I Samuel 20

David questions Jonathanverses 1-3

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah

and came and said before Jonathan

What have I done? What is mine iniquity?

What is my sin before your father that he seeks my life?

And he said unto him – God forbid

You shalt not die

BEHOLD – my father will do nothing either great or small

but that he will show it me

And why should my father hide this thing from me?

it is not so

And David swore moreover – and said

Your father certainly knows that I have FOUND GRACE in your eyes

and he says – Let not Jonathan know this – lest he be grieved

BUT truly – as the LORD lives – and as thy soul lives

there is but a STEP between me and death

Jonathan wants to know what he can doverses 4-9

Then said Jonathan to David

Whatsoever your soul desires – I will even do it for you

And David

said to Jonathan

BEHOLD – tomorrow is the new moon

and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat

but let me go – that I may hide myself in the

field unto the third day at even

IF your father at all miss me

THEN say

David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to

Bethlehem his city – for there is a yearly sacrifice

there for all the family

IF he say thus

It is well – Your servant shall have peace

BUT IF he be very wroth

THEN be sure that evil is determined by him

THEREFORE you shall deal kindly with your servant

for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD

with you – notwithstanding if there be in me iniquity

slay me yourself

for why should you bring me to your father?

And Jonathan said

Far be it from you – for if I knew certainly that evil were

determined by my father to come on you

then would not I tell it you?

Jonathan informs David of his planverses 10-15

Then said David to Jonathan

Who shall tell me?

What if your father answer you roughly?

And Jonathan

said to David

Come – and let us go out into the field

and they went out both of them into the field

And Jonathan

said to David

O LORD God of Israel

when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time

or the third day – and behold

if there be good toward David

and I then send not to you and show it you

The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan

BUT if it please my father to do you evil

then I will show it you – and send you away

that you may go in peace

and the LORD be with you

as HE has been with my father

And you shall not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the LORD

that I die not – BUT also you shall not cut off your kindness from

my house for ever – no – not when the LORD has cut off

the enemies of David everyone from the

face of the earth

David and Jonathan renew vows of friendshipverses 16-17

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David

saying

Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies

and Jonathan caused David to swear again

because he loved him

for he loved him as he loved his own soul

Jonathan informs David of the signal for safetyverses 18-23

Then Jonathan

said to David

Tomorrow is the new moon – and you shall be missed

because your seat will be empty

And when you have stayed three days – then you shall go down quickly

and come to the place where you did hide yourself when the

business was in hand – and shall remain by the stone Ezel

And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof

as though I shot at a mark

And behold I will send a lad

saying

Go find out the arrows

IF I expressly say to the lad

BEHOLD the arrows are on this side of you – take them

THEN come you – for there is peace to you

and no hurt – as the LORD lives

BUT IF I say this to the young man

BEHOLD the arrows are beyond you- go your way

for the LORD has sent thee away

And as touching the matter which you and I have spoken of

BEHOLD – the LORD be between you and me for ever

Saul asks whereabouts of Davidverses 24-27

So David hid himself in the field – and when the new moon was come

the king sat him down to eat meat

And the king sat upon his seat – as at other times

even upon a seat by the wall

And Jonathan arose – and Abner sat by Saul’s side

and David’s place was empty

Nevertheless Saul spoke not anything that day – for he thought

something has befallen him – he is not clean

surely he is not clean

And it came to pass on the morrow

which was the second day of the month

that David’s place was empty

and Saul said to Jonathan his son

Wherefore come not the son of Jesse to meat neither yesterday

nor today?

Jonathan tells father David in Bethlehemverses 28-29

And Jonathan

answered Saul

David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem

and he said

Let me go – I pray you

for our family has a sacrifice in the city

And my brother – he has commanded me to be there

and now – if I have found favor in your eyes

let me get away – I pray you

and see my brethren

Therefore he comes not to the king’s table

Saul angry with Jonathanverses 30-31

THEN Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan

and he said to him

You son of the perverse rebellious woman – do not I know that

you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own confusion

and to the confusion of your mother’s nakedness?

