Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.
But an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats' hair at the head.
When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He is ill."
Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, "Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats' hair.
Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?" Michal told him, "He said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?' "
When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?"
"Over in Naioth at Ramah," they said.
So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
1 Samuel 19:8-24
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today, we return to 1st Samuel after a two-day hiatus. You’ll recall that Saul was bent on killing David, jealous of the popularity and success he had gained. You’ll also remember that Saul’s efforts failed because the Lord was with David, a man after God’s own heart. This would continue as we look at today’s passage.
First, we see where David had once again gained victory for Israel over the Philistines, displaying “such force that they fled before him”. With every win, David gained more esteem from the people of Israel…and as we will see, more disdain from Saul.
For we read where once again, “an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand”, causing him to try to pin David to the wall for a second time while he “was playing the harp”. But as before, we see where David “eluded him” and “made good his escape” that night, returning to his home and wife Michal.
Well, Saul wasn’t about to give up until David was dead and so he “sent men to David's house to watch it” and “kill him in the morning”. His plan would again falter because “Michal, David's wife, warned him” of the pending attack saying, “If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." And so Michal helped David escape “through a window and he fled”. Michal then “took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats' hair at the head” so it would appear as if David was in bed.
So when Saul’s men came to capture David, Michal told them that David was ill and said Saul’s men brought that report to him. Saul obviously had little regard for David’s condition. He wanted him dead! And so it was little surprise when Saul ordered his men to “Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." And when the men returned to David’s home, they finally discovered that they had been tricked when they found there was an “idol in the bed” with “some goat’s hair” at the head in place of David.
We read where Saul was furious with his daughter and demanded to know, "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?" And just as slyly as she had devised the ruse in David’s bed, she lied to her father and told him she let David go out of self defense, claiming David threatened to kill her if she didn’t help him get away. And, of course, Saul bought the story.
So where did David go after escaping? Scripture tells us he returned to his old friend Samuel who was at Ramah. Once there, David shared with Samuel “all that Saul had done to him”. Given Saul’s past actions, I’m sure Samuel was not surprised at the report.
David wasn’t out of the woods with Saul just yet in this passage for we read where “word came to Saul” that David was at Naioth in Ramah and so he “sent men to capture him” there. And it was then that something miraculous happened…something that revealed the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
For as Saul’s men arrived in Naioth, “they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader”. And at that very moment, “the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men” and they also began to prophesy! What a sight that must have been…and word quickly traveled back to Saul about it. And so Saul “sent more men” with the same results…the Spirit of God coming upon them and bringing them to prophesy. And again, word went back to Saul who sent yet a third set of men who also were brought to prophesy by the mighty, transforming Spirit of God.
Frustrated by all this, Saul decided to go to Naioth himself. And when he did…you guessed it…”the Spirit of God came even upon him” and “he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth”. Once there, we read where Saul “stripped off his robes” and “prophesied in Samuel's presence”, laying there “that way all that day and night” and prompting the people to ask, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
This passage is simply amazing because we get to witness through the scriptures the awesome strength of the Holy Spirit to change the hearts of people from bad to good. Saul and his men went from having murderous intent to speaking on behalf of the Lord in the blink of an eye. Ironically, another Saul with murderous intentions would have a similar transformation as he traveled to Damascus to persecute and kill Christians (Acts 9). This Saul would change his name to Paul and his transformation at the hands of the Holy Spirit would turn him into one of the greatest servants of Christ ever known.
The good news, my friends, is that it can happen just as easily today. For the Holy Spirit has lost none of its transforming power…none of its ability to change and affect the hearts of people, turning the bad to good…the sinful to righteous. And because of this, we can hold out hope for anyone, praying earnestly for change because we know change is possible.
Question: Do you need transformed by the Holy Spirit? Do you yearn to be free from the bondage of sinfulness? And if you’re already free and in the Lord, do you know someone who needs transformation…someone who has been unable to escape the clutches of Satan?
Well, in today’s scripture, we see good news. For through a mere commitment to the Holy Spirit, you or anyone else can be changed in a moment’s notice…just as Saul and his men were at Naioth…just as Saul became Paul during his Damascus experience.
If you need transformed, why don’t you pray this prayer with me right now:
Dear Lord, I have sinned and am truly sorry for what I have done. I want to be better in my life…to live as you would like me to live. And so I ask you to enter into my heart and change me from bad to good. Take away the sin within me and lead me to the place that is righteous and holy…the place where you want me to be. And once there, reveal your will for my life I pray and give me purpose so that in all I do, I might please you in every way. For it’s in your Holy Name I pray. Amen.
And now, accept the Holy Spirit into your heart and mind. Offer yourself to the Lord as a living sacrifice surrendering yourself to His way and turning away from the ways of the world. And in doing so, live out these words from Paul as written in his letter to the Romans:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2
May the Lord bless you as you are transformed and changed by the power of the Holy Spirit…moved toward God’s good, pleasing and perfect will. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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