Born To Win Podcast - With Ronald L. Dart

Sometimes, there is no explaining love. It just is. The love of God for King David of Israel knew no bounds, and that love persisted through some terrible times and some terrible acts on David’s part. Maybe, in a vague sort of way, it can be explained by the fact that David himself was a man of great emotion; he was himself a man of love. I think that may explain his bonding with Jonathan, son of Saul. It may explain David’s love for King Saul that transcended every evil thing Saul tried to do to him. And it may explain, in some small way, his love for his son Absalom. Oh yes, I know that Fathers love their sons, but the love of David for Absalom is a little harder to explain. And it is a good example of what I said: Sometimes there is no explaining love. It just is.Absalom was an altogether beautiful man. To call him handsome wouldn’t quite reach it. He was a determined man as well. When his step-brother raped his sister, it took two years, but finally Absalom took his revenge by killing Am

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Early in World War II, there were those who believed they had seen unmistakable signs that we had entered the time of the end. They could point to specific items in prophecy and the movement of nations that made it appear so; and the argument that we were entering the very last crisis in the age of Man was very strong. But it was wrong.In first-century Judea, when Jerusalem was actually encompassed about with armies, the Temple fell; and the church of that era would have been as convinced as anyone could ever be that they had entered the time of the end. But they were wrong. They couldn't know that. They could see many signs and warnings that they should heed, but there was no way to know whether they were at the time of the end. And, as we now know, they were not.In fact, when you get it in perspective, we today have seen very little to tell us anything. We have seen one terrorist act (a big one, to be sure) but since then we have seen nothing but talk. From this talk, some have concluded we have entered the

I don't know if the events of the last two weeks are a harbinger of the last days, or if they are a chastisement from God to give us a time to repent and turn our lives around. I don't know the answer to that; only time will tell. If God really meant for us to know, he'd have told us. I've learned something, though, over the years: that the reading of the Bible conveys a great advantage to men and women who attend to its words. It makes a difference in people's lives.You do realize, don't you, that every one of the founders of this country were readers of the Bible? They were men who took the Bible seriously; and who, in the founding document of this country said, We hold these truths to be self-evident... (We think everyone knows this.) ...that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights: Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The knowledge, the awareness of the Creator was important to them; and it's upon the foundation of that statement that this nation, with al

It is hard to think of a family situation worse than one created by a man named Amnon, the son of David. It was event of sexual violence, ultimately leading to bloodshed. But considering what David had done with Bathsheba, and the wretched example it set, it is just as hard to think this event was not connected, somehow. But there is a lesson or two to be learned here.The first is that the biblical account says that Amnon loved Tamar—his half-sister. I’m afraid the Bible here uses the word love in broadest possible sense. Because his behavior in this case was nothing at all like true love. He was a completely self-centered, self-indulgent, weak young man—spoiled rotten, no doubt, as is too often the case with royalty—and he had the presumption of royalty, perverted by his father’s own example. I can’t help pondering what young people can learn from this incident.Under a pretext, Amnon managed to get the girl alone. The ensuing dialogue showed that she did not consider him r

It is always painful to see a good man fall. And in the affair of David and Bathsheba, that is pretty much what happened. It happened to a good woman at the same time. Who knows, maybe this was somewhere in the back of King Solomon’s mind when he wrote:Dead flies cause the ointment of the perfumer to send forth a foul odor: so does a little folly to him that is respected for wisdom and honor.Ecclesiastes 10:1 KJ2000And he had a classic example in his own mother and father. This affair is loaded with lessons to be learned and questions to be answered. Someone said, Power corrupts. At the time this happened, David was at the peak of his power, his influence, and his popularity. There seems to be a sense of invincibility that comes over powerful men at times. They come to think they are above the law—that they can get away with things ordinary men can’t. After all, they are not ordinary.But in David’s case, this is singularly stupid. He had a covey of wives. And if they had not been enoug

