Psalms 41:1-13 Chapter 41 1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil. 2 Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies. 3 Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me: Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. 5 Mine enemies speak evil against me, `saying', When will he die, and his name perish? 6 And if he come to see `me', he speaketh falsehood; His heart gathereth iniquity to itself: When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. 7 All that hate me whisper together against me; Against me do they devise my hurt. 8 An evil disease, `say they', cleaveth fast unto him; And now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. 9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, Who did eat of my bread, Hath lifted up his heel against me. 10 But thou, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me, and raise me up, That I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou delightest in me, Because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, And settest me before thy face for ever. 13 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen. Psalm 42 For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah.

Betrayal is one of the most painful experiences in life. Although strangers may reject, mock, or ridicule us, only those we love or trust can betray us, and that’s what makes it so painful. This is exactly what David felt when he wrote Psalms 41 Chapter 41 1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil. 2 Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies. 3 Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me: Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. 5 Mine enemies speak evil against me, `saying', When will he die, and his name perish? 6 And if he come to see `me', he speaketh falsehood; His heart gathereth iniquity to itself: When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. 7 All that hate me whisper together against me; Against me do they devise my hurt. 8 An evil disease, `say they', cleaveth fast unto him; And now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. 9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, Who did eat of my bread, Hath lifted up his heel against me. 10 But thou, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me, and raise me up, That I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou delightest in me, Because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, And settest me before thy face for ever. 13 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen. Psalm 42 For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah. . His enemies spoke evil and falsehood against him, but worse still, a friend turned on him ( Psalms 41 Chapter 41 1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil. 2 Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies. 3 Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me: Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. 5 Mine enemies speak evil against me, `saying', When will he die, and his name perish? 6 And if he come to see `me', he speaketh falsehood; His heart gathereth iniquity to itself: When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. 7 All that hate me whisper together against me; Against me do they devise my hurt. 8 An evil disease, `say they', cleaveth fast unto him; And now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. 9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, Who did eat of my bread, Hath lifted up his heel against me. 10 But thou, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me, and raise me up, That I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou delightest in me, Because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, And settest me before thy face for ever. 13 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen. Psalm 42 For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah. :9).

When friends gossip about us, make insinuations of wrongdoing, or tell outright lies, what can we do? A good reputation is very hard to recover after it has been ruined. And it’s devastating if one friend after another believes the gossip and turns away.

Something we must keep in the forefront of our mind is that our friends and family are imperfect and sinful and are therefore prone to making mistakes, believing lies, and hurting one another. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit the same is true of us. However, this doesn’t negate the pain we feel or the wrong done to us.

So how can we handle rejection and betrayal in a godly fashion? First of all, we should not deny the pain, nor should we let it dominate and ruin our life with anxiety, bitterness, anger, or a desire for revenge. Second, we can take it to God and ask Him to protect, sustain, and heal us ( Psalms 41 Chapter 41 1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil. 2 Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies. 3 Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me: Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. 5 Mine enemies speak evil against me, `saying', When will he die, and his name perish? 6 And if he come to see `me', he speaketh falsehood; His heart gathereth iniquity to itself: When he goeth abroad, he telleth it. 7 All that hate me whisper together against me; Against me do they devise my hurt. 8 An evil disease, `say they', cleaveth fast unto him; And now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. 9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, Who did eat of my bread, Hath lifted up his heel against me. 10 But thou, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me, and raise me up, That I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou delightest in me, Because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, And settest me before thy face for ever. 13 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, From everlasting and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen. Psalm 42 For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah. :2-4). 

Although we may not know exactly why the Lord allowed betrayal, going through it teaches us to seek God’s approval rather than man’s. Vindication may not come in this life, but it will be revealed in eternity, when each one’s praise will come from God.

Bible in One Year: Judges 16-17 Chapter 16 1 And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her. 2 `And it was told' the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, `Let be' till morning light, then we will kill him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron. 4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred `pieces' of silver. 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. 10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. 11 And he said unto her, If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man. 12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And the liers-in-wait were abiding in the inner chamber. And he brake them off his arms like a thread. 13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web. 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. 18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hand. 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20 And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he knew not that Jehovah was departed from him. 21 And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house. 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23 And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us. 25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pillars: 26 and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them. 27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 28 And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life. 31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years. Chapter 17 1 And there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred `pieces' of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah. 3 And he restored the eleven hundred `pieces' of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I verily dedicate the silver unto Jehovah from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. 4 And when he restored the money unto his mother, his mother took two hundred `pieces' of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 7 And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed out of the city, out of Beth-lehem-judah, to sojourn where he could find `a place', and he came to the hill-country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find `a place'. 10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten `pieces' of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons. 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that Jehovah will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.