For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the ground

you shall not be established – nor your kingdom

Wherefore now send and fetch him to me

for he shall surely die

Saul tries to kill Jonathanverses 32-33

And Jonathan answered Saul his father

and said to him

Wherefore shall he be slain? What has he done?

And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him

whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of

his father to slay David

Jonathan leaves celebrationverse 34

So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger

and did eat no meat the second day of the month

for he was grieved for David

because his father had

done him shame

Jonathan gives sign that it is unsafeverses 35-40

And it came to pass in the morning

that Jonathan went out into the field

at the time appointed with David

and a little lad with him

And he said to his lad

Run – find out now the arrows which I shoot

And as the lad ran – he shot an arrow beyond him

and when the lad was come to the place of the arrow

which Jonathan had shot

Jonathan cried after the lad

and said

Is not the arrow beyond you?

And Jonathan cried after the lad

Make speed – haste – stay not

And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows

and came to his master

but the lad knew not any thing

only Jonathan and David knew the matter

And Jonathan gave his artillery to his lad

and said to him

Go – carry them to the city

David says “goodbye” to Jonathanverses 41-42

And as soon as the lad was gone

David arose out of a place toward the south

and fell on his face to the ground

and bowed himself three times

and they kissed one another

and wept one with another

until David exceeded

And Jonathan

said to David

Go in peace – forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the

name of the LORD

saying

The LORD be between me and you

and between my seed and your seed for ever

And he arose and departed – and Jonathan went into the city

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 3 And David swore moreover, and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found grace in your eyes; and he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved, but truly as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. (6587 “step” [pesa] means a stride, set out, or move in a forward motion)

DEVOTION: Have you ever been in a tight spot in your life? Have you ever had individuals out to hurt you? During that time, did you not know what to do? David understands that Saul wants to hurt him. He understands that he is to be the next king but doesn’t know how God is going to protect him from Saul. As a human, he thinks of ways to avoid being killed by Saul. He plans his escape. He wants Jonathan to be his source of information regarding his father.

Saul had tried to kill him a couple of times. David was concerned that if he showed up for the monthly meal, he would be on the menu. David knew that his life was close to ending, in his way of thinking. He didn’t know which way to go. If he took the wrong move, he could be killed. Jonathan was Saul’s son and loved David as a close friend.

We are people who are alone in a crowd. There are too many surface friends. When we go into our church, we have people ask us how we are doing but really don’t care how we are doing. This should change in a Biblical church.

Some have made something of this friendship but the Bible makes it plain that they were two men who became friends for life. It is hard today to understand this type of friendship as we live in a culture where everyone is afraid of the other person.

David knew that the wrong motion forward could be his last. One of the things that is missing in this account is David contacting the LORD. This is true as he is running from Saul. He seems to be depending on his own devices.

We sometimes feel that each move we take could be our last. David knew that he was ordained to be king in the future but at present he didn’t think God was moving him in the right direction.

We are ordained of God to serve HIM and HE will order each move we take. Listen to HIM. David asked his friend to find out what Saul’s plans were for him. Jonathan was almost killed by his father finding out what Saul intended for David. Jonathan warned David and he left the area in a hurry.

CHALLENGE: Key thought would be to look to the LORD for guidance each day. The Bible tells us not to worry. Trust is hard for even the closest follower of the LORD. Remember David was called “a man after God’s own heart.”

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 6 If your father at all missed me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. (7592 “earnestly asked” [sha’al] means to inquire, desire, to ask for oneself, to ask to leave, leave of absence, ask permission, or ask intently)

DEVOTION: One the things that we see right away is that David is asking Jonathan to lie for him. He is giving Jonathan an excuse for why he is not attending the banquet that is not truthful. David is afraid that Saul would kill him if he attended the banquet. He was right but was he right to ask Jonathan to lie for him?

Here is an example of what some people do when they don’t think the truth will work. It is not what the LORD wants those who are his followers to do but they sometimes do it even when they know it is wrong.

Some children are told by their parents to lie when someone calls on the phone and asked for them. They tell their children to say they are not home.

It seems like a little thing but that child will grow up and ask their children to do the same. It is not something those who are believers should ever ask of their children or anyone who they know.

