Fear of Man vs Fear of God - 1 Samuel 26-31

1 Samuel 29:1-5 (ESV)

Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek. And the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish, the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.” But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,

and David his ten thousands’?”

The above story tells us a lot about the fears of men.  David was a threat to the Philistines.   When God is with you, others fear you.  It is a very simple truth.   David’s reputation went before him. 

Notice in the New Testament a similar comparison:

Acts 4:13 (ESV)

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

When the people of God spend time with God the men of the world take notice.  In the story of David, we have to admit, he was not exactly living with God at the time of these events.  He was living in fear.  Yet, his reputation as being a man of God somehow caused fear in the hearts of the Philistines.  So, perhaps even weak Christians can be used by God.  Moses was weak and God used him.  Jonah was weak and God used him.   Peter was weak and God used him.   I am weak ... can God use me? 

Don’t Diminish God’s Sovereignty Because of Fear - Exodus 9-12

Exodus 9:1-7 (ESV)

The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

This is an amazing turn of events for Pharoah.  This is now the second plague where there was a difference between the people of Egypt and the people of Israel. Imagine the thoughts in the hearts and minds of the Egyptians.   God not only can bring a plunge, but He can control where it happens.  The last plague (#4) was flies.   God controlled where a fly went.  This plague is on the livestock.  God is going to control what livestock lives or dies, depending upon who you are.   

When you and I fear that God is not in control of something, let’s remember these type of historical events in history.   God is going to make a division between the livestock of one nation vs the other.   God is omnipotent and controls all things.   When we fear something might happened to us, we diminish that attribute of God.  We think of less of Him than He is.   Fear gets us to question the power and sovereignty of God.   

Gifts Have Rules - 1 Corinthians 12-14

1 Corinthians 14:13 (ESV)

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.

The Corinthian believers were very much into the sign gifts.  Tongues and prophecy were their muse.   Paul is writing to give them instructions on how to use these gifts.   He has already outlined many principles for them to follow regarding tongues, but the above adds one more instruction.  

Paul realizes that an unknown tongue is just that, unknown.   He instructs them to, therefore, pray for someone to interpret. His point is that what good is it if they can speak in an unknown tongue and there is no one to tell you what the tongue said. 

Our modern day tongue movement would do well to follow this rule.  The Corinthians were into the experience of tongues.  Who would not want to speak, in the Spirit, in a tongue they didn’t know? That is first hand miracle experience.  But that also does not edify or convey anything that can glorify God, if there is no one to interpret the tongue.  

Paul gives them this instruction, like each of his tongue guidelines, to make sure the tongue gift is used in a way that glorifies God, edifies the Body and points others to Christ.  Paul has spent the last three chapters writing about how the gifts are numerous and for the purpose of glorifying God and make the Body work.  A gift like tongues can do that.  But it can also draw attention to itself.  That is not the point of any gift.   If tongues are for today they still have to follow the guidelines of yesterday.   

From Ignorance to Battle Cry - Mark 9-10

Mark 9:30-32 (ESV)

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

This is about as plan as you can tell someone about the future resurrection.  Yet, the disciples still did not get it.  Why?  Well, think about the thought.  We consider the resurrection the pinnacle of Christianity and grew up knowing about it.  They had never even heard of a resurrection from the dead.   Note what happened after the transfiguration scene a few verses before this:

Mark 9:9-10 (ESV)

And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.

John recorded their confusion this way:

John 16:16-17 (ESV)

“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?”

Remember, Mark was not one of the disciples.  He is probably recording Peter’s (and other disciples) version of these events.  It will not be until they see Jesus’ empty tomb that all this comes together.  

John 12:16 (ESV)

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

The resurrection is the keystone of our faith.  At first it was not understood by those told explicitly about it.   They will come to know it.  It will be their battle cry.   So, too, ours!

Jars For Glory or Drunkenness - Jeremiah 12-16

Jeremiah 13:12-14 (ESV)

“You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Jeremiah is in the midst of conveying God’s word (His wrath) to Israel.   He is telling them that God has offered them everything, but they have rejected Him.    

In the above paragraph we read an opening statement that is heard by the people as a ridiculous statement to make.  God says, 

 “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”

The people respond with,

“Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ 

Their response is one of sarcasm.   They know what wine jars are for.  But this is God’s illustration.  They were to be jars for His glory. That was His point of putting them in the land.   But they instead turned His glory into disobedience.  So, now He is going to fill them to the point of being drunk.  They want to follow false gods and disobey Him, so He will accommodate.  This is something equivalent to Paul’s statement to the Romans:

Romans 1:24-28 (ESV)

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

This is what God is doing for Israel because of their disobedience.  When He created us as jars for HIs glory and we reject that, God gives us up to the desires of our flesh and we are consumed (drunk) by it and the consequences of it. 

