David and Abigail

Scripture:

1 Samuel 25:1-44

Quick Summary:

David is still on the run from King Saul. He asks for some food from a farm owner named Nabal after protecting his shepherds and flock. Nabal refuses and David decides its time to pillage Nabal’s home. On the way, Abigail, Nabal’s wife runs out to meet David with food for his band of soldiers. By her generosity, she saved everyone in her household including the farmhands. When Nabal dies naturally 2 weeks later, David takes Abigail as his wife. 

The Point:

Rebel against what is wrong.

Questions for Family Time:

1.     Why was David mad at Nabal?

a.      Nabal refused to share food

2.     What was David going to do because he was mad?

a.      He was going to kill everyone at Nabal’s house, even the shepherds.

3.     What happened?

a.      Abigail stopped David by apologizing and bringing him food. She was a hero.

Deeper:

One of the most famous psychology studies after the Holocaust studied our willingness to follow orders we know are wrong. It was performed after hearing numerous workers of concetration camps claim they “were just doing their job.” This studied demonstrated that when we are told to do something, good people often obey, regardless of how bad it is. It is easier for us to follow the authority than to do what is right.

      While all of us want to raise obedient children, I think it is important for us to teach them there are times when we should be disobedient. There are times when a friend tells our kid to pick on another kid. There are times when an older teenager tells our kid to have a drink when they shouldn’t. There are times when adults may tell kids to do things that are not safe or kind. We want our kids to be ready. We want them to know that blind obedience is not the way of God.

Abigail risked her life by going behind her husband’s back. She risked being beaten by him. She risked being thrown out. She risked having to live the rest of her life under his scorn. She took the risk of disobedience because she knew the risk of obedience was worse. She knew that by doing nothing she and everyone she loved would die. She knew innocent lives were at stake. Abigail decided those lives meant more than her comfort. By doing so, she saved lives.

I hope I am like Abigail. I hope that when those moments come when what I am told to do is not right, I will choose to disobey. I hope that I will choose to risk my own comfort that others may live. I hope that for my children. I hope it for all who claim to believe in God and follow Jesus.

Personal Reflection:

               When have you had to choose between being obedient and doing what is right?  

David Spares Saul's Life

Scripture:

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Quick Summary:

Saul was chasing David to kill him. Saul went to the bathroom in the very cave David was hiding in. David could have killed him, but instead he cut off just a corner of Saul’s robe to show Saul he meant no harm. David repaid Saul with good, even though Saul had repaid evil.

The Point:

Do good to your enemies.

Questions for Family Time:

1.     Why was David hiding from Saul?

a.      King Saul was trying to kill David.

2.     What did David have a chance to do to Saul?

a.      He could have killed him.

3.     What did David do?

a.      He spared Saul’s life even though his friends told him to kill Saul

4.     How do you do good to those who are your enemies?

a.      (Share with them, include them in games, etc.)

Deeper:

This is one of those simple yet hard principles of being a disciple. It is simple to do good to our enemy. We don’t have to do a lot of thinking to figure out what will benefit people. The good things we can do are the same good things we do for our friends. Be kind. Be generous. Treat them as we would like to be treated. It’s not complicated, but it is hard.

It is hard, because even though we know what to do in our head, our heart screams to do the opposite. We want them to hurt as bad as they have hurt us. We want them to experience the pain, anger, etc. that we have felt because of them. Those who witnessed what they did whisper in our ear to hurt them back.

David was no different. King Saul had torn David from his family and now forced him to live as man on the run. What had David ever done to deserve any of this? He had won war after war for King Saul. He had played beautiful music when King Saul was restless. He had befriended Saul’s son. David didn’t deserve what Saul was doing to him. David’s friends whispered into his ear, “This is your chance. Look, God brought him right to you.” Maybe God wanted him to get back at this crazed murder…

No. That isn’t the kind of God we serve. Our God is a God of forgiveness and compassion. David chose the hard option. He chose to treat Saul as he wanted to be treated. Rather than giving Saul a taste of his own medicine, he chose to do good.

