AND DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD HIS GOD

“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.” (1 Samuel 30:6).

 

David was a young man whom God wanted to apprehend.  God saw in David what nobody else was able (or willing) to see.  They only looked on the outside, but God could see into David’s heart.  This is why the LORD had sent Samuel to anoint David to be the next King of Israel.  Their first king, Saul, was after the people’s heart, but David was a man after God’s own heart.  After his anointing, however, David found only trouble.  Saul was jealous of David and saw him as a rival for the throne.  He resented David’s popularity with the people, his military victories, and his closeness to God.  Saul’s jealousy eventually turned to hatred and rage, and he openly sought to kill David. 

 

After some close calls with Saul, David believed that he would have to take his band of 600 followers and their families into the land of the Philistines to survive.  So, he appealed to the Philistine King Achish and asked him for sanctuary.  It was a touchy proposition for David because he had to agree to act as a body guard to Achish and to fight the King’s battles – even if those battles were against his own countrymen in Israel.  David had no intention of raising his sword against his own people, but he had to act as if he were agreeing to Achish’s terms to obtain protection from Saul for himself and his men.  To seal the deal, King Achish gave David the city of Ziklag for himself, his men, and their families to dwell in. 

 

It’s at this point in David’s life that God allows him to experience the worst trial of his young life thus far.  We find the account of what happened in the 30^th chapter of 1 Samuel.  “And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag…that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 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.  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.  Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.  And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.  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.” (1 Samuel 30:1-6).

 

The LORD allowed David to experience these hardships in order to teach him to lean on God’s everlasting arms and not on his own strength or understanding.  Each episode of his young life gave David valuable experience to face the trials that faced him later.  Slaying the lion and the bear to protect his father’s sheep gave him faith to believe that he could defeat Goliath.  Facing down Goliath gave him the courage to survive Saul’s attempts to kill him.  In each trial David prevailed.  Even at this lowest of low points in his troubled life scripture tells us that “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

 

This phrase captured my imagination when I heard it quoted recently.  It is such a simple thing that it is easy for it to escape our attention.  David, however, knew its power.  Too often, when we face adversity of any kind, we are quick to blame ourselves and think that we are suffering because of something we have done wrong.  We may hide ourselves from God when, instead, we should be seeking Him and drawing close to Him.  We can grow discouraged and anxious over our circumstances and even let fear grip our hearts, but this is when we most need to remind ourselves of God’s great love and mercy.  David wrote in his great 23^rd Psalm, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.” (Psalms 23:4).  David knew that we often face the SHADOW of death but not death itself.  It may look like death, but we needn’t fear it because God is with us.  Paul reminds us in his letter to the Hebrews that “…we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15, 16).  BOLDLY.  This is how we are to come before our Father: not sheepishly, or in fear of rejection, but openly, frankly, with free and fearless confidence and assurance of our Father’s deep love for us.

 

The Hebrew word that English scholars translated as “encouraged” in 1 Samuel 30:6 of the King James Bible means also “to strengthen oneself; to be courageous; and to prevail.”  We can, therefore, embrace the promises that God has given to every believer in Christ so that we can find the courage to fight the good fight.  It is by His Spirit that we are strengthened with might in our inner man.  It is by His sure and unfailing Word that we prevail! 

 

When adversity comes into our lives – and it will – we must know how to connect with God and to encourage ourselves in the Lord our God.  Our arch-enemy, the devil, seeks to isolate us from other believers and make us feel as if God, too, is unreachable.  His insinuations are merely lies and deceptions, though.  Our Father’s eyes are always watching the righteous, and His ears are always open to their cries.  He is aware of every trial that we go through, and He is able to work all things together for good for His children in the end.  It is extremely important that we learn to be “…strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”

 

The Bible refers to all of David’s men as “mighty.”  When this trouble came upon them, though, they all wept like babies until they could weep no more.  No matter how strong we think we are in the Lord, there is always something out there that can bring us to our knees.  This is not altogether a bad thing.  It teaches us to place our trust in God and not in ourselves.  Isaiah said, “He [God] giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall…” (Isaiah 40:29, 30).  The youths and young men in this verse refer to those who try to prevail through their own natural and fleshly strength.  They will grow weak and eventually fall, but to those who have no natural strength, God will grant His might and power.  “…But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).

 

After David began to encourage himself in the LORD his God, He did something else that was very important: he sought God’s direction to know how he should proceed.  The method that David used to discern God’s will seems strange to us today, but it was common practice in David’s day.  Scripture says, “And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.  And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And He [God] answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” (1 Samuel 30:7, 8). 

 

We need to understand a little about this ephod thing before we can grasp how and why it was used to inquire of God.  In the Book of Exodus, when God was giving instructions to Moses on how the Tabernacle and all of its furnishings were to be constructed, the LORD also described in great detail how the priests who served in the Tabernacle were to be dressed.  Besides a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash, an ephod was also to be fashioned for the priests to wear.  The ephod was basically an apron that was tied around the waist over the priest’s other garments and attached at the shoulders with two straps.  It was made of fine linen and woven together with four colors of yarn: gold, blue, purple, and scarlet.  On each shoulder there was attached an onyx stone that was engraved with the names of six of the sons of Israel and then set in gold filigrees.  There was also a breastplate of fine linen that was woven with the four colors of yarn like the ephod.  Mounted on the breastplate were 12 precious gemstones set in gold.  Each one had the name of a tribe of Israel engraved upon it.  Finally, hidden in the breastplate were two stones of judgment called the Urim (light) and Thummim (perfection) with which the priest could somehow discern God’s will in a particular matter.  You can read the description of everything mentioned above in chapter 28 of Exodus.    