And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.2 Samuel 10:1–2 KJ2000Here is the picture: the king of Ammon dies and David sends mourners on a state visit, for a state funeral. Unfortunately, the king’s son was an idiot. Israel had good relations with Ammon up to this point, but this young man and his companions decided to exert themselves. Normally, the servants of David would have diplomatic immunity (just as in the modern world). But when they arrived:3 [T]he princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Think you that David does honor your father, that he has sent comforters unto you? Has not David rather sent his servants unto you, to search the city, and to spy

It isn’t always easy to understand why God does some of the things he does. It isn’t always certain, even, that God does everything attributed to him. In our generation, for example, we use the expression, an act of God, for all kinds of things I really don’t think God is directly involved in. An earthquake, for example—insurance people would call that an act of God. And in the broad sense that God is creator of all things, and therefore everything that happens in nature is an act of God, even when God is not the proximate cause of the event, I guess we could call it that. In other words, a great tsunami is a result of the properties of matter. Since God created the matter, I guess we could say that the tsunami is an act of God…but it’s not a deliberate attack on some group of people. So an act of God can be an idiom, not a literal attribution.There was an incident early in the reign of David where I can’t help wondering exactly what it was that went wrong. I’m

When I study the prophets, I am looking for God. I’m not looking for an outline of what’s going to happen tomorrow or the events of the next few years. What I want to know is: What does God have to say, what does it mean, and how might it affect my life? Because God doesn’t change, if God came down on an ancient people because they behaved a certain way, I figure if I behave the same way that same God is liable to come down on me.God doesn’t often speak to man, and when he does it pays to listen very carefully. And just because events were long ago doesn’t mean you and I can afford to ignore them. Now, I can throw out all the old clichés about history repeating itself, but in truth it comes down to this one simple fact: human nature doesn’t change and neither does God. If God has responded to human actions in the past, he is likely to respond the same way in the future. Which is why he said this to Isaiah:Produce your case, says the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, sa

It is fascinating, when you’re reading history, to see how much people are the same—in every age and every time. Cultures change, standards change, technology changes, but human nature—at its base—changes very little, if at all. Petty politics, palace intrigue, deal making, trivial and great jealousies: They make us feel right at home even in strange times and places. It is one of the reasons Shakespeare remains so relevant. His plots have been stolen over and over again by playwrights and movie-makers. (When Solomon said, There is nothing new under the sun, he could have been talking about Hollywood.) For all I know, Shakespeare stole some of his stuff from the Bible.But when you read along in the history of Israel, you feel right at home, even in these days of modern, political assassination. When Saul died in battle against the Philistines, anyone reading the story, or even remotely familiar with subsequent history, would have assumed that David would have assumed the throne over al

War makes strange bedfellows sometimes. It’s possible that David might well have been an ally of the Philistines when they went to war against Israel and Saul. It’s hard to imagine David at war with Israel, but it was on its way to happening…except for one thing—the lords of the Philistines didn’t trust him and wouldn’t bring him into combat. After all, David had killed more than a few Philistines in his time, and they just didn’t much like the man. But bad things were going on while David was gone.He had been given a town called Ziklag, where all his camp followers were. When David’s men returned after their exclusion from the Philistine war party, they found that the Amalekites—those dread Amalekites that should have been killed off a long time ago, but weren’t—had come to Ziklag before them.And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Zik

The long pursuit of David by King Saul, would make for a great movie. It has all the elements. Danger, treachery, romance, suspense, the chase. And the characters are all fascinating and any actor would love the roles. There was King Saul, who was a depressive paranoid, and yet a big handsome fellow; David, of course, red-headed, small, good looking, and very well built; Abigail, the intelligent, beautiful woman who became his second wife; Nabal, her brutish husband who died; Doeg the snitch; the Ziphites who ratted David out to Saul…twice.No producer could ask for a better story. And there is more to come. I feel quite sure the story has been transposed into other times, places and characters, because it is so human. It was not easy for David to stay hidden from Saul, because every time he showed himself anywhere, and he had to do so to get supplies, he was seen by a friend or an enemy. Not very many were neutral, and even without cell phones, word traveled fast. And so the Ziphites ratted David out t

