1 Samuel 31:2 (KJV) Good Men Die

1 Samuel 31:2 (KJV)

And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.

It is one of the most tragic episodes in the Bible, I think, that Jonathan died alongside his father. He was as good a man as we see anywhere in the Word of God—perhaps among the finest men in history. Jonathan’s faith, bravery, and friendship with David all reflect a character rare indeed among men.

Yet he died alongside his father.

Good men die.

This is no poor reflection on God. I believe it reflects, rather, a misunderstanding of life and death. While long life is presented in the Word of God as a reward, the greatest reward is eternity. I do not believe Jonathan missed out by entering eternity with God. I do not believe any good man—if he is a Christian—misses out by dying early and entering into eternity with God.

Jonathan died because he remained with his father.

Nowhere do I see that the Bible advises him one way or the other in this matter. Scripture does indicate that he had no intention of assuming the throne after Saul. He knew that it belonged to David. Had he left his father’s side and joined David, he would not have died in this battle, at least. On the other hand, by remaining with his father, he may have delayed attacks against David or possibly warned him of some of the more dangerous threats.

Jonathan’s legacy lives on.

David never forgot Jonathan. He always loved him and looked for opportunities to be a blessing to Jonathan’s offspring. Jonathan is presented in the eternal Word of God as a man of impeccable character. There is no shame here.

I wish he had not died in this fashion—but we all die. Jonathan died honoring his father and respecting the will of God.

#Jonathan #FaithfulUntoDeath #GoodMenDie #EternalPerspective #HonoringGod

Good Men Die: The Tragic but Honorable End of Jonathan

Looking for clear Bible answers in a confusing world? 📖

The story of Jonathan reminds us that faithfulness to God matters more than length of days, and eternity outweighs the moment of death. Scripture never hides hard truths—yet it always points us to hope beyond the grave.

👉 What do you believe Jonathan’s death teaches us about loyalty, obedience, and eternity?

I’d love to hear your thoughts—share them in the comments below ⬇️

If you’re searching for biblical clarity, sound doctrine, and timeless truth, visit marvinmckenzie.org for more Bible teaching, studies, and encouragement. ✝️📘

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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1 Samuel 31:2 (KJV) Good Men Die

1 Samuel 30:24 (KJV) When Faithful Men Disagree

1 Samuel 30:24 (KJV) 

For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.

David’s followers had grown. What once was a small band had become more than 400 men. Of the 600 who were able to follow him to battle—besides women and children—David arrived at Ziklag to find the city burned and all the women and children taken. The next step might seem obvious: chase after them.

What is impressive—yes, even convicting—is that while the men were weeping and complaining against David, he encouraged himself in the LORD and then sought God’s direction: “Shall I pursue after this troop?”

Having received an affirmative answer from the Lord and successfully overtaking the enemy, David returned to the brook Besor. There, 200 of his men—so faint they were unable to continue—had been left behind to guard the “stuff.” Free from these added burdens, the remaining 400 were able to pursue more quickly.

However, some of those 400 did not want to share the spoil with the 200 who stayed behind. Considering the number of towns David later sent gifts to, there must have been a great deal of spoil.

Concerning the wicked men in David’s camp, Robert Hawker writes:

“David’s army, though but small, yet had wicked men in the party. It was so from the beginning, and will be so during the continuance of the world. Noah had a Ham in the ark, and the Lord Jesus a Judas among his disciples. The Lord hath shown us that there will be tares among the wheat, and both must grow together until the harvest.”

David’s response to them was simple: “Who will hearken unto you in this matter?”

In other words, “We are not listening to wicked advice.”

It does not matter how good a church may be, or how many wonderful things have been done—every church will have people who want to do wicked, selfish, mean-spirited, unchristian things.

A wise pastor—and his best people—refuse to listen to them.

#ServeTogether #PartAlike #EncouragedInTheLord #ChurchUnity #BiblicalLeadership

When Faithful Men Disagree: David’s Wise Answer to Wicked Counsel

Looking for clear Bible answers in a confusing world? 📖

God’s Word still speaks with wisdom, balance, and truth—just as it did in David’s day at the brook Besor. When voices compete for attention, Scripture shows us who to listen to and why it matters.

👉 Read, reflect, and stand on the Word.

👉 Learn how biblical leadership handles conflict, fairness, and unity.

💬 Question for you:

How should a church respond when faithful people disagree—according to the Bible?

Share your thoughts in the comments 👇

🔍 For more plain Bible teaching, biblical answers, and Scripture-based encouragement, visit 👉 marvinmckenzie.org 🌐

Let’s stay anchored in God’s Word together. 🙏

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Samuel 30:24 (KJV) When Faithful Men Disagree

1 Samuel 27:6 (KJV) When Faith Falters but God Doesn’t

1 Samuel 27:6 (KJV)

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

The situation of David going to Achish is a bit confusing. One chapter earlier, he had professed faith that God would deal with Saul in His own time. Yet the first verse of this chapter finds him fleeing to Gath for fear of Saul. It seems like a lapse of faith. We all have them.

On the other hand, I have also wondered if this was not a ploy—a ruse—set up by the Lord, as if David was on a secret mission commissioned by God. Certainly, what transpired appears to support that thought. While in Gath, David and his men carried out several successful missions against the surrounding cities.

And then there is Ziklag. David asked for a place to dwell that would not be a “burden” to the royal city. The small town Achish gave him was Ziklag. Mind you, giving a town meant more than merely handing over buildings—there were people there.

