Today's Treasure:
"The priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away"
1 Samuel 21:6
I loved today's study, not necessarily for the individual verses, but for the overall meaning.
The Blessed Reminder
Why is it that we need to constantly be reminded of God unfailing love? Why is it that He constantly has to prove himself to us? Don't you think it should be the other way around? We should be the ones that are trying to figure out what we can do each and every day to prove to God how much we love Him. But we don't have to because "God gets it". He understands how His love works. He understands that it comes to us free of charge. All we have to do is believe that His son was sacrificed on a wooden cross and died for our sins. God understands that true love has no strings attached. We don't get that no matter how hard we try. We think that each person in our life has to bend over backwards to prove to us that they are trustworthy. We expect the ones that love us the most to spend much of their lives striving to prove to us that they love us. I am including God when I say the ones that love us the most. I most definitely fall into this category of the expecting. I think of all that my precious husband does on a daily basis to show me his undying love. He gets up each morning and goes off to provide for our family. He calls throughout the day to tell me he is thinking of me and he loves me. He comes home to a chaotic house of children and dogs, and I am the first one he comes to for a kiss and a hug (with a whisper of "I love you" in the ear). I have grown to expect this behavior from him. If he suddenly stopped one day, I would be questioning every aspect of his commitment to me. Yet, he doesn't stop. He holds my hand as chemo drips into my veins, and he kisses me gently when it's time to go home. He drives four hours each Wednesday without complaining of a backache or being tired. Then, he gets up Thursday and goes back to work. I pray that I show him how much all of this means to me, but I am sure I fa ll short of that. This reminds me so much of how God spends each day of our lives providing, protecting, gently kissing our spirits and feeding our souls. We have come to expect it, but do we return it to Him? God wakes us each morning with a kiss from the sun, he calls us throughout the day. "How are you my child?" Don't you feel him nudging throughout the day? Don't you feel the sense of needing to slow down and take a breath? That is the Holy Spirit making his phone call. He cradles us as we receive the medicines designed to renew our bodies when we are sick. As a matter of fact, He made that medicine possible. He protects us as he delivers us safely home from the journey that we take. He bathes us each night with his love!!! He rocks us gently to sleep in the peace that can only come from Him. Then, guess what, He wakes us up to do it all again the very next day. He doesn't expect us to do anything in return. He just keeps doing all of these things. It is His covenant with us. He will never back down from that precious covenant. Will you?
Read 1 Samuel 21: 1- 9
Why do you think Ahimelech might have been frightened by David's coming?
I am sure David's reputation as a fearless warrior and military leader had gotten around town. Ahimelech probably thought he might be in danger.
What lie did David tell Ahimelech?
The king sent him on a mission that was not to be disclosed
What two things did David request in these nine verses?
five loaves of bread and a weapon
The priest had no bread to offer David except the consecrated bread.
Doeg the Edomite will become a memorable figure in our study next week. Who was he according to verse 7?
Saul's head shepherd
The only sword in Nob was the one which had belonged to Goliath the Philistine
Beth points out that it made perfect sense for David to run first to the place where the tabernacle was relocated. Nob was the "city of the priests". I am sure David felt that he would be closer to God if he were in Nob.
When was the last time you reached out to your pastor or a leader in the church? Why did you reach out to them?
This one was an easy one for me, huh? The church family was among the first group I called the afternoon of my diagnosis. I wanted to be with people that knew of God's miracles. I wanted to feel the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, the same night I was told, I requested all of my family and closest friends to meet me in the sanctuary of our church. That night, we shared an amazing experience with the Holy Spirit, and I put all of my concerns at the foot of the cross.
We must note that David responded to the priest with a lie. I hate that we have to point this out because I would hate to have to list all of my character flaws on this e-mail. We would be here all day long. Yet, it is important to know that even the most amazing characters of the Bible have their flaws. God stands right by us and loves us no matter what.
Christ fed the multitudes with five loaves of bread in Matthew 14:19.
David also requested five loaves of bread.
In Leviticus 24: 5- 9, we see:
"This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant.."
Isaiah 55:3 promises God's faithful love to David.
It is important to note here, that David received the consecrated bread as a sign of God's personal covenant with him. There is no coincidence here. God is symbolizing his provision for David, both physically and spiritually.
This consecrated bread is called the bread of Presence because the original word for presence is paneh. Beth teaches that this means countenance, presence or face. With this bread, God was pledging his presence to David and promising to sustain him through his journey!!!
Psalm 22:24
"For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help"
John 6:47
What hint do you see of "covenant" or something binding or perpetual in this verse?
He who believes has everlasting life
Can you think of ways God has reminded you that He was with you, that His presence was there?
His peace is the biggest thing for me right now. He is the reason I can wake up and enjoy each moment of my life under these circumstances.
Did the reminder of His presence calm your heart or did you continue to fret and search for refuge elsewhere?
Yes, it calmed my heart. I did continue to fret because the human in me just insists on bugging me to death. However, I will not seek refuge elsewhere....NEVER!!!
Read 1 Samuel 21: 10 - 15
Describe David's act in these verses.
When the king thought he recognized David, he began to act like a madman. He made marks on the gates and let saliva run into his beard.
I believe he did this so the king would not recognize him as David, and he would be safe ( in case the king knew Saul was trying to kill him)
Beth teaches us that the people of this time were too superstitious to kill a madman. They felt the person would follow them into their next life.
Next week we will continue with David on his journey...
I am sure it promises to be a great week...I can't wait to spend it with you
I love you all
tiffany
No comments:
Post a Comment