 

This ephod, with its stones of judgment, is what David asked Abiathar the Priest to bring to him.  This article of the priest’s garb was loaded with symbolism.  First of all, the colors that were woven into it were significant.  The gold stood for faith and purity, the blue for divinity, the purple for royalty, and the scarlet pointed to the atoning blood.  All of these things were types and shadows of Jesus Christ our Lord in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.  Symbolically, when the priest put on the ephod, it was as if he were putting on Christ much like we put on Christ when we are saved and baptized.  “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27).  The onyx stones that each had the names of six of the tribes of Israel on them and worn on the shoulders of the ephod are a memorial to remind the priests that the burden of God’s chosen people rested upon their shoulders.  Again, the symbolism here alludes to Christ of Whom Isaiah said “…the government shall be upon His shoulder.” (Isaiah 9:6).  Then there was the breastplate that contained the names of the children of Israel.  This was a constant reminder that the priest also carried the welfare of God’s people always upon his heart, even as the Lord carries all of us continually on His heart.  “And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.” (Exodus 28:29).  Last of all, the stones of judgment - the Urim and the Thummim - provided direction and guidance for the people of God just like Jesus provides direction to His people today through the Spirit of truth.

 

In our current dispensation, the ways in which we encourage ourselves in the Lord our God are different than they were in David’s day, although the intention is still the same.  For one thing, the Urim and the Thummim no longer exist today, and we wouldn’t know exactly how to use them if we did have them.  In the same way, there are no more ephods to be found.  The old methods that were occasionally employed by the Jews to discover God’s will such as “laying out a fleece” as Gideon did, and “casting lots” as the mariners did in Jonah’s day, and as the Apostles did in the Book of Acts have also been replaced by a much better way. 

 

In the Book of Jude we read, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 20, 21).  Here we find the New Testament version of 1 Samuel 30:6.  Jude tells us plainly in these verses just what we must do to encourage ourselves in the Lord. 

 

First, we must build ourselves up on our most holy faith.  Faith is always the key to victory over difficult circumstances.  Whatever is born of God overcomes the world!  The victory that overcomes the world is our faith!  It’s up to each of us to lay hold of the Word of God and believe that what the Lord says He will do is a foundation that cannot be moved, shaken or destroyed.

 

Secondly, we must learn to pray in the Holy Ghost.  The Spirit has been given to every believer in order to lead us into all truth.  He is that still, small voice that speaks to our spirit and guides us in truth.  What He speaks to us will never contradict the Word of God, but will always confirm it.  The Holy Spirit Himself will intercede for us at times when we don’t know how to pray, and He will always intercede according to the perfect will of God.  We must learn to wait before the Lord until His Holy Spirit directs us.  Too many Christians think that it is about their will when they pray and pray many very selfish things which the Lord will not fulfill.  Instead, we must learn to discern the Lord’s will and then pray accordingly.  Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).  

 

Thirdly, we must keep ourselves in the love of God.  Adversity can breed bitterness and selfishness if we let it.  If we are not careful, we can turn our anger and resentment toward those we perceive have wronged us.  It is essential that we learn to forgive and to love our enemies, or God is not able to forgive our transgressions.  True agapé love will extend mercy even where there is no reciprocation or apparent recognition of guilt.  When Joseph was able to stand before his brothers who sold him into slavery and feel no anger toward them, but forgive them unreservedly, he became an example of Christ’s unconditional love.  One powerful verse regarding the love of God is this: “Charity [agapé love] never faileth.” (1 Corinthians 13:8).

 

Finally, we must always look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.  It is a comfort and an encouragement to us that God’s compassions do not fail us and His mercies are new every morning (see Lamentations 3:23).  In order to receive of God’s mercies, we must be willing to freely acknowledge our sins to God.  When we keep silent to God about our wrong doing, we spiritually dry up (see Psalms 32:3, 4).  When we confess our sins to God, however, we find His mercies are abundant toward us (see Psalms 32:5, 6). 

 

According to God’s direction, David pursued the Amalekites who had burned his city and taken all that he had until he overtook them.  With only 400 of his men David attacked this great army from twilight of the first day until the evening of the next day.  Only 400 young men from the Amalekite army managed to escape.  “And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.  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.” (1 Samuel 30:18-20).  God restores what Satan steals! 

 

When you find yourself in the midst of difficulties, and it seems like you are all alone, encourage yourself in the Lord your God!  You will find that He is never very far from you and will always hear your cry.  Your God will restore all that the enemy has stolen from you, and more besides!!!  Blessed be His glorious name forever!  When God says, “pursue” we must pursue and overtake our enemies!