Eyes of Faith
There are many things in the bible that we cannot spiritually see or comprehend. This will probably always be the case. Below is an interpretation that simply strengthened my own belief that the bible is the inspired word of God and that its absolute authority cannot be disputed by man’s understanding.
Now the Philistines fought against
The above text clearly states that Saul requested for his armour-bearer to kill him but that his armour-bearer would not. As a result, Saul took a sword and fell upon it and died.
Let’s take a look at this next text.
Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David
was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites,
and David had abode two days in Ziklag; It came even
to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul
with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to
David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. And David said unto him, From
whence comest thou?
And he said unto him, Out of the camp of
Wow. Looks like we have a major problem? This text says that this young Amalekite slew Saul, but in the first text it says that Saul fell upon his own sword. Both could not have happened so what is the answer? Well, the answer is in the text.
The first text tells that Saul was wounded in battle and as a result, he asked his armour-bearer to kill him. His armour-bearer refused so Saul consequently took his own life. This is what the first text says.
The second text tells that a man came to David and told him a story about coming upon Saul wounded on the battlefield, and how that after Saul requested for the man to kill him, that the man, knowing that Saul could not recover from his wounds, consented and slew Saul. This is what the second text says.
The answer is clear. The man in the second text is lying. The scripture is true and does not contradict itself. A young Amalekite did come to David and did tell him a story about how he found Saul wounded and then decided to put him out of his misery, and this is all the text is saying, that a man came to David with this story. It never said whether or not the story was true. But we know from the first text that the text itself states that Saul killed himself, and not a man’s conceived story, but this is how it happened. So, by default, this must mean that the man who came to David was simply lying because he was hoping for some reward (2 Samuel 4:10). The text itself never specifically tells us that he is lying. If you re-read and re-read the text carefully then this fact cannot be debated. The Holy Spirit in both texts simply states what happened (interprets the facts), after close review it is up to the reader to understand that the second man must be lying. One more question… Why would God presumably allow the scriptures to cause confusion? Why would God presumably hide information within the text?
Proverbs 25:2, 3:32
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.
For the forward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.
By understanding how God has written the Bible, we will inadvertently understand more regarding the personality and intentions of God. One thing I learned a long time ago is when you read a book you not only know what the book says, but perhaps more importantly, you also know what the book doesn’t say. I have found this very true with the Bible itself. I cannot always remember what the Bible says, but I can almost always remember what it doesn’t say. We need to read differently. It is only through the “eyes of faith” that we will learn how to search out what God has concealed.