1 Samuel 19:1-17
It’s
been a couple of months since I’ve had the privilege of teaching on a Sunday
morning, and much has changed in the Rollins household in those short months. For those of you who struggle with math, we
proved that on occasion, one plus one really does equal three when welcomed Elise
Marie into the world late in the evening of December 7th, 2017. Some
of you have been able to meet her, and the rest of you will have a chance as
soon as the flu bug dies back some more.
We praise God for a safe delivery, even though it wasn’t how we planned
it, for a healthy daughter, and for a church family that demonstrated the love
of Christ in so many ways as we adjusted to life as a family of three. I want to publicly thank all of you for the
meals and cards you sent. The meals were
a tremendous blessing as I went back to work very soon after Elise was born.
I
could spend all day talking about Elise, but we’re here for a better reason. Let’s
pray and jump right in.
Lord,
we thank You that You teach us through Your Word. May our hearts be open to listen today, and
may Your truth speak clearly into our lives.
Let’s
start by going back to a couple passages from the last two weeks. Two weeks ago, we saw how the Israelites
literally sang David’s praises in the streets after his victory over Goliath
and the Philistines.
The women sang as they
played, and said, "Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten
thousands." Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him;
and he said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they
have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?" –I
Samuel 18:7-8
When
he heard this, Saul became very angry and jealous. Up to this point, I can’t find that we are
specifically told that he knows that David has been appointed as his
successor. He was just jealous of
David’s success and became fearful that the people would turn against him and
follow after David. He says “What more
can [David] have than the kingdom?” He
has everything else, including the hearts of the people. What else is left for him to win over?
Last
week, we saw that David was more successful on the battlefield than all of
Saul’s commanders.
Then the commanders of
the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out,
that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his
name was highly esteemed. –I Samuel 18:30
Keep
in mind that David was probably no more than 25 years old at this time. We don’t have any way of knowing exactly how
old he was at this time, but we’re fairly sure that David was only about 17 or 18
when he killed Goliath. So here is a
young buck coming up and showing all the old timers how it’s done. And they don’t like it. They’re probably bad mouthing him to Saul,
but the rest of the army loves him.
We’ve
seen time and again that God is with David because David makes it a priority to
seek God. Saul, on the other hand, has
forsaken God and could care less about whether or not God approves of his
actions. With that in mind, let’s move
on to this week’s passage. It starts off
with a very gloomy verse:
Now Saul told Jonathan
his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul's son,
greatly delighted in David. –I Samuel 19:1
Saul
is now so jealous and insecure that all he can think of is ending the “threat”
to his reign. He knows God told him that
He would take the kingdom away, although God hasn’t yet told Saul to whom He
will give the kingdom. But Saul
apparently has decided or suspects that it is going to be this little
whippersnapper David. And Saul isn’t
ready to relinquish his power yet.
Contrast
this with what we’ve seen out of Jonathan so far. Jonathan loves David as much as he loves
himself. He has given David his sword (one of only two in the entire nation) and
princely tunic. Jonathan has basically
relinquished his role of crown prince to David.
What makes the story of Jonathan and David so much more powerful is to
understand a little more about Jonathan and David ages. How many of you think that they were about
the same age? Me too, until I started
looking into this a little more. About 2
years after Saul became king is when Jonathan and his armor bearer attacked the
Philistine garrison. Mosaic Law required
that men be at least 20 to serve in the military. We know that David was 30 years old when he
became king, and Saul was king for 40 years, meaning that David was born 10
years into Saul’s reign. Thus, Jonathan
was at least 28 years older than David.
Let that sink in. Here was a
perhaps 46 year old man, crown prince of Israel, who essentially gave up his
position to an 18 year old boy, because he loved David as himself.
Jonathan
went straight to David to warn him of the danger. He also devised a plan to gather more
information to send to David to keep him safe.
So Jonathan told David
saying, "Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore,
please be on guard in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide
yourself. I will go out and stand beside
my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about
you; if I find out anything, then I will tell you." Then Jonathan spoke
well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Do not let the king sin
against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his
deeds have been very beneficial to you. For
he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD brought
about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then
will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a
cause?" –I Samuel 19:2-5
Jonathan
went to his father the king and said, “What did he ever do to you? He volunteered to fight Goliath to save all
of Israel; when he killed Goliath you even rejoiced with him. Why do you want to kill him? The man is innocent.” So, Saul, for whatever reason, promises
Jonathan that he will spare David.
Saul listened to the
voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be put
to death." –I Samuel 19:6
Saul
is quick to say what others want to hear.
This oath shows his lack of sincerity toward God. He uses God’s name in vain to make this oath,
and not just any name for God either.
Look at the word “LORD” in this verse. It’s in all caps, symbolizing that it was
translated from the ceremonial, unpronounceable Hebrew name YHWH, Yahweh. Some scholars believe these four Hebrew
letters were erroneously transliterated by Roman scholars as JHVH, leading to
the name Jehovah. But debate aside, Yahweh means the Existing
One. Essentially, Saul says that so long
as the existing one lives, he won’t kill David.
Then Jonathan called
David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to
Saul, and he was in his presence as formerly. –I Samuel 19:7
I
have to admit, this verse confuses me.
Of all the people to know Saul’s propensities, wouldn’t Jonathan be one
of the best? Why did Jonathan believe
Saul? Why did he bring David back? Was he hopeful for some reason that Saul
would actually, finally keep his word?
We really don’t know. But David
is back, serving Saul again.
