Faint/Overwhelmed

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Faint/Overwhelmed

You are not sure how much you can take? If one more thing goes wrong! Can I just stop and think for a moment, please? It has been bleak for so long when will things get better?

The Hebrew word that might describe your condition in all of these is ataph. In the KJV it is translated “overwhelmed” and in the NIV it is rendered “faint.” My Strong’s Concordance states that it means being shrouded or clothed and extends from the idea of darkness. The word ataph is not the only word for “faint” but it caught my eye in Psalm 142:3 and 143:4. Ataph is also used in Psalm 61:2, 77:3, and in 102:Title. I often test the definition back into the passage, so I tried: overwhelmed and shrouded in darkness. Both caught the idea of the verse and I liked overwhelmed better than faint in those verses.

In Psalm 142 and 143 David is having a bad time because in both of these “his spirit was faint” (NIV). Psalm 142 is identified as when David was “in the cave.” I associate that time with 1 Samuel 22 which is right before the saving of Keilah (see Hero to Horror). Several of the psalms in this section (138 to 145) I would place in that period of time before Keilah. Psalms 138 to 145 are all attributed to David. This section of Book Five of the Psalms has been referred to as the “Songs of Ascent.” These would have been sung as people went to the Temple.

David faced many ataph moments in his life but the most telling one on how he handled these overwhelming times is 1 Samuel 30:6b – “David found strength in the Lord his God.”

The Number Sixteen in the Bible

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The Number Sixteen in the Bible

Ses (6) and asar or esreh (10) are the Hebrew words that are used to form sixteen (16). The number sixteen is not used in the New Testament.  There are ,however, sixteen soldiers that guarded Peter in Acts: 12.ay_purpi

The majority of the time that “sixteen” is used it is with kings or leaders. Several kings ruled for sixteen years (Ahaz – 2 Ch. 28:1, 2 Kg. 16:2; Jotham – 2 Ch. 27:1and 8, 2 Kg. 15: 33; Jehoash – 2Kgs.13:10) and one began his reign (Uzziah – 2 Kg. 14:21, 2Ch.26:1) at sixteen years of age. In 1 Chronicles 24 the number of leaders in one family was sixteen and who got the sixteenth duty position (chapters 24, 25).

In Joshua 15 and 19 it is associated with towns and villages in Judah and Issachar. The two most interesting times sixteen is used is in Ex. 26: 25, 36: 30 with the silver bases for the west end of the Tabernacle and the number of days that it took to clean the Temple during Hezekiah’s rule (2 Ch. 29:17).

Normally, I would try to make connections with all of these but to me there was nothing clear. The sixteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet is ayin, which means “eye or spring.” (See the references for further study.) It was in this idea that I found a loose connection. God had His “eye” on those kings and leaders, the Tabernacle, and the cleaning of the Temple. The hebrew4christians website is a good study on the “eye” of God.

Faith

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I looked up the word “faith” in my Strong’s Concordance/Vines Bible dictionary and this is

Screen Shot 2015-09-13 at 8.59.35 AMwhat I found.

In the Greek, the most used word for faith is pistis, which deals the concept of truth or the truthfulness of God.

The word “faith” in the King James Bible is used mostly in the New Testament. In the KJV it is used twice in the Old Testament. Once in Deuteronomy 32: 20 where Moses is describing the Children of Israel that came out of Egypt as having no faith. The other use is in Habakkuk 2:4 “the righteous one will live by his faith.” (HCSB)

The number of times the word “faith” is used in the KJV is interesting – 247. It might be trying to tell us something. Faith should be a 24/7 thing in our lives.

The spelling of our English word also carries an interesting message. The letter “I” is in the middle of the word. So “I” better stay in faith.

Moses – You Returned!?

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Moses the most humble man in the world, the friend of God who ate with Him and saw His back, the doer of miracles, and leader of the people of Israel. You would think with all of those credentials Moses must have been willing to be moldable clay in the hand of the Master Potter. Wrong! He had issues and the big one was he had some serious history with Egypt and did not want to go back. He had made a mess of things when he left and did not want to face the court of Pharaoh or the people of Israel. This story starts in Exodus 3 and 4.