God wants us to be honest but HE knows that it is easier to lie than tell the truth at times. Many of us have seen the commercial on television where Honest Abe Lincoln is asked by his wife if a dress makes her look fat. He can’t say anything because he is a president and he is honest. This should be how we should act. If we can’t say the truth, than we should not say anything at all.

We are commanded to speak the truth in love to those around us. God wants us to be honest with one another. HE wants us to do it in a loving manner. We are not to be harsh to one another.

Jonathan lied for his friend and almost lost his life because of it. His father knew it was a lie. People know when we are lying to them and so it is better to either tell the truth or not say anything at all.

CHALLENGE: When a friend asks you to lie for them DON’T!!!)

: 8 Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant: for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me yourself; for why should you bring me to your father? (2617 “kindly” [checed] means mercy, kindness, lovingkindness, goodness, an unfailing kind of love, faithfulness, goodness, or graciousness)

DEVOTION: The LORD wants us to be gracious to one another as we serve HIM in our world. We are to treat each other with goodness as much as we can in our world. The LORD was gracious to HIS disciples while HE was on this earth.

Part of this graciousness was to show them where they were sinning and giving them an opportunity to confess their sins and move on in their life with HIM.

Here we have David and his best friend Jonathan making plans to keep David safe from his father. He went to find out what kind of actions his father was going to do toward David. He found out that his father, King Saul, wanted to kill David because he knew that if David lived he would take over the kingdom instead of his son Jonathan.

Father’s want their sons to succeed in life. They want the best for their children as much is possible. No father wants his son to fail. Saul thought that if Jonathan didn’t inherit the throne he would not be a successful individual.

Jonathan was more concerned with what the LORD wanted rather than what his father wanted. He felt that David should be the next king if that is what the LORD wanted.

Here we have David telling Jonathan to kill him if he saw anything wrong in his life that was not pleasing to the LORD and to him.

Are we willing to act as David did with Jonathan? Could we say to a friend the same thing that David said? Are we honest with our friends?

God wants us to have human friends who are going to keep us faithful to HIM. HE wants us to make sure that our attitude is right in our relationship to our friends and our motivation for service to HIM>

CHALLENGE: Do our friends think that we are serving the LORD to the best of our ability or are we just looking for advancement?

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 30 Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own confusion, and to the confusion of your mother’s nakedness? (1322 “confusion” [bosheth] means a state of dishonor, shame, ignominy, humiliation, disgrace, or confusion)

DEVOTION: What do you do if you hear a father putting down his own son? We see it on television on a regular basis where a parent says that their child is “stupid” or something just as bad.

Here we have Saul putting down his son Jonathan because he is friends with David. He knows that David is going to be the next king and that the only way for Jonathan to become king is for him to kill David. Jonathan doesn’t care if he is supposed to be the next king.

So we have Saul calling his son names. It is not something a father should do to his son. This was done at a big banquet that was held in the house of the king. So there were many guests hearing this conversation.

Not only did he belittle his son but he even tried to kill him with a javelin. Saul was a long way from the humble man that Samuel anointed to be king. He was willing to kill his own son because he was angry.

Fathers are NEVER to put down their sons. They are to be the ones who encourage them as much as they possibly can. They were to raise them to love the LORD. They are to raise them to encourage their friends when they are going through a hard time. They are to be an example of what it means to be a good husband and father in the home. They are to be an example by attending a good Bible believing church and use their gift to honor the LORD.

Too often fathers are missing in the home. There are millions of boys who have no male example to follow in their home or even in the community. It is sad but true.

If you are a male try to be a good example of what the LORD wants a man to be in the home and in the community. Encourage the young men in your home and community to live a life that is pleasing to the LORD.

Saul was not a good example of a good father or good example to those who were attending the dinner. Don’t follow his example!!!

One recommendation if you happen to lose it with one of your children. Tell them you are sorry for losing it.

CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD to give you strength each time to confess your shortcomings to HIM and to your children.

: 42 And Jonathan said to David, Go, in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed forever. And he arose and departed and Jonathan went into the city. (7621 “sworn” [shabuw’ah] means oath, to make a statement, to promise solemnly, or make a sworn statement)

DEVOTION: Now we have David and Jonathan saying “goodbye” to each other because Saul has shown that he wants to kill David and this means that David is going to have to be on the run for a while, so that, Saul doesn’t kill him.

