SO WE JUST SAW DAVID FLEE FROM GIBEAH (SAUL’S HEADQUARTERS) TO NOB WHERE THE MOST LEGITIMATE PRIESTHOOD RESIDED (AT LEAST THE NORTHERN TRIBES THOUGHT SO). THEN WHEN DAVID ACQUIRED THE FOOD AND WEAPON HE NEEDED, HE BOLTED OFF TO GATH. WHY HE THOUGHT HE’D BE ACCEPTED AND EVEN SAFER IN THE PROVINCE OF THE PHILISTINES IS BIZARRE, ESPECIALLY AFTER KILLING THEIR CHAMPION GOLIATH. BUT (SHOCK HORROR) HE IS IMMEDIATELY TAKEN PRISONER UPON HIS ARRIVAL AND WHILE THERE (BEFORE HIS FAKE SPAZ-ACT TO GET HIMSELF FREE), HE WROTE ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE IN A PSALM :
PSALM 56 BRS (Dave in the Gath Prison)
"O' Yahuah be in my corner and please help me, everyone wants to get me and stomp on my head. My enemies attack all day and I'm constantly hounded by those who lie about me, and many are loud and bold in their attacks. But when I'm afraid, I'll praise You because You always make good on every Word You've promised. I trust in You, so why should I be afraid? I mean what can mere mortals do to me anyway? They're always twisting what I say, leading a smear campaign against me, spending their days plotting my collapse. They gang-up, skulking together to spy on me, watching my every step so carefully, eager to see what i'll do next so they can attack! Don’t let them get away with their wickedness Father! Be enraged and rip their evil to shreds. For only You know my real heart, every anguish, every turmoil and sleepless night, tossing and turning. You've kept track of all my sorrows in Your notebook. You've even collected all my tears in a bottle and recorded each one in a spreadsheet.
-- SELAH -- (Challenger enters the ring)
You com'in at me? You'll be bolting, screaming with your tail between yo'legs man, when I call Yahuah for help. Because this I know: Yahuah is in my corner and I praise Him for what He's promised me. Yes! Me! The skum of the earth! I trust in Yahuah and I'm so bloody proud of it! Why should I be afraid? Who are you thinking you have the right to attack me, His son? Don't you pack of peasants know I'm royalty, chosen and anointed? What? You challenge the Almighty Living Alahim? How bourgeois! What can you mere mortals do to me? Watch this space bitches cause I'm on the up and up, riding the coat-tail of my Master Yahuah! For I will thank Him all the days of my life and try my upmost and my best to behave as He wants, because He's rescued me from the depths of death and slavery and kept my feet from slipping while I clawed my way out of the sludge by my fingernails. So now I can walk in Your presence my Father Yahuah. Yes! In the magnificent, life-giving light of your eternal presence".
-- SELAH -- (Mic drop ... Dave exits !)
A PATTERN OF COMMUNICATION
WHEN DAVID'S IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE AND DANGER (LIKE PS.56 HERE) HE CRIES OUT TO YAHUAH, PLEADS HIS CASE, AND ASKS FOR HIM TO DELIVER. OFTEN DAVID IS VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT HE WANTS TO OCCUR. FURTHER HE EXPRESSES ABSOLUTE TRUST IN YAHUAH ...
... HE ACKNOWLEDGES YAHUAH’S DIVINE ABILITY TO RESCUE HIM AND INTERSPERSES PRAISE FOR YAHUSHA THROUGHOUT WHAT HE'S SAYING. IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT WE REMEMBER THAT DAVID ALWAYS LEAVES ROOM FOR YAHUAH’S WAY TO HAPPEN. YAHUAH MIGHT CHOOSE NOT TO DELIVER; YAHUAH MIGHT DECIDE TO DELIVER IN A MANNER OR TIME-FRAME ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THAN DAVID HOPES FOR OR ENVISIONS. DAVID HOPES THAT BY BEING OBEDIENT TO YAHUAH PRIOR TO THESE HARD TIMES THAT YAHUAH WILL SEE DAVID’S RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
THE POINT IS THAT A YAHUAH-PATTERN IS PRESENTED (NOT A STRICT FORMULA). DAVID DIDN’T PRESENT US WITH A SPIRITUAL RECIPE THAT IF WE FOLLOW IT WE'LL INSTANTLY GET WHAT WE WANT. NO, BUT WE CAN SEE THE DEPENDENCY OF HIS HEART.