This concept of going back somewhere you left is on my mind because for the first time in my career I am returning to a school district that I left thirteen years ago. I had not left a mess like Moses, but I never thought I would be returning either. To say that I am not questioning why would be an understatement. Like Moses, it means leaving a comfort zone and going back to something that has changed while you were gone. His wife Zipporah and his sons had to leave family and friends for an uncertain future.

Father God had given him some glimpses of the road ahead but not the mistreating of the people by the Egyptians, the plagues, or being chased by a determined army. God had given him some pretty convincing signs to do but there was no mention of the people being stubborn and rebelling.

In looking at the big picture (that is all I can do for now) this is what I see happening:

  • Moses was retrained
  • Moses knew he was to go and he went
  • God sent him help, in the form of Aaron
  • Moses had command of supernatural powers to do the job
  • Not everyone was excited by his return or his mission
  • God walked with Moses through his mission

Hero and Horror – Making of a King

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It took nine pages in my Bible. Six chapters, 1 Samuel 18 to 23, tell the story of David’s David052rise from being a hero to the Most Wanted List then to acting like a King.

Drama

This journey is marked with great drama and powerful emotions. Here are some of the action words or ideas that can be found in these six chapters: joy, galled, anger, betrayal, fear, bold rescues, grief, love, friendship, daring escapes, fiend insanity, ruthless pursuit, murder, and jealousy.   Michal, Saul’s youngest daughter, is a big part of this drama. She “loved” David but Saul knew he could use her as a snare to kill him. She helped David make a daring escape but I find it interesting that she never tried to flee Saul and go to David’s side. I believe that since David was a songwriter he used the things in his life to be the inspiration for his songs. I could attribute fifteen psalms to this time of drama.

Keilah

The story of Keilah is the story of David starting to act like a king. In the time it is set with the Feast because a harvest was happening, which is what the Philistines were after – the grain. Keilah must have been an important city because it had “bars and gates” and a population big enough to “hand David over” to Saul. On most maps, David’s hideout is only a few miles from the city. To compare Saul and David here is appropriate; David went to the city and liberated it from the enemy but the Bible never mentions Saul going there to check on the population.

David

In Chapter 23 we see David growing as a leader and David’s men learning to trust him as a leader. There is a difference between saying someone is your leader and then actually following him into battle. David’s habit of asking God for directions is mentioned at least five times in this story. It would seem that David had a prophet named Gad and after the victory in Keilah the priest of God named Abiathar and Aaron’s Breastplate (the ephod) to give Heaven sent answers.

David gained much knowledge and help from his willingness to free Keilah.

  • He found out that just because God had you do something it does not mean the people will be thankful, the citizens of Keilah would have turned him over to Saul.
  • David learned that you follow God just because He says to do it. This will lead to God’s bragging on you and not praise from men.
  • David learned to keep his options open and to ask more than one time for directions.
  • On the practical side, he picked up 200 more men, the Philistine’s supplies, and a new enemy.

Ziphities

David’s new enemy was the Ziphities. They were descendants of Caleb and a leading clan in Judah. They were going to turn David over to Saul even though David rescued Keilah. The reason could have been many but jealousy and fear of losing prominence within the Tribe of Judah possible were factors. David penned Psalm 54 over this incident and with phrases like, “Let evil recoil on those who slander me” verse 6 (NIV); it is clear there was no love loss. The word Ziph deals with flowing asphalt. This was found around the Dead Sea and brings to memory its trapping ability when Bera’s men fled in Genesis 14:10 and fell into tar pits.

Abiathar

He is a priest (Aaron’s family) and a member of the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:30). He was faithful to David during his life but did not agree with Solomon as king. He sided with Adonijah so Solomon removed him and his family from being a priest (1 Kings 2:22). It is possible that his family being killed was going on at the same time as David rescuing Keilah; compare 1 Samuel 22:20 with 23:6.

Take Away

For me, the BIG thing in this story is that David, acting independent of Saul, showed compassion and concern for the people of Israel. This is the first recorded time that he did what a king would have done, save a city.

http://clipart.christiansunite.com/1379673661/Bible_Characters_Clipart/David_Clipart