Becoming Complacent

Posted by Christina Scovone on Sunday, April 10, 2011

King James Bible Study: Becoming Complacent
For: Sunday April 10, 2011
Chapters: I Samuel 28-31
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-april-10

Details of Today's Reading: David still living among the Philistines sides with the king when they battle Israel, Saul seeks a physic to summon Samuel from the dead, Saul's death foretold, David is saved from fighting against Israel, Ziglag is destroyed and David avenges them, Saul, Jonathan, and his sons die in battle.

Hello My Friend/Guest,
The word complacent means to be content or satisfied in one's current situation. As Christians we must be careful not to become too complacent, to become so content with things that we forget that God is still around. The Bible says, “The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” - Psalm 145:15-17. You know, whatever we are going through whether it is successes or difficulties it is only temporary, God wants to satisfy all our desires as we wait upon and follow Him. The Bible also says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” - Proverbs 29:18. If we take our eyes off God, even unintentionally, the visions that we once hand will perish, leaving us with two problems, we lose God's protection here on earth and we lose out on the many blessings that God wants to give us.

Chosen by God Himself to be the first king of Israel Saul, was once favored by God, because he was an honest, faithful, godly man. All that changed once he became king and became complacent with what he had. The more he got as king the less he relied on God, within a little over a year Saul had went from being favored by God to despised, which is why He had Samuel anoint David as the next king. Everything went down hill from there, now, a battle has begun with the Philistines and without David there to help, who was actually assisting the Philistines, Saul was running scared. He even tried reaching God to no prevail, he got so scared that he went to a medium to try and get her to summon Samuel's spirit.

“And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do... Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.” - I Samuel 28:12-15,18,19.

Here is this woman, who probably made a living just chanting some words, never really summoning anyone, but for the first time in her life she saw real spirits. The woman's surprise and terror proved that it was an unusual and unexpected appearance. Gods, meaning a great personage, one of a majestic form, angels, or a person that looked like one. Samuel told Saul that he and his sons would die in the battle, but the one thing Samuel said that proves God never leaves or forsakes His people, “Thou and thy sons will be with me.” Even though Saul had walked away from God never forgot that Saul was His. God never leaves nor forsakes any who have put their faith and trust in His Son. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” -Romans 5:8,9.

Meanwhile, David is having his own problems, he was complacent to live among the Philistines and won the kings favor. However, when the battle between the Israelites and Philistines began the Philistines did not want David and his troops fighting along side of them, fearing they would turn on them. So, the king had not choice, but to tell David and the six hundred men who served under him to leave.

“And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not. Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.” - I Samuel 29:4-7.

Though Achish had so good an opinion of him, and had declared it in council, yet an order had passed there that he should not go to battle with them. God, in His loving-kindness, brings David out of his difficulty by means of the jealousy of the lords of the Philistines. Later on we learn that David helped the Philistines when the Amalekites invaded them, David never left Ziklag without honor. Even when we walk away from God, He will use any means to bring us back to Him, but He will never let us walk away under unpleasant circumstances. “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” - Hebrews 13:16,17.

Saul's worse fears came to pass, he along with sons, including Jonathan, David's friend, as well as the armourbearer killed in the battle. “And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.” - I Samuel 31:2-6.

God does want us to be content with what we have at present, but He does not want us to forget that He is still around and that He has much more to give us. “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” - Philippians 4:9-12. The better we know Him, the more we keep Him in the center of our lives, the better we are able to enjoy that which is ever enlarging through knowing Him.

Remember, even if one has walked away from God they are still a child of God, they just need to get to a point in their lives where they realize that. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” - Hebrews 13:5.

Jesus Revealed: Today Jesus is revealed through the Urim (28:6), which was used to determine the will of God. Today Christ speaks to us through His Spirit and when we read His Word. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” - Hebrews 1:1,2.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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