Conspiracy Theories (1 Samuel 22:6–23)

“Then the king said to Doeg, ‘You turn and strike the priests.’ And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.”

—1 Samuel 22:18–19

You cannot rationalize with a conspiracy theorist. Any logical argumentation that we indeed landed on the moon, that the earth is a sphere, or that Lee Harvey Oswald did shoot J.F.K. are met scoffing dismissal. Such argumentation only proves that you’re a naive pawn of the information brokers in power.

True or false, the real danger of a conspiracy theorist spirit is that it is more concerned about what may have been hidden by man than what has been revealed by God. Isaiah tell us “the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ‘Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread’” (Isaiah 8:11–13).

We may inclined to think of conspiracy theories predominantly as rockets rather than meteorites. That is, they travel from the ground up rather than from the sky down. The citizens suspect the powers that be, rather than the powers suspecting their citizens. But the kings of this earth have a long history of paranoid delusions concerning those who they believe are out to get them. Conspiracy meteorites are as common as rockets, but frequently with this difference, the rockets may make a stunning but short show in the sky whereas the meteorites can cause lasting devastation on the ground.

Saul imagines his conspiracy theories up in the sky, but the devastation wrought on the ground is all too real. But Saul’s imagination is not bigger than God’s revelation. All of Saul’s conspiracy lunacy only works God wise plan. There is only One who has truly planned to bring Saul to nothing, and He has not been silent about it. Samuel declared to Saul, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret” (1 Samuel 15:28–29). Saul not only imagines men conspiring against him, he conspires against God, imagining he can make a liar out of Him. But Saul’s imagination is not bigger than God’s revelation.

The author has prepared the careful reader to see not just a horrid tragedy, but a holy judgment in the midst of it. Don’t be so stunned by Saul’s wicked sin that you fail to see God’s righteous judgement. The author has been subtle, but he has not been silent.

God has preserved David. Why does He not deliver Ahimelech the son of Ahitub? Earlier, when Jonathan attacked the Philistine garrison, we were told that among those with Saul was “Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod” (1 Samuel 14:3). Ahitub is Ichabod’s brother. Ahitub is Phinehas’s son. Ahitub is Eli’s grandson.

In, 1 Samuel 2:31–35 a man of God appeared to Eli and declared, 

Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.

God is bringing salvation by judgment to His people. He removed a wicked priesthood to raise up a righteous priest-prophet in Samuel who prepared the way for the Lord’s Anointed. Saul’s wicked judgment works Yahweh’s righteous judgment. Rebellion is a boomerang that always returns back with more force than it was thrown. The harm intended always rebounds. Rebellion is a boomerang you can’t catch.  Rebellion is not simply futile, it is counter-productive. It doesn’t simply fail to break down the wall. It helps to build it.

Faithful Fools in the Court of theKing of Kings (1 Samuel 20)

“Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, ‘What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?’ 2 And he said to him, ‘Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.’ 3 But David vowed again, saying, ‘Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, “Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.” But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.’ 4 Then Jonathan said to David, ‘Whatever you say, I will do for you.'”

—1 Samuel 20:1–4

Our covenant-making God makes a covenant-making people. Our covenant-keeping God makes a covenant-keeping people.

Why does David return? Jonathan. He returns because of their covenant devotion to one another. David is certain about Saul. Jonathan is ignorant. If David flees, it seems he not only wants Jonathan to know why, he wants his blessing.

The reason we might be confused by David’s actions is because we’re not driven by the same stuff. We think ourselves wiser when we’re simply selfish. We think ourselves more perceptive when we’re merely self-preserving. David fears the Lord. David walks in His ways. He demonstrates true wisdom. He demonstrates unfailing covenant love. If being covenantally faithful means looking a fool, then gladly don the motley of a jester. It is blessed to be thought a “fool” of the court of the King of kings.

Because their covenant devotion to one another is born of their covenant devotion to God, these friends don’t argue. David doesn’t insist. He allows Jonathan to test. Jonathan does not protest. He puts himself fully at the disposal of his friend. They trust one another and pursue truth together. Jonathan submits to David’s plan to expose his father. David entrusts himself to Jonathan’s plan to preserve his life. When they plan, they don’t really toil over the plan. They toil over their covenant. Before they are practical, they are principled. Covenant first. Planning second. 

A reason so many of our friendships and plans go sideways is because we strive to be wise more than we strive to be faithful. We need to meditate and think covenantally first. Then we may build our plans on that solid foundation.

