15 Steps XLIX 

Yawn!  'Mornin'.

Brother, has it ever warmed up here in the Northwest!  Feels like we're back in south Texas again.  Makes me sleep hard, and sometimes it's just hard to get my motor revved.

Think maybe I need to get one of those four-shot Americanos this morning.  I've told you about our daughter, Shelley, who works as a chef at one of the local restaurants.  They call the place, The Sunny Spot.  We get together with other pastors and leaders in the body of Christ every Friday morning there at 6:00 AM for breakfast, sharing and prayer.

Last Friday, we're engaged in this conversation when Shelley comes in behind me and puts her arms around me.  "Good Morning, Dad," she says.  "Do you want a REAL cup of coffee to go with your breakfast?"?

That's her way of asking if I want one of her "four-shotters."  Brotherrrr!!  How to get wired in one easy lesson!  Shelley's Americanos consist of four shots of Expresso in a 16-ounce cup with the rest of the cup filled with hot water.  Most Americanos are one or two shots of Expresso with the rest just hot water.  Double or quadruple it, and you get the idea!  Your eyes pop open, you sit straight up, your fingers start tapping out a rhythm on the table, and you're ready to take on the day!

This needs to be one of those days.  Hey, Shelley!  Where are you?

I was just checking to see when we started this series on the 15 Steps to maturity as revealed in the 23rd Psalm.  We've been at this for nearly five months.  Not in my wildest imagination did I think we would spend this much time on it; and now that we've come this far, I've realized how much I've left out and how much more there really is that could -- and maybe should -- be shared.  Maybe we'll do updates on this series in the months ahead just to fill in some of the gray areas.

Anyway, we're about two weeks away from finishing this series for now.  Let's pick up where we left off on Friday talking about David and Jonathan, the covenants they made between themselves, and how all of that applies to agape-kheseed following us all the days of our lives.

Got your coffee poured, yet?

We were in I Samuel 20 on Friday, talking about the event that resulted in David and Jonathan making their third covenant between each other.  I know of no other set of events in Scripture where we have two individuals repeatedly covenanting with each other.  It almost seems like they cut covenant between themselves every time they got together.

You have to understand that within the bond of love that forms between people who are in covenant with each other, there is a pouring out of one's self to their covenant partner.  There is a drawing between each other that makes you want to give and give and give and give and give and give and give....you get the idea.  The covenant bond becomes so strong that any betrayal of one's covenant partner has severe consequences.

We can easily liken this to the marriage covenant -- which, by the way, is supposed to be that kind of covenant.  Unfortunately, our societies have so watered down the concept of marriage as to make it a simple contract of agreement which can be dissolved at a whim.  Worse, the body of Christ has gotten so focused on divorce that there is little real teaching on what marriage really is supposed to be.  We therefore have Christians getting into marriages that God never ordained and doesn't approve of, and then have the consequential epidemic of divorce among "believers" and accompanying condemnation by legalistic Christians who neither understand marriage nor divorce.

I will digress for just a minute to say that it is my personal conviction that it ought to be more difficult for folks to get married than it is for them to get a divorce.  You can laugh at me if you like, but people today have little or no concept of covenant.  There needs to be some serious teaching in churches and fellowships across this nation and around the world at large concerning just what it means to enter into covenant, how that relates to our walk with God, how it relates to marriage, and the extreme consequences and suffering that can follow when those covenants are violated.

Love is not a reason to get married -- and I hasten to add, what the world today calls "love."  People seem to fall in and out of "love" for a variety of reasons.  Because there is no covenant with the Lord, and no bond of agape-kheseed, and no specific Word from the Lord concerning their proposed marriage (because they haven't waited on the Lord to see what His heart's desire is concerning the relationship and don't have a walk that is filled with the Holy Spirit), the "marriage" frequently turns into a battle of wills and selfishness on the part of one or both parties.  What the parties to the marriage once called "love" has long since vanished.

Divorce frequently follows.  The problem is that there is often divorce without a decree of divorce by some court or judge.  People live under the same roof in a supposed marriage, all the while being unfaithful to each other -- and not necessarily engaging in physical affairs with other individuals.

