{"id":33271,"date":"2024-11-05T22:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-19_18-24-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T17:10:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T00:10:04","slug":"1-samuel-20_1-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-samuel-20_1-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus is Showing You the Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Samuel 20:1-23 \u00a0 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 20:1-23.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 20:1-8 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?”
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It’s not so!”
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the\u00a0LORD. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-8: \u00a0Before David made the big decision to run away from King Saul, he confided in his friend Jonathan, the Prince of Israel.\u00a0 David told Jonathan his troubles, asked Jonathan to speak into his life, and looked to Jonathan for guidance.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this? \u00a0Before you make a big decision, it helps to consult people who have godly character and whom you respect and trust.<\/strong>\u00a0 As part of this, of course,\u00a0before you make a big decision, most of all confide in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.\u00a0 Seek His guidance and help. \u00a0<\/strong>Why is Jesus the best person you can turn to when you’re in trouble?\u00a0 Two reasons:<\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0His special position with the Father.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Just as Jonathan had special access and insight into his father’s will, so Jesus has special access and insight into His Father’s will.\u00a0 It’s only through Jesus that we can know what the Father is really like and what is really on the Father’s heart.<\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0His special predisposition toward you.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Just as Jonathan was predisposed to loving and protecting his friend David (“Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you” – v4), Jesus is predisposed to loving and protecting you.\u00a0 He’s got your back and wants what\u2019s best for you, so you know that whatever guidance He gives you is with your best in mind.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 20:9-17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Never!” Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jonathan said to David: “By the\u00a0LORD, the God of Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know?
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the\u00a0LORD\u00a0deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the\u00a0LORD\u00a0be with you as he has been with my father.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But show me unfailing kindness like that of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0as long as I live, so that I may not be killed,
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family–not even when the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the\u00a0LORD\u00a0call David’s enemies to account.”
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-17: Here we see Jonathan’s incredible humility.\u00a0 As the king’s son he was the natural heir to the throne.\u00a0 Yet he was willing to set aside his own personal interests, success and safety for David’s sake.\u00a0 When Jonathan says to David in verse 13b, “May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father”, Jonathan was acknowledging that David would be the next king instead of him, and Jonathan blessed David in that!\u00a0 Jonathan truly “loved David as he loved himself” (v17), a phrase which appears three times in\u00a01\u00a0Samuel.\u00a0 In this way, Jonathan is as Christ-like as they come in the Old Testament.
\nWhat can we learn from this? \u00a0True love and true friendship are evidenced by sacrifice.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As we see from Jonathan in the Old Testament and later Jesus in the New Testament, greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).<\/p>\n

1<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a020<\/em><\/strong>:18-19 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Then Jonathan said to David: “Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.\u00a0<\/em>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-19: \u00a0In the margins of the King James translation of verse 19, it says that “the stone Ezel” means “the stone that leads the way”.\u00a0 David was to figure out what to do by waiting near the stone that leads the way.\u00a0 Likewise,\u00a0when you are trying to figure out what to do, the best thing you can do is to wait near the stone that leads the way — Jesus Christ.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0You will get your directions as you wait near this Rock.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 20:20-23 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0lives, you are safe; there is no danger.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, because the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has sent you away.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And about the matter you and I discussed–remember, the\u00a0LORD\u00a0is witness between you and me forever.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a020-23: \u00a0On the surface to other people it would seem that Jonathan was just playing games with his bow and arrow.\u00a0 But Jonathan had carefully thought out a plan to give David clear directions about whether he should stay or run away from Saul.\u00a0 As long as David listened for Jonathan’s voice, he would know clearly what to do .<\/p>\n

Are you needing direction from God?\u00a0 Jesus, your perfect Jonathan and our Prince of Peace, is not trying to confuse you or play games with you.\u00a0 He is committed to giving you clear directions that will lead you to safety.\u00a0 The question: are you listening for His voice?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Our problem is that we’re often so busy playing games and listening to our noisy feelings that we miss His still, small voice.\u00a0 Yet the best thing you can do is be still and listen for the Prince’s voice.\u00a0 He will instruct you where to go (see Psalm 32:8-10).<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You that I can confidently confide in You because of Your special position with the Father and Your special predisposition toward me.\u00a0 Thank You for showing me the greatest love I will ever know by sacrificing Your life for me, setting aside Your interests for mine.\u00a0 Thank You for being my stone who leads the way and the voice that guides my path to safety.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Samuel 20:1-23.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\n1 Samuel 20:1-8 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?”
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It’s not so!”
\n3\u00a0\u00a0But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-8: \u00a0Before David made the big decision to run away from King Saul, he confided in his friend Jonathan, the Prince of Israel.\u00a0 David told Jonathan his troubles, asked Jonathan to speak into his life, and looked to Jonathan for guidance.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this? \u00a0Before you make a big decision, it helps to consult people who have godly character and whom you respect and trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33271"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33274,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33271\/revisions\/33274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}