Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
November 19, 2003
Psalm 51
We’ll look at this Psalm on Sunday morning.
Psalm 52
To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite
came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.
Doeg – Do’eg – “fearing”
This guy was bad news. David writes a song from his experience with this
fellow.
:2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
deviseth – chashab – to
think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine, count
mischiefs – havvah –
desire; desire (in bad sense); chasm (fig. of destruction); engulfing ruin,
destruction, calamity
deceitfully – r@miyah –
laxness, slackness, slackening, deceit, treachery
Doeg apparently had a problem with his mouth.
You apparently couldn’t trust everything the guy would say.
But isn’t that just life? What’s the big deal? After all, weren’t we taught
that sticks and stones can break my bones, but "words can never hurt
me", right?
:3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak
righteousness. Selah.
Now if you look at this carefully, it doesn’t say that there’s nothing good
in this guy.
It doesn't say he hated good things, it’s just that he loved bad things
better.
In a way he sounds kind of like the Christian who is caught in the world,
loving the things of the world.
What’s the big deal?
:7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the
abundance of his riches
Doeg trusted in his riches instead of God. But what’s so bad about that? Doesn’t
this make him a “self-made” man?
Lesson
Deal with the “little” things
Look at the sins of Doeg:
He had a problem with his mouth.
He liked bad things too much.
He trusted in his wealth.
We might not think that some of these things are all that bad, but when we
don’t deal with the sin in our lives, one sin will lead to another, down a
slippery slope.
(Eccl 10:1 KJV) Dead flies
cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a
little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
Illustration
Scientists now say that a series of slits, not a giant gash, sank the
Titanic.
The opulent, 900-foot cruise ship sank in 1912 on its first voyage, from England
to New York. Fifteen hundred
people died in the worst maritime disaster of the time.
The most widely held theory was that the ship hit an iceberg, which opened
a huge gash in the side of the liner. But an international team of divers and
scientists recently used sound waves to probe the wreckage, buried in the mud
under two-and-a-half miles of water. Their discovery? The damage was
surprisingly small. Instead of the huge gash, they found six relatively narrow
slits across the six watertight holds.
Small damage, invisible to most, can sink not only a great ship but a great
reputation.
-- USA Today (4/9/97). Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 4.
In reality, Doeg’s sins might not hit you as being more than annoying, but
look to where they led.
David had been fleeing from Saul, and went to the priests at Nob, then to
the Philistines, then on to hide in the rocks.
Saul got upset with the people closest to him and demanded that someone
figure out where David was.
(1 Sam 22:7-19 KJV) Then
Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will
the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all
captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; {8} That all of you have
conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a
league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or
showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in
wait, as at this day?
I wonder if there isn’t some kind of implied reward in the
things that Saul is asking? Saul is saying that David won’t make them rich, but
perhaps Saul might?
{9}Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants
of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son
of Ahitub. {10} And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and
gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
Doeg was known for a lying tongue, but here he’s speaking
the truth.
{11} Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of
Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came
all of them to the king.
Saul then questions the priests because they had helped
David. Even though they helped David with pure motives, simply to help a friend
in need, Saul accuses them of helping David in order to conspire against Saul. He
then orders that the priests all be put to death.
{16} And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and
all thy father's house. {17} And the king said unto the footmen that stood about
him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with
David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the
servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of
the LORD. {18} And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests.
And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day
fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. {19} And Nob, the city
of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women,
children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the
sword.
Doeg’s sins led to tragedy. An entire city of innocent
people were wiped out.
Some of these “lesser” sins may not seem like a big deal
to you, but they’re a big deal to God. Deal with the sin in your life.
:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the
mercy of God for ever and ever.
green – ra‘anan – (Palel)
to be or grow luxuriant or fresh or green
A picture of prosperity in God’s presence:
(Ho 14:6 KJV) {6} His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall
be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
This is in contrast with Doeg who was trusting in his riches, and who David
prayed God would “root thee out of the land of the living” (vs. 5).
Psalm 53
To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.
This psalm is just like Psalm 14, except for verse 5, which takes up the
same space as 14:5-6, and deals different things;
14:5-6 talks about God being the reward of the righteous, and that God
takes care of the poor.
53:5 talks about how God will deal with the wicked, fighting against them.
Mahalath – machalath –
Mahalath; meaning dubious, probably a catchword in a song giving name to tune
:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
This is the song of the atheist.
fool – nabal – foolish,
senseless, fool
A dyslexic, agnostic insomniac: Someone who lies awake at night wondering if
there is a dog.
:1 Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that
doeth good.
When you take God out of the equation of life, man descends into a moral
pit.
There is no longer a reason to do what is right.
If this life is all there is, then we might as well party hearty while we
can.
But that’s foolish, senseless, because the fact of God’s existence is right
in front of us:
(Rom 1:20
KJV) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;
so that they are without excuse:
:6 Oh that the salvation of Israel
were come out of Zion!
Lesson
A need for a Savior
As we saw back in Psalm 14, Paul quotes from Psalms 14, 53 in Romans 3:
(Rom 3:10-12 KJV) As it
is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: {11} There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. {12} They are all gone out
of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one.