David and Jonathan had made a covenant with one another to be friends for life. This was going to be tested. Jonathan was going to go back to his father and try to see what he could do to have David restored but that was not going to work. Saul would be trying to kill David as often as could from this point on.

There was a promise made between these two men. They were to care for each other’s descendants or family. There was not to be any problems between their two families for the next generation.

We know in the future when David was king, he would seek out any of Jonathan’s family to try to help them. He meant to keep his promise to Jonathan.

We have to be individuals who keep our promises to others. If we have promised to help someone’s family, we need to keep our promises. Remember we are not to promise something we are not willing to keep.

Also David and Jonathan kept each other in prayer before the LORD. They were each going to ask the LORD to bless the other. We need to pray this prayer for those who are close to us. We need to ask the LORD to bless those families we care about on a regular basis.

I have set up a prayer list where each day of the month we can pray through our email, snail mail and church list for a letter of the alphabet each day. On the first of each month, we pray for the individuals whose last name begins with the letter “A” and then the second of each month for the “B’s” on our lists.

CHALLENGE: That way we can tell those we love what we are praying for them at least once a month.

DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Jonathan prayer of covenant with Davidverses 12-16

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

New moonverses 5, 18, 24

Yearly sacrificeverse 6

DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

God – Elohim (Creator)verses 2, 12

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 3, 12-16, 21-23, 42

LORD livesverses 3, 21

Covenant of the LORDverse 8

LORD God of Israelverse 12

Name of the LORDverse 42

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Enemiesverses 15, 16

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Iniquityverses 1, 8

Sinverse 1

Lieverses 6, 29

Wrothverse 7

Evilverses 7, 9, 13

Enemiesverses 15, 16

Not cleanverse 26

Anger [unrighteous]verse 30

Perverseverse 30

Rebelliousverse 30

Confusionverse 30

Slay Davidverse 33

Shameverse 34

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Graceverse 3

Peaceverses 7, 13, 21, 42

Deal kindlyverse 8

Covenantverses 8, 16

Kindnessverses 14, 15

Loveverse 17

Chosenverse 30

Anger [righteous]verse 34

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

David verses 1-42

Fled from Naioth in Ramah

Asked: What have I done?

Found grace in eyes of Jonathan

Formed a plan

Son of Jesse

Parted from Jonathan

Covenant between David and Jonathan

Jonathanverses 1-42

Didn’t think his father Saul would hide his actions

Loved David as friend

Formed a plan

Angry at his father

Completed plan with David

Said good-bye to David

Covanant with David

Saul – king of Israelverses 1-33

Angry with Jonathan

Tells Jonathan he is confused

Wants to kill David

Cast a javelin at Jonathan

Bethlehemverse 6

Stone Ezelverse 19

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

Saul’s demand for David’s death (v.31) brings a predictable response from Jonathan: “Why?” (v.32; cf. 19:5). Jonathan’s further question, “What has he done?” reflects his earlier reminder to Saul that David’s actions had benefited the king (19:4). But Saul, though placated before (19:6), would not be denied this time. Saul, not having David as his target as on two previous occasions (18:10–11; 19:9–10), tried to pin David’s surrogate Jonathan to the wall with his spear (v.33). Jonathan needed no further convincing that Saul indeed intended to kill David (something David had obviously known much earlier; cf. v.7) and that the spear had really been meant for his covenanted friend. In Saul’s eyes, Jonathan and David had momentarily become one.

It was Jonathan’s turn to fly into a rage (the Heb. phrase translated “fierce anger” in v.34 elsewhere describes the highest levels of disappointed human fury; cf. Exod 11:8; 2 Chronicles 25:10; Isa 7:4). Knowing of his father’s murderous designs on and mistreatment of David caused Jonathan to be “grieved” (v.34), a response that his friend had foreseen (v.3). On the second day of the New Moon festival, neither David (v.27) nor Jonathan (v.34) ate at the king’s table (vv.29, 34). (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 724). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

20:30, 31 your mother’s nakedness: Saul suggested that Jonathan and his mother with him were shameful because of Jonathan’s apparently despicable behavior. Aware of David’s increasing popularity, Saul knew that David would likely displace Jonathan from the throne. Here, Saul demonstrated his selfish concern for his family’s welfare over God’s sovereign will. Compare Eli’s appropriate response to God’s judgment (3:18).

