My Deliverer
1 Samuel 23:15-29
15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.
16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God.
17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.”
18 And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?
20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”
21 And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me.
22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning.
23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
24 And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.
25 And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them,
27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.”
28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.
29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi.
Whenever I write these devotions, the craziest things stand out for me. Generally I read through the passage a few times to see what God has for me that day in His Word. Sometimes it’s a reminder of something I learned long ago and sometimes it’s something completely new. Usually though, the verses that stand out are simple or unremarkable. Today, it’s a little bit of both; something I learned long ago and something that on first glance is fairly unremarkable.
In this reading we find the last time that best friends David and Jonathan actually get to see one another. Jonathan, in absolute defiance of his father goes out to where David is hiding and spends some precious time with his best friend. Isn’t it interesting that Saul cannot seem to find David for any reason, and yet Jonathan knows exactly where to find him and does so easily? Their friendship is renewed; Jonathan declares that David will be the next king; and most importantly, Jonathan brings godly encouragement to David. Their friendship is stronger than ever. Sadly, this is the very last time they are together, for Jonathan will be killed in battle in a few chapters and this becomes a source of great sorrow for David.
What is at first glance unremarkable is verse 26; “Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them...” It is almost like a scene from a movie. The bad guys go around on one side of the mountain while the hero skirts around on the other side. (Actually, I was taught as a kid that David was inside of caves in the mountain and while Saul and his men followed David into the mountain, David went out the other side. So it wasn’t so much around as through the mountain!) Why did that verse capture my attention? I believe it is because it once again points at the protective nature of God. He is able to open up an avenue of escape even when nothing looks like it’s going to work. God is always there as my Deliverer. Juxtaposed to the many escapes of David from Saul by the Lord’s help, we find Saul seeking the help of other people to accomplish his wish for David’s death. He counts on the people of Ziph to help him out which of course is thwarted by the God who would protect David on all fronts. And if all God had to do that day was cause the Philistines to attack so that Saul would be distracted from his David chasing, He had an easy day.
This simple story can serve as a reminder to all of us that our protective God is always moving situations and people so that we are right where He wants us to be, when he wants us to be there. God moved the Philistine army in order to guard David’s life. He will do the same for you! He probably won’t have to move an army today to provide you with the safety you need to get through the day. But He might turn a traffic light red, or cause you to drop your keys so that you are delayed just enough to provide for your protection. There are many who would disagree with me about this level of involvement from God in our lives. But if He is sovereign and if He is concerned about my life, then those are the simple ways that He moves and arranges my life so that I am inside of His will for me. What do you think? Is He that concerned for you? I hope you can answer yes.
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