EVEN WHEN YAHUSHA HIMSELF WAS BUT HOURS FROM AN EXCRUCIATING EXECUTION ON THE TORTURE-STAKE, AND WELL AWARE OF WHAT WAS COMING, BENT OVER IN AGONY IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE HE SPOKE TO THE FATHER LIKE THIS:
"FATHER, IF YOU'RE WILLING, TAKE THIS CUP AWAY FROM ME; HOWEVER, YOUR WILL MUST BE DONE, NOT MINE!” LUKE 22 BRS
HE COMMUNICATED LIKE DAVID. YAHUSHA ASKED TO HAVE THIS CUP (THE AGONISING DEATH THAT AWAITED HIM) TAKEN AWAY. YAHUSHA DREADED AND DID NOT WANT TO GO THROUGH WHAT SEEMED TO BE INEVITABLE, AND ESSENTIALLY ASKED IF HE COULD BE RELIEVED FROM IT; BUT ONLY IF THE FATHER WILLED IT. THE FATHER WILLED OTHERWISE, AND WE’RE HERE TODAY, AS YAHUSHA’S REDEEMED, BECAUSE THE FATHER YAHUAH SAID, “NO”, AND BECAUSE YAHUSHA WAS WILLING TO ACCEPT THE “NO” AND SOLDIER ON.
IRRATIONAL (SAM.22)
NOW THAT THE DOOR OF ESCAPE TO THE WEST (TO PHILISTIA) HAS BEEN CLOSED ON DAVID, HE JOURNEYS BACK TO JUDAH, IF ONLY BRIEFLY.
So (after faking madness to King Achish) David left Gath and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. Soon all his relos and family joined him there, for fear of King Saul. And others began arriving too, men in distress and trouble or in debt or who were just bitter with life. And before he knew it, David was the captain of around 400 men, who hadn’t actually come to form an Army or officially revolt against Saul. Their lives had just been ruined by Saul’s hatred and government policies against David. Saul now ran his kingdom the same way that the other petty kings around the middle east ran theirs - all that mattered was his own power, wealth and that his tribal dynasty would be established and protected. The Instructions of Moses that were to be Yisharal’s constitution (for the benefit of the people) were set aside by Saul, and the people were suffering.
THE PEOPLE WHO CAME TO DAVID WERE 'ISH MASOQ' (MEN IN A HARD-PRESSED SITUATION) AND UNDER A DICTATING OPPRESSOR. THESE PEOPLE WERE `MAR NEPHESH’, (BITTER AND POOR IN SPIRIT). THIS SAME TERM WAS USED OF THE CHILDLESS HANNAH (WHO EVENTUALLY BORE SAM).
PICTURE THE POOR AND OPPRESSED COMMONERS OF YAHUSHA’S DAY, LIVING UNDER THE PAGAN CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND COMING IN DROVES TO THIS HIPPIE TEACHER FROM NAZARETH TO HEAR WORDS OF COMFORT AND PERHAPS EVEN FIND A WAY OUT. THEY WERE THE 'MAR NEPHESH' (BITTER AND POOR IN SPIRIT) OF THAT ERA, JUST AS THESE PEOPLE WITH DAVID WERE.
SO HERE IN THIS SETTING OF HIDING OUT IN A CAVE, DAVID WROTE ANOTHER PSALM, AND FOR THE SAKE OF CONNECTING THE SCRIPTURES, LET’S READ IT :
PSALM 57 BRS (Dave hiding Out in the Caves)
“O’ Yahuah, please help me, for people are hounding me all day long. I look to you for protection, hiding under the shadow of Your wings until the dangerous storms pass by. I cry out to Yahuah Almighty, the only One Who keeps me sane and together, perfecting His purposes in me. You send help from Your realm to rescue me, disgracing and humiliating everyone who kicks and tries to swallow me up.
