Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 20.“Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” David was Jonathan’s subordinate, and he comes to him in chapter 21 as a supplicant. Their “love” was like the love between God and His people: on the one side, blessing and protection. On the other side, obedience and submission. And yet both of them also prefigure the Lord Jesus: like Jonathan, as He emptied Himself of His rights and claims to elevate His servant, and like David, as He submitted Himself to His Father’s will before rising and ascending.

Rev. Robert Paul, pastor of Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 19.“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.” Jonathan and Michal both prove their love for David in chapter 19 as they risk their own lives to save his. Even as they do so however, they do not dishonor their king and father. They continue to show him respect, and in fact, they honor their father even as they steer him away from committing murder. They navigate their vocations amidst trying circumstances, and they with David prefigure the Lord Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for the ones He loved. Despite Saul’s ruthlessness, his actions cannot help but give glory to God and further the success of His Messiah.

Rev. Waldemar Vinovskis, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Macungie, Pennsylvania, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 18.“Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David.” Idol worship? Man crush? Not here. In chapter 18 Jonathan, prince of Israel, takes David under his wing and pledges his royal protection. Unlike mutual contracts of modern times, ancient covenants were more about superiors claiming a subordinate, who would then pledge their allegiance. Jonathan (“YHWH-given”) symbolized how David’s kingship came directly from heaven and not from Saul, and he prefigures Christ who makes us “more than conquerors” or kings with His white robe of baptism. By nature, David was no better than Saul—neither are we. But by the Spirit, we are like the Messiah, showing kindness even to our enemies.

Rev. Dr. Martin Noland, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in San Mateo, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 17.“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him.” Who doesn’t love the story of David and Goliath? So many children’s Bibles prominently feature this story from 1 Samuel 17, a little clean-shaven shepherd boy defeating the big bearded bully. The thing is, David was not a plucky little boy. He had seen combat and had already served under King Saul for some time, even if he wasn’t a seasoned veteran like his older brothers. The point though is that David sees things differently because “the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon” him. His enemy is called “the Philistine” again and again because He points ahead to God’s ultimate victory in Christ, who will destroy all His enemies “that all the earth may know”—and bow before—the God of Israel.

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 16.“And Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.’ And the LORD said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.” And invite Jesse to the sacrifice.’” Is God telling Samuel to lie? And does God send an evil spirit into Saul in the second half of chapter 16? It’s easy to misunderstand things amidst difficult times and power shifts. We are tempted to rationalize our own grief and outrage to excuse godless behavior, but are we more grieved and outraged at sin than God Himself? The God of love works blessing from all things, even the scariest and most unpleasant. He doesn’t command lies or demon-possession, but rather love’s brave discretion and simple acts of service, even as Christ washed His disciples’ feet and remained silent before His accusers—all out of love for us.

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 57.“My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” David had hoped he’d be safe in the cave from Saul, but his hideout became a lions’ den, a mouth ready to swallow him up. In Psalm 57 David asks that God would show him “grace” and “loyalty,” two things that his own father-in-law now withheld from him. Our nature resents those who don’t hold up their end of the bargain, but faith redirects our gaze to Christ, the ever-constant grace and loyalty of God. “When every earthly prop gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”

Rev. George Murdaugh, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Douglasville, Georgia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 15.“Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.” Chapter 15 pulls no punches. Saul truly was a good king who was filled with God’s Spirit, obeying in piety and humility. But towards the end of his reign, Saul became increasingly insecure about his power and status, and he eventually “feared the people” more than God. Even Moses pridefully struck the rock after 40 years in defense of his own authority—at the expense of God’s name. But God “is not a man, that he should have regret.” He ousts the kings we have asked for, who always disappoint even despite their faith, in order to establish His Christ, who listens to God and gives us more than we ever dared to ask.

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 14.“But he did not tell his father.” Unbeknownst to King Saul, his son Jonathan slips away to the Philistine garrison. But Jonathan, accompanied only by his armor bearer, has a different mindset than the rest of Israel in chapter 14: whether he is called to fight against long odds or to pass on a promising opportunity, he is submissive to YHWH’s will, come what may. Saul however shows how God’s people still at times set their hearts on selfish goals, come what may. But God shows mercy towards Saul through his own son who—as Christ did for our sake—said, “Here I am; I will die.”

Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 13.“The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” This one act of disobedience in chapter 13 forever ends the line of Saul in favor of the House of David. Is this unfair to Saul? Like Adam & Eve in Eden, Moses at Meribah, or Nadab & Abihu in the Tent of Meeting, it rather fits a well-established pattern in Scripture of man’s impatience with God’s Word. It doesn’t make Saul any worse than Moses—even the best of us let our fears and desires get the better of us. Saul’s own reign came about the same way from Israel’s fearful impatience, and their king was like the sharpened plowshares they took into battle, man’s hasty improvisation. Only Christ possesses the patient heart of God, always willing to wait and submit, for our sake and our salvation.

Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Anaheim, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 12.“You shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king.” Saul’s been anointed messiah, proclaimed king, and installed in a grand covenant renewal ceremony. There’s no taking it back, but Samuel in chapter 12 pleads with Israel to admit they were wrong to ask for a king. Why bother? As the 1st Commandment shows, it’s not that anything in God’s creation is evil in itself—not even kingship—but it’s how we get these things. Israel faithlessly feared the Ammonites more than God Himself, so they asked (“Sauled” in Hebrew) for a king instead of listening to God (“Samuel”). But as Christ our king shows us, there is forgiveness even for the sins we can’t take back, and He works good and blessings in our lives even from our failures.