SENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL

The 2019 Nebraska Senate Series: “Rulers After God’s Own Heart—The Life of David”

Readiness for Royal Responsibility

—“DavidandSaul.,”ErnstJosephson,1878

avid! The most often used name in the Bible. Abraham? A mere 232 times. Moses? 850. Jesus, 981. But David, a most admired, beloved Biblical character? Over 1,000. Beloved he is, for even his name means “beloved.”

David’s name is unique to him. Exceptionally, only one Man, also born in Bethlehem, shares his name—“the greater Son of David”—Who is called in the New Testament’s first verse, “Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David” (Matthew 1:1). The Bible’s last recorded human name (Revelation 22:16) is David. That name is connected to Jesus Who titles Himself this way: “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you....I am the root and the descendant of David.” David’s life is worthy of our study since the all-human David prophetically pictures our divine Christ.

A modern assessment of David’s character and career sees him as a “giant-slayer, shepherd, musician, manipulator of men, outlaw, disguised madman, loyal friend and subject, lover, warrior, dancer and merrymaker, father, brother, son, master, servant, religious enthusiast, and king” and then asks, “What do you make of this enormous portrait? Where do we begin?”...[We] can only tentatively analyze...this most complex of all Israelite kings.” a

The Bible dedicates over 66 chapters to this royal ruler. Let us study more about the man of whom God reports, “I have found David...a man after My heart.”b Rev. Perry M. Gauthier, V.D.M.

a Ronald F. Youngblood, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume Three; (Zondervan Corporation), © 1992; p. 689. b Acts 13:22—“And having removed [Saul, God] raised up David to [Israel] as king, to whom also He said, having carried witness: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse a man according to My heart, who will do all My will.’ ”

D

Weekly Bible Study During the 106th Legislature’s First Session SENATORS: 6:45-8:00 a.m., Wednesdays, 13th Floor Sen. McDonnell Hot Breakfast Served

STAFF: Noon, Wednesdays, Room 1022 Sen. Halloran Catered Lunch & B.Y.O.BrownBag

JANUARY 30, 2019

WEEK 3

INSIDE SPIRITUAL WARFARE? Montpelier, Vermont ..... 2 PSALM TWENTY-THREE Israel’s Sweet Psalmist.. 3 KINGLY COURTS Rooms for Royalty ........... 4 FAITH-FILLED LAWMAKERS Rep. Vicki Strong (VT).... 5 VERSE OF THE WEEK Philippians 2:5-6............ 6 ABOUT Capitol Ministries® ........... 6

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Readiness for Royal Responsibility

I. ROYAL RUIN

1 Samuel 16:14 The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.

Two weeks ago, in 1 Samuel 16:13, we saw the kingmaker Samuel leave Bethlehem shortly after the Spirit of God rushed upon a newly anointed David—Israel’s new, future king. An unlikely underdog, he was Israel’s “Cinderfella.” Dr. Robert Alter says:

By his sheer youth he had been excluded from consideration as a kind of male Cinderella left to his domestic chores rather than being invited to the party.

First, he was uninvited, then he was anointed. He was picked to become royalty instead of his jealous, older brothers. The Spirit’s onrushing was similar to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a believer today. He was a divine Enabler Who would help David carry out decades of duties in his “kingdom come.” Ü At that very time, God’s Spirit abandoned the apostate Saul, who ruined his kingdom. While rejected, he was still king de facto. His disobedience had created a spiritual vacuum in his capital of Gibeah, five miles north of Bethlehem. Into that void, a chastising spirit from God rushed in to punish sinful Saul. Saul refused to let God rule over him in Israel’s theocratic monarchy.

When Jehovah’s Spirit came upon David his anointer (Samuel) left, leaving him in good hands. When Jehovah’s Spirit left Saul an evil spirit came upon him, leaving him in dire straits...[and with an] evil spirit, a divinely-sent scourge that tormented [lit. “terrified”] Saul. c

He forsook the Torah’s path of peace and life by obedience and willfully insisted on entering into a realm of deadly chaos. Problems (theological-mental-psychological) plagued Saul for the rest of his life. Ü God can use evil for good. One Texas preacher twanged, “God kin

draw a straight lick with a crooked stick.” God commissioned a “spirit (lit.) of evilness” to play a part in the palace punishment of that politico.

1 Samuel 16:15-16 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 16Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.”