From the Top to the Bottom - Job 29-30

Job 30:1-8 (ESV)

“But now they laugh at me,

men who are younger than I,

whose fathers I would have disdained

to set with the dogs of my flock.

What could I gain from the strength of their hands,

men whose vigor is gone?

Through want and hard hunger

they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation;

they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,

and the roots of the broom tree for their food.

They are driven out from human company;

they shout after them as after a thief.

In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,

in holes of the earth and of the rocks.

Among the bushes they bray;

under the nettles they huddle together.

A senseless, a nameless brood,

they have been whipped out of the land.

To better understand the above verses of Job we need to take a quick glimpse at the preceding chapter.   In chapter 29 Job is remembering his high status in life, before Satan attacked him (Job 1-2).   Job had it all. He had family, fame and, most important to the contrast of chapter 30, high respect.  He had status and significance among the people of the land.   Then trauma impacted his life.  Now, as he states in the above passages, he is mocked by even the lowest of the land.  As we read the passage we might have an unsettling of our own sense of moral outrage at Job’s attitude.  Remember, this is the Job that God said in the beginning of the book that he was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil (Job 1:1).     God said this three times in the first two chapters (Job 1:1; 1:10; 2:3).   Yet, as we read Job’s above words, now it would seem that Job is quite arrogant, bias and certainly possessed some societal scorn for those who were less than he was.   However, it might well wise to consider a few things before we cast doubt on Job’s character, especially since only God knew his heart.  

1.  We must never forget when reading Job, past chapter 2, that this man is in deep despair and turmoil.   This does not give him and excuse to now act corrupt, but his lens has changed significantly.   In these two chapters he is just making a comparison trying to figure out why he has gone from respect to ruin.   He wants to know why he has fallen from the diadem of the elite to the disdain of  dregs.   When we are in trauma  we simply want to know what just happened.  

2.  We must remember that the days of Job, societal class was a normal function of the community.  This does not dismiss the thought of  bias or class warfare, but it does explain Job’s innate perspective on it.  Just as slavery in the time of Paul was accepted, didn’t mean Paul accepted it.  It simply meant it was part of society and the lens by which all lived.  Undoubtedly in Job’s day, as in ours, there were those less fortunate.  Some by the act of God (Proverbs 22:2).  Some by their acts of their own foolishness (Proverbs 21:10).  

3. Lastly, to Job’s point, he was now less than he was.   He is, yes, writing about those who he would have never even associated with, but he is doing so to demonstrate his fall, not their weaknesses.   Job has gone from the top to the bottom, in a moment. He is simply making the point that those who would have never been in his circle are now mocking him to their delight in their circus.  This also speaks of their lack of character.  They see before them a man to be mocked, not someone to shown mercy.   Those of low character, no matter the reason, remain of low character.  Job has a reason to speak the way he does (although we would all prefer we could be better in these situations).   They do not.   They simply want to mock the man who was above them to now elevate their own status above him.  The adage don’t kick a man when he is down, comes to mind. 

Proverbs 24:17-18 (ESV)

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,

and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased,  and turn away his anger from him.

Don’t Seek Revenge- Psalms 42-44

Psalms 43:1 (ESV)

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause

against an ungodly people,

from the deceitful and unjust man

deliver me!

We’re not sure who wrote this song. It appears between the two sections of psalms that are attributed to King David (3-41 & 51-72).  It may still be David’s prayer.  His situation in life certainly fits the theme of the song. 

Apparently the writer is being attacked from someone. The attack is unjust. Because God holds the balance of justice, the writer appeals to God for vindication.

This is our take away. We are not to seek our own vengeance, we are not to look for vindication through our own means. Peter outlines this in his book to the church:

1 Peter 3:8-12 (ESV)

Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For

“Whoever desires to love life

and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

and his lips from speaking deceit;

let him turn away from evil and do good;

let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Paul tells the Roman Christians the same thing:

Romans 12:17-21 (ESV)

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Our appeal for vindication needs to come to God. We are evil and therefore our vindication will carry a measure of evilness, of unfairness. We simply want to get back at people. God is the God of justice. When He vindicates us, He does so with perfect justice. He balances His wrath with His grace. When we vindicate our ourselves, we only have wrath. The next time you need vindication turn to God. Not to self.