Tag: death

Categories
Thanksgiving

Thankful

I am thankful for the Holy Spirit, the Comforter from God. God has graciously given Him to His children for guidance, illumination, conviction, and comfort. I can imagine the Disciples’ confusion each time Christ foretold of the looming betrayal and death which He would soon experience. And yet, He also told them about the Comforter Whom God would leave with them. I’m reminded of this privilege daily.

Over the last few days I’ve read about Joseph’s reuniting with his brothers. What a lovely picture of grace! I wept as I read of Joseph weeping, and trying to restrain his tears, or be out of sight when overwhelmed. I thank God that I still am touched by Scripture. Thank You, Lord.

Categories
Quotes

Owen On Persistence in Mortification

Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until he be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. And so will he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death.

Categories
Devotion

On Guard, Christian!

On Guard, Christian! –

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. – James 1:12-15

About two years ago, I had the privilege of meeting some of my Christian brothers whom I knew from a favorite online message board. On this same occasion there was a “Men’s Rally” being held at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi. It was wonderful to sit under the preaching and teaching of Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. Excepting the Lord’s Day gathering that followed that weekend, there were two sessions. Dr. Ferguson spent one session on the subject of trials and the other on temptation.

One particular Dr. Ferguson expressed concerning temptation will always stand out in my mind. I don’t remember if it was his own choice of words (I think), or if he was simply paraphrasing John Owen, but his thoughts were along these lines:

“Sometimes in our lives the desire to sin is present, but not the opportunity. At other times, the opportunity presents itself, but the desire is absent. Temptation is most present and at its strongest when the sperm of desire and the egg of opportunity meet.”

What a way to put it, and how true it is! Friends, it is when opportunity and desire grather one with another that we must up the ante eve more on our guard. “Stay dressed for action and keeps your lamps burning”, Christ says. When temptation comes, and it will, the Christian must be ready. Not only is an active alert, preparation necessary, but also, oddly enough, a resignation of the pilgrim’s trust in his own ability to fight; rather, he must, as William Gurnall has so aptly penned, “Take special care not to trust in the armour of God, but in the God of the armour.”

We are deceived if we think we will not face trial or temptation. Though it is true Jesus said to his disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation”, we cannot take this to mean we won’t ever face such. From The Christian in Complete Armour we read:

“Now if this bold tempter watched Christ so closely, does it not seem likely he will scout you, too, hoping sooner or later to find your graces slumbering? What he misses now by your watchfulness he may gain later by your negligence.”

So, Christians let us rouse ourselves, be alert, and stay alert, and let us never forget the hideousness and heinousness of sin, that we might remain steadfast under trail and receive the crown of life. Amen. I leave you with one more quote from Gurnall with some food for thought:

Because the devil is a very subtle enemy, the saint must always be on his guard. Satan is called the old serpent. The serpent is subtle above other creatures; and an old serpent, above other serpents. If Satan was too crafty for man in his perfection, how much more dangerous to us now in our maimed condition – for we have never recovered from that first crack Adam’s fall gave to out understanding. And as we have lost knowledge, so Satan has gained more and more experience. Granted, he lost his heavenly wisdom as soon as he became a devil, but ever since, he has increased his craft. And while he does not have wisdom enough to do himself good, yet he has knowledge enough to do others harmd. God showed us where Satan’s strength lies when He promised to bruise the head of the serpent; with his head crushed, he will soon die.

 

[Reformers, Puritans, and a Geek]

Categories
Theology

Theonomy: Three Questions Answered

Jacob asked the following:

Theonomy is concerned with three irreducible questions, which anti-theonomists cannot answer in an epistemologically satisfactory manner:

1) Which sins should civil magistrates punish?
2) What should those punishments be?
3) How does one justify the answers to the first two questions?

