King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Friday, April 19, 2024
Chapters: I Samuel Chapters 28-30
Message: Prayers of Sincerity
Hello My Friend,
As I began to read the chapters for today I got to thinking about my prayer life and how God hears our prayers. There are times when we are reaching out to God and we are not very sincere as we tend to talk to Him out of habit or in a rush. Yet there are times when we are reaching out to Him that we are so busy that we do not give Him our full attention. And yet there are the times when we reach out to Him with all of our heart, in complete sincerity, and that is when we hear Him speaking back. My greatest fear in my walk with God is that He does not trust me with the things that I have need of as I fail Him so much in asking Him for something without sincerity.
Jesus, said this, [Luke 16:9-11 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?] Of course, the true riches that Jesus was speaking about is eternal life through Him, [Luke 12:29-31 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.]
A doubtful mind, now, that is the difference right there, I may be lousy at praying at times, but I have no doubt that I am a born again child of God through my faith in His Son and for that reason I know I do have eternal life, [Romans 3:22-24 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:]
If we are honest with ourselves, we all have what I call roller coaster faith in our prayer life, one minute we faith the size of this earth and so confident that God can do far more than we ever asked Him for, the next our faith is the size of a mustard seed, but God hears and reads between the lines more than we think. As we continue in the reading of 1 Samuel we learn that the Philistines are forming an invasion on Israel, the king goes to David and expects him to fight in the battle, and Saul was extremely scared because David was now on their side.
[1 Samuel 28:1-5 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. 2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. 3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. 4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. 5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.]
[Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.] While David assures the king that he would be there should the need arise the king appointed him as captain of the bodyguards. Meanwhile, Saul, did what every person does when they are fearing for their lives, he sought help first from anyone who could give him some advise. Since Samuel was dead, David was across enemy lines, Johnathan was angry at him, he had no one to turn to so he attempts to reach out to God to no avail he did the unthinkable, sought out a medium.
[1 Samuel 28:6-10 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. 7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. 8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. 9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.]
[the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.] So many people cry out to God, but unless they are saved He does not hear them. All Saul needed to do was repent, sincerely turn to God with all his heart, confess that he had sinned, and ask Him to save his soul, then He would not only have heard his prayer, but showed him what to do. Nevertheless, Saul sees no other option than to find someone who could bring up Samuel’s spirit. However, when the woman performed her ritual, she literally saw something she never has before, an actual spirit and she knew right away that the man in disguise was Saul.
[1 Samuel 28:12-16 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. 13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. 15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?]
[And Saul perceived that it was Samuel,] Saul, did not know who this was he just perceived it to be him, but as you notice his responses you can see that it was really not Samuel. You see, the devil is the ultimate deceiver, which is why we always need to try the spirits, [1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.]
[seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?] God, never saw Saul as an enemy, but the truth is, we are all enemies to God before we are saved because we are covered in sin. It is Jesus who reconciles one with God when they come to Him with sincere repentance, [Romans 5:8-11 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.]
Honestly, God, had given Saul several opportunities to repent before He did remove His Spirit from him, even right there he could have repented. Also, had it actually been Samuel talking, then he would have encouraged him to repent just like he always did. This was his last opportunity to repent as the spirit goes on to tell Saul that he and his sons will die.
[1 Samuel 28:18-20 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. 19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. 20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.]
[Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD,] Do you see how the devil likes to keep bringing up our past? God, will forgive and forget every sin that we confess to Him, but it is actually the devil who keeps bringing them up whenever we are contemplating life. How many times do we who are saved fail God? I do not even want to know that number, but what I do know is that I can go to God at any time, sincerely confess my sins, and they will be forgiven no matter how many times I seek repentance. Jesus said this to Peter when he asked Him how many times a person should be forgiven, [Matthew 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.]
[and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me:] This was the biggest tip off as to know that this was not Samuel talking. Had it been Samuel it would have only been Johnathan that would be in paradise when he died as he was a God fearing man. Now, this should have been the time for Saul to repent, but he did not. You see, God, knows our sincere faith in Him even though we fail Him so much and while it is no excuse that we are human and have this sin nature that is the actual reason why He forgives us time and time again, [1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.]
