Today’s Devotion
Topic: Sela Hammahlekoth!
Text: Psalm 121: 7
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. Amen
Today, we bring you the concluding part of our discussion on king Saul and his pursuit of David.
We can already recall how determined Saul has been in catching the young man David, except that God had not allowed him (Saul) to lay hands on David. At a point, Saul became tired of searching in vain for David unless he was absolutely sure of the intelligence his men have gathered regarding him; and it looks like this time they were right.
Now, David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.
Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. Just as Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.”
Saul then broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. And the place became known as Sela Hammahlekoth which translates as ROCK OF PARTING. From there, David went and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi. (1 Sam 23: 24- 29).
Beloved, it happens sometimes that you who had always been so hidden by God from the pursuits of the enemy, suddenly becomes exposed and quite vulnerable to being captured by no fault of yours.
Yes it is not your fault at all. God allows this to happen to test your faith. He does so to let us know how vulnerable we could be, but for His gracious protection. Otherwise, we will take it for granted and, at worse, think ourselves smart enough to unravel the intelligence of the evil one.
So here David was, very close to being captured. Then Jehovah works out a wonderful plan for David’s deliverance. It was no sophisticated strategy; a messenger brought news about a Philistine raid that made Saul break the chase.
The strategy worked effectively because Saul had a mandate to protect God’s people, not to pursue David. He had to respond to that message. Secondly, his throne, wife, children and property were in the land that was being raided. The stakes were too high; he had to cut the chase.
Beloved, God just knows how to keep you from harm even when evil appears too close for comfort. Just “when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59: 19). Begin to pray now, get rid of all the fear that makes you want to give up the fight in prayer and be captured by the evil one. That surrender can cost you everything. Hold on to the Word of God and unto prayer.
The Lord has a simple strategy in mind for your rescue; ONE THAT WILL SEND THE ENEMY PARKING OUT ON HIS OWN. The stakes will be too high for him to resist. That will be your Sela Hammahlekoth; the place where you part with all who chase your life. They have failed and will fail again. The Lord preserves your soul.