If we are left to govern ourselves by general revelation, then civil laws must be ultimately a matter of opinion, yet laws by their very nature are to reflect what ought to be. Moreover, apart from Scripture inductive inference cannot be justified. Therefore, apart from Scripture it would be baseless to infer that all persons are endowed by nature with the same moral code. Accordingly, it would be tyrannical to impose unjustifiable codes of conduct, let alone sanctions for violations of those codes, upon others who do not claim to share those same codes.

My answer:

1) Which sins should civil magistrates punish?
The sins that God gives them the authority to punish.

2) What should those punishments be?
Generally based on the rule of restitution. The Law gives case law to indicate that you replace that which you take in the offense.

3) How does one justify the answers to the first two questions?
The Bible.

OK, I answered the questions so here’s my “beef”.

I don’t have a problem discussing the general principle that the laws of the magistrate ought to reflect God’s Law. I think, theoretically, if a country wants to punish blasphemy with the death penalty that it is not unjust for them to do so. To be unjust, intrinsically, would point to some sort of justice that is extra-Scriptural and the idea is not extra-Scriptural that blasphemy could be punished by death. Even leaving aside the issue of whether the magistrate should do so, it seems to me at least, to be pointless to argue whether the Magistrate would be making an unjust law if it decided to enforce that idea.

Now, here is where I start to get off the bus because, while I agree with that basic principle, I don’t see the Church’s chief aim as being activism to ensure that the Magistrate is introducing those laws.

The problem I have with those of a theonomic bent (though I don’t have a huge problem with them) is that they seem to devote more time worrying about transforming the Magistrate than the Apostles did. It is an argument from silence and I’m unlikely to win any debates to persuade a theonomist from his path but the general trend of NT doctrine is clear enough to me to believe that it is NOT the Church’s principle focus.

In other words, if all a theonomist wants me to agree to is the idea that a Magistrate would not be unjust for creating a law that punishes blasphemy by stoning a man to death then I am not going to spend a long time arguing that God is offended at the idea that a Magistrate would punish someone for blaspheming Him. It’s all very theoretical to me of course. BUT, if the same man wants me to join him in a crusade to tell the Pastor that he’s not preaching cultural transformation enough and that the Church needs to spend more time leading the charge to storm the State Legislature and lobby for the creation of those laws then I would tell him to pound sand.

The Church’s mission is the preaching of the Word, the administration of the Sacraments, and Church Discipline. Ironically, the most rebellious people I’ve met in the latter category are theonomists who would not submit to Church Discipline even as they wanted pagans to submit to God’s Law.

I believe, however, that as a citizen I have the right to exercise my time and talents to reform Civic institutions. I also believe that Magistrates will be judged for creating and enforcing laws in disobedience to the Law of God written on their consciences and will also be judged for failing to write laws that God has ordained. But that is their responsibility to create and enforce the proper laws and it is not the Church’s job to spend all it’s time, moving away from it’s primary mission, to pick up the slack where the Magistrate is failing. I believe they have a prophetic role to the State and that the State is further condemned for not listening but that does not make it the Church’s mission to do the State’s job.

Autumn Color and the Death of the Amish Children

From my blog

Thou art good, and doest good…Ps 119:68

Colors converge toward copper here, passing red, not quite gold. Our chickens are deep golden-buff and scarlet-combed. Crimson-leaved blueberries and cayenne-orange mountain ash berries, saturated in mid-autumn sun, hang on, closer to life than dormancy.

Even in my pleasant garden, I am never unaware of perturbation. Intermittent sirens and helicopters herald the presence of sin and pain and need.

This week a small Amish community in Pennsylvania buried five schoolgirls, murdered despite the girls’ likely compliance with their killer’s demand that they pray for him to protect him from carrying out his horrific crime.

Today, as are all days, is a good day to be a Calvinist.

Only a Calvinist sees events like this in a light that comports with God’s own testimony: the absolute sovereignty of his perfect will. God’s sovereignty prevails over peace and over perturbation.