-- SELAH -- (Piano Interlude)
Yes Yahuah will send forth His unfailing kindness and truth, always making good on every promise. For I’m surrounded by fierce lions with an insatiable, greedy appetite to devour flesh, with teeth like arrows, tongues sharp like daggers, and words like armor-piercing bullets. Rise up, O' Yahuah, high into the sky and let the whole earth see Your esteem! My pathetic enemies hide in ambush. Just look! There’s booby-traps everywhere I step. I’m so tired Father, exhausted just from my own bloody stress! They’ve dug a deep pit and hidden the trap-door along my path, but because of You Yahuah, they’ve tripped and now fallen into their own snare! YEEEHHH !
-- SELAH -- (Guitar Solo)
But my heart is confident in you Yahuah, it leaps for joy in my chest. No wonder I wake up humming and buzzing a tune under my breath. I can finally sing your praises now! Wake up hands! Wake Up feet! Get the band back together and tell them to sober up! Polish and tune your instruments, we’ve got the gig of a lifetime: to welcome the dawn with fine music and song. So no matter what, I will thank you Yahuah. My insides explode with joy no matter who’s around. I will sing Your praises among the nations, for your unfailing love is as high as the sky and Your steadfastness reaches to the clouds. So be exalted, O' Yahuah, above the whole Universe and may Your esteem shine over all the Earth.
HERE AGAIN IS THE PATTERN OF CRYING OUT TO YAHUSHA, AND AT THE SAME TIME PRAISING HIM. THERE IS LESS FEAR AND ANXIETY IN THIS PSALM THAN THE LAST ONE, AND EVEN THOUGH HIS ENEMIES ARE LURKING ABOUT, YAHUAHA HAS HELPED HIM TO AVOID THEIR SNARE. HE HAS A PEACE AND CALM COVERING HIM LIKE A GARMENT, DESPITE A VERY UNCERTAIN FUTURE. HE FEELS YAHUAH’S PRESENCE AND SENSES HIS GUIDANCE IN HIS LIFE, AND IS COMFORTED BY IT.
Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the King, “Is it OK if my Dad and Mum live here with you until I know what Alahim is going to do for me?” And the King gave them sanctuary (remembering Ruth, David's great-Grandmother who was from Moab also). And David’s parents stayed in Moab with the King during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.
And after some time had passed, Sam sent the Prophet Gad (prob from his school in Naioth) to advise David (it was common for a prophet to attach themself to a King for council - and David was the new King as far as Sam and Yahuah were concerned). And Gad told David, “Leave this stronghold and return to the land of Judah.” And Gad stayed loyal to Dave, helping him hear the will and voice of Yahuah even after he became the nation's recognised King.
So David went to the forest of Hereth but news of his arrival in Judah soon reached King Saul. At the time, the King was sitting beneath the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, holding his spear and surrounded by his officers. HE WAS SELDOM SEEN WITHOUT HIS SPEAR FOR IT HAD BECOME HIS SCEPTER AND THE SYMBOL OF HIS PERSONAL AUTHORITY AND CHARACTER. “Listen here, you men of Benjamin!” Saul shouted to his officers when he heard the news. “Has that son of Jesse promised every one of you fields and vineyards? Has he made you all Generals and Captains in his Army, leading hundreds and thousands? Is that why you’ve all stabbed me in the bloody back and conspired against me? Not one of you vipers told me when my own son Jon made a Covenant with the son of Jesse. And you’re not even sorry for me. Think of it! My own son, encouraging him to kill me, and he’s still trying to today!”
