“I believe everything happens for a reason.” It’s a common sentiment. In fact, actress Drew Barrymore said, “I believe that everything happens for a reason, but I think it’s important to seek out that reason; that’s how we learn.”
Turns out, the Apostle Paul agrees with Drew Barrymore! Now all these (book of Exodus) things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (1 Cor. 10:11) We watch how God responded to the shenanigans of the Israelites, and we learn by principle. “I better not do that!”
But there’s another reason why things happened like they did in the Old Testament to consider. Let’s look at an incident in David’s life. It’s a short, memorable story. Read with me.
1Sam. 21:10-15 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. (11) And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? (12) And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. (13) And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. (14) Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? (15) Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house? He sent David away, a free man.
Why did David go to Gath in the first place? It was enemy territory, and the king was an enemy. Did he expect a hug and a kiss? Well, let’s remember our theme. “Everything happens for a reason.” In this case, the reason is best explained when you look at this prophetically. This story pictures something that would happen in the future. I saw a commentary on this story, and the theologian speculated all kinds of historical reasons why David might have gone to Gath. I won’t rehearse any of those. But let’s not miss the prophetic. If you’ve read many of these blogs, you know that we look at things through the broader lens of seeing Jesus on every page of the Bible, because He’s there. We call it the doctrinal teaching of the Bible.
David is the greatest type of Jesus in the Bible. We will call David a proxy for Jesus in the story above.
Gath, where David went to his near peril means “winepress.”
Achish, the king of Gath means “I will terrify.”
You probably already see an emerging picture of Jesus. What would compel David to go to the winepress where the worldly king would terrify him? Winepress pictures/is the wrath of God poured out in blood (Rev. 14:19-20, 19:15)
David went there willingly to face the terrifying one, just like Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane willingly, to face the terrifying one—who had entered the heart of Judas. You see, in 1 Sam 21, David was betrayed by “a servant of Achish (I will terrify).” Jesus was betrayed by Judas, a servant of Satan. And he (Jesus) cometh the third time, and saith unto them (his disciples), Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. (Mark 14:41-42)
“All things happen for a reason” keeps going. David, the anointed king, who hadn’t actually fully become king yet while Saul was still alive, resorts to humiliating himself by acting like a saliva-dribbling crazed maniac.
Jesus, the anointed one, was also destined to become King. But not yet. What did Jesus do? And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:8)
This 1 Sam 21 hologram story of Jesus begins to fade out as David escapes the “I will terrify” king and lives on to praise God (It’s what Ps. 34 is about. Read the first 4 verses of that!) We know that Jesus did not escape, but was captured and killed. But wait. He DID live on! He rose from the dead three days later. He got the victory over death and hell!
Here’s the bottom-line Bible study lesson: When you read a story in the Old Testament that seems cockeyed, stop. There’s something there. As Richmond likes to say, “it’s off by design.” Everything happens for a reason—and it’s likely prophetic!
R&J Shee
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