August 8th, 2011 by Kristi Stephens

The day came when Israel asked for a king. It opened a new chapter in Israel’s history full of ups and downs, obedience and apostasy.

Of course, the first two kings of Israel are two of the best known: Saul and David.

Saul was physically impressive and appealed to the people’s desire for a king who looked the part. They wanted someone who looked good in a crown. So, God gave them a man who looked good from the exterior.

“They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”” - 1 Samuel 10:23-24

Unfortunately, Saul’s heart was not as impressive as his stature. Early on in his reign, Saul was commanded to carry out God’s judgment against the Amalekites, completely wiping them and their animals out. Saul chose to disobey, sparing the Amalekite king and the best of the cattle and sheep to sacrifice to God. He refused to see that sacrificing something as an act of worship that one only has because of disobedience is not pleasing to the Lord at all. Unfortunately, his next actions made the situation even more glaringly sinful.

“Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”” – 1 Samuel 15:12

Saul blatantly disobeys, then displays his sense of entitlement by setting up a monument in his own honor, feeling downright self-righteous about what he has done. When Samuel goes down to confront him, Saul’s response is stunning to me.

Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. …Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?”

“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me…” – 1 Samuel 15:17-20

“But I did obey…” Amazing. God’s response to Saul is swift and non-negotiable – he was rejected as king, and David is anointed. It would be years before David would sit on the throne of Israel, and Saul spends much of his time and energy hunting David like an animal, jealous of God’s hand on his life and clinging desperately to the throne – seeing it as his throne.

Years later, David has his own sin issues. Serious sin issues. From our perspective, David’s sins of adultery and murder seem far more serious than Saul keeping back some animals in order to sacrifice them later. Why does God reject Saul but call David a “man after His own heart”? (1 Samuel 13:14) When David is confronted with his deep sin, his response is nothing like Saul’s arrogant justification of his actions. One simple verse contains David’s humble response: “I have sinned against the LORD.” – 2 Samuel 12:13

Saul settled himself firmly on the throne, claiming it as his own. He disregards God’s clear instructions, and when confronted justifies himself and refuses to agree with God about the seriousness of his actions. David sits lightly on the throne – as you read through the accounts of his reign, his responses are often puzzling and surprising to people because he never seems to feel entitled to anything by his position. While he reigns as a human king, chosen and anointed by the Lord, he never forgets: he is not really the king. God is King. God is the only one entitled to rule and reign. And when David is confronted with the truth of what he had done, his response is immediate repentance and confession.

When I think of all the roles in my life – wife, mother, ministry leader, teacher, etc – am I sitting lightly? Do I feel entitled to these positions, entitled to honor and recognition? Entitled to do what I want to do and say what I want to say? Do I justify and defend my actions, self-righteously refusing to see when I have sinned against God?

I fear that we often are much more like Saul in our mentality than we are like David. How much division in our churches is caused by a feeling of ownership, entitlement, self-righteous importance in our ministries? How often do we feel that others owe us respect and honor that really belongs to God? How often are we confronted with our sin and we respond defensively, or with denial, or in anger? How often do we spend our time jealously eying those we see as a threat rather than acknowledging that whatever influence, leadership, position, authority that has been entrusted to us belongs solely to God Himself?

Sit lightly, my friends. We are the limited and flawed servants – only our God is holy and wholly worthy.

We’re continuing our One Summer, One Story series – a fast-paced overview of the “big story” of the Bible! Missed anything? Find all the past posts here. Just a reminder, also, that we have two different “blog ministry projects” going on right now – please consider joining us for Got Milk? and the SOS Project – because although the problems are overwhelming, our God really IS BIGGER!

September 10th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

There’s been a lot of uproar lately about President Barack Obama. My own political opinions aside, I am deeply concerned about the way believers are handling their political differences. My friends, we must Fear God and honor the King. This is where belief in God’s sovereignty gets real – consider carefully how we speak and act. “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” [This was originally published on January 20, 2009.]

Last week we started our study of 1st and 2nd Samuel with a look at Hannah and then at Hannah’s prayer, which provides the framework for the rest of the books.