Paul takes this literally, that not just those who say they’re atheists say
“there’s no God”, but in a sense we all own up to this. We all live to some
extent as if there is no God.
Paul uses this as part of his point to say that all of man is sinful.
(Rom
3:23-24 KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; {24}
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus:
God’s own children often live as if He doesn’t exist.
Yet He has loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to
die for our sins.
We need a Savior.
Psalm 54
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the
Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?
Neginoth – n@giynah –
music, song, taunt song; music (of stringed instrument)
The story comes from 1Sam.23.
David has been running for his life from Saul when he hears news about
people from his own tribe of Judah
who were being attacked by the Philistines.
(1 Sam 23:1-5 KJV) Then
they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they
rob the threshingfloors. {2} Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying,
Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and
smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. {3} And David's men said unto him,
Behold, we be afraid here in Judah:
how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
{4} Then David inquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and
said, Arise, go down to Keilah: for I will deliver the Philistines into thine
hand. {5} So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines,
and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David
saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
Lesson
Don’t quit.
David had a calling on his life, to conquer the Philistines. As one of
God’s men, he had a calling to make his nation secure against the Philistines.
Even though David’s own life was in trouble, he made a choice not to give
up on his calling.
Sometimes the enemy just loves to make our lives miserable so we’ll stop
thinking about God’s call on our lives and just think about ourselves.
David didn’t quit when it got tough.
After David saved these people, word got back to Saul that David was in the
city of Keilah. David became
concerned that the people of Keilah might arrest him and turn him over to Saul,
even though he just saved them from the Philistines. When David asked God if he
could trust these people, God told David that they would betray him if he hung
around.
Lesson
Motives for serving.
What are my reasons for serving the Lord?
Sometimes I can find myself serving the Lord so I can get people to like
me. Sometimes I’m looking for a little attention or a little pat on the back,
and so I give someone a hand.
The problem is that sometimes people don’t give you a pat on the back. Sometimes
people turn around and smack you.
If my reason for serving the Lord is anything other than just to serve the
Lord and please Him, I’m going to get disillusioned and want to quit.
When David hears about Keilah going to betray him, David hits the road
again and hides out in the land of “Ziph”. Even though they have no reason to
dislike David, the people of Ziph decide they’re going to turn David over to
Saul.
(1 Sam 23:14-26 KJV) And
David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in
the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him
not into his hand. {15} And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life:
and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.
David is constantly on the run.
{16} And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the
wood, and strengthened his hand in God. {17} And he said unto him, Fear not:
for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over
Israel,
and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. {18} And
they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and
Jonathan went to his house.
Jonathan shows up to encourage David. Not everyone is against David.
We may go through times when it seems like everyone is out to get us, but
not everyone is our enemy.
{19} Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not
David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of
Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? {20} Now therefore, O king, come
down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall
be to deliver him into the king's hand. {21} And Saul said, Blessed be ye of
the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. {22} Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and
know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it
is told me that he dealeth very subtly. {23} See therefore, and take knowledge
of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with
the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in
the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
{24} And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were
in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
The Ziphites betray David and tell Saul they'll help find David.
Note how Saul “blesses” them for helping him. There will be some folks who
will give us a difficult time and think they’re being religious or serving God
somehow.
{25} Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David:
wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And
when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. {26}
And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side
of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul
and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.
Saul starts to get close and is chasing David around the mountain.
It’s somewhere around this time that David writes Psalm 54.
:1 Save me, O God, by thy name
David is praying while he’s running.
:3 For strangers are risen up against me
David didn’t know these folks from Ziph, but they were out to get him
anyway.
:7 For he hath delivered me out of all trouble
(1 Sam 23:27-29 KJV) But
there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the
Philistines have invaded the land. {28} 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.
Selahammahlekoth – “The Rock of Escape”
Saul is called away temporarily by a Philistine threat and David is given
the chance to escape.
Lesson
Take the exit
The opportunity to escape comes, and David takes it.
(1 Cor 10:13 KJV) There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
God promises to give us a way of escape for every temptation, but we have
to take it.
Illustration
The story goes that a big storm was on the horizon, and
the police cars went through the small farming community to warn the citizens
to head for high ground. Farmer Bill heard the warning, but decided that he was
just going to stay put and trust God. When the rain began to fall, and the
water began to rise, the firemen came by in a boat, offering to evacuate Farmer
Bill, but he said, “No, I’m going to stay put and trust God.” Finally, as Bill
had to climb out onto his roof to get away from the raging flood, a helicopter
came by offering assistance, but Farmer Bill stayed put. When Bill got to
heaven, he was kind of ticked off at God. He said to God, “How come you didn’t
rescue me from the flood when I trusted you!” God gently replied, “Bill, I sent
a police car, a rescue boat, and a helicopter. What did you expect?”
Sometimes we just don’t want to take the “exit”, and we just go plowing
right on through the door.
Illustration
There was once a man on a diet who prayed, “Lord, if you
don’t want me to go get donuts, then let there not be any parking spots at Krispy
Kreme Donuts.” But he had to give in to the donuts because sure enough, when he
got there, there was a parking spot right in front of the door … after his
twentieth time around the block.