Does this make Calvinists callous? That is a testy and ignorant misconception. We grieve the grievous. We know the grievous could always be more grievous. We see restraint present in the world, despite sin. We understand the end of all things, including ourselves, is the glory of God. To God alone the glory.

Is God implacable? No; he is merciful. His law and his judgments are perfect and righteous (Ps 19:7; Ps 119:7). Our God is in the heavens, and he hath done whatsoever he pleased (Ps 115:3).

Did it please God to have a crazed reprobate kill five children? Behold the evidence. Yes, it did. It pleased him to have crazed reprobates kill his own son. Had it not, our sin would be unredeemed, and we would justly suffer in hell, just as surely as crazed reprobate killers of little girls.

A hard thing. But sin is sin, and death is death, and death does not always come packaged neatly wrapped in human poetic justice.

Our faith rests in him whose righteous judgments are perfect.

God is a righteous judge,
Yea, a God that hath indignation every day Ps 7:11.

I will give thanks unto Jehovah according to his righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of Jehovah Most High Ps 7:17.

Categories
Book Reviews

Upward Descent and Other Amazing Deviations: Dabney Dissects Darwin

From my blog

Mid-nineteenth-century evolution theory was a fission bomb forever sundering two ways of understanding life: Either we are related through Adam and unrelated to cantaloupe; or, we are related through protoplasm to both.

Dabney’s chapter, “Evolution Theory” is the Cat’s favorite thus far. He resents any implication that he is descended from inferior wild cats. If left to the wild habitats of his so-called ancestors, the Cat would most probably make his way to the nearest doorstep and yowl for cat food. Notwithstanding the Cat’s defective (though sensorially impeccable) epistemology, he understands that he is a discrete creation made to be a companion to man. This places the Cat far ahead of evolutionary theorists.

Dabney was a contemporary of Charles Darwin (1809″“1882), and thus the beneficiary of the same classical intellectual heritage from which Darwin drew. He penetrated the flaws in Darwin’s scheme, and deftly deconstructed them.

Darwin’s contribution (The Origin of Species, 1859; The Descent of Man, 1871) to evolution theory was his systematizing of classical atomic (as in atoms as components of matter) theory, using laws inferable from nature: multiplication, limitation, heredity, variation, and equilibrium. Behavior, too, would be an operative variable effecting survival. Ultimately, success is determined by chance, because these laws are driven by blind atomic causation. The ultimate victor in this animalistic struggle is he who accumulates the most brain convolutions and mechanistic impulses to survive. This happened to be man, but in a chance system, it could just as easily have been a speck of mold. An evolutionist perhaps would not put it this way, because he would likely fail to perceive the logical outcome of his theory.

Dr. Thomas Huxley and Professor John Tyndall took up the creatorless cause after Darwin. Nothing happens by chance, according to Tyndall; every occurrence is caused, and therefore necessary. Tyndall’s definition of the soul (yes, he acknowledged its existence) is well worth quoting: “The soul consists of fine, smooth, round atoms, like those of fire. These are the most mobile of all [atoms]. They interpenetrate the whole body, and in their motions the phenomena of life arise” (R. L. Dabney: The Sensualistic Philosophy Naphtali Press, 2003, p. 91).

One readily sees why humanists are still forum-shopping.

Compare and contrast: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Ge 2:7

Do you feel the Force? Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) did. He refined evolutionary science to theoretical linear perfection. “Force” moved matter from protoplasm to mollusk to the mind of Isaac Newton in so many increments over so much time. In Spencer’s model, “Force” equals motion, and is the single causative agency in the universe. Spencer’s reason for calling his material cause “Force,” according to Dabney, was simple distaste for the Christian notion of God and his own soul.

Spencer’s Force is infinite, impersonal and unknowable, but it gets things done. Problematically, Spencer attributes a multitude of properties and doctrines to this “unknowable” Force. Dissecting probe in hand, Dabney exposes this inconsistency. He further notes that Spencer attempts to place an epistemological embargo on knowledge of the “unknowable” God. Apparently, it is possible to know things about some unknowable things, but not about others.