Today, in light of the inauguration, it seemed appropriate to pause on that and discuss the “if, then…” applications of all of this.

True understanding of the sovereignty of God over rulers, as discussed in our look at Hannah’s prayer, raises the topic of the “S” word – Submission. (In God’s timing, we discussed the discipline of submission in our ABF on Sunday!) Submission seems to be an uncomfortable word across the board – I remember vividly teaching a section on submission when I was a high school Bible teacher, watching the older students squirm in their seats as I asked them about submission to things like speed limits or school rules that they disagreed with. I daily watch my young daughter wrestle with the inherent rebellion in her soul – at almost three years old she hates to submit. Throw out the word submission in any women’s Bible study and you get eyes cast down at their shoes, looks of angst, internal tension. Add to our innate hatred of submission as human beings the ingrained understanding of the right of independence as Americans, that “conquer the world” mentality, and the pop culture ideal that all authority is meant to be mocked, and what we’ve got is a big mess.

It seems appropriate to spend some time looking at Romans 13:1-2.

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”

Submission, no doubt, is much harder when you disagree with your authorities. Any child, wife, employee, etc. clearly understands that. I do not agree with Barack Obama. I did not vote for him, I do not like his political views. Nevertheless, I have been clearly commanded in Scripture to submit to his authority and give him the respect he is due as the president of our country. On what grounds? He has been put in that position by God Himself. If God is truly sovereign, if God is my ultimate King, and He has placed this human being in power over me… rebellion against this human leader is rebellion against God. Period. [Obviously there's always the caveat of "unless you're commanded to do something directly against the Word of God... I'm assuming we all understand that.]

1 Peter 2:12-17 further elaborates on this issue:

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

It’s interesting to me that Peter’s argument for submission to authorities revolves around the public testimony of the believers and the glory of God. Although I agree that as citizens of the United States of America Christians have the privilege and responsibility to engage in the political arena, I fear that in many ways our well-intentioned efforts to fight for the good have turned into fights against people. Whether real or simply perceived, Christians are seen as arrogant, ignorant, prejudiced, partisan, hateful… the list could go on. How does Peter instruct these believers to “silence the ignorant talk of foolish men”? By doing good. By submission to authorities. By showing proper respect for everyone.

So, let’s get practical. What does it mean to fear God and honor the king? I’m sure you could add volumes to this, but this is just a teaser to get our thoughts going. Showing honor is more than obedience. Showing honor to Barack Obama is more than me paying my taxes and living as a law-abiding citizen. (although, it certainly does mean that.) Honor for someone comes out in my attitudes and in my words. Am I honoring the president of our country if I slander him, repeat fallacious statements, or seek to incite others against him personally? Clearly, no. This is not unfounded reverence for him or blind acceptance of what he does. I can disagree strongly and still honor him in the way I discuss the way my views vary with his. However, a true fear of God and understanding of His sovereignty necessitates that I respect the leaders placed over me in my life.

Truthfully, this is much more convicting on a local level for me. There are leaders in my daily life that I strongly, hotly disagree with. I may feel at times that I am being treated unjustly. As I interact in these situations and even seek to address these deep issues, it must, MUST be done in a respectful way. For if God is sovereign, it is no accident that they are over me.

So, whatever your feelings were as you watched or listened to the inauguration today, remember this: We serve a sovereign God who sets kings up and takes them down, and nothing is out of His control. Barack Obama is officially our president, and it’s time to live out our faith in authenticity before those with whom we disagree.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4

*Picture from wikipedia.org

February 27th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

Today we are at the end of 2nd Samuel – just to clarify, I want to give a quick note about the structure of these books. Back in January we looked at Hannah’s prayer and discussed how her song really gives an outline for these books. We said that the point of these books is: God will raise up and God will put down based on adherence to the Deuteronomic covenant.