If you don’t take the exit the first time you see it,
you’re probably not going to take it at all.
Take the exit.
Illustration
The Five Chapter
Book:
Chapter One: A man was walking down the street. He fell
into a hole. He groped his way in the darkness. After a long time, he made his
way out of the hole.
Chapter Two: A man was walking down the same street. He
pretended not to see the hole. He fell in. After a long time, he made his way
out of the hole.
Chapter Three: A man was walking down the same street. He
sees the hole. He falls in. He says it’s not his fault. After a long time, he
made his way out of the hole.
Chapter Four: A man walks down the same street. He sees
the hole. He knows it’s there. He tries to walk around it. He falls in. He
knows it’s his fault. He quickly gets out.
Chapter Five: A man takes another street.
(Heard on Focus on
the Family)
Psalm 55
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David.
Neginoth – n@giynah –
music, song, taunt song; music (of stringed instrument)
We don’t know for sure, but it seems to be another song written during
David’s time of fleeing from Absalom.
:1-8 Help me escape
:1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
This is another of David’s cries for help.
:6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away,
and be at rest.
Sometimes we just want to run away.
:9-15 Betrayal
:9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and
strife in the city.
(Ps 55:9 NLT) {9} Destroy them, Lord, and confuse their speech, for
I see violence and strife in the city.
As David left Jerusalem, being
chased by Absalom, David heard that his friend Ahithophel had joined the
rebellion. David knew this was not a
good thing and that Ahithophel could cause tremendous damage.
(2 Sam 15:31 KJV)
And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with
Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel
into foolishness.
:12-14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in
company.
This very may be a description of David’s betrayal by Ahithophel. It would also become a prophetic picture of
the Son of David being betrayed by Judas.
:16-23 Handle with Prayer
:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon,
will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
David prayed three times a day.
:19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old…
(Psa 55:19 NASB) God will
hear and answer them-- Even the one who sits enthroned from of old-- Selah.
With whom there is no change, And who do not fear God.
(Psa 55:19 ICB) God who
lives forever will hear me and punish them. But they will not change. They do
not fear God. Selah
:21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his
heart
Sometimes people who say nice, sweet things about you are the ones you need
to watch out for.
:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee
cast – shalak – (Hiphil) to throw, cast, throw
away, cast off, shed, cast down
burden – y@hab – burden, lot (that which is
given); from yahab – to give, provide,
ascribe, come
The “burden” is the thing that has been given you in life.
For David, the “burden” was the situation of having been betrayed.
he shall sustain – kuwl – (Pilpel) to sustain, maintain,
contain; support, nourish; endure
Lesson
Sustained with prayer
How do we keep going in life?
How do we keep going when life isn’t fun, when people close to you betray
you?
We are sustained by praying.
Jesus taught:
(Luke 18:1-8 KJV) And he spake a parable unto them to this end,
that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
The way to avoid “fainting” is to pray. Always.
Persistently.
{2} Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God,
neither regarded man: {3} And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto
him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. {4} And he would not for a while: but
afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; {5}
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual
coming she weary me. {6} And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
{7} And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him,
though he bear long with them? {8} I tell you that he will avenge them
speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the
earth?
The point of the parable was not that the judge was a
grumpy old man. The point was that the
woman continued to pray until she got her answer.
I heard a message by J.P.Moreland today where he talked
about prayer and that sometimes we treat praying as if we were dropping
bombs. We fly over a problem, drop our
prayer bomb, and off we fly, figuring we’ve delivered our payload.
He said a better picture of prayer was the idea of cooking
something until it was done. When you
pray, you’re putting something in the oven, and it’s going to take time. It’s going to take persistence.
We are sustained by casting our burdens upon the Lord.
(1 Pet 5:6-7 KJV) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand
of God, that he may exalt you in due time: {7} Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.
Illustration
There was a man who was bearing the weight of the whole world on his
shoulders. His name is Dr. George McCauslin, the director of a YMCA near Pittsburgh.
And in that western Pennsylvania YMCA that was losing membership, that had
financial difficulties and terrible staff problems, George McCauslin found
himself working 85 hours a week. He found himself getting little sleep at
night. He took little time off. And when he was off, he was worrying and fretting
about the problems of this YMCA.
He went to a therapist who told him he was on the verge of a nervous
breakdown. He had to learn somehow to let go and somehow to let God into his
problems. He didn’t know quite how to do that.
So George McCauslin took an afternoon off, took a pad and paper, and took a
walk in the western Pennsylvania
woods. As he walked through the cool woods, he could just feel his tight body
and his tight neck start to relax. He sat down under a tree and sighed. For the
first time in months he relaxed.
He got out his pad and paper, and he decided that he would let them go, the
burdens of his life. He wrote God a letter. He said, “Dear God, today I hereby
resign as general manager of the universe. Love, George.”
Then with a twinkle in his eye that is so characteristic of George
McCauslin, he said, “And wonder of wonders, God accepted my resignation.”
-- Thomas Tewell, "The Weight of
the World [1995],"