Editor’s Note: AMI Quiet Times from April 6-12 are written by Pastor Peter Yoon of Kairos Church.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
1 Sam. 23:5-7
Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
Two times (1 Sam. 23:5-7; 26:9-11), David is given a golden opportunity to take the life of his nemesis, King Saul, the man who was completely bent on killing David. Yet, on both occasions, not only does David refrain from taking Saul’s life, but he denies his men from harming Saul as well.
Try to understand a little of the context in these accounts: David is tired of fleeing from King Saul, and hiding in the wilderness. He remembers that he has been anointed by the prophet Samuel, to be the future king of Israel. He has heard of the despicable things that King Saul is doing, for example, killing the priests of Nob. If those reasons weren’t enough to end Saul’s life, one of David’s men, Abishai, is willing to dirty his own hands so that David would remain clear from any complicity (26:8).
One swift thrust of Abishai’s spear would have finally ended David’s fear for safety. He would have finally gone home to the praise of the crowds who once hailed David has a heroic warrior. He would have taken the throne and become king just as Samuel had prophesied. He would have ended a ruthless reign and instituted a new era of benevolence over Israel. All of this would come to fruition, while he remained clear of any crime against the throne.
Yet both times, he refrains from harming Saul. What would you have done? Of course, we live in a totally different time and a way of life, and so we cringe at the thought of taking anybody’s life, even if the person had all of the traits of King Saul. We’d refrain from taking King Saul’s life as well, but not because of the reason David states. For David, it was clear that as long as Saul remained alive, he was still the Lord’s anointed servant. David may not have agreed with Saul and his ways as a king, yet David knew that God had His own timing, His own way of accomplishing His will, and His own way of displaying His glory.
I don’t believe that today’s churches are filled with people who want to slay corrupt leaders. However, I believe our activities (and sometimes inactivity—namely prayerlessness) reveal that we’d much rather be the kind of church that takes matters into our own hands, at our own convenience, using our own preferred ways of carrying out God’s ministry. In refraining from taking Saul’s life, David showed that he understood one of the most critical truths in spiritual growth: God’s timing and that His ways are perfect. The word of God gives us many insights into the ways in which God accomplishes His works.
For reflection:
Convenience: Do you sometimes take matters into your own hands rather than wait on the Lord for His timing?
Preference: Do you at times become critical of your church’s mission and ministry because it makes you feel less than comfortable?
Ask the Lord for a heart that is humble and teachable to His perfect timing and ways.
Bible Reading for Today: Jeremiah 46-47
David and Jonathan shared a deep friendship that was defined by a covenant before the Lord. One can imagine how exhausted and discouraged David must have been as he sought refuge from King Saul. David had to live in caves and the wilderness, fleeing from one place to another, never knowing rest. But on this day, though brief, refreshing encouragement came to David through his friend Jonathan (King Saul’s son). Technically, Jonathan should have been the next rightful heir to the throne and all of its power and wealth. Yet, Jonathan knew that David would be the next king over Israel, and he would be David’s second. Jonathan was a loyal and trustworthy friend—a friend that would stick closer than a brother who would have laid his own life for David. I hardly think that David saw Jonathan’s estimated worth as being $174.17. I’m certain that David truly valued Jonathan.
As soon as I became a father, I made a discovery of a whole line of products that I hadn’t paid much attention to prior to parenthood. For instance, there are numerous products that help parents “child-proof” the house. These include: protection from swallowing deadly chemicals, protection from electricity, protection from falling and bumping into sharp edges, etc. Good parents do their best to provide protection. In the same way, do you believe that God also provides protection for you as His child?
Such brutal edicts may have been perceived somewhat differently back then from the way we might understand them today. Nevertheless, we can readily see that there was something wrong and insidious about this order from Saul, for even the king’s guards had enough sensibility (and probably the fear of God) to refuse the order of slaying the priests. The price of the guards’ disobedience was probably very costly. It was indeed a day of mourning for Nob, David, and Israel.
My two boys will get into a little tiff and eventually one of them (usually the younger) will come running to me making a case about how he had been victimized by his brother: “Dad, he took the controller away from me, and he’s not sharing!” Of course, then his older brother will have to plead his own case that he first had been wronged: “Dad, he’s been playing already for a long time, and I didn’t even get a turn.” Back and forth the arguments will be made, hoping that I would be persuaded to take the side of the ultimate victim.
Suppose you were asked to start up a ministry: it could be a small group, a homeless ministry, a prayer ministry or a hospitality ministry, etc. Where do you begin the team selection? Do you look to the responsible, gifted, personable, team-oriented people? Or do you gather together all who might be “in distress or in debt or discontented”? It’s obvious that we’d prefer to work with those who are emotionally healthy, resourceful, and optimistic. If the team members of a ministry displayed those qualities time and time again—now, that’s a ministry that I would sign up for. But what if the members of the team displayed the kinds of qualities that reflected the type of people that had gathered around David as he fled from King Saul?
Today, we celebrate Easter Sunday—Jesus rose from the dead on this day a few thousand years ago. It was and still is the greatest day in all of history because everything changed as a result of the Christ’s resurrection. Not too long after this glorious day, simple, uneducated men would start sharing this Good News to strangers and even foreigners, where thousands of people started to put their faith in this Jesus. They would help the lame to walk, the sick to be healed, and bring dead back to life, all the while rejoicing as they took on beatings and persecutions. These simple, uneducated men would flip the whole world upside down. All of this could only be possible because that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwelled in them.
Why the miscalculation? Certainly, God had been telling and weaving an intricate story of redemption. It went from the Creation to the Fall, to Abraham and the time of the patriarchs, and the Exodus to the Exile. All throughout Israel’s history, there were prophecies of the Messiah who was to come. But instead of the Prince of Peace, the Israelites, because they had long suffered at the hands of gentile rulers (such as Grecians and Romans) were looking for a triumphant, militant Jesus.
We call this day Good Friday because we remember our loving Savior showing us the full extent of His amazing love for us: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). We were the ones who were guilty. We were deserving of this punishment and shame. We should have been lambs led to slaughter. This day is so good because Jesus took the punishment of our guilt upon Himself, and by His sacrifice we were set free. Today is Good Friday because this is Good News, the best news there could ever be – Jesus died on a cross for us so that we could be set free from our sins, given new life, given eternal life with our loving King.
Do you know who the real King is in your life? If so, then let Him lead you in every aspect of your life—including relationships, finances and entertainment. In the long run, you will be more content and satisfied with Christ leading you than you leading yourself. Think. Reflect. Pray.
Read John 13:1-17: Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”