How to See the Hand of God

An exposition of 1 Samuel 23

On April 12th, 1961 the first Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, reportedly radioed from space, “I see no God up here.”

In 1992, astrophysicists launched the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite to verify the Big Bang theory. They did. They proved the universe had a beginning. Stephen Hawking called their findings, “The scientific discovery of the century, if not all time.” It actually isn’t that revolutionary. We already knew from the laws of thermodynamics that the universe had a beginning.

“Cosmologists have long struggled to avoid this bad dream by seeking explanations of the universe that avoid the necessity of a beginning.” — George Smoot

If the universe had a beginning, then something had to begin it; it could not have begun itself; something – or Someone – beyond nature, thus, by definition supernatural, had to create it.

So, the universe is God’s handiwork. In it you see His hand. But still, some would say, ‘Okay, a God made the universe but then left it to operate on its own laws.’ That’s “Deism,” the belief in a creator who does not control the world, who made the world like a clock maker leaves a clock to run on its own. And here’s the real problem with the beliefs of most of the people around us now. The real problem surrounding us, here, is Deism, a God they acknowledge exists but they can’t see His hand in their lives now.

Sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Denton, in a 2005 book, Soul Searching, described the common beliefs of Americans as “Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism.” Most Americans claim to believe in God but when they look at nature or history or their lives, they don’t see His hand in it but see a machine running on its own or luck. If they’re pious, they may want to bring God into the machine, especially in tough times when someone is dying in their family, when they’re sick, they’ve got problems. They like the “Footprints” poem because it describes a therapeutic god who walks with them, helps them out in tough times, but isn’t in control of the tough times. They want a God who respects our free will; that is, who leaves us alone most of the time, after all, ‘we can walk through most of life on our own, thank you very much.’ They might even want to talk to Him regularly but they still don’t see His hand in, under, on everything, guiding it according to His will. The faith of David was very different.

To get cured of moralistic, therapeutic deism, listen to this:

God’s Directing Hand (23:1-14)

God Knows What Will Happen (23:1-5)

David inquires of the Lord. David’s men are beaten down, discouraged losers. So David inquires of the Lord again. They go to Keilah, depending on the directing hand of God and they win. This is their first victory.

God’s Directing Hand in the History of Covenant Reformed Baptist Church

I came to Caswell County seeking to nourish a Biblical, Reformed, healthy church. I was called by congregational vote in February 2007 and ordained in April 2007. The devotees of “the old time religion” resisted reform, especially having regenerate church membership.

In February 2008, they called for a vote on me staying. The vote was framed as either “stay” or “go.” (That is, members, some of whom hadn’t attended church in decades, voted whether I should “stay” or “go.”) “Go,” narrowly won. Most of them who voted for me to stay left the church with me to plant a new church to be committed to being Biblical, Reformed, and healthy. We scheduled the first service on the very next Sunday, the first Sunday in March 2008. Since we were very busy and sermon preparation takes a long time and since preaching on the pastoral letters (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus) is useful for a new church, I decided to preach on 1 Timothy because I already had sermon notes ready from sermons I had prepared a few years earlier. I hadn’t remembered what I had entitled the sermon for 1 Timothy 1. When I opened the file, “1 Timothy 1,” on my computer, I stared wide-eyed, mouth (probably) falling open. It had been entitled “Stay.”

Day one of CRBC, at Caswell County Parks and Rec gym, Mr. Perry in maroon suit, Mary in white sweater, facing away.

Can you see the hand of God in that?

Originally, we were based in Yanceyville, North Carolina. Our focus was very much Yanceyville and its surrounding county. We were meeting at the Caswell County Parks and Rec gym. But as we were looking for a permanent building, the gym in Providence, on the border with Danville, Virginia, was available.

Our first inspection of the Providence Gym, a mess.

Mary and I went on a Baptist church planters retreat, about November, on the coast, ironically called “Caswell Beach.” There I was considering about whether we should move there. When the church had a meeting, everyone was in favor. We were seeking God’s directing hand. It crystalized in my mind that yes, we should. But we were just getting started to be supported by a Baptist denomination with $1,200 a month, for two years. (It’s an unusual number. Why not an even $1,000 or, better, round up. But it was $1,200.) They eventually told us, on a Friday, that they wanted us in Yanceyville and if we move to this building, they will cut the $1,200 per month. I still thought we were being led here but that threat gave me second thoughts. The next morning, Saturday, I get up and check my email and there’s a message from a friend of Mary’s, originally from Singapore but now lives in Houston, Texas, saying that he was wiring to the church a gift of . . . guess how much?

