Reading for Today:

• 1 Samuel 16:1 Chapter 16 1 And Jehovah said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go: I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons. –17:58
• Psalms 57:4-11 4 My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; `Let' thy glory `be' above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down: They have digged a pit before me; They are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. Selah 7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises. 8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake right early. 9 I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the peoples: I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. 10 For thy lovingkindness is great unto the heavens, And thy truth unto the skies. 11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; `Let' thy glory `be' above all the earth. Psalm 58 For the Chief Musician; `set to' Al-tashheth. `A Psalm' of David Michtam.
• Proverbs 15:26 26 Evil devices are an abomination to Jehovah; But pleasant words `are' pure.
• Luke 23:26-56 26 And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck. 30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. 31 For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? 32 And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. 33 And when they came unto the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And parting his garments among them, they cast lots. 35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also scoffed at him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. 36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar, 37 and saying, If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself. 38 And there was also a superscription over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, Art not thou the Christ? save thyself and us. 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Dost thou not even fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said, Jesus, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom. 43 And he said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. 44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 the sun's light failing: and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost. 47 And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. 48 And all the multitudes that came together to this sight, when they beheld the things that were done, returned smiting their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed with him from Galilee, stood afar off, seeing these things. 50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good and righteous man 51 (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), `a man' of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was looking for the kingdom of God: 52 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was hewn in stone, where never man had yet lain. 54 And it was the day of the Preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 55 And the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid. 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Notes:

1 Samuel 16:7 his appearance…physical stature. Samuel needed to be reminded that God’s anointed was not chosen because of physical attributes. This was initially a difficult concept for Samuel as he was accustomed to a king whose only positive attributes were physical. the LORD looks at the heart. The Hebrew concept of “heart” embodies emotions, will, intellect, and desires. The life of the man will reflect his heart (see Matt. 12:34, 35).

1 Samuel 17:4 champion. Literally, “the man between two.” An appropriate appellation as Goliath stood between the two armies and offered his challenge to a “duel” of hand-to-hand combat, the outcome of which would settle the battle for both sides. six cubits and a span. One cubit measures approximately 18 inches and one span about 9 inches, making Goliath about 9 feet 9 inches in height.

1 Samuel 17:32 Let no man’s heart fail. Joshua and Caleb exhorted Israel in the same fashion regarding the giant Anakim 400 years prior (Num.13:30; 14:8, 9). The heathens’ hearts fail at the name of the Lord God of Israel (Josh. 2:11).

1 Samuel 17:37 The LORD…He will deliver me. Just as Jonathan believed earlier (14:6). David had a wholehearted faith in the God of Israel. the LORD be with you. One of the first explicit indications in the text that Saul knew that the Lord was with David (see 15:28).

Luke 23:42 Lord, remember me. The penitent thief’s prayer reflected his belief that the soul lives on after death; that Christ had a right to rule over a kingdom of the souls of men; and that He would soon enter that kingdom despite His impending death. His request to be remembered was a plea for mercy, which also reveals that the thief understood he had no hope but divine grace and that the dispensing of that grace lay in Jesus’ power. All of this demonstrates true faith on the part of the dying thief, and Christ graciously affirmed the man’s salvation (v. 43).

DAY 7: Contrast the spiritual anointings of David and Saul.

David was first anointed by Samuel “in the midst of his brothers” (1 Sam. 16:13). David’s first anointing was before his family/house. His second anointing would be before the assembly of his tribe, Judah; and his third anointing would be before the nation Israel. At this time, “the Spirit of the LORD came upon David.” This familiar Old Testament expression relates to empowerment for some God-given task (see 10:6, 11; 11:6; 19:20, 23; 2 Sam. 23:2; 2 Chr. 20:14; Is. 11:2; 61:1; Ezek. 11:5; 37:1). David’s anointing was an external symbol of an inward work of God. The operation of the Holy Spirit in this case was not for regeneration, but for empowerment to perform his (David’s) role in God’s program for Israel. After David sinned with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11; 12), he prayed, “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11).

When David’s ascent to the throne began, Saul’s slow and painful descent began also. “The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul” (1 Sam. 16:14). Without God’s empowering Holy Spirit, Saul was effectively no longer king over Israel (15:28), although his physical removal from the throne, and his death, happened many years later. “And a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.” God, in His sovereignty, allowed an evil spirit to torment Saul (see Judg. 9:23; 1 Kin. 22:19–23; Job 1:6 6 Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan also came among them. –12) for His purpose of establishing the throne of David. This spirit, a messenger from Satan, is to be distinguished from a troubled emotional state brought on by indwelling sin or the harmful consequences of the sinful acts of others (e.g., spirit of jealousy, Num. 5:14). This demon spirit attacked Saul from without, for there is no evidence that the demon indwelt Saul. Saul, whose inward constitution was already prone to questionable judgment and the fear of men, began to experience God’s judgment in the form of severe bouts of depression, anger, and delusion, initiated and aggravated by the evil spirit assigned to him. There are several New Testament occasions where God turned people over to demons or Satan for judgment (see Acts 5:1 Chapter 5 1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, –3; 1 Cor. 5:1–7; 1 Tim.1:18–20).

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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