The Hebrew word for adultery is óTðˆ na.af -- and it literally translates to faithlessness, apostasy, to break covenant: hence, something that happens in one's being well before there is any physical act that may follow.

Thus we have Jesus saying (in His Sermon on the Mount), "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart," (Matthew 5:27) and making clear to those who were judging adultery solely on the basis of a physical act of intercourse with someone other than one's spouse that the physical act was simply the result of unfaithfulness that had already taken place in their spirit.  Jesus judged the motive of the heart as the actual act of adultery.

Enough of the digression.  We're actually talking about goodness and mercy following us all the days of our lives, and that is a result of living a covenant life.  Let's get back to our picture of David and Jonathan.

As we finished on Friday we were closing out I Samuel 20.

" And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city."

This would have been an extraordinarily emotional moment for both David and Jonathan.  The consequences of their covenant were engraved in stone, so to speak; more accurately, cut in blood.  Neither of them have any idea if they will see each other alive from this moment forward.  From the perspective of the Law, Jonathan was on the opposite side of David.  David is now a declared outlaw.

Things are going to get interesting for both of them.

Jonathan's father, King Saul, now considers his son as having committed treason against him (though interestingly, he doesn't say that Jonathan has betrayed Israel).

"All of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?"  (I Samuel 22:8)

Brother, would I ever like to stop and talk about the mentality of those who operate in a conspiracy mode, and the enormous Fear of Death whose spirit they suffer under.  That'll have to wait for some other time.

The point here is that Jonathan's covenant with David has put his life, his health and safety at risk -- and that, my friends, is exactly what covenant relationships do.  Both parties to a covenant put their lives on the line for each other.  They withhold nothing from each other: their resources, their skills, their talents, their ability to fight and defend their covenant partner as though he/she is part of their family.

What is more apparent about this agape-kheseed is that kheseed has the quality or characteristic of "chasing after" or "following" or "checking on" their covenant partner.  Watch how it unfolds with David and Jonathan.

"And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.  And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

"And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.  And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.  And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house."  (I Samuel 23:14-18)

ANOTHER covenant!  Their fourth one!  You see how Jonathan comes out to check on David and his welfare.  David's life is on the line.  He is continually hunted by Jonathan's father.  So Jonathan "chases after" David.  The "chasing after" -- within the framework of kheseed -- is always because of "lovingkindness" and "tender mercy."  Jonathan has David's interests has his personal priority.  Whenever there is kheseed, there is always that kind of care and concern.

Jonathan's excitement is pretty obvious in this fourth covenant.  "Thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee..."  Jonathan could see the visible anointing of the Lord upon David.  There was no question the Lord had removed it from his father -- and Jonathan wanted to be where the anointing of the Lord rested.  It was more important to him than family, more important than his reputation, more important than his standing in the royal court of the land at the time.

David was no less excited.  He, of course, couldn't see the future and didn't know their best laid plans to function together when the Lord put David on the throne weren't exactly God's plans.  Neither one of them had any idea that this was the last time they would see each other.

Goodness and mercy had become a natural part of David's character: his very existence.  David would now have two separate opportunities to display a level and a degree of mercy unknown to the world of his day.

The first of these opportunities comes his way when he is hiding in the caves of Engedi (see I Samuel 24).  Saul takes with him an army of some 3,000 of his best-trained soldiers to hunt David.

"And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.  And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.  And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt."

Let me pause for a second in this narrative.  David is the hunted.  Saul is the hunter.  An opportunity presents itself for David to take out his sworn enemy while he is asleep.  Instead David just cuts off a piece of the armored skirt Saul is wearing, and refuses to take his life.

The natural inclination is to nod at David and say, "Whewww!  Now THAT's mercy!"  But it gets worse.  David felt personal conviction in his soul over that one little act of cutting off a piece of Saul's armored skirt while he was asleep.

Why, you ask?  Watch.

"And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD."

