Food in 1Samuel 10, 17, 30

Could we open our Bible at 1st Samuel chapter 10, please? And I don't even expect I'm going to take all the time till 4.30. Just really got just three brief little thoughts, and I thought they might be appropriate for, as it were, the last session of this conference, apart from the Gospel meeting tonight. 1st Samuel chapter 10, and we'll read in verse 1. Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head, that is, the anointing of Saul, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? When thou art departed from me today, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulcher in the border of Benjamin at Zila, and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found. And lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorrows for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet you three men, going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.

Now let's go over to chapter 17, please. And we'll read in chapter 17, and we'll read in verse 15. But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

And a Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. And Jesse said to David his son, Take now for thy brethren an heaf of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren. And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of the thousands, and look now how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

Now let's go over to chapter 30, verse 11. And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat, and they made him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins.

When he had eaten, his spirit came again to him, for he had eaten no bread, nor drank any water three days and three nights. Now that's all we'd like to read. And like I said, I've just got three really simple little thoughts.

And we know when it comes back to chapter 10, that this is the anointing of Saul as it were to be king over Israel, the leader of king over Israel. And it says that Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head. If we were to look over, I think it is in chapter 16, we would be reminded of the anointing of David as king.

And there it says about Samuel that he took a horn of oil. Now in first thought, I think that's a representative of the characteristics of Samuel's kingdom and David's kingdom. You see with the vial, you know it's a clay vessel, and it could very easily be broken.

And Saul's kingdom was a kingdom of weakness. But when it came to David's kingdom, then it was really a horn of oil, which represents the idea of strength or power. And David's kingdom was a strong kingdom.

And David as it were reigned until his death. So there's a contrast between them. But when Saul was anointed by Samuel, then he was given some instruction and so on, and as he departed, he said, you go by Rachel's sepulcher.

And in other words, that from now on, in your service as it were in leading the people of God, you need to keep one thing in mind. And that is, Saul as it were was there that day, and he was privileged as it were, you might say, because of the death of Rachel. In other words, go by the way of the sepulcher Rachel.

In other words, he would be reminded that he really had life and position because another gave their life as it were, which we've been hearing about that almost exclusively today. And it would relate us to the thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that we have life and we have privilege and position because another was willing to give His life.

So that when I come down as it were to the simple thought that says that not only as we go by the way of Rachel's sepulcher, but you're going to go some place. And when you're to go as it were, that it says at the bottom in verse 3, is it? Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shalt meet the three men going up to Bethel, going up to God to Bethel. So here's the simple thought.

When he would meet these three men, and he tells them what they'd have, the different things, the loaves of bread and so on, and that they're going up to God to Bethel, as it were the first thing as it were they were going to have something for God, fun speaking as it were, for God. And it says going up to God to Bethel. How often, how often, and there'll be no point in me pointing my finger at anyone because I'd have to admit that I've been guilty of it many times over the 50 years about since I've been in the assembly fellowship.

How often I went up to Bethel, I'd have to admit that I didn't really go up to God. In other words, I didn't have thy thoughts as it were centered on the person, and I was more interested, you might say, not as it were particularly or personally, but what it really amounted to, I was going through a formality, and I was missing the reality. So the reality was this, that they were going up to God, and they were going up to God to Bethel, and they were going to bring something up for God.

And really that's what God expected, didn't He? Didn't He tell His people of old that they were to come with their baskets full? So really when we come, and really when we come to remember the Lord, you'd have to, I think, agree with us, it's the one time when we come together that we have the privilege to, you might say exclusively, to offer to God. You know, it's not a prayer meeting where we request things. Sure, we close in prayer and so on.

But our objective is to come as it were to offer something to God. And in simplicity, we worship the Father through the Son. And in presenting the Son before the Father, it is aware that it fills the Father's heart with delight.

So it's in a very simple sense. They had something for God. Now really, that's first, you see.

Because that's worship. And I know that we believe this, and you've probably heard it, but I really haven't heard it specifically for a long time. And I can remember the first day when I was talking to a brother, and I interviewed him there, and there were certain things he said, you know, it just seemed like when I was first saved, they just hammered it right into us.

