My dear friends would recall that in the previous parts of this series on Security, I had touched upon the subject of Social (Ruth) and Economic security (Shunemmite lady), bringing to the fore how God provided in the lives of two devout women in His own miraculous way, when these helpless ladies were up against what seemed like apparently insurmountable problems.
You would recall dear friends that in both these cases, the Bible does not even explicitly state that God’s hand was there in deliverance of these women from their respective problems, so much so, there may be a temptation to attribute them all to pure coincidence or a stroke of fortune. For the spiritually discerning, however, His role would have been a bit too obvious to miss.
In this part, I would like to place a case of God’s unique security pertaining to our Messiah’s ancestor, David. Here again, God’s deliverance of David from a life-threatening problem would seem coincidental, but His hand would be a bit too obvious to miss for the discerning. So what is that incident in the life of God-dependant David when God intervened miraculously?
We all know the troubles, this King-in-waiting (before his ascension to the throne) experienced from an enraged, jealous King Saul, the incumbent of the throne of Israel, who was hell-bent on liquidating his potential competitor (to his throne). For much of the time until the demise of King Saul, David was roaming the countryside as a fugitive fleeing from his murderous enemy (though David himself harbored no grudge against him, in fact two times he spared his life – 1 Samuel 24:7,8 and 1 Samuel 26:11). In a lighter vein, one is reminded of the Tom and Jerry cartoon show whenever the story of David versus Saul is recalled. Just as Jerry would always escape the clasp of Tom, David would always, albeit very narrowly at times, remain out of reach of Saul’s grasp. However in the incident–yet another episode of Saul in David’s pursuit, which I am projecting to you dear friends, David’s time seems to be clearly up.
We will pick-up the action from 1 Samuel 23:19 to verse 26 (TLB). Betrayed by men of Ziph, (who leaked to Saul, David’s exact whereabouts) we see David is once again on the run for his life with King Saul snapping at his heels. This time all escape routes seem to have been cut-off, as verse 26 explicitly states: “Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. As Saul and his men began to close in, David tried his best to escape, but it was no use.” Curtains, at last for David? Nay! Not by a long shot. Can the troubles of His dear ones escape God’s notice? Never! Only that the timing of His intervention, which to our limited vision seems a trifle delayed, is always perfect. Verse 27 (TLB) states… “But just then, a news, a message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again, so Saul quit the chase and returned to fight the Philistines”…as his Kingly duties required.
Continuing to chase David, when a bigger problem loomed large before his nation, would mean his political popularity would nosedive, which populist Saul could ill-afford. In order that no one (especially his army which was with him at that point of time) would cast aspersions on his patriotism and his royal responsibilities, he was constrained to call off the “Eliminate David operation,” albeit temporarily, and take up the “Fight Philistines” mission. “Whew! That was a close one,” we can almost hear David sighing. No wonder David called the place where he experienced God’s deliverance, “Sela Hammahlekoth” which means “Rock of Escape.”
Now, the arrival of news of Philistines raiding Israel that reached Saul just as he was closing in on David…was that a case of mere coincidence? No way! Rather, God’s act of providential security to His dear one, David.
Prayer: Father, You know everything about us. None of our difficulties is hidden from Thee. We experience marvelous deliverance at a perfect time from our problems. We glorify You in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Suresh Manoharan
An unworthy servent
J and SM Ministries
(To access the entire “Security” mini-series, please click here.)