Conflict & Courage

The Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. 1 Samuel 28:6.  {CC 171.1}        The Lord never turned away a soul that came to Him in sincerity and humility. Why did he turn Saul away unanswered? The king had by his own act forfeited the benefits of all the methods of inquiring of God. He had rejected the counsel of Samuel the prophet; he had exiled David, the chosen...

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans 12:19. CC 170.1 Although Nabal had refused the needy company of David and his men, yet that very night he made an extravagant feast for himself and his riotous friends, and indulged in eating and drinking till he sank in drunken stupor. Nabal thought n...

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. 1 Samuel 25:28.  {CC 169.1}        Abigail met David with respect, showing him honor and deference, and pleaded her case eloquently and successfully. While not excusing her husband's insolenc...

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30.  {CC 168.1}        In the character of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, we have an illustration of womanhood after the order of Christ; while her husband illustrates what a man may become who yields himself to the control of Satan.  {CC 168.2}        When David was a fugitive from the face...

 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. 1 Samuel 22:16.  {CC 167.1}        Men cannot depart from the counsel of God and still retain that calmness and wisdom which will enable them to act with justice and discretion. There is no insanity so dreadful, so hopeless, as that of following human wisdom, unguided by the wisdom of God.  {CC 167.2}        Sa...

My soul is among lions; and I lie even among them that are set on fire. Psalm 57:4.  {CC 166.1}       Oh, how precious is the sweet influence of the Spirit of God as it comes to depressed or despairing souls, encouraging the fainthearted, strengthening the feeble, and imparting courage and help to the tried servants of the Lord! Oh, what a God is ours, who deals gently with the erring and manifest...

Chap. 159 - No One Sorry      All of you have conspired against me ... and there is none of you that is sorry for me. 1 Samuel 22:8.  {CC 165.1}        The spirit of evil was upon Saul. He felt that his doom had been sealed by the solemn message of his rejection from the throne of Israel. His departure from the plain requirements of God was bringing its sure results. He did not turn, and repent, a...

Then said David to the Philistine, . . . I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 1 Samuel 17:45.  {CC 164.1}        Goliath railed upon David and cursed him by his gods. He felt that it was an insult upon his dignity to have a mere stripling, without so much as an armor, come to meet him. . . . David did not become irritated because...

Chap. 157 - Five Smooth Stones      David said ..., The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. 1 Samuel 17:37.  {CC 163.1}        When David saw that all Israel were filled with fear, and learned that the Philistine's defiance was hurled at the...

Chap. 156 - Human Boasting      And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 1 Samuel 17:10.  {CC 162.1}        When war was declared by Israel against the Philistines, three of the sons of Jesse joined the army under Saul; but David remained at home. After a time, however, he went to visit the camp of Saul. By his father's direction he...

When there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 1 Samuel 17:34, 35, R.V.  {CC 161.1}        David was growing in favor with God and man. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he now set his heart more fully t...

And the Lord said unto Samuel, . . . fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 1 Samuel 16:1.  {CC 160.1}        When the sacrifice was ended, and before partaking of the offering feast, Samuel began his prophetic inspection of the noble-appearing sons of Jesse. Eliab was the eldest, and more nearly resembled Saul fo...

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 1 Samuel 15:26.  {CC 159.1}        When Saul saw that Samuel came no more to instruct him, he knew that the Lord had rejected him for his wicked course, and his character seemed ever after to be marked with extremes. His servants . . . at...

Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 1 Samuel 15:23.  {CC 158.1}        Terrified by the denunciation of the prophet, Saul acknowledged his guilt, which he had before stubbornly denied; but he still persisted in casting blame upon the people, declaring that he had sinned through fear of them.  {CC 158.2}        It was not sorrow for sin, but...

It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. 1 Samuel 15:11.  {CC 157.1}        While Saul and his army were marching home in the flush of victory, there was deep anguish in the home of Samuel the prophet. He had received a message from the Lord denouncing the course of the king. . . . The prophet was deeply gr...

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. 1 Samuel 15:9.  {CC 156.1}        Since the defeat of the Philistines at Michmash, Saul had made war against Moab, Ammon, and Edom, and against the Amalekites and the Philistines; and wherever he turned his arms, he gained f...

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not. 1 Samuel 15:3.  {CC 155.1}        The Lord sent His servant with another message to Saul. By obedience he might still prove his fidelity to God and his worthiness to walk before Israel. Samuel came to the king and delivered the word of the Lord. . . .  {CC 155.2}        The Amalekites had been the first to make wa...

With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:2.  {CC 154.1}        Saul could not but feel that his son was preferred before him, both by the people and by the Lord. Jonathan's deliverance was a severe reproof to the king's rashness. He felt a presentiment that his curses would return upon his own head. He did not long...

Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. 1 Samuel 14:24.  {CC 153.1}        The command to refrain from food was prompted by selfish ambition, and it showed the king to be indifferent to the needs of his people when these conflicted with his desire for self-exaltation. To confirm his prohibition by a solemn oath showed Saul to be both rash and pr...

And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. 1 Samuel 14:6.  {CC 152.1}        Because of Saul's sin in his presumptuous offering, the Lord would not give him the honor of vanquishing the Philistines. Jonathan, the...

And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. 1 Samuel 13:10.  {CC 151.1}        God had directed that only those consecrated to the office should present sacrifices before Him. But Saul commanded, "Bring hither a burnt offering;" and, equipped as he was with armor and weapons of...

And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 1 Samuel 13:8.  {CC 150.1}        It was not until the second year of Saul's reign that an attempt was made to subdue the Philistines. The first blow was struck by Jonathan, the king's son, who attacked and overcame their garrison at Geba. The Phili...

There was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he. 1 Samuel 9:2.  {CC 149.1}        The personal qualities of the future monarch were such as to gratify that pride of heart which prompted the desire for a king. . . . Of noble and dignified bearing, in the prime of life, comely and tall, he appeared like one born to command. Yet with these external attractions, Saul was destitute...

Behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired. 1 Samuel 12:13.  {CC 148.1}        In Saul, God had given to Israel a king after their own heart. . . . Comely in person, of noble stature and princely bearing, his appearance accorded with their conceptions of royal dignity; and his personal valor and his ability in the conduct of armies were the qualities which they regarded as best...

And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. 1 Samuel 12:5.  {CC 147.1}        The dissatisfied longing for worldly power and display, is as difficult to cure now as in the days of Samuel. Christians seek to build as worldlings build, to dress as worldlings dress--to imitate...