Divine intervention and protection
Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave! – 1 Samuel 24:2-3
1 Samuel 23:26-29
26 Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men,
27 an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again.
28 So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape.
A story is told of David and the Spider
The story continues with David being pursued by Saul. Saul was determined to kill him. David sought refuge in a cave, hoping to evade Saul’s soldiers. A spider quickly spun a web across the cave’s entrance, and when Saul’s men arrived, they noticed the undisturbed web. Assuming the cave was empty, they did not bother searching it. David was able to escape unharmed.
David was indeed in the recesses of a cave in the presence of Saul and lived to tell about it. However, the story of David being saved by a spider web from Saul is not found in the Scriptures. Instead, this story is a part of Jewish folklore, referenced in the Jewish Talmud.
Folklore is a collection of traditional beliefs, customs, stories, songs, and other cultural practices often rooted in historical events or facts. These stories and practices reflect the values, beliefs, experiences, and worldviews of particular groups of people and are often tied to their daily lives and experiences.
The Father frequently intervenes in extraordinary and unexpected ways to protect those under His care.
David was in a dire situation, facing inevitable capture and death at the hands of Saul and his soldiers. With no apparent means of escape, the Father intervened by providing an unexpected source of deliverance.
1 Samuel 23:26-29
26 Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men,
27 an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again.
28 So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape.
Life on planet Earth can be likened to a massive three-dimensional chessboard, where the Father can intervene at any moment to achieve His desired outcome.
REFLECT & PRAY
The Father is the Lord of the unexpected. Expect the unexpected.
Father thank You that you have an eternal plan for every child of the King. You have and will do extraordinary things to achieve your purposes in our lives.
INSIGHT
Throughout the Scriptures, there are numerous examples of divine intervention. One such story is that of Moses, who was miraculously saved from certain death. He was found and rescued by a princess of Egypt, nursed and raised by his biological mother, and eventually went on to live in the court of Pharaoh, even being in line to rule. with the possibility of assuming the throne.
These events reveal a series of extraordinary interventions by the Father into human history.
Exodus 1:9-22
9 He [the Pharaoh] said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are.”
10 “We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”
11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves . . ..
12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.
14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
15 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives . . ..
16 “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”
17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.
22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.”
Exodus 2:1-11
1 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married.
2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months.
3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.
4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.
5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her.
6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.
7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.
8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.
9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.
10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”
11 Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work.
The timeline of Old Testament Jewish history is marked by a series of ironic and dramatic events that showcase the Father’s incursions into the space-time continuum.
Esther 3:1-8
1 King Xerxes later promoted Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire.
2 All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.
4 They [the palace officials] spoke to him day after day, but still, he refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai’s conduct since Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage.
6 He had learned of Mordecai’s nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.
8 Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.
Esther 4:1-17
1 When Mordecai learned about all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on burlap and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail.
3 And as news of the king’s decree reached all the provinces, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and wailed, and many people lay in burlap and ashes.
13 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace, you will escape when all other Jews are killed.
14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”
17 So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
Esther 5:1-8
1 On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance.
6 And while they were drinking wine, the king told Esther, “Now tell me what you really want. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
7 Esther replied, “This is my request and deepest wish.
8 If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I ask, please come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will explain what this is all about.”
Esther 7:1-10
1 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet.
2 On this second occasion, while they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “Tell me what you want, Queen Esther. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
3 Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request, I ask that my life and the lives of my people will be spared.
4 For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”
5 “Who would do such a thing?” King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?”
6 Esther replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.” Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen.
9 “Haman has set up gallows that stand seventy-five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to use it to hang Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination.” “Then hang Haman on it!” the king ordered.
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows
Obadiah 1:1 Just as you have done, so it will be done to you. You will get exactly what your deeds deserve.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
© Dr. H 2023
Dr H Reflections 