20:32–34 his father had treated him shamefully: Jonathan, the loyal friend of David, was so upset he would not eat because of how David had been insulted by his father. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 372). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)

Saul’s anger (1 Sam. 20:30–34). When hateful feelings are in the heart, it doesn’t take much for angry words to come out of the mouth (Matt. 12:34–35). Saul had probably been brooding over how David had insulted him by refusing to attend the feast, and the longer he brooded, the more the fire raged within. But instead of attacking David, King Saul attacked his own son! Had the Lord not intervened back in Ramah, Saul would have killed David in the very presence of the Prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 19:22–24), and now he reviled his own son while eating a holy feast!

The king’s tirade seems to disparage his own wife, but rightly understood, his words describe his son as the lowest of the low. According to Saul, Jonathan’s treachery in befriending David indicated that he was not Saul’s son at all but the son of some other man, for a son of Saul would never betray his father. Therefore, Jonathan was slandering his own mother and saying she was a common prostitute, a rebel against the Law of Moses, and a woman who practiced perversion. Because Jonathan helped David and didn’t protect his father’s throne, he had shamed his mother as much as if he had exposed her nakedness. She bore him to be the successor to his father, and now Jonathan had refused the crown in favor of the son of Jesse. The king was shouting, “You are no son of mine! You must be illegitimate!”

Saul’s great concern was the preservation of the kingdom that the Lord had already taken from him. God had made it very clear that none of Saul’s sons would ever inherit the throne and David was the king of God’s choice, so Saul was fighting the will of God and asking Jonathan to do the same thing. Saul was aware that his son knew where David was hiding and commanded Jonathan to find David and bring him in to be slain. When Jonathan remonstrated with his father and refused to obey the royal command, Saul threw his spear at his own son! Jonathan left the table in great anger and spent the rest of the day fasting. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2001). Be successful (pp. 113–114). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications.)

20:24–42. At first Saul … thought David was absent because he was ceremonially unclean (v. 26). But then Saul’s response was what David feared. After David’s absence on the second day, Saul was filled with rage toward David and also toward Jonathan (vv. 30, 33). As long as David lived, Saul said, there was no hope that his own dynasty would continue (v. 31).

With heavy heart Jonathan signaled to David the next morning by his words to a boy and with arrows (vv. 34–40). Jonathan and David met and wept together (v. 41). It was obvious that friendship with Saul was impossible. But Jonathan said that his own bond of loyalty with David would never be broken (v. 42). Jonathan was giving up a kingdom for the love of a friend. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 1 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 450). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

Ver. 33. And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him, &c.] So provoked to wrath was he by what he said. It seems by this that Saul always had a javelin or spear in his hand, which is to be accounted for by the custom of those times; in other countries, as well as in this, the kings used to carry spears in their hands instead of sceptres, and which they used as such; so Justin, speaking of the times of Romulus, says, that kings in those times had spears, as an ensign of royalty, which the Greeks call sceptres; and so the Greeks called sceptres spearsⁱ; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David; for since he attempted to smite him, his own son, for speaking on his behalf, it might be well concluded, that such was his settled wrath and malice, that he would if possible kill David, could he get him into his hands. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 520). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

FROM MY READING:

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.1 John 1:3
The lack of proclamation in the preaching of the church accounts for so much of the present state of the church and the present state of the world and of society. A man standing in a Christian pulpit has no business in saying, “I suggest to you” or “Shall I put it to you” or “On the whole, I think” or “I am almost persuaded” or “The results of research and knowledge and speculation all seem to point in this direction.” No! “These things declare we unto you.”
The old charge that has so often been brought up against the Church and her preachers is that we are dogmatic; but the preacher who is not dogmatic is not a preacher in the New Testament sense. We should be modest about our own opinions and careful as to how we voice our own speculations. But here, thank God, we are not in such a realm; we are not concerned about such things. We do not put forward a theory that commends itself to us as a possible explanation of the world and what we can do about it; the whole basis of the New Testament is that here is an announcement, a proclamation–those are New Testament words.
The Gospel, according to the New Testament, is a herald; it is like a man with a trumpet who is calling people to listen. There is nothing tentative about what he has to say; something has been delivered to him, and his business is to repeat it. It is not the business of the messenger, first and foremost, to examine the credentials of the message “he is to deliver it. We are ambassadors, and the business of the ambassador is not to say to the foreign country what he thinks or believes; it is to deliver the message that has been delivered to him by his home government. That is the position of these New Testament preachers, and that is how John puts it here. “I have an amazing thing to reveal,” he says in essence.
A Thought to Ponder
The gospel is like a man with a trumpet who is calling people to listen. (From Fellowship with God, pp. 46-47. By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Deuteronomy 27
Curses from Mount Ebal dramatize disobedience

INSIGHT

What a drama! Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal are two masses of limestone rock rising over 2,000 feet above sea level. Between them lies a beautiful valley, about 300 yards wide. Half the children of Israel are on one mountain, and half are on the other, with the Levites in the valley between the two mountains. Curses are called from Mount Ebal and blessings are called from Mount Gerazim. All of this is to dramatize the importance of obedience and the consequences of disobedience, even down to not letting a blind man wander out of his way.
Nothing is insignificant to a holy God. Nor should it be to us. We must care about right and wrong. (Quiet Walk)

KNOWING GOD

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
We must realize as we approach God that His ultimate, gracious purpose with regard to man has been revealed to us, and it is a purpose of love and mercy and of kindness and compassion. This is something that is only known fully and finally in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why this statement must be put like this: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This truth is an absolute necessity. That is why our Lord said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). He is the way to God. He is the truth about God, and apart from the life He gives, we will never share or know the life of God. So there is no knowledge of God apart from Him; through Him comes this ultimate true and saving knowledge, the saving relationship.
Notice what John 17:3 tells us about our Lord Jesus Christ: “That they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ.” The name Jesus reminds us of the truth of the Incarnation: This eternal Son of God was made man—the man Jesus. But the man Jesus is One who is God and who is co-equal with Him and whom, therefore, you think of in terms of being God and being with God—“and Jesus.”
But He is also Jesus Christ, and “Christ” means “Messiah,” the One who has been anointed to do this special work of bringing men and women to God and of giving God’s life to humankind. You see how all this mighty doctrine is put here as it were in a nutshell for us—“and Jesus Christ.” It is all there—the ultimate object is to know this “only true God”; yes, and the way to know Him is to know Jesus Christ.
A Thought to Ponder: Christ is the way to God; He is the truth about God.
(From Saved in Eternity, pp. 143-144, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

God’s Shadow
“Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” (Psalm 17:8)
There are 12 references in the Bible to God’s “shadow,” understood as a type of His invisible but very real guiding presence. The reference in our text above is the first, and there are three other references to this beautiful metaphor—the “shadow” of the wings of God. Psalm 36:7 assures us that men can “put their trust under the shadow of thy wings,” and Psalm 57:1 that we can take refuge there “until these calamities be overpast,” and then we can “rejoice” there (Psalm 63:7).
The Lord’s presence is like “the shadow of a great rock in a weary land,” according to Isaiah 32:2. The same prophet quoted God as saying that “I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand” even as He formed the heavens and the earth, while hiding us “in the shadow of his hand” (Isaiah 51:16; 49:2).
Then there is the wonderful promise of Psalm 91:1: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” He can also be “a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall,” bringing down “the heat with the shadow of a cloud” (Isaiah 25:4-5). Similarly, He is “a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain” (Isaiah 4:6).
The last reference speaks of “the anointed of the LORD” (that is, of the Messiah, Jesus Christ), assuring God’s people that “under his shadow we shall live among the heathen” (Lamentations 4:20). These are all “exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). Hidden under the shadow of God is indeed a good and safe place to be in times like these.

(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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