SOAP 06/07/2015; 1 Samuel 19:23

Today's reading: 1 Samuel 19

S ) "²³ He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah."

1 Samuel 19:23 (NASB)

O) There is a lot of mystery to this passage. The chapter started with David being afraid of Saul, for his life. Jonathan (best fried to David, and son of Saul) interceded and Saul vowed to spare David's life. Then, after a big win in battle, Saul's jealousy of David became murderous again. David fled to Samuel, and Saul sent messengers to arrest him. Three times, the would be captors were overwhelmed by the Spirit of God. Instead of capturing David, they would prophesy. Finally, Saul himself came, but as we read above, he fell into the same fate as the others. This whole story shows the sovereignty of God. No doubt, God was intervening to preserve the life of His anointed king of His people (although David had not ascended the throne, yet). Exactly what these men all said in their prophecies is unknown. We don't know exactly what it looked like, when it happened, but it was powerful enough that they were unable or unwilling to arrest David. Some of this will have to remain a mystery (as the Bible does not give a lot of details), but one thing is clear. God is sovereign. He determines who will have authority. God can protect and provide in subtle ways or not-so-subtle ways.

A) Every time I am confronted with the mysterious nature of God, in the Bible or personally, I am humbled. Maybe God was forcing Saul to keep his vow (and indeed, Saul never killed David). Maybe there were things God needed Saul or David to hear, and He used the people who kept coming to speak those words for some reason we'll never know. Whatever the case, I must remember that authority is established by God (which we also read in Romans 12:1), and that the overwhelming Spirit of God is enough to still even the most murderous hearts. In light of this, I am humbled. For this, I am thankful.

P) Father, Your nature is too vast for me to even understand how much I don't know. Your reasons are complex sometimes, and the many facets of a situation are seldom clear to me But, I trust Your wisdom, Lord. I trust Your will. I pray that in Your sovereignty and perfection, Your will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Thank You for such a heart-changing Spirit, that You have poured out into the world. In my obedience, I pray You are glorified. In my failures, I pray Your grace is magnified. Open the eyes of the blind, and the ears of the deaf, to see Your goodness as Your Spirit moves. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.