When there was war
again, David went out and fought with the Philistines and defeated them with
great slaughter, so that they fled before him. Now there was an evil spirit
from the LORD on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his
hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. Saul tried to pin David to
the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, so that he
stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. –I Samuel
19:8-10
God
continues to bless David. He again
crushes the Philistines, again infuriating Saul. So the next time David is playing his harp
for Saul to help alleviate the evil spirit, here comes the spear a third
time. This time with such force, that it
is embedded into the wall. David decides
that the third time is the charm, and he flees.
Then Saul sent
messengers to David's house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the
morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, "If you do not save
your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death." So Michal let David
down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. Michal took the
household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at its
head, and covered it with clothes. When Saul sent messengers to take David, she
said, "He is sick." Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying,
"Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death." When
the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the
quilt of goats' hair at its head. So Saul said to Michal, "Why have you
deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And
Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I put you to
death?'" –I Samuel 19:11-17
David
runs to the one place he feels safe: home.
Except this time, Saul sends a bunch of his henchmen to set an ambush
for David. Michal, Saul’s own daughter
and David’s wife, helps him escape. But
we run across a couple of interesting points in this section. The first is the
term “household idol.” Based on what we
know of David so far, I highly doubt he knew this thing existed in his own
home. I don’t see David allowing such a
thing under his roof. Secondly, Michal
lies to her father to save her husband.
In both cases, the author simply states facts; he neither condones nor
condemns either action.
David
is now on the run. He’s terrified, has
no idea where he is going. So he turns
to the only Person he knows won’t let him down: God. We see this in a couple of his psalms. For example, Psalm 59. This was probably written much later as he
reflected on this very trying time in his life.
In verses 1-5, he starts by calling out to God for protection.
For the choir director;
set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the
house in order to kill him.
Deliver me from my
enemies, O my God; set me securely on high away from those who rise up against
me. Deliver me from those who do iniquity and save me from men of bloodshed. For
behold, they have set an ambush for my life; fierce men launch an attack
against me, not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD, for no guilt of
mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me, and
see! You, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to punish all the
nations; do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah –Psalm
59:1-5
Notice
how David ends the opening section. He
appeals to God as the LORD (all caps again) God of Hosts – the Existing One,
God of angel armies.
They return at evening,
they howl like a dog, and go around the city. Behold, they belch forth with
their mouth; swords are in their lips, for, they say, "Who hears?" But
You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. –Psalm 59:6-8
Dogs
in Israel were considered unclean. They scavenged
the streets looking for scraps to eat.
Some translations refer to them as howling or snarling: howling to alert
others to their find, while at the same time snarling to fight of other
packs. His enemies at the end verse 7
assume that no one knows of their actions.
They thought they were going to get away with their sin, forgetting that
God sees all.
Because of his strength
I will watch for You, for God is my stronghold. My God in His lovingkindness
will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes. –Psalm 59:9-10
David
is again relying on God as his fortress and trusting in His lovingkindness, or
in other translations, His steadfast love or mercy.
Do not slay them, or my
people will forget; scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, o Lord,
our shield. On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, let
them even be caught in their pride, and on account of curses and lies which
they utter. Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more; that
men may know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah.
They return at evening,
they howl like a dog, and go around the city. They wander about for food and
growl if they are not satisfied. But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; yes,
I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been
my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my strength, I will
sing praises to You; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me
lovingkindness. –Psalm 59:11-17
David
begins verse 11 in a most peculiar way: “Do not slay them, lest my people
forget….” He doesn’t want his enemy
destroyed. He just wants the enemy
humbled so that Israel will remember who God is and praise Him. Again, he sees the prowling dogs; but yet
again, David runs to straight to the Rock.
“O my strength, I will sing praises to You!”
In
Psalm 11, David again takes refuge in the Lord.
For the choir director.
A Psalm of David.
In the LORD I take
refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain; for,
behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string to
shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what
can the righteous do?" The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne
is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests
the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon
the wicked He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the
portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; the
upright will behold His face.
Again,
David rests solely on God. “For the Lord
is righteous; He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.” He knows that God will not forsake Him. God has called him to a higher purpose. David was certain “that He who began a good
work in you will perfect it” (Philippians 1:6).
Where
do we rest when times get hard? On
ourselves? On the hope that people are
innately good and will eventually realize that they are harming others and
stop? Or do we allow our weary souls to
find rest in God alone? This song,
written by Stuart Townend and Aaron Keyes and based on Psalm 62, encourages us
to choose the Lord:
My soul finds rest in
God alone,
My Rock and my
salvation;
A fortress strong
against my foes,
And I will not be
shaken.
Though lips may bless
and hearts may curse,
And lies like arrows
pierce me,
I'll fix my heart on
righteousness,
I'll look to Him who
hears me.
O praise Him,
hallelujah,
My Delight and my
reward;
Everlasting, never
failing,
My Redeemer, my God.
Find rest, my soul, in
God alone
Amid the world's
temptations;
When evil seeks to take
a hold
I'll cling to my
salvation.
Though riches come and
riches go,
Don't set your heart upon
them;
The fields of hope in
which I sow
Are harvested in
heaven.
I'll set my gaze on God
alone
And trust in Him
completely;
With every day pour out
my soul
And He will prove His
mercy.
Though life is but a
fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to
measure,
My King has crushed the
curse of death
And I am His forever.
Let’s pray. Lord, thank You that You have crushed the
curse of death for us. May we remember
to rely on You each day rather than on ourselves. Lead and guide us this week, we pray. Amen.
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