From this idea you can see how the books fall into an outline:

• God prospers faithful Hannah/ Hinders Unfaithful Eli (1 Sam. 1-3)
• God hinders unfaithful Israel (1 Sam. 4-6)
• God prospers “faithful” Saul (1 Sam. 7-15)
• God hinders unfaithful Saul (1 Sam. 16-2 Sam. 1)
• God prospers faithful David (2 Sam. 2-9)
• God hinders unfaithful David (2 Sam. 10-20)

Now, chapters 21 through 24 of 2nd Samuel don’t really fit into this outline anywhere. In fact, they are not in chronological order with the rest of the books – these chapters seem to be appendices which record events and writings that fit in various places throughout David’s reign.

John MacAruthur notes in his Bible Commentary,

“There is striking literary arrangement of the sections in this division of the book. The first and last sections (21:1-14; 24:1-25) are narratives that describe two occurrences of the Lord’s anger against Israel. The second and fifth sections (21:15-22; 23:8-39) are descriptions of David’s warriors. The third and fourth sections (22:1-51; 23:1-7) record two of David’s songs.”

Today we are going to spend a little time looking at David’s song in 2 Samuel 22, which is almost identical to Psalm 18. The themes in this song go hand in hand with Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 2, providing the other “bookend” for this section of Scripture. Notice how these two chapters mirror one another:

• “The LORD is my rock my fortress and my deliverer;” (2 Samuel 22:2)
• “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2)

• “…my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me.” (2 Samuel 22:3)
• “My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.” (1 Samuel 2:1)

• “You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.” (2 Samuel 22:28)
• “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.” (1 Samuel 2:3)

• “He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.” (2 Samuel 22:51)
• “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” (1 Samuel 2:10)

It is interesting that those last two verses both speak of a king who is God’s anointed(both singular). To quote MacArthur once again:

“These terms are singular and, thus, do not seem to refer to David and his descendants. Rather, they refer to the promised “seed,” the Messiah of 7:12 [the Davidic covenant.] The deliverance and ultimate triumph of David foreshadow that of the coming Messiah. At the end of his life, David looked back in faith at God’s promises and forward in hope to their fulfillment in the coming of a future king, the “anointed one.”

Before we get to personal application, just a quick note for those who have recently joined our studies. The promise of this “seed” is something we’ve been following since the beginning of our studies in Genesis. For a catch-up crash course, check out the following posts:

The Power of His Word – The initial promise in Genesis 3 and why it is trustworthy!
Redemption Unfolding – The first salvation experience! Adam and Eve trusted the promise of the coming Seed as their only way back into relationship with God!
The Battle Begins – the unfolding battle between the “seed” of the woman and the “seed” of Satan. The search for “THE Seed” continues!
The Cuddly Animals are not the Point of Noah’s Ark! – the continued search for the Seed revealed in Noah’s name!
Next Step in God’s Master Plan: Abraham – The Abrahamic Covenant, telling us that the Seed would come from the line of Abraham
The Lesson of Mount Moriah – God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac was really an issue of faith in the promises of the coming Seed!
Joseph, Judah, and the God of Mercy – God’s merciful restoration of Judah, and information that the Seed would come through Judah’s line!
What’s the deal with the talking donkey? The Seed promise reiterated by Baalam – God is faithful even when His people are not!
More clues about the Seed – The Davidic covenant, telling us that the Seed would come from the line of David.

Now, back to David. I love that phrase in MacArthur’s quote that, “At the end of his life, David looked back in faith at God’s promises and forward in hope to their fulfillment…” David definitely did not have a flawless life, as we studied in David’s Great Demise. However, at the end of His life, He is praising God for His justice and believes that God will be faithful to His promises. He started well, had a rocky “middle,” and ends in trust and faith.

When speaking of finishing well, I often think of Jacob’s statement in Genesis 45:15, “the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day…” Jacob was a great example of a guy who most definitely did not have all his ducks-in-a-row, spiritually speaking, for the majority of his life! And yet, he looked back and realized that God had shepherded him all his life to that very day.

