1 Chron. 10-12
When the Philistines found Saul and his sons dead, they “sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols…”. (1 Chron 10:9). I am so grateful to serve a God who does not need me to “carry the good news” to Him!!
Wow – David amassed quite an army while he was living in Ziklag, the city given to him by the Philistine leader, Achish. Interestingly, men from every tribe of Israel came to him there. It is also interesting that the Scripture says that Amassai was clothed with the Spirit when he said, “We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” (1 Chron 12:18).
Since the Bible is full of imagery of Jesus, God’s Plan for the redemption of the world, I want to take a different look at David and his situation at this point in his life. We know that David is a representation of Jesus. We know that Saul, his enemy and current ruler of the kingdom at the time, pursued him relentlessly. And we know that some percentage of the people from every tribe came and devoted themselves to David while he was living in a foreign land. We also know that David, though promised the kingdom, did not take Saul by his own hand. Instead, he waited humbly for God’s time.
Can you see Jesus in David’s story? Like David, Jesus would spend time in a foreign land (here on earth), not to rule over it, but to draw us to Him until God casts out the Enemy for good and gives Jesus and His followers the kingdom. We come to Him from every nation. And we are, like Amassai, clothed with the Spirit as we say, “We are yours, O Lord Jesus.”
1 Cor. 8
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor. 8:1b). What a great statement! So often we let what we “know” in a situation guide our actions and attitudes rather than letting love be our guide. Paul says that when we do that, we are puffed up; acting in pride. Not that there is anything wrong with knowledge. Knowledge is a good thing. But arrogantly clinging to our ‘freedom’ in that knowledge at the expense of somebody else is most definitely NOT a good thing!
So even though Paul knew that food offered to a piece of wood or stone was still just food and he was free to eat it, he also understood that making that choice could be detrimental to somebody else’s faith, as their conscience might plague them for such an act. So the loving thing to do would be to set his freedom aside. Thus, Paul might choose to not eat such food rather than proudly standing on what he knew to be true. I think his point stands for other types of situations too. Like in an argument. I may know that I am ‘right’ in something, but is being right always worth damaging a relationship? Surly, if I focus on acting in love rather than standing on pride I can find a better resolution.