Read 1st Samuel 19:18 - 24
When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. [1 Samuel 19:18 NIV]
David needs good advice and support. He is in a desperate situation. He has fled from Saul and has sought out the old prophet Samuel. He has realised that Saul is out to kill him and it was Michal who rescued him from her father's clutches. Saul hates David so much that he is prepared to kill him and humanly speaking he nearly succeeded. Of course, there was an unseen hand preserving David wherever he went and all Saul's expertise with a spear were irrelevant because God was protecting his anointed king. It was God's will that David would ascend the throne of Israel. But David has had to run away from Saul's palace after another attempt on his life.
So David runs to the prophet who had anointed him. Samuel was God's representative in Israel and David would never forget Samuel's visit to his home in Bethlehem. He had not been present in the home when Samuel arrived and started his search for a replacement for Saul. While Samuel was checking out David's older brothers to find the one whom God had chosen to be the next king, David was out on the hillside looking after his sheep. It was only after some prompting from Samuel, that Jesse remembered this younger son and sent to fetch him to meet with the prophet. But Samuel had been instructed that David was God's choice and David was subsequently anointed. He was not made king immediately and Saul continued to rule Israel. Even after Saul is unable to take on Goliath, the gigantic champion of the Philistines, Saul continues to hold on to his throne. This is despite David's growing popularity and success in fighting against Israel's enemy.
It was this popularity and success that made Saul see David as his rival and even his enemy and he had attacked him with a spear on several occasions. He had tried to enrol his son, Jonathan as David's assassin but that did not work. He then ordered servants to arrest David while he is at home with his new wife, Saul's daughter. Michal, the daughter of Saul helps David to escape from the soldiers who have surrounded the house.
So David sees the writing on the wall. In despair, he seeks refuge at a place called Ramah which is Samuel's home town. David unburdens himself to Samuel and tells him all his troubles. It is good to have someone trustworthy like Samuel to listen to our woes and troubles. I guess that David has a lot to tell God's prophet. I wonder if Samuel allowed David the opportunity to unburden himself. It is good practice to listen sympathetically when someone whom we know is in a difficult situation. It is a great privilege to be trusted enough for someone to tell you their problems. This takes great sensitivity. It is perhaps better to let them do most of the talking and resist the temptation to interrupt too much. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul talks about helping each other on the Christian pathway.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 NIV
Our churches should be safe places for people who are needing to share a burden and we should be good listeners.
This is exactly what Samuel was doing for David. He was trying to take some of the heavy load off David's back. This is not easy. Sometimes we can make the burden that much heavier instead of lighter. We say the wrong thing and this remark just adds to the burden our friend is carrying. Someone in the church phones you (because we are not able to meet). They go through a long story about their troubles. So you make the comment, "Well, things could be much worse. It's good that it's only the left foot that keeps you up all night. Just think what it would be like if it was both feet!" Probably, that was not what not what the other person wanted to hear. Or you say to the person on the phone, "You think you've got problems. Have you heard about wee Mrs So-and-so?" And then you think it is a good time to tell your friend about someone who is, in your opinion, even worse off. Not the best option.
It was a relief for David to tell this older man about his troubles. Samuel was sharing the load. A problem shared is a problem halved. By the way, this means that Samuel is carrying some of David's burden as well as his own. Anyone involved in pastoral work will find that they are taking on other people's worries and problems as well as their own. This is exactly what the Lord expects to be happening in a Christian church. Over the years, my wife, Janie has regularly listened to other people and offered support. Sometimes, she then finds it hard to sleep because of the additional load she has in her mind. She has then to hand all these burdens to the Lord.
It is God's plan for the local church to be a place where burdens are shared. Ramah seems to have been like that. Samuel was leading a community of prophets who were under the control of the Holy Spirit. David was experiencing not only the help from a godly man. He was also in a place of blessing where the Holy Spirit was working. This was a sacred place. It would have been good for David to spend longer at Naioth - probably it was some sort of camp. The word 'Naioth' means literally 'dwellings or habitations' and may have been a religious compound of huts or similar buildings. The exact detail of this place does not matter - it is a place where God's presence is present and it is the ideal place for David - especially in this personal crisis he is experiencing.
Sadly, into this place of fellowship and spiritual uplift, comes Saul in all his turmoil of anger and jealousy. Next Day Share focuses on this.
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