul’s faith in Him. If we grow impatient, we can be sure that we are walking in unbelief. Faith leads to patient endurance. So if we are having a difficult time waiting on the Lord, we need to do all we can to fuel the fires of our faith.

v. 13-14 Notice the consequences of Saul’s disobedience. The kingdom was essentially taken away from him because of his lack of faith. The Lord will bring various tests of faith into our lives, some bigger than others. How we respond in those moments determines, in large part, our destinies. Am I willing to wait upon the Lord? Do I trust Him? Or will I offer the sacrifice myself?

Notice also that Samuel arrives just after Saul offered the sacrifice. So Saul did all that waiting only to fail in the end. In order for our faith to grow stronger, we must resist in those moments. The time where we do not think we can go any further is the time that we must grow stronger still. That is the time that we must make an effort to persevere, for deliverance is just beyond the bend. We can’t see it yet. That is for sure. But it is there. Will we wait? Will we believe? O Lord, grant me grace.

v. 19-23 This right here was like a “Braveheart” scene! No swords. Just a bunch of farmers with their tools facing an army much stronger than they had the resources to fight. This is exactly the way the Lord wants it isn’t it? The odds are against the ones who hope in Him. This is normal in this world really. We ought not to be surprised. For it is only when the odds are against us that we can truly hope in the Lord. Only then can He truly receive the glory that is due Him.

v. 9 Notice the way in which the Lord speaks about these world events. “For behold, I am stirring up a bringing against Babylon a gathering of great nations, from the north country…”

And if this is how He spoke then, surely He speaks this way now, for He is the same and His years have no end. We look at various nations attacking one another or invading one another and we do not know what to think. But this ought not to be the case. For behind the scenes, the Lord is in full control, working all things according to the counsel of His own will. Nothing surprises Him. For He is the one ‘stirring’ nations and leaders up to their respective ends. Nothing is outside His dominion. Right now. If we were to look at every single current political event, let us see God. Not that everything lines up with His revealed will of command. But we can be certain that all things line up with His will of decree. He has a plan and He is diligently bringing it to pass. His goal to manifest the fullness of His glory will not be left undone. He is in the details…all the details…working good for His people and glory for His name. In this we can and ought to greatly rejoice!

v. 24 “I [the Lord] set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon, and you did not know it; you were found and caught, because you opposed the Lord.”

This is how the Bible speaks isn’t it? “God did this and God did that.” Or from the Lord’s point of view, “I did this and I did that…” How then can we deny His sovereignty over all things?!

v. 28 So clearly the Lord is taking vengeance on Babylon for their destruction of His people. Yet before we heard Jeremiah say that the Lord had raised up Babylon to destroy Jerusalem, that He had given Judah into Nebachadnezzer’s hand. All this is true. Yet the way in which Babylon destroyed Jerusalem was still sin and deserving of punishment. The Lord uses sin to accomplish His purposes and reserves the right to punish the sins of those whom He raises up, since He is not the Author of that sin.

v. 29 “…do to her all that she has done…” Herein lies the judgment of the Lord. What we have done to others will also be done to us. That is why we ought to be very diligent to do unto others as we would have them to unto us. For the unbelieving, Hell will in large part be defined by what we have done.

v. 32 “The proud one…” This is the one whom the Lord sets His face against.

v. 44 “Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?”

Do we really know this God? Do we really understand what it means to be in awe of Him?

After anointing Saul as King, Samuel tells him exactly who he will encounter the rest of the day and what he is to do in response. Only the Lord God can give such knowledge. For only He knows every detail of the universe with perfect understanding. Every cause and effect relationship, He knows full well. Nothing can surprise Him. Nothing is ever late. Everything is right on time. Not in perfect accord with His will of command, but most certainly in perfect accord with His will of decree. Those we pass on the street are no random strangers. The Lord brought them across our path today. We are wise to embrace such providential encounters.

v. 17-24 When the Lord chooses Saul to be King before all the people, we find Saul hiding among the baggage. This is a sign of things to come, I suppose. But we ought not to be overly critical of Saul too soon. For it is quite possible that he felt the weight of this moment in a healthy way. That is, he understood all that he was getting into and had a healthy reverence for it.

At the same time, however, what becomes evident is his lack of faith in the Lord. He didn’t trust God. For if he had, he would not have feared. For though he was inadequate, surely the Lord could make him adequate. Yet his faith was weak and he feared man. This indeed is a sign of things to come.