Underlying Jonathan and David’s covenant faithfulness to one another, is their covenant faithfulness to God. Underlying their covenant faithfulness to God, is God’s covenant faithfulness to His people. Their covenant faithfulness to one another is an expression of our God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel. It is an expression of His covenant faithfulness to us. God delivers His King, thus, He deliveries His people. In doing so, our covenant-making God makes a covenant-making people and our covenant-keeping God makes a covenant-keeping people.

God Delivers His King (1 Samuel 19:1–24)

“And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” —1 Samuel 19:23–24

“A servant who deals wisely has the king’s favor, but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully” (Proverbs 14:35). That was written by a wise king. Saul is no such king. His wrath falls on his best servant. Thus, Saul destroys himself.

The themes introduced in chapter 18 continue to develop throughout chapter 19. Saul’s folly, his mad hatred, grows in intensity and consistency. The lighting strikes are brighter and come without interruption. There is now more storm than calm. Covert plans give way to overt missions. Subtlety is traded in for flagrancy.

The irony of all this is that darkness wants to shine, but only finds itself fading into oblivion. Saul’s deception makes David’s devotion more radiant. Saul’s depravity serves to highlight David’s integrity. And Saul’s faithlessness is the dark backdrop against which David’s faithfulness shines. The proud king thus brings himself down and exalts the humble king. The darkness in Saul that wants to snuff David out, only serves to extinguish itself. Saints, ultimately, the bark of evil is worse than its bite. The darkness may terrify, but in the end, we find that it has no real substance. God is.

With the lightest touch, the great I AM brushes aside the violence of Saul. “The Spirit of God,” writes Robert Bergen, “was gently invincible; those who had entered into Naioth under the influence of the ruler of Israel now found themselves under the infinitely greater influence of the ruler of the universe.”

Four times Yahweh’s anointed is delivered. He is delivered through Jonathan, through skill, through Michal, through Samuel. Through, through, through, through—these are only the means. Who is delivering David? David ends the prayer of deliverance that he penned on this occasion, with this praise, “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love” (Psalm 59:16–17).

God delivers His king, and notice how effortlessly He does so. He uses the weak to shame the strong. Jonathan’s covenant loyalty to David is a fruit of the Spirt’s work in Jonathan. The true “spy” in Saul’s camp is the Holy Spirit. Jonathan’s covenant loyalty is an expression of Yahweh’s covenant loyalty.

David’s skill in warfare is as much a gift of God as is his heart for God. How is it that David evades Saul’s spear, now three times? David later sings, “For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great” (2 Samuel 22:32–36).

Michal’s idolatry and lies, like those of Rachel, are evil, but they are used for good. Yahweh makes sin, and Saul, and Satan nothing more than servants for His purposes.

Samuel is the most Moses like figure we see in the OT other than Moses, but this is as close as he gets to performing any wonder or sign. He does nothing. It is the Spirit of God that comes upon Saul.

God uses all of this to deliver His king. The king, even in his humiliation, is unassailable. Man’s strength is helpless against God’s “weakness.” The throne of God and the throne of David are united. God’s rule is manifest among man in this humble king. Though he may seem vulnerable, he is invincible. Man’s strength in rebellion only demonstrates God’s sovereign rule. Man’s time bound plots and schemes work nothing but God’s eternal counsel.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:22–24).

God delivers His King, and in doing so, He delivers His kingdom. He delivers the undeserving—His wayward people who have sought a king like the nations. Despite this, He graciously gives them a King after His own heart, His only begotten Son, born in humility, resurrected in glory. God delivers His King and thus He delivers His kingdom.

“‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54–57).

God delivers His King, and thus He delivers the kingdom. This is the good news, “the gospel of God… concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:1, 3–4).

And “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

God has delivered His king. He has delivered His people. Dear sinner, do not rebel. Repent. Do not be a Saul seeking to preserve your kingdom. Be a Jonathan, knit in covenant to God’s King, loving Him with all your soul.

Trinitarian Systematics

“[T]he entire Christian belief system stands or falls with the confession of God’s Trinity It is the core of the Christian faith, the root of all its dogmas, the basic content of the new covenant. The development of trinitarian dogma was never primarily a metaphysical question but a religious one. It is in the doctrine of the Trinity that we feel the heartbeat of God’s entire revelation for the redemption of humanity. We are baptized in the name of the triune God, and in that name we find rest for our soul and peace for our conscience. Our God is above us, before us, and within us.”

—Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics 

“Trinitarian Systematics? What’s that?” Systematic theology is the discipline of collecting and ordering the Bible’s teaching. Trinitarian systematics is systematic theology done right.

Redemption is revelatory. Revelation is redemptive. When God redeems, He makes Himself known. When God makes Himself known, He redeems.

When God redeems, He makes Himself known:

“Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:6–7)

When God makes Himself known, He redeems:

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:3–6).

God’s redemption reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s redemption reveals God as Triune, not as an aside, but as intrinsic to our redemption. The Trinity is not a trailer arbitrarily tacked on to the main attraction. It is the main attraction. Our salvation is from the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit. We were chosen by the Father, redeemed through the Son, and are being sanctified by the Spirit.

Not only does God’s redemption reveal the Trinity, the Trinity is the foundation for systematic theology. The Trinity is not just systematic theology being rightly done, the Trinity is the grounds for systematics. The Trinity is not first a conclusion of systematic theology, but the warrant for it. Our salvation has a shape. Systematic theology recognizes that shape and justly utilizes it.

Consider the loci of standard systematic texts. These are the categories under which systematic theology systematizes. There is some variation, but here’s a condensed outline for a typical systematic theology text.

  • Scripture
  • Theology Proper (the doctrine of God)
  • Anthropology (the doctrine of man)
  • Christology (the study of Christ)
  • Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation)
  • Ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church)
  • Eschatology (the doctrine of the last things)

Do you see it? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! If you’re wondering where the Spirit is, remember how He works. He is the Spirit of Christ. Look closely at the doctrines of soteriology and ecclesiology and you’ll see Him applying our salvation and creating the church. The Biblical storyline gives systematic theology this basic shape and the Biblical storyline is Trinitarian. God created man. He redeems man in Christ. By the Holy Spirit, He applies Christ’s redemption to His church. 

Though the works of our Triune God are undivided (opera Trinitatis ad extra indivisa sunt), certain acts are appropriated to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, highlighting the Trinitarian shape of the Biblical narrative. We are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sanctified by the Spirit. Again, our salvation is from the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit. 

The redemption and revelation of our Triune God give both shape and form to the Biblical storyline and thus to systematic theology. The Trinity is the foundation and warrant for systematic theology. Systematic theology doesn’t so much yield the Trinity as the Trinity yields systematic theology. We know the Father through the Son by the Spirit. When we do systematic theology, we do it from inside the revelatory redemtion of our Triune God, recognizing its own contours. All things are from, through, and to the Three in One (Romans 11:36), including every Biblical venture to rightly do systematic theology.

Jealousy Robs (1 Samuel 19)

And the women sang to one another as they celebrated,

“Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”

And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?”

—1 Samuel 18:7–8

Saul is angry at the truth. Saul has struck down his thousands. David has struck down his ten thousands. David is the better warrior. Saul is angry at the truth, but the truth is nothing to be angry about.

Raw truth is a dangerous thing to rail against. It’s like butting your head against a granite wall. That wall ain’t gonna give. Saul is angry at the truth, which is to say, he is angry at God. God is free to give according to His good pleasure. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James 1:17).  What do you have that you did not receive (1 Corinthians 4:7)?

Every good is a gift. Man merits only wrath. Wages are earned. Gifts are free. If you want wages, the pay is death. If you want gifts, you can’t demand them. God is free to freely give His free gifts as He chooses. And so it is that envy is anger at God. Envy is murmuring against God. Envy is accusing the just God of injustice. Envy demands redistribution on the basis that God idolize us.

Angry at the truth, Saul eyes David (v. 9). What does this mean? He is suspicious of David. He fears David is that neighbor that Samuel told him was better than him, that neighbor to whom God would give the kingdom (1 Samuel 15:28).

Saul is jealous of the truth but suspicious of a lie. No one demonstrates greater loyalty and undying devotion to Saul than David. Jealousy often sees a twisted version of the truth and then twists the truth into a greater lie. David is better than Saul. David will receive the kingdom. But David will not usurp Saul. David is the greatest blessing God has placed in Saul’s life. David, the Lord’s Anointed, humbly bows as Saul’s servant. Saul’s jealously makes an enemy of his best servant. What should Saul have done? Jonathan models another way. Saul should have honored him and covenanted with him.