Well, I can agree with him. When I was first saved, and I was as ignorant as Patty's pig, I knew nothing, but they hammered these things into us. And I am glad they did.

For one reason, especially. I don't know if he ever had discouragement. And you remember that the Lord challenged the disciples, and He said many of His disciples went away, and they followed Him no more than the Lord said to His disciples.

And so when He said, what are you going to go to? And Peter said, where am I going to go? For that was the words of eternal life. You see, when we get to the top, where are we going to go? And I hope we can get a hold of the idea that really when we were brought into the assembly fellowship that was God's assembly, and we are linked with the highest, with the head over all things. So we've got a high purpose.

Go over to 2 Sam chapter 17. Now, I'm not going to go through, and actually I'm taking longer than I thought, so I better get going here. I'm not going to give you the background, but I'll give you a couple of little thoughts.

And if you read through the Gospel of John, I think it's something like 42 times, you'll get the thought or the expression that He was sent of the Father. Now, when David went down as it were to the valley of Elah, he was sent of his father. He didn't take it on himself, he was sent of the father.

So he was in obedience to the father. And when he was sent down there, he was sent by the father. And you remember his brother, he kind of mocked him, and David said it was not a cause.

You know, he was just jealous really is what he really would say. So that when he came down there, he not only was sent of his father, but he did something else. Back a little farther, we'd get a little more detail.

But it says he left those sheep with a keeper. Remember his brother said to him, what did you do with it? Who's looking after those few sheep? Well, you see, to the brother, a few sheep was not of much account. But what was David's response? David said, I left my father's sheep with a keeper.

It was his father's sheep. Not just a few sheep. And so he was sent down there to his brethren as it were.

And he gave them these loaves of bread and ten cheeses and so on because they needed a nourishment. Thank God in the assembly. And the brother made a statement.

I don't know if it was in the meeting or out in the hallway. I think it was in the meeting. It might have been even Larry.

He said he learned more and I forget just exactly how long he said when he came near the assembly than he did in 30 years of their life speaking about a woman. Well, I've often said this. The first time I heard the Gospel, the brother asked me to read a verse John 3 and 3. And I can honestly tell you in about two seconds that it took to read it and he asked me a question.

When I thought about it, in a few seconds I can honestly say I learned more in those 30 seconds than I did 30 years of my life about the truth of salvation and so on. I didn't even know the word said today. But see in the assembly there's food for what? There's food for the brethren.

The father sent the son down with food for his brethren. Now you probably have thought about what the last one is. It's very simple.

You remember that David when they returned to Ziklag, was it? The Amalekites had come and they carried everything away. And I guess I got the wrong book there. And they carried everything away and they were about to stone David and they didn't know what.

And it says that David strengthened himself in the Lord. And they began to pursue the Amalekites. And they came upon an Egyptian.

And the founder of the Egyptians, which was a servant of Amalekites, and he was left there and he was sick. Just left there and couldn't get used to me so he left him there. And so the natural thing was, well, you know like that soldier, that's charged with, the Canadian soldier is charged with shooting one of the enemy over in Afghanistan which was fatally wounded already.

Well, that would have been the attitude. Well, why don't we just finish while I'm doing that. What does David say? And David gave him bread and he did eat.

And he gave him a drink of water. And it revived him. And I don't doubt, I don't really know, but I don't doubt that that man became a faithful servant of David from then on.

But he led David as where the women and the children and everything had been carried away and they recovered all. But you know the point I'm getting at is this. There was not only something as it were for God first.

There was something for the people of God with David. Here's something for the sinner. And every assembly has something for the sinner.

And I hope we don't lose the sense of the plain, clear, simple gospel. I know of a place where we went to meeting we went to church, I shouldn't say that, but my folks would have gone. Not that regular.

And back in the 30s, you would have heard the gospel preached. Not in the same clarity that you'd hear in the gospel hall. But today, you wouldn't even hear a semblance of the gospel.

And most likely if you tried to preach it, then they'd give you your walking ticket down the road. They have no ear for it, no interest. We don't need that.

But thank God that in the assemblies, because that's really as it were the life link of the assembly. If there's not new and saved as it were at the edge of the company, it's going to cease. There's lots of small assemblies around the country.

So what is needed, and thank God, there is food for the sinner. So may God bless us all.