I Samuel 30 From an Orphan Transform to a True Son 從孤兒轉化真兒子
Wednesday, 23rd August 2023
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-6 Let Go of Anxiety, Strengthen in God 放下焦慮靠神得力
V1-2 ‘Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.’ No matter what generation, there are orphans. David was living as an orphan, Jesse had so many sons and he didn’t let David come to Samuel in the first place, he saw his other sons more capable than David. But in I Samuel we saw how David grew from an orphan to a true son. Samuel anointed to be the king, but David was fighting with his own strength, and he was hiding with the Philistines. He thought it was a safe place, he thought he could run away from Saul. But the Amalekites came and took away everything from him.
V3-4 ‘So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.’ David was in distressed, he was afraid, and he was angry. He was facing a situation of a seemingly dead end, everyone was against him, and he lost everything.
V5-6 ‘And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.’ This is the first step of transformation, he chose to put down his anxiety and be strengthened in God. Jehovah again became David’s God, in this time of life and death, David chose God, and he was strengthened. From this transformation, from an orphan to a true son, we must first let go, let down of our worries and burdens, and let God strengthen us.
Section Two V7-20 Receive Grace by God, Life will be Changed 靠神得恩生命改變
V7-8 ‘Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”
And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”’ David remembered he had a priest, so he sought God through the priest, and pressed forward. When God told him to go, David went without hesitation. He entered into his transformation, even for those who could not follow, David was willing to let them go.
V9-10 ‘So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.’ David had changed, he didn’t rely on the number of people anymore, he knew when God was with him, he didn’t need to worry about people anymore, he only listened to God. Even when he lost a third of his men, he continued to press forward. What are we looking at in life? The number of people on our church? Or the calling of God? David followed God no matter what.
V11-14 ‘Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”’ When David met this Egypt, he first gave him what he needed. David saw the needs of the Egyptians, he didn’t just focus on his mission, but he put people before his mission. David didn’t kill the Egyptian, even though he was the enemy’s servant. David’s focus was his enemy, and he only listened to what God told him to do.
God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites, but he didn’t kill all the Amalekites , we often use our own ruler to measure the mission God gave to us, we didn’t fulfil the mission, but only did what we feel satisfied with. David was like Saul before, he only did what he was happy with, and did not completely followed God’s instructions, and he ate his own fruits. But in here David transformed, he knew who his enemy was, and he was willing to fully rely on God, and God gave him grace to restore everything he had lost.
Section Three V21-31 Align with God Align with Each Other與神對齊彼此對齊
V21-22 ‘Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he greeted them. Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.”’ The two hundreds people didn’t run away, they were weak but they didn’t betray David. They were willing to stay and wait for David. But the wicked and worthless men, who were following David, started to grumble. We thought we are warriors, we thought we have done a lot, but so often we are the wicked and the worthless. It’s never about how good we are or how much we can do, but it’s by God’s grace and God’s choosing.
Stop seeing ourselves better than others, stop thinking that we can do more than others. In fact we are wicked and worthless, only when we live under the Tree of Life then we can humble ourselves and know that everything we have and everything we can do is from God. David was transformed, he knew those who left behind should receive the same as those who went to fight. The two hundred stayed did not chose to run away but stayed. God wanted us to be the army of God, He has appointed us to do different things and to responsible for different things in the House of God, are we willing to stay in where God appoints us and not to run away?
In the past, David lives the life of an orphan, he went from place to place, but when he received the victory, he went back to the place he stayed and showed them the glory and love of God. This is true transformation, we can be so focused on our own things and unwilling to be the testimony for God. David revealed God’s power in his life, from an orphan to a true son. God is love, He is our Father. God wants to transform our lives, when we are willing to live out the life of Tree of Life, to align with God, to humble, obey, deny ourselves and benefit others.