Do you see the folly of jealousy? Jealousy refuses God’s blessing if it comes on or through another person. The carnal mind believes that blessings are a zero sum game. “If you’re blessed, I’m not.” But the spiritual man looks at God’s blessings like a sunset He doesn’t have to possess it is to appreciate it, and yet, though it is not his to possess, it is still his to enjoy. Saints, we should learn and know this in the body of Christ. Having received grace upon grace, infinite grace, who are we to demand more? And yet, more we have. All is ours in Christ Jesus. A blessed toe means a blessed body. When God blesses your brother, he blesses you. But jealousy, believing itself robbed, only then becomes robbed.

Slaying David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1–58)

David and Goliath has to be the most famous story of the Old Testament, so naturally, it is also one of the most abused. Culturally, while girls have their Cinderella stories, boys have their David and Goliath stories. Equivocating the two, that ain’t right. But it’s just as bad within much of the church—from flannel graph Sunday school lessons, to FCA pep talks, to Facing the Giants. 

A big part of the problem is that we tell this story as though it were just a good story. It is a great story, but it is not a story like you find in Aesop’s Fables or Grim’s Fairy Tales. By this I mean more than that it true, whereas those other stories are make-believe. I mean that this story is part of a bigger story—the story. It is not independent. It doesn’t float. It is not disconnected. The story of David and Goliath is part of a story that has you longing not to be a king, but longing for a king. You’re longing for God’s king. And Saul’s presence has only heightened your desire for God’s king.

No, this story does not come to first encourage you to conquer the giants that oppose you. It comes to you as part of the Israel of God, shaking and trembling as you stand before an unbeatable foe. It comes to you as good news that God has raised up a king and deliverer. But even that story isn’t big enough yet. This story comes to us as we are longing for the promised serpent-crusher who will undo the curse and bring a deliverance by judgment (Genesis 3:15).

We are not David. We need a David. We need a King. We need a second Adam. And then, having Him, entering into His victory, being conformed to His image, being sent out in His name, then we will begin to image Him forth. But you will always fail if you first dare to be a David. You must first behold and look to the true and greater David.

Look to Him! Born in Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah. Laid in a manger and lauded by shepherds. Exiled to Egypt because a false king seeks his life. Coming suddenly as the Lord’s anointed to minister to the afflicted. Despised and rejected by men. Defeating our greatest foes not by a display of strength, but by humble weakness beheading the scaly serpent, undoing the curse, triumphing over the grave. God has given Him strength and exalted His horn (1 Samuel 2:10). He rose. He ascended. He rules. He stands supreme over all. And He will return in glory to judge the ends of the earth and deliver us and bring us into the land of eternal rest.

Look to Him! Look to Him! Look to Him! Oh that you had eyes to see Him, the eyes of faith. Do not be jealous like an Eliab. Do not be impressed with a Saul. Do not be intimidated by a Goliath. Look to Christ! Don’t in pride seek to be king. Don’t in folly embrace a king like the nations. Don’t in fear bow before a tyrant king.

Look to the Christ who bowed lowest before God and rose highest over men. Look to He who is God incarnate and man exalted. Look to the one who stood in our place, God’s champion, the in-betweener. Look to the King whom God has raised up for Himself, the King after His own heart. Look to the one whose bruised heel rests triumphant on the crushed head of the dragon. Look to the one who conquers by the cross.

Do not doubt Him. Do not disdain Him. Believe in Him, enter into His kingdom, and know that there is a God in Israel, know that there is a God who saves not by sword or spear. He has saved sinners with a wooden sword stained with His own blood, for the battle is the Lord’s. Look to His King.

The Humble Origins of the King (1 Samuel 16:1–23)

“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.’”

—1 Samuel 16:7

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). Those words were written long after David about the Son of David, but David sets up the typological background that gives them shape. He is the shadow of which Christ is the substance. Behold your king, humble, righteous and having salvation. Such humble beginnings for the greatest of Israel’s old covenant kings. Such humble beginnings for the King of kings.

Samuel looks on Eliab and thinks, “Surely the LORDs anointed is before him” (v. 6). But this king is not to be like the last, and Eliab looks like Saul. We were introduced to Saul as, “a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people” (1 Samuel 9:2). Tall Saul was rejected. And now Yahweh tells Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (v. 7).

The word for “height” (v. 7) is the same word for “tall” (9:2), It may also be translated haughty or proud. That’s the way Hannah used it in her song. “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3). “Talk no more so very proudly” is literally “Talk no more so tall tall.” Why are the proud not to talk tall tall? Because “the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” He sees.