Spencer’s Force is unknowable but at the same time, Spencer insists, it is inferable–through, of course, the usual sensualistic means: our senses. Since the Force is impersonal as well as unknowable, we cannot know whether it is benevolent or malevolent.

God, on the other hand, is infinite, personal, and truly unknowable, but because of his personal benevolence toward us, he makes himself knowable to us, albeit in a finite way due to our finite consciousness.

How can we trust an unknowable Force? Dabney points out that we cannot presume it is intelligent, rational, logical, interested, or possessed of any other properties, benevolent or otherwise, if it is truly unknowable. We do know that God is all-intelligent and capable of manifesting himself to us. Once a scientist signs on with the unknowable, doctrine and reason are defenestrated.

One point on which I admit confusion is Spencer’s concept of time, which “is but experienced succession” (Dabney, p. 100). Does Spencer mean that before man, the only creature capable of experiencing time, there was no time? Then when did all these things occur–protoplasm to mollusk to Newton–that required so much time?

Spencer inspires further wonder when he says that “material motion is simply the consciousness of matter in successive positions in time” (Dabney, p. 100). Now, this is priceless. Matter is conscious, but the Force propelling it might not be conscious–we don’t know, because it is unknowable. If this doesn’t convince you to take your fish for a walk, nothing will.

I suspect that Spencer and Comte (see my “The Pontiff of Humanity” post below) might have been drinking buddies.

At some point, our atomic clock ceases ticking; the little flame of atoms is extinguished, and we die. Or, as Spencer really said, the “absorption of motion and diffusion of matter” take place (Dabney, p. 102). There could not possibly be a provision in his materialist scheme for resurrection once matter is thus debased. The impersonal Force makes no claims, no promise of eternal life.

Spencer’s gods–matter, motion, and force–“symbols of the Unknown Reality”–in the end, are subject to death.

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Ps 14:1; Ps 53:1

Categories
Former Prophets Scripture

Lame in Both Feet

2 Samuel 1

1  Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, 2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
3 And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”
So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”
4 Then David said to him,”How did the matter go? Please tell me.”
And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”
5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”
6 Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”
And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”
14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him,”Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD’s anointed.'”

17 The Song of the Bow

Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:
19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath,Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon
“” Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
21 “O mountains of Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Nor fields of offerings.
For the shield of the mighty is cast away there!
The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain,
From the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
23 “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.
24 “O daughters of Israel,
weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury;
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
25 “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.
27 “How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!”

What a story!  I might add to the end of this Song the editorial comment:  “So passes Saul, the first King of Israel.”

His was a reign that had begun with such promise.  Saul, the man who stood a head taller than every man in Israel looked the part of the king.  He even delivered Israel from the hands of its enemies.  He was, indeed, a mighty warrior.  But he repeatedly disobeyed the command of God.

His disobedience by our standards would seem very small.  He offered a sacrifice before Samuel arrived in 1 Samuel 13.  Come on, the people are getting tired of waiting for Samuel.  But Saul was not a Levite.  Then he let his men keep the sheep and cattle of the Amalekites  in 1 Sam 15 and Saul spared their king.  But God had commanded that the Amalekites and all their livestock be utterly destroyed.  God commanded it.  It is both an amusing and gruesome story in 1 Sam 15 when Samuel arrives and Agag, King of the Amalekites, thinks he’s safe.  Samuel didn’t give him long to be relieved as he literally hacked the king to death.  Samuel didn’t hesitate to carry out God’s commands faithfully.

You see, God demands our complete obedience.  What was convenient or seemed “right” in Saul’s eyes was against the direct commandment of the Lord.  God is not only God when we allow God to be so-called “Lord of our Lives”¦.”  He is God always and everywhere for all people whether they rebel against Him or not.  I wish we would just remove that language from our speech.  It is very unbiblical.  God is God and we are not.