Then Doeg the Edomite (who was standing there with Saul’s men) spoke up. “When I was at Nob, I saw the son of Jesse talking to the High-Priest Ahimelech, son of Ahitub. And Ahimelech spoke to Yahuah for him, before giving Dave food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
So King Saul immediately sent for Ahimelech and all his family, who served as priests at Nob. And when they arrived, Saul shouted at him, “LISTEN TO ME, YOU SON OF AHITUB!”
“Yes my King?” Ahimelech asked.
“Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me?” Saul demanded (HE WOULDN’T EVEN SAY DAVID’S NAME OUT LOUD). “Why’d you give him food and a sword? Why’ve you consulted with Alahim for him? Why have you encouraged him to kill me, as he's trying to do this very day?”
“Master, is anyone among all your servants as trustworthy as David, your son-in-law? He’s the Captain of your Bodyguards and a highly honored member of your household! This was certainly not the first time I’d spoken to Alahim for him! Please my King, don’t blame me and my family in this matter, for we had no idea of any plot against you.”
“ENOUGH! YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY WILL DIE!” And Saul ordered his Bodyguards, “KILL THESE PRIESTS OF YAHUAH, FOR THEY'RE ALL ALLIES AND CONSPIRATORS WITH DAVID! THEY KNEW HE WAS RUNNING AWAY FROM ME, AND DIDN’T EVEN TELL ME!” But Saul’s men refused to kill Yahuah’s Priests.
And even though Saul, the schitso-drama queen has just ordered the elimination of the whole priesthood, not because they violated the Turah, or were lazy in their duties or had offended Yahuah, but because they showed compassion to someone that Saul (in his paranoia and hatred) deemed an enemy. His men were shocked and refused their King's order because they were not about to harm Yahuah's Set-Apart Priesthood and set themselves at war with the Creator. Even though to deny this homicidal King could have meant death for any one of them, enough of the fear of Yahuah still remained in them, that death at Saul’s hand was preferable to the far reaching wrath of Yahuah upon their heads. Of course the pagan foreigner Doeg held no such awe or fear of Yahuah, and Saul knew full-well (which is why he was employed by him).
So the King said to Doeg, “You go and bloody do it, strike them all down Doegsy.” So Doeg the Edomite turned on the Priesthood and slaughtered everyone that day, eighty-five priests in all (still wearing their priestly garments). Then he went to Nob, the town of the Priests, and killed the Priests’ families, all men, women, children and babies, and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats too.
Only Abiathar (one of Ahimelech's sons) escaped and fled to David, and when he told him that Saul had killed the Priests of Yahuah, David cried out, knowing that his own lies and deceptions had led to the murders at Nob. “I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was gunna tell Saul. Now I’ve caused the death of all your father’s family. Stay here with me boy, and don’t be afraid. I promise i’ll look after you and protect you with my own life, for the same savage maniac wants to kill us both now!” DAVID OPENLY ADMITS HIS FAULT AND PLEDGES TO GUARD AND CARE FOR THE ONLY SURVIVING PRIEST FROM NOB, ABIATHAR. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT DAVID NOW HAD IN HIS CHARGE THE SOLE REMAINING LINK TO YAHUAH, SO WITH THAT (ALONG WITH THE EPHOD THAT CARRIED THE PRECIOUS URIM AND THUMMIM), DAVID NOW HAD A MEANS TO DISCERN YAHUAH’S WILL - SAUL CERTAINLY HAD NO USE FOR `TABERNACLE RELICS'.
ELI’S PRIESTLY DYNASTY WAS NOW OVER AS YAHUAH TOLD SAM WHEN HE WAS STILL A BOY. THIS TERRIBLE BLOODBATH NOT ONLY PUNISHED WHAT WAS ACTUALLY AN ILLEGITIMATE LINE OF PRIESTS, BUT BY WIPING THEM OUT, IT NOW PAVED THE WAY FOR THE MUCH SMALLER AND LESSER POWERFUL LINE OF ZADOK (FROM AARON’S FIRSTBORN SON) TO ASCEND BACK TO THEIR RIGHTFUL LEGITIMATE PLACE. AND IN LATER CHAPTERS WE’LL SEE DAVID APPOINT ZADOK AS THE HIGH PRIEST TO COMPLETE THE CIRCLE. EVERYTHING YAHUAH SAYS ALWAYS HAPPENS!