We are looking for a King that God sees. We are looking for the man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). He is not tall. He is small. After seven sons pass before Samuel, we are once more asking, “Is there a man yet to come?” (1 Samuel 10:22). But there is no man. There is only a boy. “There remains yet the youngest” (v. 11). This may be translated, “there remains yet the smallest.” For instance, the same word is translated as “small” in Psalm 115:13. Saul the tall is rejected for David the small. The Spirit rushes on David and departs from Saul.

Rejoice in how your king comes! He is not like the kings of the nations! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1–4). This is who our King is—the matchless, eternal, sovereign King of glory.

But this is how He came, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). Remaining all that He was, He became what He was not. The divine Son stooped down to Himself a human nature. And if that infinite, unfathomable condescension is not enough to leave you in awe, look at the humility of His birth. Look at the humility of his life. Look at the humility of His death. Born in a manger. Rejected by men. Crucified on a cross. And though all of this humility masks His glory, yet it also reveals it. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

O sinner, do you see this glory? Do you see the glory revealed in His humility? Has the Father said “Let there be light” so that you behold His glory in the face of the Christ, the anointed Son who was crucified for sinners? “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Do not look for a Saul. Look to the true and better David, come to serve those who hate Him, come as the Anointed to serve the afflicted, come as a Savior for sinners.

Look to the humble Christ crucified for sinners. Look to the glorious Christ risen in victory. Look to Him with the eyes of faith and enter His kingdom of life and light.

Come humbly, in awe of the God who chooses the weak to shame the strong, Who chooses that is lie and despised in the word, event the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).

Come humbly to the Christ who humbly came, and you may sing with Hannah, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger” (1 Samuel 2:1-5).

Come humbly to Bethlehem, the house of Bread, and behold Him who took on flesh to become the Bread of Life. See the Bread of Life broken on the cross, partake of Him by faith, and hunger no more.

Friday Was Hard. Saturday Was Better. Sunday Was Best.

“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” —Psalm 106:1

Sometimes a whisper can be so loud. “God is so good.” Short of breath and soft of voice, my dad was shouting this the last Saturday we spent with him. Again and again, with tears in his eyes, he told us, “God has been so good to me.” Dad didn’t get the opportunity to tell of the Lord’s goodness to him in his last hours. Who does? So here’s my feeble attempt to capture a smidgen of God’s final kindnesses to him.

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” —Psalm 116:15

To understand his last days we need to back up a month or two. While dad’s death came suddenly, it was an expected visit, like family showing up early for Christmas. You expected them, just not so soon. As dad prepped to cross that bridgeless river over to the celestial city, he essentially had four prayers requests. First, he asked that he finish well. He wanted to testify with Paul, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

His second and third requests were wed together. He asked for peace. He asked that he not have to struggle. Lonnie had watched his brother Donnie battle this same foe. Donnie had to fight for air. Lonnie did not want to have to endure that. Dad didn’t fear death. It was the dying that caused him anxiety. He was certain of his soul. It was what his body might have to endure that needled his mind. “I don’t fear death, but if you ask me about dying, that’s another matter,” writes R.C. Sproul. “If I could just close my eyes and step across into heaven, that would be glory for me, but none of us knows the route we will take. It may be one that includes great affliction, pain, and suffering. But the travail will be for a moment compared with the other side.” Dad was prepping for a struggle, but he was not seeking it.

Finally, dad asked that we pray for the one he had wed. Expressing gratitude to God for how his suffering had brought them closer, he asked that we pray for mom. He wanted them to continue to grow to be one flesh. He didn’t want to suffer. He didn’t want her to suffer. He didn’t want her to suffer seeing him suffer. Besides prayer, the only thing he asked of me was that I be there for mom at the end. If he was to pass like Donnie, dad didn’t want her to have to endure that alone.

Four requests. Everyone of them answered exceeding abundantly beyond what was asked. God is so good.

Friday, March 7th, 2025

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” —James 1:16–17

Friday was hard. But some days were. And there is goodness even in the hardness. All the time, God is good.

To avoid a coughing fit dad was constantly sucking on a piece of candy or a cough drop (but aren’t Luden’s really just covert candy?). Having always been so active, my now sedentary father became concerned about gained weight. He blamed the candy. So he had mom buy him some sugar-free stuff. Friday evening he choked on one. He panicked. He asked mom to call Carolyn, a friend, church member, and EMT who lives just a couple of miles away. By country standards that’s a next door neighbor, and Carolyn would soon prove herself to be the best kind of neighbor. But she was unnecessary that evening. Mom calmed him and got him some warm tea. The candy dissolved. The fears were slower to dissipate.