The “servants,” literally the “young men,” were advisors who diagnosed his malady correctly. They told him to order them to send out a search committee, not for some lithium or a physician, but a skilled musician. Would music have the power to soothe the savage breast, the savage soul, the savage Saul? Sad, sad Saul. Ü To harp on instrumental details, the therapeutic noisemaker here is truly a lyre (Hebrew: kinnor ר%נכ ), the oldest instrument mentioned in the Bible (Gn.4:21). It’s the only one mentioned in the entire Pentateuch, thought by pagans to be divine and to have healing powers. David’s lyre was portable with two arms protruding up from a sound box, having strings of equal length. The men advised that the lyrist be highly skilled (Heb. intimately knowing).

SOME OF US PLAY BUT NOT WELL.

Saul didn’t need Prozac® but a pro who could really bang on the strings to grace the palace with charming songs. David’s private hobby and musical skills would be the initial gift he gave that first day he met the royally ruined Saul. He had no idea that the God Who picked underdogs and Cinderfellas would give him a musical, government chaplaincy.

GOD USES SMALL THINGS TO ADVANCE HIS KINGDOM.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Battling spiritual darkness*

Montpelier, Vermont Statehouse

BEHIND THE GOLDEN DOME in America’s

smallest capital is a hilltop on which spiritual

warfare is blatantly and vigorously being

waged. Weekly curses and sacrifices are

apparently being cast and offered up to

demonic powers against the statehouse and its

leaders. It may be working.

In our 2017 and 2018 U.S. Capitol Tours of

Ministry Duty, Faith and I learned of these

unsettling facts. One former Vermont legislator

reported that of the 180 lawmakers there were

probably 140 who either were “hostile” or

“very hostile” to Christ.

Pray for the Vermont Capitol! Why?

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-

blood enemies, but against evil rulers and

authorities of the unseen world, against

mighty powers in this *dark world, and

against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

(Ephesians 6:12, NLT)

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SENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL

II. A ROYAL RÉSUMÉ

Saul was never really ready for royal responsibility. Twenty-seven years of failing to rule by faith in God with minimal care for constitutional Law (God’s Law) caused Saul to lose the kingdom. In a theocratic monarchy God has the real power. Monarchs were mere regents whose delegated, limited powers were God-given.

But David was found to be a man after God’s own heart who would do all His will. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” God looks at the hearts of rulers and wants their love for Him to be above all else (see testimony from Montpelier’s state Capitol). We learned from Saul that God wants obedience to His Law motivated by a love of His heart. To obey from the heart with love, sad Saul, would have been better than empty sacrifice and religious PR.

Ü Is newly anointed David really ready for royal responsibility? Yes, but no. Let’s look at his résumé.

1 Samuel 16:17-18 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide [Hebrew: see] for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I’ve seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him.”

Irony fills this passage. Sullen Saul with a paranoid schizophrenic mind can’t see his own problem but wants his servants to see to a solution for the problem they clearly saw. Saul is also blind to the fact that the man who will be called on to look after the rejected and dejected king is the very man who will replace him!

ÜDon’t underestimate small things or the daily grind or the value of your peers. Wise, old Samuel had

headed north to Ramah, now out of active service in the book that bears his name. Instead, it was to be an unnamed, faceless young man who reported (before a search party could be sent out) that he had “seen” a young man (David—the tiniest/youngest of his brothers) whose résumé may prove perfect.

Musically—he was very skillful. He was right in tune as a talented lyrist. Next, with a series of two-worded Hebrew phrases, he gave four bullet points to David’s résumé: a brave man, a fighting man, an articulate speaker, even a handsome man. Beyond his musical ability, David was more than qualified—a royal remedy for sad, demonic dejection.

Militarily—brave and a warrior. Socially—distinctly well spoken. Physically—fine looking. Spiritually—the Lord was with him.

Ü “Man of valor” means he came from a noble, ruling-class family.

David’s warrior status, in this lad’s peer review, meant he had heard of his courage and strength needed to fight desert lions and mountain bears. Time had passed since verse thirteen’s note that the Spirit rushed mightily upon David from that day forward. Perhaps this was like the judge, Samson, who also had an onrush of the Holy Spirit, an anointing for ruling power which helped him bare handedly “tear a lion” (Judges 14:6).

Heroes are usually eloquent, and being of “good form” was a desired characteristic of the ideal young Israelite. The Japan Bible Seminary Prof., David Toshio Tsumura, said:

For the Lord is with him explains all the previous qualities: success, strength, manners, looks, are result of divine favor….Even Saul’s servants knew about the intimacy of the God-David relationship. d

The “Lord was with him” becomes a literary motif (leitmotif), or literary pattern, through the rest of the life story of this outstanding man.

