A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
to mourn until God intervened and sent him to Bethlehem with a new task. He was to go to the house of Jesse and find among his sons the one who would sit on the throne in the place of Saul. Knowing how Saul would react if he learned Samuel had anointed another man as king, Samuel took a heifer with him and planned to offer it as a sacrifice to distract attention from his real purpose. When he came to the house of Jesse, he asked Jesse to present his sons. One by one, the sons of Jesse passed before the aging prophet. When Samuel was introduced to Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse, he was certain that was the one God wanted to be king. Eliab “looked” like a king. It was the same mistake the people had made twenty-six years earlier in choosing Saul as king. God warned Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). On this basis, each of the seven sons of Jesse presented to Samuel was rejected. Finally, the youngest son of Jesse was called for and brought to Samuel. Immediately the Lord made it clear that David was the one. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day onward” (v. 13). PERSPECTIVE: THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC AFFECTS THE TOTAL PERSON As David was anointed with oil and the Holy Spirit, Saul was plagued by an evil spirit. In an effort to resolve this situation David was selected to come to the palace and play for the king. “And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him” (1 Sam. 16:23). The royal counselors realized the tremendous power that skillfully played music could have on their king emotionally, physically, and spiritually. THIRTY-SIX SAUL: His Pursuit of David (1 Samuel 17:1-31:13; various Psalms) David remained in the palace as a type of court minstrel until a major invasion of the Philistines forced Saul to return to the battlefield. Though his three oldest brothers joined the army of Saul, David returned to his father’s home to care for the flocks of his father. It is estimated David was seventeen years old at this time and, therefore, exempt from military duty. Also, with three of his sons fighting in the army of Saul, Jesse no doubt needed his youngest son to help take up the slack on the farm. It seemed like another battle would be fought that David would not be allowed to participate in. Because David is earlier described as “a mighty man of valor, a man of war” (1 Sam. 16:18), many commentators believe he may have been involved in a few minor skirmishes with the Philistines near his home in Bethlehem even though he was still three years too young to be
numbered among “the men of war.” Every indication of David’s early actions suggests he was eager to do his part in defending his nation from its enemies. This would be especially true in that he was one of the few people who knew who the next king of Israel would be. But as much as David wanted to be in the battle, the man after God’s own heart was prepared to accept the direction God set for him in life. He returned to his father’s house and remained under his authority after his brief residence in the palace in the service of Saul. For almost six weeks David led the flocks of his father over the hills of Bethlehem. DAVID AND GOLIATH (1 Sam. 17:1-54) While David watched the flocks of his father, his three older brothers and those fighting with them engaged in a prolonged stalemate of daily skirmishes with the Philistines which failed to decide a clear victor. In such cases, it was customary among the Greek armies to propose the battle be decided by a championship contest. The Greeks had a democratic view of heaven in which they believed the various gods voted in support of each other as their subjects went to war. The god who got the largest vote was the one who was assured of winning the battle. Fatalistically, the Greeks therefore concluded the battle could be determined if a representative champion from each army met in a fight to the death. They reasoned this would determine how the gods had voted in heaven and also result in saving lives which might otherwise be lost in the battle. Among the Philistines was a man of Gath named Goliath. He stood nine feet three inches tall and would have probably weighed 500-600 pounds. Some writers believe Goliath’s mammoth size may have been due to a tumor of the pituitary gland, a known cause of giantism today. One of the frequent complications of this condition is “tunnel vision,” caused by the enlarged tumor interfering with the inner fibers of the optic nerves (cf. 1 Sam. 17:42). Though this may have made Goliath a little clumsy on his feet, he was nevertheless well able to handle himself in military conflict. He was “a man of war from his youth” (v. 33) and had earned such a reputation as to be the appointed champion of the Philistines (v. 4). For forty consecutive days, the giant of Gath challenged the army of Israel to a championship battle every morning and evening. The army was probably still engaged in handto-hand conflict during this period, and the lack of military progress against the Philistines together with the constant defiance of Goliath discouraged and scared the Israelite army. The nation Israel was fighting for its national existence, and each day it was becoming increasingly less convinced it could or would win. As the battle continued into its second month, Jesse became increasingly concerned over the fate of his sons and the army of Israel. Because there was not the extensive communications media which exists today, Jesse had probably not heard any reliable news about the battle since his sons left to fight with Saul. He called his youngest son David in to travel to the front and take supplies to his older brothers. Jesse also asked David to return with news of the progress of the battle. David left very early the next morning and lost no time getting to the battlefield. He arrived just as the army of Israel was launching its morning offensive and, in his youthful enthusiasm, he joined in. He shouted, cheering on his national army and, after leaving the supplies he had brought with the keeper, ran into the army to join with the fighting unarmed. Quickly he found his brothers and they began exchanging greetings. Then, for the eighty-first time since the battle had begun forty-one days earlier, the booming voice of Goliath echoed again across the
- Page 138 and 139: JOSHUA: From Victory to Victory (Jo
- Page 140 and 141: THE NORTHERN CAMPAIGN (Josh. 11:1-1
- Page 142 and 143: TWENTY-EIGHT JUDGES: Othniel, Ehud,
- Page 144 and 145: attlefield or in spiritual realms.
