May 22, 2020
Please read today’s Scriptures and use the comment section on this page to share your insights from today’s reading. You can also just mention a verse that impacted you or post a question!
Psalm 142 (ESV)
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way!
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see:
there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for my soul.
5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord
For hearing me
For leading me
For loving me
Thank you, Lord
For helping me
For showing me
The way to be free
No need to worry
No need to fear
Thank you, Lord
I know you are here
"David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him." 1 Samuel 22:1-2
This psalm was written by David while King Saul (of Israel) and his armies of thousands were pursuing David in the wilderness, intent on killing him (1 Samuel 18-31). Driven by fear, loathing, envy, anger and insecurity, was also killing anyone who helped or harbored David, striking fear throughout the entire region.
While David was living in the wilderness, hiding in caves, he found men living outside the boundaries of society for various reasons: some may have been homeless by choice ("discontented"), others were on the run because of debt (running away rather than becoming slaves), and certainly there would have been men who were mentally ill or who themselves were on the run from people wanting them dead ("in distress").
Until this morning, it never occurred to me that the hundreds of men who gathered around David at this time in his life were outcasts, men with no homes and no jobs, living apart from the benefits of social order, men just trying to survive. Desperate men. Hungry men. Men who may have been tempted to turn David in and receive a reward, perhaps even a place of honor in the kingdom.
Truly, David could entrust himself to no one who was with him at that time. Even though Scripture tells us he became their commander, that would also have made him more vulnerable. He was no longer "one of them." It is human nature to resent and even envy those who are rising to the top and being looked to for leadership, and to even seek to remove them or otherwise harm them.
Can you imagine living with that kind of fear? Afraid even to go to sleep? I'm anxious thinking about it!
How do you build an army of trusted soldiers and companions in those circumstances? How would David eventually become king of Israel?
Only God!
It’s great that you’ve been spending so much time reading and writing while on vacation!
I'd never get through life without God.
He has proven time and time again that He is there, He loves me, and He will never leave me.
I've read the last 3 readings this morning, and it was at the exact right time, of course. I've handed over control to God, and I am at peace during a time that would have torn me apart before I was saved.
I praise Him and give Him all the glory for the miracles He performs.
Amen!