Good Morning Siblings!
Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 25-27
Rabbit Trails
I’m gonna dive right into today! Today, my notes are more of a general overview of the readings so keep that in mind as you go through.
🌿There is something in our reading today that, unless we are paying close attention, may slip by us in our modern translations. Whenever Abigail says “LORD” in all caps, in the original text she was saying YHWH’s personal name!
Now, keep in mind that this was during a time (much like now) when most people worshipped multiple gods so the term “god” or even “lord” was a generic and could be applied to pretty much anything or any number of false gods.
🌿HOWEVER, by Abigail using YHWH’s PERSONAL name, she is also:
- Reminding David of who He belongs to
- Reminding David of who they both answer to
- Reminding David that they are each set apart from the culture of their time
Folks, we all need to pray for the Father to send people like this into our lives.
Now do you see how important it is that we at least know His personal name (aside from the fact that He originally had it in the Bible nearly 7000 times)? Click here for a refresher on that.
🌿I’ve noticed a lot of people asking how His name is pronounced lately. While folks can tell you how they think it is pronounced, there is credible research to support many different pronunciations and the truth is that at this point in history, we just don’t know (see that refresher article). So while many folks will be happy to tell you how they pronounce it, I encourage you to read that link for a starting point on understanding what His name is and why we don’t know how to pronounce it. Then, do your own research and spend some time in prayer asking the Father for His guidance.
I fully understand the urge to ask folks so you can “get it right”, but wisdom like that can only come from one source and there are no shortcuts. It’s a journey. Commit to the journey with Him and you’ll never regret it, even if some trails are longer and more complicated than you anticipated.
🌿1 Samuel 25:1 In the process of hiding out with his men, David has found himself in an area which is populated with shepherds looking over the sheep of Nabal. We see in 1 Samuel 25:16 and 1 Samuel 25:21 that he and his men have watched over not only Nabal’s shepherds but also his property while they were among them. And now it is shearing time and David is asking for some provisions for his party. He notes that it is a feast time and I immediately thought that this must be referring to one of YHWH’s feasts but it could be that he is referring to the tradition of holding a feast at the time of shearing. I didn’t have time to dive too deeply into researching this to see if there was evidence either way or if a date of this encounter could be surmised based on dates given elsewhere in the text.
🌿When we see this story of Nabal and David, I think most of us (I know this is true for myself) are outraged and even offended that Nabal did not extend hospitality to David and his men. We see the beautiful Abigail saving the day and saving her husband’s life from David’s sword in the process.
However, in stepping back and looking at this story objectively, we see that while Nabal was rude, he didn’t commit any crimes against David. He did dishonor David and it appears a very out of character David was angered enough by this to go on a killing spree. By stopping him from doing this, Abigail prevented Him from shedding innocent blood, which would have put him under bloodguilt – something that would not only affect his descendants but most certainly his anointing to be king. 1 Samuel 25:26-31
We see in the dialogue that David fully realized that Abagail had done for him as well. 1 Samuel 25:33
How many times have we been under YHWH’s anointing in a task only to be distracted when our flesh takes offense to something in some way? This is why it is so important to keep communication open with the Father at all times, to submit to the Holy Spirit and to know the teachings of YHWH, because knowing and obeying YHWH’s word will keep us out of 110% of the trouble we tend to get into when we work on our own accord.
The language used in this exchange is important because that is where we can glean a great lesson if we have ears to hear and eyes to see. David knew that his salvation rested in wholly trusting in the Father. 1 Samuel 25:31. It is the same for us.
31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself.
🌿So here is the lesson: Keep your focus on YHWH and Kingdom matters. Don’t be distracted by the world’s battles because the world will make those battles look like they are equal to if not more important than or even IDENTICAL to the Father’s battles. The Father may assign you a task, hand you your armor and show you exactly where to go, but if you take your eyes off Him, the world will have you running in the opposite direction and you’ll think you’re still following YHWH. Make no mistake, the more the Father moves and the closer we get to His will and the return of our Messiah, the louder and more noble the world will make its battles appear in order to distract us from following Him.
🌿In fact, as we continue reading and move into 1 and 2 Kings we will see the world setting up direct counterfeits of YHWH’s commandments, feasts, and entire faith system. What will Israel do? Surely, having followed the Father and being set apart as His chosen people, they will recognize the counterfeits, right? Yes, in some cases they do. Well do they rebuke them then? Nope. They effectively shrug their shoulders and say “Eh, that’s good enough”, and intentionally leave the path laid out by YHWH for the path laid out by man. Do you see us in Israel? Do you realize that we actually are Israel today*?
*Sidenote: Please do not mistake this for replacement doctrine, which exists in direct contradiction to the word of YHWH. We have in no way taken Israel’s place as YHWH’s chosen people, but rather have been grafted into this tree that YHWH planted at the beginning of time. See Romans 11, Isaiah 56, and Genesis through Revelation. 😉
So how will we know? How will we be able to tell if we are following the Father or off on a diversion?
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” John 8:47
But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:28
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.Psalm 85:8
When you spend time with the Father every day, when you are faithful to Him, you learn to recognize His voice. You learn to see His hand. And you know Him how He wants us to know Him. Just like a dear loved one. I didn’t just know my grandaddy by looking at him. I recognized his smell, his voice, the temperature of his skin, the texture of the shirts he wore, the weight of the impression on the couch when he sat down beside me. I could walk in a room and know if he had just left that room. I knew when he entered a room without having to look up. Why? He was dear to me. I didn’t just know of him. I knew him. And how much more closely does our Father long to be to us?
In His word, He had given us ways to test the things of this world and discern the things that are of Him. Our job is to read His word, study it, believe it, and live by it. Reading His word, every day, will have us hearing His voice, every day. It will become familiar in ways we never dreamed possible. Hours of trying to memorize verses don’t hold a candle to how much will be added to our knowledge banks simply by dedicating ourselves to reading His whole word, from beginning to end, with our whole hearts set on Him.
🌿1 Samuel 25:44 shows that while David was in hiding, Saul even gave his wife to someone else!
🌿OVER AND OVER in our reading we have seen many times in which David had the opportunity to take back that which he had put into the hands of YHWH – and he refused to. David was in a state of waiting and he knew that the Father was clearing his path. He knew that YHWH was fighting this battle and that YHWH was clearing the way – and he understood his place and that all glory was going to go to YHWH in this. If you haven’t watched my video on this and you’re in our Facebook group, you can click here to see that. Remember, when we give something to YHWH and we see Him beginning to move with it, we are not to snatch it back. David has had several opportunities to do just that and his response is a great model to emulate. Read this story and take that to soul.
🌿We’ve talked a lot about YHWH’s feasts and as more people return to His word, more and more are realizing how important these appointed times are. When the Father says something is important to Him – the children listen. 🙌🏻So I just wanted to give you a heads up that the next Holy Day is Passover. Now, there are different calendars to go by and you might want to research and determine which one you are going to follow but the calendar we use has that on April 8, followed by the second of YHWH’s appointed times in 2020, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, from April 9-15. Per multiple requests, I plan on doing a video soon talking over these two appointed times in hopes of helping anyone who wants to know more about how to keep them.
In closing:
You won’t know a counterfeit if you don’t know the original.
Let’s diligently seek the original original – the Creator of all things.
Begin at the beginning with our Genesis notes
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