And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.1 Samuel 24:1–3 AKJVAs Saul approached the cave:[…T]he men of David said to him, Behold the day of which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it shall seem good to you. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privately.1 Samuel 24:4 AKJVDavid could easily have struck Saul down at that moment. But he simply cut of the hem of Saul’s robe.And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. And he said to his men, The Lord forbid that

In the pages of your Bible, you may find something mildly surprising. You find holidays, quite prominently, and in both Testaments. Not only that, but they are found observed by the Church in the New Testament. These festivals are called the appointed times of Jehovah and around them flow the entire history of the people of God—from the Israelites, to the Jews, to the Christians of every race and nation. And not only the history of God’s people, but their future as well.I first began celebrating the festivals of the Bible nearly 50 years ago, but I can’t say that I really understood them in the beginning. What I did was to follow the old rule: When all else fails, do as you’re told. So, since God said to do it, and all I had to do was take off work and go to church, I thought, Let’s do that. That was a simple first step. And because it was the custom to teach and study the meaning of the days in their seasons, year by year I learned the rich history of God’s dealings with his people, especially at those pivot

After the win over Goliath, David went on to show himself a true fighting man. He apparently fought without fear, believing with all his heart that he was in the right and that God would fight alongside him. He chalked up some great victories, and the people loved him and honored him to such an extent that it generated great jealousy on the part of King Saul. Saul had promised his daughter’s hand to the man who slew Goliath. Knowing this, wheels began to turn in the king’s mind, that he might find a way he might be rid of David.And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David a second time, you shall this day be my son-in-law. And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Talk with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you: now therefore be the king’s s

One of the truly great ironies of the Bible followed on the heels of the failure of Israel’s first king: Saul, the son of Kish. From the moment of Saul’s rejection by God and the anointing of David as King in his place, the Spirit of God departed from Saul and went to David. The result for Saul was tragic. Because in the beginning, God gave him every chance. He had all the physical assets of a king and, in addition, God gave Saul his spirit and changed him into another man. He was converted. Then, when he disobeyed, he lost it all. Samuel told him flatly:And Samuel said, has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.1 Samuel 15:22–23 KJ2000Later, When Samuel was sent to find another k

The first king of Israel was exactly what the people envisioned for a king—tall, handsome, athletic. And God gave him the gifts he would need as king. He had a chance to become great and to have his dynasty established forever. It was a real chance, too—not something extended and then taken away. But it was as true then as it is today that power corrupts, and early on Saul displayed an impulsiveness and a headstrong approach that nearly led him to kill his own son.The first thing he did wrong was to assume the office of priest when Samuel was later than Saul thought he ought to be. And then (trying to be religious, I suppose) on the day of a major battle with the Philistines, he commanded that everyone fast. His son did not hear his father’s command and ate some honey. Only then did someone tell him what his father had commanded.Then answered one of the people, and said, your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eats any food this day. And the peopl

The decision by Israel to change their government from a theocracy to a monarchy was a disastrous decision. It was surely not God’s will for them, because they had lived in freedom for so long. But freedom includes heavy burdens for a people, and they just got tired. Sadly, I see signs of the same fatigue among our own people today. But the fact that the decision was not God’s will for them, he cannot be accused of giving them an inferior king.The kings in those days had to lead people into battle, and the first king of Israel was well endowed for that. He was head and shoulders taller than any other man. He was handsome and possessed of the necessary charisma to lead. He was humble—that is to say, he was little in his own eyes. And God changed him into another man by filling him with the Spirit. It was not long before Saul’s leadership and his resolve were tested. Terrorism is not new to the Middle East, and what is threatened here is terrorism of the worst sort.1 Then Nahash the Ammo