Anyhow, from that moment on God determined to remove the kingdom from Saul and give it to another.  You will recall that Samuel, right after this event, took a trip to Bethlehem shortly after the event with the Amalekites and he anointed David as King of Israel.  But David was not to inherit the kingdom immediately.  In fact, he went back to tending his sheep.  Until one day a dude named Goliath came on the scene.

Shortly thereafter, David became a bit of a celebrity in Israel and an incredible military leader.  He became the protector of Israel under Saul’s command.  Then one day, Saul heard some women singing a song about Saul killing his thousands and David his tens of thousands.  From that moment on, Saul and David had a “strained” relationship.”  Even though David was his son-in-law and was a faithful servant, Saul repeatedly tried to kill David.  He perceived David as a threat to his throne.  This was the way of the Ancient Near East and the way of many monarchies.  Kings maintain power by killing off those who are gaining too much influence.  Of course God had different plans.

So began literally years and years of Saul pursuing David all over Israel.  David spent many years hiding in caves and living outside of Israel’s borders.  David had at least two opportunities to kill Saul as, in one instance, Saul literally stopped for a “pit stop” in the cave that David was hiding in.

But David was a man who loved his God and he would not lift his hand against God’s anointed.
And so we come to this story we have just read in 2 Samuel 1 and we can appreciate why the man running to bring the news of Saul’s death would think he was the bearer of happy news for David.  Saul is dead.  David has long known he would ascend the throne and the man who has been pursuing his life is now dead.

So we react with maybe a little bit of a surprise at how David reacts to the news:

2 Samuel 1:11

Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

David has just been brought the crown and scepter of Saul and, instead of rejoicing, he mourns.  Beloved, that is faith.  That is a man after God’s own heart.  What a tragic story Saul is.  A man who once prophesied and had received the Spirit in power.  David had seen Saul slowly degenerate and go mad over years as he had rejected God and God had rejected him.  David knew that, apart from God’s grace, so might he walk.  We also find this interesting note:

2 Samuel 1:13-16

13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”
And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”
14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him,”Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD’s anointed.'”

Did you catch what race the man was?  An Amalekite, that’s right.  What race was Saul supposed to wipe out in 1 Sam 15?  The Amalekites.  How ironic.  This kid should have showed Saul just a bit of gratitude.  Saul lost his kingship because he disobeyed God by not wiping this kid out!   How very ironic.  Well, David had him executed for killing Saul.  If you recall, this was at Saul’s request.  He wanted to be put out of his misery.  But you just don’t lift your hand against the God’s anointed.

And so David sings a beautiful song of tribute to Saul.  He actually curses  the mountains of Gilboa and asks that no rain fall on them.  One morning the mountain wakes up, a battle takes place on its heights and a king dies.  Next moment it’s being cursed for being a mountain.

And so David continues his beautiful lament for Saul and his son Jonathan who were slain on the mountain.  He laments that the death of Saul will give God’s enemies a chance to dance in the streets.  The rejoicing of the wicked is always so short-lived isn’t it?  One minute they’re dancing at a victory.  They’re only looking immediately in front of them and not at the judgment to come.
Finally, at the end of the lament, called the Song of the Bow, David sings of his love for Saul’s son Jonathan:

2 Samuel 1:25-26

25 “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.

Do you know Jonathan?  What a man!  What an incredible Biblical figure.  He and David were closer than brothers.  When I read this passage I always think:  “Poor Jonathan.  Saul deserved to die but not him.  Poor Jonathan.”

Usually the Scriptures have a predictable pattern:  Dad becomes unfaithful to God and the son ends up worse.  Not here.  Jonathan is one of the most faithful people you’ll ever find in the Scriptures.  He was a man’s man too.  In 1 Samuel 13 he took on an entire Philistine garrison ““ just he and his armor bearer against dozens of men.  He reasoned this way:  “Well if God shows me that I will defeat these men then I’ll defeat them.”  God showed him he would prevail and he took them on.  What faith!