ISRAEL’S SWEET PSALMIST

Gerard van Honthorst

King David Playing the Harp, 1622

Psalm 23

Like all psalms, Psalm 23 was used in

worship by the ancient Hebrews. David

described God as his Shepherd, in the role

of protector and provider. The psalm is

read, recited, and sung by Jews and

Christians. It has been called the most

well-known of all chapters in the Book of

Psalms for its universal theme of trust

in God.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for

His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are

with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow

me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house

of the LORD forever.

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Readiness for Royal Responsibility

III. RURAL TO ROYAL— REALLY?

1 Samuel 16:19-20 Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” 20Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by David his son.

We left David with royal oil in his copper locks as an up-and-coming king at the end of our first study. Yet he did not quit his day job, rush off to elite training for the nouveau royale, or arrange for photo ops.

DAVID DID NOT POST KING-LOOKING SELFIES ON

INSTAGRAM OR ATTEND FITTING SESSIONS FOR KINGLY ROBES.

He just went back to sheep duty watching sheep chew grass and cleaning their excrement off his sandals. To fight boredom, he played his lyre. He went from “rural to royal” but he started at the lowest royal rung of the kingly ladder—a musical chaplaincy at the palace. Ü Your responsibilities in the Capitol include countless mundane duties not in the limelight. Just so, Christian thinker and author Dr. Joel McDurmon urges all Christians to be faithful and dutiful in each non-glorious pasture where God has put them. He exhorts us all, in order to advance God’s kingdom:

“Shut up and do your job.” Your job is primarily faithfulness. Your job is not to win....Your job is to do whatever you’ve been gifted to do and do it in utter faithfulness....The path to dominion is constant faithfulness...[the] daily grind...with the most optimistic eagerness....we brave the insults and keep an inward smile; we do our jobs quietly and unassumingly...with an aim at advancing the kingdom...[with] an ethic of quiet, hardworking faithfulness....Do your job. e

Ü The court summons: “David ben Jesse: from pasture to palace”—summoned from the sheepfold.

Week One’s study taught that God Himself had hand-picked David. This week’s passage intentionally makes it crystal clear that the king wants David in his palace. Oh the irony. Rejoice in God’s providence, dear Senator. He is moving behind the scenes in your life. Who would have thought God was coordinating this small boy’s biography with the Israel’s future, national security. Is there any hope for Israel? Will she become the mashed potatoes of history under the pulverizing power of the Philistine juggernaut? We shall see. Trust God and trust this:

GOD CAN CONNECT ALL THE COMPLEX DOTS

OF HISTORY FOR US.

Ü Some senators are called from country quiet to the George W. Norris Legislative Chamber. Others from the buzz of city businesses to deal with statewide fiscal problems. What do both have in common? The need to trust God. His all-seeing eyes scan the senate floor, seeking for any lawmakers whose hearts are totally His. Be faithful. Do your job. Glorify God. Suffer for His Name.

DON’T DESPISE YOUR PRESENT PASTURE OR RESENT YOUR

CURRENT SUFFERINGS. THESE ARE GOD’S LABORATORIES FOR

MOLDING YOUR HEART.

Palace staffers have to eat. Just a word about Jesse’s palace-bound donkey load of Bethlehem produce. He may have felt honored that his youngest son was selected for royal service. No formal, civil taxation system was yet established since monarchies were a brand-new thing in Israel. If so, bread and wine were standard fare and meant to feed David on the job. It may have been palace protocol to honor the king with a gift. Perhaps it was all three.

IV. ROYALLY RESPONSIBLE

Is David really ready for royalty? Not really. But he’s been anointed by God Himself. But he’s a teenager.

KINGLY COURTS

ROOMS FOR ROYALTY

QUEEN ESTHER IN THE COURT OF KING XERXES

Archaeologists have found Saul’s palace and

court to have been somewhat primitive. After

all, the secular “royalmania” bug that had

bitten the Israelites, giving them a feverish

desire to have a king like the other nations,

resulted in a brand new thing in Israel:

the monarchy of Saul.

Queen Esther,* on the other hand,

entered the lavish, massive court of the

richest king on earth “for such a time as

this” (Esther 4:14). That “time” was a time

to save her people from ethnic cleansing,

genocide, and the immoral legislation of

Prince Haman. He’s the villain of the story

in Esther and a descendant of a line of

rabidly violent people whom God decided

should have been nationally “put down”—

the Amalekites. Five hundred years before

Esther , the egocentric King Saul refused

to put King Agag to death. Five centuries

later , Haman is identified (in Esther 3:1)

as “Prince Haman...the Agagite.”