• Did Achish order all the inhabitants to move?
• Did David enter the town and force the people to flee?

As it turns out, Ziklag was a city near the border of Judah that had originally belonged to Judah. It had been captured by Achish and the Philistines. By divine order, God restored this city to Judah through David’s mission into Gath. It remained a city of Judah thereafter.

God moved in the details, even while David fled from Saul.

#GodInTheDetails #ZiklagRestored #FaithInTheFog #DivineProvidence #GodsHiddenWork

When Faith Falters but God Doesn’t: The Lord in the Details

When the Bible leaves us wondering why God allowed something, the answer is often found in the details He never wastes. 📖✨

David’s time in Ziklag reminds us that even when faith feels shaky, the Lord is still working out His purpose.

Have you ever looked back and seen God moving while you were just trying to survive?

💬 What detail did God use in your life that you didn’t understand at the time? Share in the comments.

If you’re searching for clear Bible answers, practical Scripture teaching, and encouragement rooted in God’s Word, visit 👉 marvinmckenzie.org

📘🔍 Truth still matters. God is still at work.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Samuel 27:6 (KJV) When Faith Falters but God Doesn’t

1 Samuel 26:25 (KJV) Blessed Words, Separate Ways

                                            

1 Samuel 26:25 (KJV) 

Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

I read Robert Hawker’s comments on this passage, where he writes, “May we not, without violence to the subject, behold in the unremitting persecution of David by Saul something more than the mere jealousies of nature in the envy of Saul to David, respecting his succession in the kingdom? Are there not traces to be seen of the still greater envy arising in the mind of the unregenerate, in the view of the Lord’s favour towards His people in a spiritual kingdom? Alas! what bitterness do the children of the wicked one manifest toward the children of the kingdom! Like the corrupt stock from which they shoot, their very vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah.”

  I note that while David did Saul no evil, and for the moment Saul seemed to be at peace with David, David still did not reunite with him.

The children of this world seem to go through periods of ease with our faith, as we have seen for more than two hundred years in the United States, and as there was in England after the Acts of Toleration. But the child of God is foolish to believe that such periods are either sincere or long-lived.

David was wise to go on his way and let Saul return to his place. His blessing meant little more than a moment to breathe before the next bout in the battle between good and evil. The accolades of the world toward our faith can become the very snare that sets us in their trap.

We have a place of our own. We do not belong in the courts of the kings of this world.

Soon enough our Lord will call for us. Be content to do your business and await that call.

#1Samuel26 #WalkYourOwnWay #FaithNotFlattery #PilgrimPeople #GoodAndEvil

Blessed Words, Separate Ways:Wisdom Walks Away

Looking for clear Bible answers in a confusing world? 📖

1 Samuel 26:25 reminds us that not every kind word means lasting peace—and not every door that opens should be entered.

👉 Have you ever faced a moment when walking away was the wisest, most biblical choice?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

If you’re searching for sound Scripture, careful Bible study, and practical Christian insight, visit marvinmckenzie.org and explore more resources rooted in God’s Word. ✝️📘

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Samuel 26:25 (KJV) Blessed Words, Separate Ways

1 Samuel 25:16 (KJV) By Night and By Day

1 Samuel 25:16 (KJV) 

They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

I see this passage as an example of the ministry of encouragement I hope to have in these years of my life: “They were a wall unto us… all the while we were with them…”

I understand that there are aspects of the passage that did not work out as intended. I expect that will be the case in my ministry of encouragement as well. But the intent was there, and there were those who recognized the value.

They were a wall unto them.

• They protected them day and night from whatever trouble might come.
• They protected their possessions so that nothing was missing, “all the while we were with them.”

Neither did they take anything from them, nor did they allow anyone else to do so.

David intended to greet Nabal. 

It did not work out so well, but still he desired to be an encouragement and a friend.

I have already discovered that some pastors who do not know me have been a bit suspicious of me. I understand that. They do not know whether I have come to encourage or to criticize. Lord knows there are plenty of critics in our world.

Here is what I hope to do as an ambassador of encouragement:

• I hope to greet those preachers I have contact with—especially if I hear that they are distressed or discouraged in some way.
• I hope to take nothing from them. My goal is for whatever ministry I am able to offer to be self-supported, so that I am not an expense to those who could use encouragement.
• I hope to be a wall unto them while I am with them. I cannot protect them from thieves, but perhaps I can prevent them from being robbed of joy, courage, faith, and the awareness of the Lord’s presence.

These men were a “wall unto them” in the name of David. 

I want to be a wall unto those I minister to in the name of the Lord and as a representative of Liberty Baptist Church, where I am a member.

#WallUntoUs #MinistryOfEncouragement #StrengthenTheBrethren #FaithfulPresence #PastorsNeedEncouragement

By Night and By Day: A Ministry of Encouragement

Looking for Bible answers on how to encourage others without criticizing or controlling?

📖 “They were a wall unto us… all the while we were with them.” (1 Samuel 25:16, KJV)

God still uses faithful believers to protect joy, strengthen courage, and steady hearts—especially those serving Him in hard places. Sometimes the greatest ministry isn’t loud leadership, but quiet presence.

💬 Question for you:

Who has been a “wall unto you” during a difficult season—or who might God be calling you to encourage right now? Share in the comments.

👉 For more clear Bible teaching, pastoral encouragement, and practical Scripture truths, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

🛡️📖🙏

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Samuel 25:16 (KJV) By Night and By Day