None of us will be flawless. We will all look back on our lives and have areas of regret or failure, small or large. But when we are faithless, He is faithful. He is our shepherd throughout all our lives! I imagine that even as David surely deeply regretted his choices earlier in life, He reveled in the faithfulness of His God who loved him enough to pursue him, discipline him, and lovingly bring him back to Himself.

I have heard too many women say or imply that God cannot use them because they are broken, flawed vessels. Their sin has been too deep, their lives are too far gone, their chances were wasted. Friends, this is not true!

Do our actions have consequences? Absolutely, and David’s story is a sobering reminder of this. But God is able to redeem and work through the darkest of nights in our lives. When we are faithless, He is faithful! May God grant us the eyes to look back at our lives and see His hand of mercy and grace, look forward at the future and believe Him to be faithful to His promises, and leave a legacy of faith based on His faithfulness, not ours.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:11-14

February 23rd, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

For the last couple of weeks we have been working through some aspects of David’s great sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. In part one, we looked at the idea that David’s failure to do what he was supposed to be doing set him up for failure. In part two, we looked at the subtlety of sin and the safeguards we need to put into our lives and hearts to help keep us from falling. In part three, our discussion centered on the human tendency to blame-shift and sidestep responsibility for our sin, constantly looking for a way to cover our tracks. Finally, we looked at Nathan’s confrontation of David and the difference between David’s heart of humility and Saul’s lack of repentence.  Today I want to spend some time in Psalm 51.

(If you open your Bible to Psalm 51, you’ll notice that a note is included in a smaller font before the Psalm begins, documenting that this Psalm was written when Nathan confronted David about Bathsheba.) Please read Psalm 51 on your own and then I just have a few things for us to ponder.

Spiros Zodhiates summarizes this Psalm in the footnotes of The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible (my personal favorite!) this way:

“This is one of the greatest passages in the entire Bible concerning confession and forgiveness… David’s repentance included:

1. a godly sorrow for his sin
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me. (vs. 2-3)

2. verbal confession
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge. (vs. 4)

3. a turning away from sin
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (vs. 6-7)

4. forgiveness
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (vs. 9-10)

5. restoration to God’s favor
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me. (vs. 11)

6. rejoicing in salvation
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (vs. 12)

7. a willingness to testify to others about the grace of God.”
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise. (vs. 13,15)

Remember back to Saul’s sin of wrongly offering the sacrifice before Samuel arrived? Saul appeared to think that God would accept the sacrifice, even though it was offered in sin. When Samuel confronts him, Saul gives excuses about Samuel being late and the army scattering. Notice what David says at the end of this Psalm:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise. (vs. 16-17)

David understands: it’s not about the physical sacrifice. It’s about the heart.

So, what does this have to do with us? Most of us probably aren’t dealing with sin as “bad” as adultery and murder. What about those daily sins that creep up on us? God doesn’t want your outward show – He wants true repentance, a broken heart, a true desire for restoration, a true turning away from our sin.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have been struggling to get myself and the kids on a consistent daily schedule. Between that post, today’s look at repentance, part one of this series, and another study I’ve been doing in my quiet time, God has pointed out a very obvious need for confession in my own life. I might not be as “bad” as David in this instance, but I am not in line with the heart of God.

I know that I have spent far too much time lately on frivolous things on the computer, which means that I have been neglecting my children and husband. I have been failing to invest the time I should in teaching my children and even just playing with them and being available to them. The giant ironing pile still looms, the playdough and paints sit untouched in the basement, and right now there is a huge bolt of fabric calling my name that I need to sew into curtains for our room. These aren’t earth shattering things, but they are things that I have been given the privilege and responsibility to do for my family. My kids notice when I am engrossed with something other than them. My husband notices when I don’t delight in caring for him as much as doing something meaningless. My heart has been divided, and I’m not doing what I need to do! Lesson learned from David: I have been tolerating compromise, and if I continue I’m setting myself up for failure.

I don’t know what your area of struggle is right now. Guaranteed, we all have one! I pray that you will join me in praying Psalm 51 along with David, and committing to give the Lord our hearts and not just an outward show. He wants it all. He is worthy of it all.

Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
Psalm 86:11