Now, while Saul was dealing with the news that he and his sons would die, David had his own troubles when the Philistines did not take it too kindly that he was on their side and ready to invade his own people.
[1 Samuel 29:1-4 Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish. 3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? 4 And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?]
[but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.] David, and his men had an offer that they could not refuse, followed behind at the rear of the pack. David, was in the greatest strait and difficulty that he had ever been in as it being both against his conscience and best interest to fight against his own brethren. However, it appears that they did not have to fight, even though David was willing.
[1 Samuel 29:6-9 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not. 7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. 8 And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.]
[I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God:] Achish, had such a good opinion of David that he would have defended him to the end, even declaring that God sent him, but by order of the council, they were not allowed to fight in the battle. As much as true Christians are willing to fight for their freedoms we do need to be careful to know which battle to fight. This is where God comes in and will direct us on whether we are to fight or go in peace, [Ecclesiastes 3:1,7-8 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.]
Well, that peace did not last too long as David and his men learned the reason why they were sent back home, or rather God knew. As soon as they returned home they discovered that their camp had been invaded by the Amalekites who took the opportunity of the Philistines invading Israel to raid their land.
[1 Samuel 30:1-4,6 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.]
[for the people spake of stoning him,] Did you ever cry and grieve so much that you literally could not shed anymore tears? This was the situation, and to make matters worse, they wanted to kill David for them not being there to protect them in the first place. Well, David, did the only thing that he could possibly do at this time, he prayed to God and even called on help from the priest.
[1 Samuel 30:8-10 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.]
[Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them,] You see, had David and his men been in the battle with the Philistines they would not have been able to fight, and who knows what would have happened to their wives and children had they not rescued them when they did. So, in this case, it was best that these men stayed behind and kept an eye on things. This would enable them to rest up and be ready had anyone came back. Now, there were the Amalekites, feasting on the food that they had snatched from their camps, dancing, and partying when it became their last as David and his men came to the rescue.
[1 Samuel 30:17-21 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. 20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil. 21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.]
[David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away:] Jesus, leaves no man, woman, or child’s soul behind, again, the only ones who end up in hell are those whom never accepted Him as their Saviour before they died. What about those who died before Christ’s resurrection? They actually resurrected, then went up to heaven where Jesus is, [Matthew 27:51-53 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.]
[David took all the flocks and the herds,] This reminds me that while the road in our walk with Christ is strait, meaning full of challenges, it also comes with great rewards, even earthly, [Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.]
Another way the devil gets to us is while we are weak in our spirit and flesh, we can have all the faith we want in God helping us, if our spirit is weak, the devil will use it to try to defeat us. After their victory, David, took the rest of the spoils that they had gotten and divided it between the six hundred men, including the two hundred that stood behind. However, a few of these men that were with David in the fight were upset that David wanted to share the goods they got with the two hundred.
[1 Samuel 30:22-25 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. 25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.]
[Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial,] There is no doubt that these were probably the same men that thought about stoning David. Wicked people who pretend to be Christians are not there to serve God or even want to get saved, they are there for what is in it for them and are quick to retaliate, [Hebrews 4:1-2,11-12 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.]
[so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.] This is proof that all Christians are in this together, it does not matter if we were saved forty years or four minutes ago, the same salvation is granted to all who accept Christ as their Saviour, [1 Corinthians 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [1 Samuel 30:23-24 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.]
Today’s Prayer: God, I do not always understand where You are taking me, but I do understand that You are right there with me, preparing me for the next battle. It is the devil that attempts to fill my head with my worst fears and say that it is You doing this. Lord, Lead me and guide me, put Your hedge of protection around me from all evil. Let me not get fooled by the devil’s deception, but keep me grounded in Your Word, mercies, and grace. Give me Your power and wisdom to follow Your path as I wait patiently for You to do Your work in me. Give me Your strength to keep going, a tender heart to remain faithful to You, and whether my faith is the size of a mustard seed or the earth, let me not fail to keep asking You for what I have need of, which You will grant me with much more without a doubt. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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