Mary’s friend, Lam, who sent the email and gave the money, on the far right.

$1,200. I looked at that, blinked, then shouted upstairs to Mary, still in bed, ‘Mary! Did you tell him about the $1,200?’ No. He knew nothing about it. The Lord led him to give us exactly $1,200 at exactly the time we were having exactly that amount taken from us. And, in case you think, but that’s just for one month, later others gave us more than enough to make up for what we lost by moving here. Can you see the Lord’s directly hand?

God Knows What Could Happen (23:6-14)

God knows hypotheticals, counter-factuals, contingencies, how people will react and things will change if something happens. What if France had become Reformed, which almost happened? There would have been no St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre, on August 24, 1572 when about 10,000 or more Reformed believers were killed. There probably would have been no French Revolution or Napoleon, or, perhaps, no Hitler, since Germany would have been different. What if the USA hadn’t developed the atomic bomb when it did? How much longer would World War II have lasted and how many more would have died? It’s all speculation because we don’t know how people would have reacted under different circumstances.

“Open theism” – I prefer to call it “mini-theism” – says that God can’t know contingent events because if He does, then they aren’t open to change. If God knows the future, then the future can’t change and so people’s choices are already set. But they say people must have free will and be able to change their will. So, if the USA doesn’t have the atomic bomb, God is like us and can’t know if the Japanese will actually ever really surrender or the Soviet Union will take advantage of the USA being stuck in a bloody war in Japan to take over the rest of Europe and Asia. He can guess and listen but He can’t know what they will definitely do under different circumstances because people have to be free. But we see here that God does know. In the Bible, God has to be sovereign and almighty.

God knows exactly what, first, Saul will do and, then, the people of Keilah will do if David and his men stay. God knows how things will change and what people will do if circumstances change.

For more on God’s directing hand, click on the YouTube video above.

God’s Strengthening Hand (23:15-24)

Jonathan strengthened David’s hand in God. He reassured David of God’s promises. They covenanted together. This is church. You see the enemies of God out to get you. You need to have your hand strengthened in God, with God’s promises, by God’s people. That’s what we’re doing now. And we covenant together, to keep doing that. You need to be part of a body to which you are covenanted, that will strengthen your hand in God when all you can see outside are enemies.

“Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” — John Owen

For more on God’s strengthening hand, click on the YouTube video above.

God’s Providential Hand (23:24-29)

It looks like Saul is about to capture David; that finally his “luck” has run out. But, there’s no such thing as luck. All those people going to the casino are hoping for good luck. But there is no such thing as luck. When you gamble, you’re asking God if He wants to take your money away from you and, it turns out, when you gamble, most of the time He does!

“Luck is what people see when they don’t see the hand of God.”

Providence is the doctrine that God controls all natural things. God is the ultimate cause of all things. He causes the roll of the dice, the dealing of the cards, the spin of the wheel, the result of slot machine. It’s not luck. That you’ll usually lose, tells you to stop trying it.

It looks like Saul is prepared. He’s had his spies, the local people, scout out where David is. He’s prepared for David being cunning and hiding in “lurking places.” Now he has the opportunity. He’s on the same hill, with only a ridge of rocks in between them. Saul is not relying on luck but on preparation and opportunity. Ah, but he doesn’t have the hand of God working for him, what in theology is called “providence.” Saul is on the verge of catching David and his men when, suddenly, a messenger comes with urgent news of a Philistine attack. David can see the hand of God in Saul being taken away by his duties and so names the place “the Rock of Escape.”

For more on God’s providential hand, click on the YouTube video above.

When the Son of David was betrayed, arrested, put through show trials, and finally crucified; then the apostles prayed, in Acts 4:28, that all that happened “to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.” The Son of David does not escape the cross, but then escapes the tomb, because of God’s hand; to save His people chosen before the foundation of the world. Your salvation was never left up to luck or to your own preparation or opportunities. It’s from the hand of God. For that, we can be grateful.

For an exposition of 1 Samuel 23, click on the YouTube video above.

Covenant Reformed Baptist Church is Caswell County & Danville’s Reformed Church.