Mine Eye . . .

And David went up from thence, and dwelt in the strongholds at Engedi. 1 Samuel 23:29

I opened my Bible with anticipation. Intent on following the discourse that had caught my eye the final few moments of my wakefulness the night before, my mind raced to recall the address of the portion of Scripture I had read. As my brain whirred and clicked, my eyes fell on the page my Bible had opened to. The incident where David cuts off a portion of Saul's skirt.

Engedi.

The name jumped out at me, and a flood of memories began pouring out of a little cubby h*** of my mind's eye. I clocked through a series of events that occured at a traditional church I attended. Key players' faces were suddenly before me in technicolor. In an instant, I understood. Then, I felt compasion.

Then, companionship.
Then, commraderie.

"So that was it . . ." I thought to myself. I read again the exchange between David and Saul.

I began to be very impressed of David in this exchange, in terms of his reflection of the heart of Jesus.

I say unto you, resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:39

Had this not been the manner in which Jesus walked? The example He set forth?

The parable continued to unfold. Saul, once God's anointed, now railed against that which the Lord had sent to bring victory [David's slaying of the enemy of Israel: Goliath]; and refreshing [David ministered to Saul in muse].

I pondered more. Jesus came to bring victory and times of refreshing to the nation of Israel by ushering in the Kingdom of God. A Kingdom not made by hands. A Kingdom that is not seen by the visible eye. The Saul of Jesus' day had been the religious leaders, bent on killing the One that had been sent.

Jesus resisted not. Just as David had done, Jesus cried out and lamented for the waywardness of His people.

David's upright action mirrored Jesus' righteousness.

Engedi.

My friend had been persued by the clergy with false accusation. Instead of retaliating, he and his family had resisted not. They simply retreated to the wilderness appointed to them, where the Lord's provision would supply them.

Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you. James 5:6

Engedi.

I opened the concordance. To my surprise, after reading through the grammatical definition, I found that Engedi means the eye.

I understood yet further.

The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light. Luke 11:34

David's eye had been single.
Jesus' eye had been single.
My friend's eye had been single.

May my eye be single upon Him.
*********
Father, I would that you grant me singleness of eye, that You would be my focus. You ~ the Light of the world. The Light of Life. Not to me only, Lord, but also to Your Body. May we be full of Your Light, shining brightly in the darkness. May we walk as Jesus' walked.