God's Sabbath

C HAPTER 16

A Deeper Lesson

A prayerful / careful reading of 1Samuel chapters 29–31 and 2Samuel chapters 1, 2, 11 and 15, together with Patriarchs and Prophets chapters 66, 68, 69 and 71 can help to deepen the un derstanding of this chapter. A remarkable education was given to David in the experience he passed through when marching with the Philistines to battle. Placed where he had no choice but to rest his case with the Lord, he was given a marvelous demonstration of God’s ways. David’s predicament was similar to Israel’s when they were fleeing from Egypt and “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the L ORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again ....’” Exodus 14:13. The Lord gives similar experiences to His beloved children to day, and in order for the lesson to be learned more deeply and the repentance gained to be surer, He often permits the believer to pass over the same ground again. Suddenly and unexpectedly, we can find ourselves engulfed in troubles even worse than those from which we have just been rescued. Satan quickly argues that this fresh entanglement is evidence that the Lord did leave us and we now have to disentangle ourselves through our own plans.

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