He chose to offer Saul mercy. Mercy is when we don’t give someone the bad they deserve. That’s what Jesus did for us. We deserved punishment from God, but Jesus gave us friendship with God. We deserved to die for our sins, but instead Jesus gave us eternal life. When we do good to our enemies, we offer Jesus to them. And when we offer Jesus, we find fulfillment. Mercy is simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Sometimes it is the hardest things that are the most rewarding.  

Personal Reflection:

               Who do you need to offer mercy too? How can you do that? Remember, it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.  

David and Jonathan’s Covenant

Scripture:

1 Samuel 18:1-4 (Chapter 20)

Quick Summary:

David and Jonathon cut a covenant, which is a vow of being best friends (BFFs). When Jonathon’s father, King Saul tried to kill David, Jonathon protected him because of their covenant.

The Point:

God wants a covenant with you. 

Questions for Family Time:

1.     What did it mean that David and Jonathon had a covenant?

a.      They were BFFs and everything they had belonged to both of them.

2.     What does it mean when you have a covenant with God?

a.      It means that you are BFFs with God. Everything he has is yours. You stand up for each other.

3.     How are you a good BFF to your friends?

a.      (I help them when they need help. I tell the teacher if someone is bullying them…)

4.     How are you a good BFF to God?

a.      (I take good care of the world. I help people out that he loves, which is everyone…)

Deeper:

There are a couple themes that run through the whole Bible beginning to end. Covenant is one of those themes. Covenant is the old school word for relationship. But not just any kind of relationship. It is the word for an unbreakable relationship and bond. David and Jonathon had this kind of bond.

David and Jonathon were said to love each other as they loved themselves. That language should sound familiar. Jesus uses that same language, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ to describe the 2^nd most important rule in the whole Bible. (Matthew 22:39). So many of us struggle to know what that looks like. We see a good example in David and Jonathon in Chapter 20. Jonathon’s father, King Saul wanted to kill David. David was a great commander in the military and had become a threat to his throne. This put Jonathon in a weird position. He was the rightful heir of the throne and siding with his father was the socially accepted thing to do. (Let’s be honest, siding with your family is still a socially acceptable thing to do.) On the other hand, he had cut a covenant with David. That covenant meant his loyalties were to be to David. David had done nothing to deserve this death sentence.

Jonathon chose to protect David’s life, even though it meant his father would be so angry he would pull a knife on Jonathon. He would warn David and send David away for his own protection. He would do for David what he would want David to do for him if the roles were reversed. He loved David as he loved himself.

Sometimes we see a glimpse of Jesus in others. I see a glimpse of him in Jonathon. What Jonathon did for David was a selfless act. He reminds me of how Jesus gave up his own life for us. Jesus could have been royalty, but instead he chose to hang on a cross for our well being.

We don’t get a chance to have many relationships that our covenant relationships these days. For me, I have had two:

 1. Nick, my husband. He has been there for me through depression, a master’s degree, negative bank accounts, and the like. He has loved me like he loves himself, and has sacrificed for me. To the best of my ability, I’ve done that stuff for him too. I have loved him as I love myself.

2. Jesus. He has never left me, not once. Even when I have been angry at him, refused to talk to him, or questioned his very existence. Jesus loved me before I loved him, enough to suffer and die for me. And one day a long time ago, I decided I wanted to love him as I love myself. I chose to live for him, rather than myself. And it is in living for him, that I have found life.

Jesus invites all of us into covenant relationship with God. Jesus has already held up his end of that covenant. He has loved us more than he loved himself. He offers each of us a chance to love him back, to live for him. And it is in that covenant relationship, we find someone who will never let us down, who will always be there for us, and who will perfectly love us as they love themselves.   

Personal Reflection:

Who do you have a covenant relationship with? Who do you love as you love yourself and they do that back to you?