The Rock of the Divisions

"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Psalm 18:2

After David fled from Saul, he was relentlessly pursued by the king and his mighty men.  David was convinced there was but a step between him and death, and so David hid in the wilderness.  There is a remarkable account in 1 Samuel 23 when David and his men were on one side of a mountain, and King Saul and his men were on the other side.  When it seemed certain David would be discovered, word was hastily brought to King Saul that the Philistines had invaded and he immediately called off the pursuit.  1 Samuel 23:28-29 reads in the KJV, "Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth. ²⁹ And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi."

God was David's rock, his fortress, deliverer, strength, salvation, and stronghold.  The Strong's concordance defines Selahammahlekoth as, "rock of the divisions."  Hearkening to what Jesus said about the wise man building his house upon the rock, we might think the rock of salvation is limited to a foundation.  Yet in David's case, the rock or mountain protected David by dividing the two companies on either side, a barrier which made attack impossible.  This reminds me of how God makes a distinction between those loyal to Him and everyone else.  Jesus spoke concerning the Day of Judgment and how God will divide people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats:  those who love and fear Him will be preserved for eternal life, and those who hate Him will face eternal destruction.

It is a great comfort to know God protects His people today, even as He delivered David from Saul's schemes.  Satan prowls about like a lion seeking whom he may devour, but God is our Rock and Deliverer.  David went from Selahammahlekoth to Engedi, a beautiful oasis with many caves and strongholds.  It is a lovely picture of how God is able to protect and provide for the needs of His people; He was as the rock which divided David from Saul thus preserving him, and He was as the springs and strongholds of Engedi, supplying living water, protection, and solace from assault.

David concluded his song extolling the greatness of God.  Psalm 18:46-50 reads, "The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. ⁴⁷ It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. ⁴⁸ He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. ⁴⁹ Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. ⁵⁰ Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore."  Let us praise and thank the LORD for His deliverance and mercy, and having been adopted into God's family through the Gospel we are partakers!

Waterfall in Engedi, 2014

My Good News

I find it exciting when someone I know has good news they want to share with me.  When I hear of a new job, buying a house, a proposal of marriage, or the birth of a child, those are all exciting times.  Seeing other people excited about most anything grabs my interest, and though what excites them may not directly affect me, I can be happy with them.

Now it is another story when someone says, "I have some good news for you."  Immediately I find myself on the defensive, wondering what product they will pitch or what they want from me.  Please, not another "pyramid scheme" that isn't one!  When I see someone excited about a book, product, diet, or deal, it is my prerogative to decide if it is good news for me or not.  Should a stranger tell me they have good news for me without even knowing me, their enthusiasm seems fake and their assertion presumptuous.  How could they possibly make such a claim?  I am not interested in your pamphlets, thank you.

As Christians, we have the Good News of Jesus Christ to share with the world.  If you were to weigh the Gospel against a job promotion, winning the lottery or a premiership, or receiving news you are going to be a parent or grandparent, there is really no comparison:  the Gospel outshines them all in eternal glory.  The Gospel and the love of God is forever, truly the greatest news imaginable.  This should thrill us!  Forget Disneyland for a weekend:  we are going to heaven forever!  The question is, are we as excited about heaven and being in the presence of God forever as we are about temporal things?  Well, not usually.

How good it is when we are genuinely excited about our salvation!  When we have good news to share our excitement draws the interest of others.  Instead of being mournful no one seems to care about the Gospel, shouldn't we openly express our excitement about our Good News - like we would any other news we are simply dying to share?  How many times have I been excited about a book and by the end of the conversation people said, "Man, that sounds amazing.  I think I'll check it out."  Whether they actually read it or not is another story, but excitement is infectious.  Would to God people I talk to will look into the Gospel for themselves!  I have realised I have made the mistake of pitching the Gospel as "good news for you" instead of simply gushing over it because it is my good news.

We have the freedom and the right to be excited, Christian!  We are going to heaven to be with our Saviour forever, and what an incredible privilege and honour it is to know Him today! 

Forever Friends

"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."

1 Samuel 20:42

When I read this verse, it struck me how God changes our perspective of life entirely:  He enables us to view life through the lens of eternity.  Jonathan and David made a covenant of friendship before God, an expression of love and loyalty beyond life on earth.  It is remarkable how marriage ordained by God between a man and a woman ends when "death do us part," yet those who born again through faith in Jesus Christ will experience forever friendship.

David was forced to flee because of King Saul's murderous madness.  Yet David and Jonathan took solace that as men who feared the Almighty God who lives forever, the distance which separated them was only temporary.  Time apart could not compare to eternity.  The LORD had brought them together as friends, and He would bring and keep them together as well.  Having immigrated internationally, I am joyful in knowing friendship I have with those who are born-again will endure forever.  Jesus called His disciples friends (John 15:15), and every friend of Christ is mine as well.  What great joy there is in enduring friendship, not only on this planet but forever in the LORD's presence!

Jonathan bid David to "Go in peace," and all who have discovered peace through faith in Jesus Christ can also abide in it.  All who have friends will eventually find themselves separated by distance or the death of the body, but we can have peace knowing we will meet again in the best circumstances, in the heavenly embrace of God without the shackles of time or other earthly constraints.  "We will meet again" people say hopefully, yet fellow followers of Jesus know this with all our certainty of salvation.  Death is swallowed up in victory, and the sting is gone.  Shouldn't this cause us to rejoice in our eternal Saviour?  

Real Windex

Thinking back, the Windex at church had looked strange for a couple weeks - a bit cloudy and not as blue as usual.  Then I saw a streaky glass window I know I had recently cleaned.  Something was up.  As I compared the cleaning product in the Windex bottle to the refill, I saw the problem:  someone (and that someone likely was me) had mistakenly poured similar looking surface cleaner into the Windex bottle!  That explained why the Windex looked different, and being a product not made for glass it did not perform as expected.  I am happy to say the cleaning crisis is over, as there is now real Windex in the Windex bottle.

For a week or two I thought I was using Windex because of the professional label on the spray bottle, but the poor results on glass alerted me something was amiss.  It reminds me of the warning Jesus provided us in Matthew 7:15-20: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them."  Many people claim to speak truth from God, but not all who make this claim are legitimate.  Even as a tree is known by its fruit, so genuine prophets of God will speak words which align with God's Word.

All believers, regardless of role or calling, ought to ensure our words and claims of truth do not go beyond what scripture has said.  God's Word is compared to a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).  We need the light of God's Word without man's filters, for they dim and obscure God's clear meaning to accommodate the wisdom of men.  A wolf's growl sounds nothing like the bleat of a sheep, but looks can be deceiving.  For weeks I thought I was using Windex because I didn't take the time to examine the contents of the spray bottle, and often we can believe false teaching is true because we have not carefully examined it ourselves in light of God's Word.  The results of erroneous belief are far more disastrous than streaky glass, and far more difficult to rectify.

May we be as the Jews to whom Paul preached in Berea mentioned in Acts 17:11-12:  "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men."  The Jews in the synagogue in Berea received the word with all readiness, but also searched the scriptures daily.  They were not suspicious or cynical when hearing an unfamiliar preacher but were willing to receive.  They diligently researched the claims of Paul, and when confirmed many of Jews and Greeks believed.  Faith in a preacher or prophet is a weak foundation, but the faith in the Word of God provides an eternal foundation.  When we build our lives upon Jesus Christ and His Word, the result is eternal life and continual revelation.