- Page 146 and 147: DEBORAH AND BARAK AND THE DEFEAT OF
- Page 148 and 149: Lord is with us” (v. 13), suggest
- Page 150 and 151: GIDEON: THE READY CRUSADER (Jud. 7:
- Page 152 and 153: of action in that city, it was he w
- Page 154 and 155: ead during their Exodus from Egypt
- Page 156 and 157: LOVE’S REQUEST (Ruth 3:1-18) Naom
- Page 158 and 159: worshipers. Because of the importan
- Page 160 and 161: paternity could not always be estab
- Page 162 and 163: Jephthah’s problems were not over
- Page 164 and 165: THE WIFE OF MANOAH (Jud. 13:1-25) (
- Page 166 and 167: decaying carcass of the lion as a h
- Page 168 and 169: Delilah sought to learn the secret
- Page 170 and 171: With the compromising Levite and Mi
- Page 172 and 173: attlefront would raise the spirits
- Page 174 and 175: “Then she made a vow and said, `O
- Page 176 and 177: the voice again, he was to remain w
- Page 178 and 179: territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He
- Page 180 and 181: when they would cry out to God beca
- Page 182 and 183: finding the lost asses; however, hi
- Page 184 and 185: a battle and the ensuing loss of li
- Page 186 and 187: Philistines disarmed the nation so
- Page 190 and 191: valley of Elah. “I defy the armie
- Page 192 and 193: Saul began to view David as a perso
- Page 194 and 195: Samuel were staying, he too began p
- Page 196 and 197: dead. Every legitimate means of dis
- Page 198 and 199: On the death of Saul, David was the
- Page 200 and 201: elieved Joab could be trusted. He p
- Page 202 and 203: that place until the dedication of
- Page 204 and 205: his own bed in Jerusalem rather tha
- Page 206 and 207: David himself had called for the st
- Page 208 and 209: When his cousin Jonadab probed Amno
- Page 210 and 211: attlefields against Absalom, the ot
- Page 212 and 213: enemies of Israel during his reign.
- Page 214 and 215: agreed with the settlement, the oth
- Page 216 and 217: THE WEALTH OF SOLOMON (1 Kings 9:10
- Page 218 and 219: Though most of the book contains an
- Page 220 and 221: JEROBOAM AND REHOBOAM: The Division
- Page 222 and 223: chance of succeeding, and now it wa
- Page 224 and 225: It took the serious illness of his
- Page 226 and 227: Kingdom of Israel. The political tu
- Page 228 and 229: God. This apostate dynasty would le
- Page 230 and 231: anticipatory sense as the next dyna
- Page 232 and 233: The Man of Like Passion and Power (
- Page 234 and 235: again appear in the sky and the ear
- Page 236 and 237: times before his servant saw a smal
to mourn until God intervened and sent him to Bethlehem with a new task. He was to go to the<br />
house of Jesse and find among his sons the one who would sit on the throne in the place of Saul.<br />
Knowing how Saul would react if he learned Samuel had anointed another man as king, Samuel<br />
took a heifer with him and planned to offer it as a sacrifice to distract attention from his real<br />
purpose.<br />
When he came to the house of Jesse, he asked Jesse to present his sons. One by one, the<br />
sons of Jesse passed before the aging prophet. When Samuel was introduced to Eliab, the oldest<br />
son of Jesse, he was certain that was the one God wanted to be king. Eliab “looked” like a king.<br />
It was the same mistake the people had made twenty-six years earlier in choosing Saul as king.<br />
God warned Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I<br />
have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward<br />
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). On this basis, each of the seven sons<br />
of Jesse presented to Samuel was rejected.<br />
Finally, the youngest son of Jesse was called for and brought to Samuel. Immediately the<br />
Lord made it clear that David was the one. “<strong>The</strong>n Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him<br />
the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day onward” (v.<br />
13).<br />
PERSPECTIVE: THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC AFFECTS<br />
THE TOTAL PERSON<br />
As David was anointed with oil and the Holy Spirit, Saul was plagued by an evil spirit. In<br />
an effort to resolve this situation David was selected to come to the palace and play for the king.<br />
“And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and<br />
play it with his hand <strong>The</strong>n Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit<br />
would depart from him” (1 Sam. 16:23). <strong>The</strong> royal counselors realized the tremendous power<br />
that skillfully played music could have on their king emotionally, physically, and spiritually.<br />
THIRTY-SIX<br />
SAUL:<br />
His Pursuit of David<br />
(1 Samuel 17:1-31:13; various Psalms)<br />
David remained in the palace as a type of court minstrel until a major invasion of the<br />
Philistines forced Saul to return to the battlefield. Though his three oldest brothers joined the<br />
army of Saul, David returned to his father’s home to care for the flocks of his father. It is<br />
estimated David was seventeen years old at this time and, therefore, exempt from military duty.<br />
Also, with three of his sons fighting in the army of Saul, Jesse no doubt needed his youngest son<br />
to help take up the slack on the farm. It seemed like another battle would be fought that David<br />
would not be allowed to participate in.<br />
Because David is earlier described as “a mighty man of valor, a man of war” (1 Sam.<br />
16:18), many commentators believe he may have been involved in a few minor skirmishes with<br />
the Philistines near his home in Bethlehem even though he was still three years too young to be
Change language