”Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”“
I Samuel 30:7-8 NKJV
a. Then David said: In 1 Samuel 30:6, David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Now it was time to do something with that strength from the LORD. First, David uses that strength when he inquired of the LORD. Of all the time David spent among the Philistines, this is the first time we read of him seeking God in any way. During his time of compromise and backsliding, David simply didn’t inquire of the LORD in this way.
b. Please bring the ephod here: David sought God with the help of the priest, almost certainly using the Urim and Thummim that were part of the priest’s ephod. An ephod was a special apron that priests would wear, to cover over their clothing, so the sacrificial blood and gore would splash on the ephod, not so much on their clothing.
i. It is likely that this wasn’t just any ephod; this was the ephod of the high priest, which had the breastplate of judgment (Exodus 28:15) attached to it (Exodus 28:28). The breastplate had in it a pouch with two stones, known as the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30). When David inquired of the LORD, he probably asked Abiathar to use the Urim and Thummim.
ii. If the Urim and Thummim were discovered today, God would no more bless their use than He would bless a re-establishment of the Old Testament priesthood. The day for the Old Testament priesthood is past for us today, being perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ. But in David’s day it was commanded by the LORD. The Urim and Thummim were effective because God’s word gave them. In seeking God through the Urim and Thummim, David was really going back to God’s word for guidance, because it was the word of God that commanded their place and allowed their use. Today, if we have the same focus on God’s word, He will guide us also.
c. Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? At one time David would not bother to even ask these questions. He would simply do it because when a soldier is attacked, he attacks back. But in returning from his backsliding, David brought everything to the LORD. Nothing was done just because it was done before. He asked God about everything.
d. Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all: God gave David something to do (pursue). Then, God gave David a promise in the doing (you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all). When God gives us something to do, He also gives us a promisein the doing.
Asked God About Everything!
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“But in returning from his backsliding, David brought everything to the LORD. Nothing was done just because it was done before. He asked God about everything.”
Backsliding is from being where God wants you to be, to going backwards where you used to be without God. Satan loves it when we backslide so he can use it against you and condemn you before God. But the Bible says:
”What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.“
Romans 8:31-34 NKJV
Jesus makes intercession for us!
And if He makes intercession for us, shouldn’t we ask Him about everything?
Blessings
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