“Will the
citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They
will” (1 Samuel 23:12).
David retrieved
Goliath’s sword from Ahimelech, which was with the ephod. Ahimelech’s
possession of the ephod tells us he was the High Priest. After his
death, his son Abiathar takes possession of the ephod and the office.
The ephod, a kind of vest worn by the High Priest, included the Urim
and Thummim, two stones used for discerning the will of God. It is likely the
Urim and Thummim specifically that David is using to hear God’s voice.
When I read this
passage where David asks the sacred stones a question and the stones answer, I
have to admit it sometimes reminds me of the plastic 8-ball we all used to play
with as kids. Q: Will I get a new bike for Christmas? A: Unclear at this time. Not a
fair comparison.
For hundreds of
years, this had been God’s chosen way of communicating his will to his people,
and equating it with something as mundane and benign as a plastic 8-ball would
be at the very least unfair.
God encouraged his
followers to seek his will, but Saul did not make inquiring of the Lord his habit.
Rather, he let paranoia make his decisions, and when he finally did inquire of
the Lord, there was no answer. David had a different kind of relationship with
God, and when David consulted God, God was pleased to answer.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
When’s the last time God
spoke to you? When’s the last time you stopped to listen? What is he speaking
to you today?
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