Do you get it?  It mattered not to David that the Lord had removed the authority to rule Israel from Saul.  As far as he was concerned, Saul was still God's chosen, His anointed -- and he was!  This is a lesson the body of Christ has been really slow to learn and understand.

There are ministers of the Gospel today, evangelists, missionaries, "televangelists" who use the media and airwaves to preach who have been caught in error or who have missed God in some way -- a very public way.  Despite the fact that these men and women began their ministries in integrity with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, something happened along the way that caused them to miss the mark.

Unfortunately, the body of Christ is peppered with anointed "wanna-be's" who think they somehow have the right and responsibility to attack, to criticize, to tear down these ministers of the Gospel who may have missed the mark in some way or another.  They think nothing at all of slandering them, ridiculing them, speaking evil of all they've done, are doing, or expect to do, and seem to be totally oblivious of the fact that they are violating the very heart of the Lord.

David understood the heart of God when he said and wrote, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."  (I Chronicles 16:22, Psalm 105:15)

Despite Saul's having totally departed from his walk with God, despite the fact that the Kingdom of Israel had been stripped from him because of his sin, David still loved Saul and revered him as God's anointed.  More than that, David had a deep respect for the anointing of God -- wherever it lay.  Thus, his heart "smote him" after he realized that -- as minor as it was to cut off a piece of Saul's armored skirt -- he had effectively "touched God's anointed."

His very first reaction was to repent.  Watch.

"So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.  David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.  And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?  Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’S anointed.

"Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.  The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.  As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.  After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.  The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand."

You'd think Saul would have learned from this event.  You'd think he would have understood David to be a totally different kind of character and personality than those he was used to.  And to listen to what he does and says, it sounds that way.

"And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.  And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.  And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not.  For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day."

The next thing Saul says really makes you think he's finally got his head screwed on straight.

"And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.  Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house.  And David sware unto Saul.  And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold."

How do you like that for the "sure mercies of David"?  Those mercies in spite of the fact that he trusts Saul not for so much as one second.  Notice that "Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up into the hold."  Uhh Huhh!  Right.  David is a man of supreme mercy, but he's still no dummy.

It doesn't take long for Saul to completely forget everything he's just said to David, and one more time, we have one of these escapades where Saul takes his military forces and heads out to hunt David down and kill him.  As I said, David is no dummy.  He knows Saul can't change his character, just like a leopard can't change its spots.

Skip just two chapters in I Samuel, and go to chapter 26.  Here we are again.

"And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.  David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.  And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

"Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.  So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.  Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.  And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?"

See the picture?  Again Saul is vulnerable to David.  Again David has the opportunity to take his life.  He's been on the run year after year after year with Saul chasing him and seeking to kill him.  Has David grown weary of the run?  Weary enough to say, "Enough of this nonsense!  Let's get rid of him"?

I'd wager that David WAS weary!  He had to be sick and tired of this malarkey!  It had to wear on him like a dentist whose drill just keeps grinding and grinding and grinding.  Nevertheless, whether he could personally justify taking Saul out or not, he wasn't yielding to that temptation.  To David, it was far more deadly, and the consequences far more fearsome in touching God's anointed!  And the sure mercies of David were again on display.

"David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.  he LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.  So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them."

Get this!  Saul is asleep with a sleep that has come from the Lord.  There was no way he was going to awaken while David was there at his side.  Yet David would not touch him!  Nosiree!!  No way, no how!  Would that the body of Christ could learn this lesson!  The world would sit up and take notice.  Instead of us putting our hand out to touch God's anointed, or speaking ill of those whose ministries we disagree with, if we would simply say to ourselves, The Lord will take care of this matter, the Lord forbid that I should touch God's anointed in any way, the world would see something it longs for: integrity, honor, family, love -- agape love!

OK.  We'll finish this up on Wednesday.  There will be no Coffee Break this Friday, nor the following Monday because of holiday activities.  We'll resume our series a week from this Wednesday.

Faithfulness is nothing more and nothing less than continuing to do the last thing Jesus told you to do, until such time as He says to do something else.

Blessings on you!



Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
700 South 6th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 837-4657

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