Jonathan had every right to ascend to the throne after his father died.  He had every right in the eyes of men.  He was the son of the king and he was a warrior.  He was brave.  He was faithful in all things.  Jonathan had succeeded in everything he did and had every confidence in the flesh to take the throne after his father died.

But one day Jonathan was at war with his father and he saw a tall man named Goliath.  A man that towered 9 feet tall and bore spear and shield that weighed hundreds of pounds.  He watched as all the men of Israel cowered before this big man.  As he was looking out over the field and heard the big man Goliath heaping insults on the Army of Israel and blaspheming God he saw a teenage boy step out of the crowd wearing nothing but his normal clothes.  No armor.  He had nothing in his hand but a sling and some stones.  No shield.  No sword.  Who is this kid?!

He watched as the big Philistine laughed and called the teenager a dog and that he would kill the boy and feed him to the birds.  I’m sure he could just barely hear the words as the young boy told Goliath:

1 Samuel 17:45-47

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

“What’s happening?”, thinks Jonathan,  “He’s running toward the Philistine!  What faith!”

And you know the rest of the story.  By the way, we like to think of David and Goliath as the great story of the Underdog.  Just remember who is the Underdog when God is on your side!

Well, shortly after this incredible event, the boy is talking to Jonathan’s father Saul in 1 Sam 18 and he finds out that the boy’s name is David.  1 Sam 18 reports the following:

1 Samuel 18:1-4

1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

Wow!  That’s just incredible.  Jonathan meets a young man that has a love for God.  As a man who loves God Himself, Jonathan is immediately knit to David and they love each other in the Lord.  This is something you can only understand if you are a believer.  He who shares Christ with me is my brother.  I love my immediate family ““ my mother, father, brothers, and sister a great deal.  But they don’t serve the Lord.  The Saints of God are more dear to me because we share Christ.

And so Jonathan loves David that very day.  He even chooses sides for the future.  How?  He gives David his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.  He’s essentially telling David:  “Every claim I have to the throne is yours.  I know God has given the kingdom to you.  That’s OK.  I trust God.  God has anointed you King and far be it from me to ever try to take it.”  THAT is faith!  That’s why I always lament that Jonathan died.  What a man of faith he was.

Eventually Jonathan must even side with David against his own father who is determined to kill him.  He protects David and even lies to his father about knowing where David is.  This is just very strange activity for a Jewish son because family loyalty is everything in that culture.  But Jonathan put no confidence in the flesh but had faith in God’s anointed.

And so in 1 Samuel 20, Jonathan comes to the stark realization that Saul is trying to kill his beloved friend David and it breaks his heart.  He meets David in the field to tell him to flee and they embrace each other and weep over their parting.  It was to be the last time they would see each other.  And 2 Samuel 20:42 reports:

2 Samuel 20:42

42 Then Jonathan said to David,”Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.'” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

And so we understand all the more why David is weeping over his friend Jonathan’s death in 2 Samuel 1.   It’s just so sad.  But sorrow for the House of Saul and Jonathan is not over.  Right after Saul and Jonathan’s death, Saul’s son Ishbosheth contends for the throne of Israel.  A Civil War ensues and David eventually rises to the throne of Israel.  At the end of reporting all the details of the Civil War, 2 Sam 4:4 reports this sad event:

2 Samuel 4:4

4 Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

As if things couldn’t be more sorrowful for the House of Jonathan, his only son, Mephibosheth, who is only 5 years old at his death, is dropped by his nurse as she hurries away upon learning of his death.  Poor kid.  He was a normal child but his nurse drops him and from that moment on he is lame in both feet.  He walks around only with great difficulty.  Something we could probably heal with modern medicine but he was a cripple for the rest of his life.