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther

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SENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL

David was an outstanding young man. God said so. He was not ready to sit on a throne, but he was well able to serve as summoned and bloom as planted—in the palace. In Hebrew, four rapid-fire verbs show his quick blossoming in his days as a palace courtier resulting in his gaining the coveted position of the king’s personal body guard.

1 Samuel 16:21-22 Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 22Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”

Jesse’s son was royally responsible. Saul’s love for David resulted in his coveted position as the king’s royal, personal bodyguard (black suit and tie, ear piece, black sunglasses). So sad Saul summoned Jesse a second time, obliging the good redhead’s service on a semi-permanent basis.

IN GOD’S PROVIDENCE, YOUR FAITHFULNESS TODAY

PAVES THE WAY FOR YOUR SUCCESS TOMORROW.

Ü We learn much about love and life and strife from the interlaced lives of David and Saul. Do you have people in your life you never wanted, can’t stand, and can’t get rid of? The crisscrossing fates in this tale of two kings will intrigue us and teach us for their next 13 years.

Love must be learned. While love is so worthwhile it must be learned. We won’t learn it from Saul. Saul loved David because he made him feel better. If you think that’s love you’re sadly mistaken. f

We learn much about faithfulness from these two “kings.” In verse 21, David meets for the first time the madman who will devote the next

c Youngblood, p 688. NB—Youngblood was an NIV translator. d David T. Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), © 2007, p. 480. e McDurmon, In the Midst of Your Enemies: Exposition and Application of 1 Samuel, (American Vision), © 2013, p. 236f.

13 years of his life trying to kill him. How could this be? Perhaps since:

FOR YOUNG DAVID, WHILE HIS ANOINTING CAME INDEED,

HIS ANOINTING CAME IN STAGES.

V. ROYAL RESCUE

1 Samuel 16:23 So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

He was not really ready to reign, but David did rescue the rejected king from his recurring torment. The Spirit of God left permanently, and “the spirit of evilness” had to be exorcised on a regular basis. Music was the means of relief. Without iTunes®, earbuds, or Pandora®, David plucked skillfully on his portable lyre. Ironically, that young hero with a rousing résumé was not “just a handsome yokel with a rustic lyre, but the anointed king!” g The stage is set. There’s royal ruin and there’s royal readiness—but actually there was not.

~ ~ ~

ARE YOU REALLY READY?

Dear Honorable Senator:

Are you ready? Of course you are, and of course you are not. We thank God that He has called you to civil service in Nebraska. He thought you were ready; however, He has a bigger story for you as your soul intertwines with many others in this complex thing called life. As such, may you be “royally responsible.”

In the name of David’s greater Son,

Rev. Perry (and Faith) Gauthier Cell/text: 402.770.6270

f Beth Moore, Summoned from the Sheepfold; DVD 2 from the series Seeking a Heart Like His; © 2010 g Youngblood, p. 690.

FAITH IN THE STATEHOUSE

Rep. Vicki Strong* Vermont General Assembly

Montpelier, Vermont

Putting Jesus First

Rep. Vicki Strong is unashamedly a

disciple of Christ in the political arena.

She told us on our last Capitol Ministries

USA trip that her first priority (and the

reason God put her into office) was to

“absolutely put Jesus first and everything

else would fall into place.”

Could it be that Matthew 6:33 also applies

to lawmakers like Vicki in other capitols?

“Seek first His kingdom

and His righteousness, and all

these things will be added to you.”

*

https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/single/

2016/15786

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Readiness for Royal Responsibility

Senator’s Personal Study Notes

My Personal Application

Making disciples of Jesus Christ in the political arena throughout the world

Capitol Ministries® provides Bible studies, evangelism, and discipleship to political leaders. Founded in 1996, we

have started ongoing ministries in over 40 U.S. State Capitols and dozens of

foreign federal Capitols.

/CapitolMinistriesNE

@PerryGauthier

Capitol Ministries® Nebraska State Offices

4547 Calvert Street, Lincoln, NE 68506 402-327-0011 work

402-770-6270 cell/text Perry@NECapMin.org Faith@NECapMin.org www.NECapMin.org

VERSE OF THE WEEK

Christ was humble, doing the work for which the Father sent Him.

Philippians 2:5-6

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 Who,

although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God

a thing to be grasped.”