An Advocate

    Riddle:  What do Joseph, Moses, Joshua, King David, John the Baptist, and Jesus have in common?  If you said they were all characters in the Bible, you get one point.  If you said they were all Israelites, you get another point, but if you said they all spent time in the wilderness before they fulfilled God's purpose for them, you are the winner.  That is the thought that began my journey into God's Word today.  We are in the wilderness as we navigate life.  Sometimes the wilderness produces suffering; sometimes the wilderness presents obstacles that we do not understand, but we can know as believers that what man intends for evil, God intends for good.

     When I think about reading God's Word, I have the intention to change my mindset.  Do you?  Without some intentionality, our hearts will direct us to believe as man believes.  But God wants to change our perspective to think as He thinks for a better understanding of His will for our lives.  I can think of two New Testament apostles who were given a first-hand experience to see things from both an earthly and a heavenly perspective. 

·        The apostle John was taken up to heaven to write the book of Revelations.  He spent time viewing End Times from man's perspective.  Then he was given a glimpse from the throne room of God, where he was watching what was taking place from heaven’s vantage point. 

·        The apostle Paul tells of a man who was taken up to the third heaven.  We can only surmise that Paul was humbly speaking of himself, as he quickly tells us of his weakness and how God gave him a thorn in the flesh to prevent his ego from taking over.  

·        We could also consider the story of Elijah from the Old Testment.  He whisked up to heaven without death, came back to earth with a different perspective meeting Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.  

Oh, if only we could see things from God's perspective.  How would that change our view of earthly circumstances?  The intention behind the Scriptures is to shift our perspectives.   

     Although this article begins with a riddle, my true intention is to focus on a story recorded in 1 Samuel 19.  In this story Jonathan is acting as an advocate for David.  He is attempting to shift his fathers’ perspective.  This story made me think of Jesus, as the Scriptures are intended to do.  In 1 Samuel 19:4–5 (ESV), "And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you.  For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel.  You saw it and rejoiced.  Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?" Now you may recall, King Saul's plotted on multiple occasions to kill David because he harbored jealousy in his heart.  Jealousy caused Saul to see David differently than other people saw him.   

     Let's travel back to the previous chapter and notice this passage, 1 Samuel 18:8–11 (ESV).  "And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me, they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?" And Saul eyed David from that day on.  The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.  And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David evaded him twice. Did you notice that although Saul experienced jealousy in his heart, it wasn't until God intervened and sent a harmful spirit that Saul's acted on the grounds of jealousy.  If we could see this story from God's perspective rather than man's, one might be less inclined to ask questions about why evil exists in our world.  God is in control of what happens here on earth and can use harmful spirits to create situations intended for good [remember the story of Joseph and his brothers.]  We do not possess God’s long range vision.  We cannot see how things will to turn out.  God uses our hindsight to teach us lessons.  We cannot perceive accurately.  You can probably testify by the many prayer requests you receive, that it is difficult for us to guess what God is up to.  Why might we have Scriptures to show us examples?  Are they intended to remind us, often, that God has a plan?    

     Can we agree that as Jonathan acted on David’s behalf, he was motivated by love and focused on fairness?  Proverbs 17:13 (ESV) says, "If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house."  Wasn’t that the reasoning behind the advice that Jonathan gave to his dad, the king?  I wouldn’t be surprised if we agree with Jonathan’s recommendation.  Aren’t we all about justice?  We know from this Biblical account that David was extremely loyal to King Saul even when he was mistreated.  We think like man thinks wishing for goodness and justice.  Then why was God allowing Saul to throw spears at David?  Did God intend it for evil?  As we reflect on this story and what is to come, we begin to get a glimpse of God.  God is purposeful.  He’s an organized thinker; God has a plan.  We need to see the bigger picture, the expansive way God thinks, beyond our current understanding.