They were both worried. Dad had been sleeping in his recliner for some time. It made it easier to breath. That evening mom decided to sleep in her recliner near him. Because his voice was so weak, they agreed that he would throw a pillow at her if he needed her. If it wouldn’t have caused unnecessary panic, I know there’s a part of him that would’ve loved to have thrown that pillow just for kicks. They made it through the night without incident. God is good.

Saturday, March 8th, 2025

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” —Lamentations 3:22–24

Saturday was better. Some days were. God is so good.

Because of the rough night, mom pressed that they put off signing lease papers for the farms until Monday. But dad was insistent. It had to be today. The papers were signed. He was getting his house in order. The papers would sit on the arm of the sofa next to him until Sunday dawned. God is so good.

“3-8-25.” There are a smattering of dates in dad’s Bible, but to my knowledge, most all of them are accompanied by the name of the pastor who preached that text. Dad’s Bible is full of personal notes, but this is the only one I’ve found that he dated. He underlined these words, “I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15) In the margin are two notes. “Lord is my Rock.” “My destiny.” The next morning Kim and Kris would separately go down to his office to find his Bible still open to this spot. They left it for me to see later that afternoon. God was so good to him. He was so good to us. With his life, dad preached the message that does not die. Through faith, being dead, yet he speaks (Hebrews 11:4). He testifies still “God is so good.”

Friday was hard. Saturday was better. Mom and dad talked it over. She would sleep in the bed and get some needed rest.

The Lord’s Day, March 9th, 2025

Sunday was best.

Mom woke and came down the hall to find dad poised comfortably in the recliner. His mouth was open and she was readying to remind him that the oxygen did him no good when he was breathing through his mouth, but then she noticed that his chest was not moving. Overwhelmed, she didn’t know what to do. “Carolyn!” If dad had never asked for her on Friday mom isn’t sure she would’ve had that thought. Carolyn, like the best of neighbors, rushed over in her pajamas, consoled my mom, and made the necessary calls. Carolyn and Andee (the caring owner and director of the local funeral home) both agreed that dad had not struggled. He died peacefully, with a half-used sugar-free candy laid neatly on his sweatshirt by his collarbone. God is so good.

Dad loved Sundays. It was for this farmer, as the puritans would say, the market day of his soul. This farmer went to market. Dad loved to sing. He loved to praise the Lord. But he had been unable to sing for some time. He had not been to market in weeks. He sorely missed church. But early that Lord’s day, as his body breathed its last, his soul breathed its first breath of unhindered praise. The Lord’s Day dawned with the light of the Son who is the Resurrection and the Life. Dad woke satisfied. His eyes feasted on the glory of Him who is altogether lovely. “O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise.” God is so good.

Sometime in the weeks before this, mom went down to the study to find dad listening to a Gaither singing. He loved such singings. He and mom went to several concerts over the years. Growing up, it was rare to get ready for the Lord’s Day without a Gather VHS being played loud enough to be heard throughout the house, dad’s voice being added from the bedroom, or the hallway, or the living room, or the kitchen. But this day he told mom he didn’t think he could watch them anymore because he got too excited. His excitement would make it hard to breath. But on that Lord’s Day, March 9th, 2025, he awoke to heaven’s praises, and there was no need to curb his excitement. He could join the choir. He could let ‘er rip.

Friday was hard. Saturday was better. Sunday was best. God is so good.

This Is My Story, This Is My Song

This Is My Story, This Is My Song

by Lonnie King

I’ve lived two lives: thirty-six years I lived without Christ; thirty-four years with Christ Jesus. Two completely different lives. I really don’t like to talk about my life before Christ, because some things are easier if left unsaid.

Let me just say, life was hard for me. I considered myself a misfit, never really at home in this world. I struggled with most every part of life—school, family, relationships, and life in general was difficult. To a large extent, I isolated myself in my little world. My shyness became worse with each new challenge of life. I had no one to confide in. Even in a crowd of people, I was alone and I hated myself.

This confession may sound silly to you, but I am convinced that there are lot of folks just like me who have struggled with life to some extent. In Adam, in our natural birth, we are all born broken, separated from our great Creator-Savior God. Even though I had great advantage over others, my problems were real. I longed to be like others, but I was stuck in my little world of loneliness and despair.