My goodness!  If you don’t feel bad for Jonathan after all of that then you’ve got a heart of stone.  He dies on the mountain with an unfaithful father even though he was faithful.  He never gets to live out his days with his friend David as the King.  To make matters worse, his only son becomes lame after being dropped by his nurse.

But God is rich in mercy.

Many years later, David has firmly established himself on the throne and has defeated the Philistines.  He is on his throne one day and probably finally has a brief moment to think and he starts to remember his beloved friend Jonathan:

2 Samuel 9

1Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He said, “At your service!”
3Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”
And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”
4So the king said to him, “Where is he?”
And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”
5Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
6Now when Mephibosheth  the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth ?”
And he answered, “Here is your servant!”
7So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
8Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”
9And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him,”I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth  your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”
“As for Mephibosheth ,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table* like one of the king’s sons.” 12Mephibosheth  had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth . 13So Mephibosheth  dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

They found Mephibosheth!  I just love this story.  Mephibosheth limps into the king’s chambers and falls on his face before David.  David speaks his name:  “Mephibosheth?”

“Here is your servant.”

“Don’t fear Mephibosheth.”

I’m sure the young man thought he was at risk because it was the custom of kings to remove threats to the throne.  Mephibosheth was the last remaining person alive from the House of Saul.

But David tells him:  “I knew your father.  I loved him.  I’m going to show you kindness for his sake!”

And Mephibosheth answers very humbly, it’s even sad to read the way he refers to himself:  “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”

Can you imagine growing up lame in both feet with a father like Jonathan.  Songs were probably sung of his exploits:  “Remember the time that Jonathan killed an entire Philistine garrison with just his armor bearer?!”  But Mephibosheth would never do anything like that.

It would be a great insult to call anyone a dog in the Near East but Mephibosheth calls himself a “dead dog”.  “Why are you showing me such favor?  I don’t deserve this kind of love from you.”

But David was a man after God’s own heart.  David kept his promises even if he was a little slow in getting to them.  Remember that he had promised with Jonathan to be good to his descendants?

And so he restores the lands of Saul, everything, to Mephibosheth.  He tells Ziba to care for the lands but Mephibosheth isn’t just going to receive the blessing of land.  No.

“As for Mephibosheth,” said the kind, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.”

David adopted him and loved him as a son.  He loved him for Jonathan’s sake.  And the story concludes about the young man:  “And he was lame in both feet.”

I just love the Word of God.  This story is such a powerful picture of our redemption and shows these beautiful strands of God’s redemption that have been woven throughout redemptive history.  King David the Great was the forefather, in the flesh, of Christ to come.

Have we not all been made Spiritually lame and worthless in the flesh by a Fall.  We have received an invitation to the King’s chamber.  We have every reason to fear.  In Mephibosheth’s case he feared just because he was the grandson of Saul.  In our case, we are summoned knowing we have sinned against a Holy and Righteous God.  We enter with fear and trembling.

But the Father’s Son loved us and died for us.  He re-creates us and causes us to love Him in return.  And so we enter the chamber and the King announces:  “You are to eat at my table continually.”

“Who am I, God, that you should look upon this dead dog and show me such favor?”

But God love His Son and, for His sake, I am beloved by Him, and I am going to eat at His table continually as one of His sons.

We love Him because He first loved us and poured Himself out for us.  The King’s table is available for all who would call on the name of Jesus Christ.  Unless you see your unworthiness to be in the King’s presence, you cannot gain entry through the door of Christ’s death and resurrection.  It’s all grace.  Christ died so that all who believe in Him might say to Him:

“I am wretched.  Take my sin away.  I deserve death but I believe.”

And through the foolishness of that simple faith, Christ does take away our sin and becomes our righteousness.  We enter the throne room of Grace boldly then, as Sons, and gladly take our seats at the great wedding feast that knows no end.

The feast is available to all who believe.  Believe and live.  Enter and feast, you are a son of God!