     In this story and throughout the Scriptures, we receive a picture, a reflection, and an opposite viewpoint. We might call it a backwards thinking.  We’d be right if we were referring to our own perspective.  God is a forward thinker.  We, on the other hand, are backwards thinkers, we use hindsight much better than forethought.  Question:  Why would someone need to defend a good man?  What purpose would Saul have to harm someone who was protecting his better interest?  In Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV), we read, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Unless we can catch glimpses of man's nature, as God sees it, how difficult is it for us to justify evil as good, and good as evil.  Could it be our limited perspective?  Isn’t that a good reason to recognize that our hearts don’t tell us the truth.  Should we let our hearts direct our path or God?  The motivations of man’s heart can change how things appear.

     Let’s reflect for a moment on Jesus.  Although he was perfect in every way, he had no earthly advocates.  Like King Saul with David, man wanted to crucify him.  In our most authentic fallen nature, we would have crucified him too.  There is no true justice on earth.  Jesus showed mercy in that while we were yet sinners, He died for us.  Not only becoming the substitutional sacrifice, Jesus also sent us an advocate who would speak on our behalf, just like Jonathan did for David.  Look at Jonathan’s words again.  “For, he took his life in his hand, and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel.  You saw it and rejoiced.  Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?" Could this story be a foreshadowing of Jesus?  Let’s look at Saul’s response in 1 Samuel 19:6 (ESV)  ‘And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.  Saul swore, "As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death."   We can also say, “As the LORD lives, we shall not be put to death.”  As we read Scriptures, every story is intentional.  I believe this story speaks of both grace and mercy. 

Grace:

     Unlike the example of which Jonathan spoke to Saul, it may appear to the naked eye that David did not deserve death.  If King Saul's jealousy had played out, David would have received something he didn't deserve.  From our perspective, we would call this grace.  But doesn’t this seem to be stated differently than we understand grace?  Not by definition of course, but the way we look at things.  We would all agree that David didn’t deserve to die.  But in truth he did, and God spared David’s life, now that’s grace.

     I’m not surprised if I’ve confused you.  Let’s reflect on this just a moment.  On earth, our perspective on grace is skewed.  Since we evaluate ourselves to be good, many do not believe they need grace.  When God shows us our sin, we learn that our heart deceives us.  We need grace.  Bible tells us in Romans 5:12 (ESV) we are not good. "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned."   As much as we want to call ourselves, good, right, or just, it is just not true.  What many people do not realize is that we need an advocate.  Someone to step in like Jonathan did for David to convince his father that he doesn't deserve to die.  Jesus is our advocate.  As the apostle, John, wrote in 1 John 2:1 (ESV), "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. "

Mercy:

     Jesus didn't have an advocate to speak on his behalf.  All of his closest friends scattered (like sheep).  Yet Jesus lived a sinless life.  No one stood up for him.  He died on the cross for our sins.  How does this reverse your thinking?  Because of Jesus story, can we better understand mercy?  From an heavenly perspective for mankind, mercy is not receiving what we deserve.  We deserve death.  From Jesus perspective, he did not receive mercy, because in his perfection, He did not deserve to die.  Jesus chose to die on our behalf.  In Hebrews 2:14-18 (ESV), we read, " Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.  For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

     As we read the story in 1 Samuel 19, it should be like a backward reflection.  God uses circumstances like shown in this story to move believers in unexpected directions purposefully.  We believe we are good when Scriptures tell us that our hearts deceive us.  We need an advocate (Jesus) who makes us right in the sight of God.  There is an earthly perspective that we understand. Then there's a heavenly perspective that teaches us to think differently through the lessons we receive in the Bible.  Jesus was an advocate for us, but He has also sent an Advocate to us (the Holy Spirit) who testifies for us.  Are you currently facing a situation that you do not understand?  Are you suffering?  What are the burdens that you hold in your heart?

Thoughts to ponder:

 

1.     Does this story help you reflect on how God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways?

2.     Do you still believe that it is possible to see justice correctly when using only our earthly perspectives?

3.     When we question our circumstances, might we consider a shift in perspective?

4.     Can we see where God’s big picture is better than any vision we may have of our future?

5.     Can we use hindsight to remind us of God’s goodness?

If you find this article helpful, can you think of anyone who might benefit from reading it?