Chapter One: The Beginning

“Be still and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10).

The most important and greatest thing that mom and dad did for me, was to make sure that I was in a solid Bible church. Of course I hated it in my youth, but that is where I learned about God and saw broken people changed and made whole.

My shyness created a prison for me with no means of escape. I hated myself. I longed to be like others, but I was stuck in my little lonely world. I had no idea that my silence would someday become an asset. One thing I learned in my silence is that most people who talk a lot, don’t really have much to say. However, the greatest benefit of my silence was that it forced me to listen. Isolated in my silence, I heard wonderful teaching and preaching in this church. I also heard dynamic testimonies and was an eyewitness of faithful followers of the Lord Jesus! During those days of my youth there was another voice that came to me, a voice from above, the voice of my unknown Friend.

He did it countless times over and over again. My silent world was interrupted repeatedly by His still small voice not only in church but in private and public places. My unknown Friend came to me, over and over again, for He wanted me, He wanted to help me, but I just couldn’t believe that anyone would want me. I hated myself.

Chapter Two: The Lie

“A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

In 1965 an altar call was given here at Oakdale. I and three others went to the altar that night, but by the time they got to me, my shyness, my fear had kicked in. Someone asked, “Are you saved?” I responded with a lie. “Yes, I’m saved.” But I wasn’t. I lied to the church. I lied to my dad later that night. I lied to myself. And I lied to my unknown Friend, and He knew it and I knew it. The church baptized me and gave me a brand new red Bible that I never read, for it was all a lie.

No one else really understood what was happening on that night when out of fear I lied. I carried that lie with me, which made me hate myself even more. I was a coward and I was alone with my lie, filled with shame. Once you start down a road of bad decisions and lies, it’s hard to to get off that road, for one lie leads to another. I became a very good liar!

The good news is this: my unknown Friend knew what I had done and had every right to walk away and never come back to me again, but He was different. He chose to come back, in spite of who I was and what I had done. I was a liar and a fake, yet he chose to set His love upon me, to not give up on me!!! That’s amazing, undeserved grace!!!!!!

Lots of folks tried to help me down through the years and I appreciate them so much. I had good parents who tried to help. Some good school teachers who tried to help. Coaches who tried to help. Even strangers tried to help. But they all would eventually move on when I failed to respond. However, my good Friend that I did not know kept coming back to me over and over again, for He wanted me like no other could or would.

Think about this: I violated my Friend’s perfect law. I violated my Friend’s Holy Table. I dishonored my parents. I lied to classmates and to my church, but my good Friend was different from everyone else. He did not quit on me! He chose to be merciful, He chose to be gracious, He chose to love me, a scared little boy who grew to be a scared man living in darkness, alone and ashamed of what he had done, but I could not find a way out.

Chapter Three: Running From God

“Take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you  an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrew 3:12).

As a young adult I began to make those big life decisions that set our course of life in this world. If you think life gets easier as you age, you are wrong. I found myself falling into sin over and over again. Booze became my new friend, and all of the things that come with that lifestyle, I embraced. It got to the point that I became self-righteous, defending my sin as normal and good. I defended booze and laughed at those who opposed it. You see my life became darker and darker with each new found sin. I did things that I never thought I would do and am still ashamed of today.

As I slipped deeper and deeper into darkness, that still small voice that I had heard so often and so clear as a child was drowned out by my sin. I was running from my Friend that I knew not, yet even in those days, from time to time He would break through, reminding me that He loved me and wanted me!

I married and had a family, which I was completely and totally unprepared for. I was a terrible husband and dad. I failed over and over again. The struggles that plagued me as a child were still with me and it wasn’t getting any better.

I pursued the American dream of riches and wealth and found no peace. I still depended on the booze to make life tolerable, but it brought no permanent relief. I needed help. I needed a Friend who could lift me up, who could change my life, my heart, and my destiny. I needed a Friend who could remove my guilt and shame. I needed a Friend who could forgive my lies. I needed a new beginning, a fresh start, but how it could ever happen, I could not see.

Chapter Four: A New Day

“Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with Spirit!” (Ephesians 5:18).

Running from God gets old. I filled my life with things—new home, new cars, and new tractors—but none of these things brought peace to me. My health began to change and I thought about death more often than I ever had. I was scared, fearing the unknown, fearing death!