ANOTHER PATTERN !
WE'LL SEE THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENED HERE AT THE MASSACRE OF THE PRIESTS OF NOB REPEATED 1000 YEARS LATER, WHEN A FOREIGNER SETS OUT TO KILL THE YAHUAH-ANOINTED AND LEGITIMATE KING OF YISHARAL THAT WAS DIVINELY SCHEDULED TO REPLACE AN ILLEGITIMATE KING OF YISHARAL !!
King Herod, hell-bent on killing Yahusha at birth
WHEN THE PARANOID KING HEROD HEARS THAT YAHUAH’S ANOINTED KING, THE MESSIAH, HAS BEEN BORN, HE TREATS HIM AS AN UNWELCOME RIVAL. EVEN MORE INTERESTING IS THAT BOTH DOEG AND HEROD WERE EDOMITES. ALTHOUGH THE LATTER TEXTS CALL HEROD AN IDUMEAN, THAT IS MERELY THE GREEK WORD FOR EDOMITE, JUST AS A PALESTINIAN IS GREEK FOR PHILISTINE. THE ANTI-KING HAD A PAGAN HENCHMAN WHO WAS MASQUERADING AS A FRIEND OF YAHUAH (AT NOB). HIS PRIMARY JOB WAS TO THWART ANY ATTEMPT BY YAHUAH TO REMOVE HIS BOSSES’ AUTHORITY AND TURN IT OVER TO THE ANOINTED ONE. AND ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO DO THAT WAS TO KILL ALL OF THE ANOINTED ONE’S FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS IN THE PROCESS OF KILLING THE ANOINTED ONE.
WHILE ON THE SURFACE THIS IS ALL ABOUT KING SAUL COMMITTING PERSONAL RETRIBUTION AGAINST AHIMELECH (WHO SAUL FELT WAS SIDING WITH DAVID), THAT WAS JUST A RUSE.
SAUL WANTED AN EXCUSE TO ABOLISH THE PRIESTHOOD!
AFTER ALL, WHAT POSSIBLE USE COULD A MAN WHO IS YAHUAH’S ENEMY HAVE FOR A GROUP OF MEN WHOSE SOLE JOB IS TO DISCERN YAHUAH’S WILL, TEACH IT TO SAUL’S PEOPLE, AND CARRY OUT YAHUAH’S DIVINE LAWS? IT HAS BEEN THE WAYS OF MEN SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL TO CREATE FALSE CRISIS` OR TO COME UP WITH AN EXCUSE TO CARRY OUT SOME KIND OF ACT THAT ACTUALLY DISGUISES A MUCH BROADER AND MORE SINISTER DESIGN AND INTENT. IF KING SAUL WAS GOING TO DEFEAT YAHUAH, HE WOULD HAVE TO BEGIN BY ERADICATING HIS SERVANTS FIRST.
SAUL WAS CONTROLLED BY :
IRRATIONAL (ENGLISH) - Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking, or acting without rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate use of reason, or through emotional distress or cognitive deficiency. If you describe someone's feelings and behaviour as irrational, you mean they are not based on logical reasons or clear thinking. ... Synonyms: illogical, crazy, silly, absurd.
IRRATIONAL (HEBREW) - a brute, unreasonable, hostile.
King Saul was not merely a poor choice for King, nor does he represent a “failed” king - HE IS THE ANTI-KING - everything that humans desire in a King and that Yahusha hates in a government leader. King Saul was real, and what we read about him is true and it actually happened, but he is also a behavioural type, a shadow, and he established a pattern for the great Anti-Messiah that we see all around us today (and who may even appear as a person)?
