1 Samuel 30:6-8
Sometimes it seems like we are alone in our own little vessel in the middle of a great big ocean. Everywhere we look, people are having their own problems and difficulties and there appears to be no time for us and no help on the horizon. Where do we turn to when we have no one to turn to? Who encourages us when we have become accustomed to always being the encourager?
Of course we know that we can turn to the Lord no matter what, for He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), but that brings us to another question: How do we turn to the Lord? Do we just get on our knees and pray an earnest prayer, hoping that God makes us feel better? Surely there is a better way to hear from God than to “pray and hope”.
David returned from the land of the Philistines with his 600-man army to the village, Ziklag. Upon arrival they see that the Amalekites had invaded, burning their houses to the ground and kidnapping their wives and children. This horrible news caused David’s small army to turn on him and talk of stoning him to death. With no one to lean to for advice, David could either give in and just accept his fate, or he could turn to the good Shepherd.
“David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Samuel 30:6) speaks volumes about David’s heart. The word “LORD” is in all-caps in your Bible because it has a different meaning in the Hebrew than the word “God” that follows it. LORD means Jehovah or “Covenant God” while God means Adonai or “Creator God”. One speaks of God’s power while the other speaks of God being a covenant keeper. David turns away from God’s creative power and towards God’s power to keep a promise. David is a covenant believer and he knows that God is a covenant keeper.
To encourage himself, David does more than just kneel and pray. He instructs the priest Abiathar to bring him the ephod, which was worn by the high priest in his service before the Lord in the tabernacle. This ephod had two shoulder pieces of gold which had six of the tribes of Israel engraved in one and six in the other. From these shoulder pieces were chains of gold that attached a breastplate. On the breastplate were 12 precious stones, each with a tribe of Israel engraved onto it. These items, worn by the high priest, were shadows of what Jesus bears on His shoulders and on His heart: you and me!
David wore the ephod and asked God what He was supposed to do, and God answered him, “Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all” (1 Samuel 30:8). The ephod would light up, with light shining through the appropriate stone, highlighting various letters. As one stone was lighted, one more letter from God was revealed, until you had the entire message from God. David knew what to do because the light of God had told him.
You and I do not have a physical ephod of course, but we have something just as good. When we are discouraged or down and we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord, we do exactly what David did. We go to our high priest and we shed light on our situation. Jesus is the light of the world, and we shine His light on who we are. When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world”, what was the thing He said just before that? It was “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). The light of Jesus shines on our lack of condemnation and our current standing of righteousness in Him. Shed light on who you are in Jesus and you are truly encouraging yourself in the Lord.
Sometimes it seems like we are alone in our own little vessel in the middle of a great big ocean. Everywhere we look, people are having their own problems and difficulties and there appears to be no time for us and no help on the horizon. Where do we turn to when we have no one to turn to? Who encourages us when we have become accustomed to always being the encourager?
Of course we know that we can turn to the Lord no matter what, for He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), but that brings us to another question: How do we turn to the Lord? Do we just get on our knees and pray an earnest prayer, hoping that God makes us feel better? Surely there is a better way to hear from God than to “pray and hope”.
David returned from the land of the Philistines with his 600-man army to the village, Ziklag. Upon arrival they see that the Amalekites had invaded, burning their houses to the ground and kidnapping their wives and children. This horrible news caused David’s small army to turn on him and talk of stoning him to death. With no one to lean to for advice, David could either give in and just accept his fate, or he could turn to the good Shepherd.
“David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Samuel 30:6) speaks volumes about David’s heart. The word “LORD” is in all-caps in your Bible because it has a different meaning in the Hebrew than the word “God” that follows it. LORD means Jehovah or “Covenant God” while God means Adonai or “Creator God”. One speaks of God’s power while the other speaks of God being a covenant keeper. David turns away from God’s creative power and towards God’s power to keep a promise. David is a covenant believer and he knows that God is a covenant keeper.
To encourage himself, David does more than just kneel and pray. He instructs the priest Abiathar to bring him the ephod, which was worn by the high priest in his service before the Lord in the tabernacle. This ephod had two shoulder pieces of gold which had six of the tribes of Israel engraved in one and six in the other. From these shoulder pieces were chains of gold that attached a breastplate. On the breastplate were 12 precious stones, each with a tribe of Israel engraved onto it. These items, worn by the high priest, were shadows of what Jesus bears on His shoulders and on His heart: you and me!
David wore the ephod and asked God what He was supposed to do, and God answered him, “Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all” (1 Samuel 30:8). The ephod would light up, with light shining through the appropriate stone, highlighting various letters. As one stone was lighted, one more letter from God was revealed, until you had the entire message from God. David knew what to do because the light of God had told him.
You and I do not have a physical ephod of course, but we have something just as good. When we are discouraged or down and we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord, we do exactly what David did. We go to our high priest and we shed light on our situation. Jesus is the light of the world, and we shine His light on who we are. When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world”, what was the thing He said just before that? It was “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). The light of Jesus shines on our lack of condemnation and our current standing of righteousness in Him. Shed light on who you are in Jesus and you are truly encouraging yourself in the Lord.