April 1st, 1990, laying in my bed on a Sunday morning, my unknown Friend showed up once again. The church that I had lied to as a child, the church that I had abandoned for years was in revival. I have no doubt that they had been praying for me! I was thirty-six years old and I was scared of the dark. I was still carrying my shame, my lie, and all of the sins that I had added to my dirty laundry list of life. The Holy Spirit was calling me to salvation, calling me to go back to the church that I had lied to and abandoned so long ago, but I didn’t have the strength. The Lord provided a crutch for me in the person of my son Josh. I asked him if he would go to church with me and he replied yes! I am convinced that had he not said yes, then I would not be writing these words of joy and deliverance.

When we got to church, we sat on the back pew. The Holy Spirit was calling me to salvation and when the invitation was given, I walked down to the altar where my unknown Friend who never gave up on me was waiting. I kneeled at his feet and cried to Him for help. I told Him of my sinfulness. I told Him that I believed in Him. I told Him that I needed to be saved, that I wanted to be saved, and then I simply asked, “Please, save me!”

Instantly, in a split second, my shame, my fears were relieved and a peace from above came down and gave me a new life, a new beginning, a fresh clean start. For the first time in my life, I knew my unknown Friend personally; His name is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, my God, my Savior, and my best Friend forever! He was what I was missing for thirty-six years. He was what I needed and He gave me life and a new start. For the first time in my life, I started living with joy and purpose. And now I am with Him, made perfect in Christ Jesus by His wondrous grace.

This is my Story, this is my Song! What about you? Do you have a story to tell? Do you have a song to sing? Do you have a testimony before men concerning the Lord Jesus? In other words, are you saved? Have you be born again from above, have you received the risen Jesus as your personal Savior?

If not, then do it. Right now. Right here. Answer the divine call of the Holy Spirit, confessing your sinfulness to the Lord, then run to our risen Savior by faith, trusting in our great Savior God who died in our place, so that we could live in His place.

My prayer today is that no one would leave here without Christ Jesus in their hearts. Trust Him right now and be saved!

Strong Weakness

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8–10).

My dad was diagnosed with “farmer’s lung” about five years ago. Of the six little peanuts sown into this world by Floyd L. King, Lonnie was the third to ripen with lung disease. It progressed slowly for years, then the orange handle was thrust from tortoise to hare. The first time I watched him take a breathing treatment I had to look away. I was a sickly kid. I was small. I was weak. I went to the doctor all the time. I was asthmatic. Dad was always healthy. Dad was always big. Dad was always strong. Dad never went to the doctor. Dad had a set of lungs. I know this because he frequently used those lungs to wake me to “move pipe” (irrigation pipe), singing “O What a Beautiful Morning.” I was not entertained then. I am thankful now.

It’s true that most every little boy thinks that their dad is big and strong, but I never grew out of this. Through junior high some folks told me I’d get taller like my dad. False prophets. Dad was six foot two. Mom never broke five. I fell in-between. Dad’s shoulders were broad and his arms were darkly tanned from hours of hard work in the sun. My skin grew darker, but I neither grew taller nor broader. And so I never grew up. My dad remained big and strong. I never suffered any disillusion about taking my dad.

Until I saw him taking that first treatment. That hit hard. At first. But then he would speak and act, and I saw not weakness, but multiplied strength. The voice grew soft and the body frail, but this only amplified the glory of his strength. Embraced weakness—that was the source of my dad’s true might. This Sampson had lost his hair long ago, but God gave him new eyes to see His glory in Christ. That glory both humbled my dad and lifted him up. His body was big, but his soul was gentle, and his strength was rooted not in his strong body, but his gentle soul. He was meek before the Lord. Humility was his glory. My father decreased. The Lord increased. As there was more death to his body, there was more resurrection in his soul. 

“Unless a [peanut] falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). Dad died with Christ. He rose to newness of life. He was not alone. By faith, he clung to the vine. He bore much fruit. Suffering sent his roots deeper into Christ. His soul bloomed. He was ripe for harvest. Not because he was weak, but because he was strong.

In one of his classic tales, George MacDonald has this paradoxical take, “…it is so silly of people to fancy that old age means crookedness and witheredness and feebleness and sticks and spectacles and rheumatism and forgetfulness! It is so silly! Old age has nothing whatever to do with all that. The right old age means strength and beauty and mirth and courage and clear eyes and strong painless limbs.”

My dad never really grew weak. He grew stronger. This was not because my dad was strong. It was because he knew he was weak. As another departed saint put it, “Weakness is the way.”