King Saul was among the most beautiful of men, we're told. He was a head and shoulders taller than any other man of his Tribe, perhaps in all Yisharal. Handsome, strong, and charismatic with a natural talent for knowing how to manipulate and control. He quickly abandoned the ways of his Creator for the ways of the human evil inclination and the spiritual dark-side.
So the rhetorical question is a timeless one: (just like Saul) HOW IS IT THAT SATAN HONESTLY BELIEVES HE CAN DEFEAT YAHUSHA? At one time Satan lived in the higher dimension in close proximity to Yahuah Himself and as the most beautiful and intelligent of all inter-dimensional creatures. How could he rebel against His Master and Creator and honestly believe he could win? How could Satan not understand to his core that because of his choice to try and place himself on Yahuah’s throne, that the only possible ending for him was eternal destruction?
Well, we see that same scenario being played out in 1st Samuel, as King Saul is fully aware that Yahuah has not only removed the throne of Yisharal from him, but has also completely and permanently abandoned him. King Saul is now Yahuah’s enemy. Did Saul honestly believe that he could defeat Yahuah’s will and hang on to his earthly throne? Did Saul seriously think that he could kill Yahuah’s Anointed One, David, in order to keep David from assuming his Yahuah-established destiny as King over Yahuah’s Kingdom?
The problem with Satan and the problem with Saul and the problem with all leaders of Government who think they can override Yahuah’s justice and truth and morality with their own, is a deep seeded spiritual IRRATIONALITY. For the world, and especially for the elitist intelligencia, these human leaders seem to be nearly infallible and undefeatable, men to be followed without question (if not outright worshipped).
So for us as the Bride to think of Satan as irrational is hard to do when we see what he has accomplished over the last 6000 years. It’s not as hard for us though, to see Saul as irrational, and so perhaps that’s why such an extensive account of his life and reign have been preserved for us in the Scripture. It is so we can know what signs to look for and how to prepare when we see that evil behaviour all around us.
MANY BELIEVE, ACCORDING TO THESE PATTERNS DISCUSSED TODAY, THAT IT SEEMS POSSIBLE THAT THE SO-CALLED FALSE PROPHET (THE MAIN HENCHMAN) OF THE COMING ANTI-MESSIAH WILL BE OF EDOMITE DESCENT JUST LIKE BOTH DOEG AND HEROD WERE.
MAYBE, BUT THAT SEEMS A BIT SIMPLE AND LINEAGE-LIKE FOR ME!
I'D MUCH PREFER TO JUST LOOK AT THE COMMON BEHAVIOUR OF THEM ALL AND SEE THAT THERE'S ONLY TWO LANGUAGES, TRUTH AND LIES, AND SATAN OPERATES IN THE LATTER - RIGHT UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL INSIDE PEOPLE'S MINDS. LET'S STRIVE NOT TO HAVE THAT USURPING, CRUEL, SELF-SEEKING, SELF-RULING, GLORY-HOUNDING, ARGUMENTATIVE BEHAVIOUR INSIDE US !
SO IF WE UNDERSTAND THAT `IRRATIONAL' IS JUST A COMPLICATED WAY OF SAYING `LIE', WE CAN FIND MUCH TRUTH ON THE SUBJECT AND RUN TO THE SAME PLACE DAVID DID: YAHUSHA !
LISTENING TO THE LANGUAGE OF SATAN'S LIES (NOT ONLY PROMOTED THROUGH THE WORLD'S SYSTEMS, PHILOSOPHIES & RELIGIONS, BUT ALSO IN OUR OWN EARS) WILL RENDER US IRRATIONAL ... IE EMOTIONAL, CRAZY TALKERS, WITH IRRATIC LOOP-DI-LOOP BEHAVIOUR, VOID OF THE INBUILT SANITY AND RATIONAL THOUGHT THAT TURAH BRINGS AS IT WASHES OUR MINDS CLEAN. YAHUSHA IS THE ONLY VOICE OF REASON IN THIS WORLD.
SUMMATION: TRUTH OR LIES ??