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1st
Samuel 18:1-30 “And
it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul
of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own
soul. 2 And
Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s
house. 3 Then
Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4
And Jonathan stripped himself of the
robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to
his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. 5
And David went out withersoever Saul
sent him, and behaved himself wisely:
and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight
of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 6
And it came to pass as they came, David
was returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, that the women came out of
all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets,
with joy, and with instruments of musick. 7
And the women answered one another
as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten
thousands. 8 And
Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have
ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9
And Saul eyed David from that day and
forward. 10 And
it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul,
and he prophesied in the midst of the house:
and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s
hand. 11 And
Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with
it. And David avoided out of his
presence twice. 12 And
Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD
was with him, and was departed from Saul. 13
Therefore Saul removed him from him, and
made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the
people. 14 And
David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD
was with him. 15 Wherefore
when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. 16
But all Israel and Judah loved David,
because he went out and came in before them. 17
And Saul said to David, Behold my elder
daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife:
only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD’s
battles. For Saul said, Let not mine
hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 18
And David said unto Saul, Who am
I? and what is my life, or my father’s in Israel, that I should
be the son in law to the king? 19 But
it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given
to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife. 20
And Michal Saul’s daughter loved
David: and they told Saul, and the thing
pleased him. 21 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.
Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the
one of the twain. 22 And
Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and
say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love
thee: now therefore be the king’s son in
law. 23 And
Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light
thing to be a king’s son in law, seeing I am a poor man, and
lightly esteemed? 24 And
the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. 25
And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to
David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the
Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the
hand of the Philistines. 26 And
when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the
king’s son in law: and the days were not
expired. 27 Wherefore
David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred
men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the
king, that he might be the king’s son in law.
And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. 28
And Saul saw and knew that the LORD
was with David, and that Michal Saul’s daughter loved him. 29
And Saul was yet the more afraid of
David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually. 30
Then the princes of the Philistines went
forth: and it came to pass, after they
went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants
of Saul; so that his name was much set by.” [Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED657] Introduction “We
are in 1st Samuel chapter 18, where we left off a couple weeks
ago. Allen Redpath wrote a book called “The
Making of a Man of God,” and he goes into great detail in this portion in
David’s life. David has been anointed
king of Israel by Samuel. Again,
Josephus and the ancient rabbis say that when Samuel anointed David, a young
boy, 15, we’re not even sure, that he leaned over and said ‘Thou art the
king of Israel.’ And strange for
that to be in the heart of David, it says the Spirit came upon him from that
day forward, and the Spirit left Saul.
We followed David through several years after that, still being
faithful, keeping his father’s flock, not thinking ‘Hey, I don’t do that,
I’m king now, I don’t do sheep anymore,’ still serving in his father’s
house, and he’s sent to the battlefield to bring portions and supplies to his
brothers, and of course encounters Goliath, and enters into that contest in the
name of the LORD
of hosts. And an incredible victory has
taken place, and all Israel was roused and they chased the Philistine armies
over 15 miles or so, a great slaughter.
And David is brought before Saul again.
And we’re not told whether Saul recognizes him, Saul’s question is, ‘To
whose house does he belong?’ And
they say, they remind him, ‘This is Jesse’s son,’ and then he
keeps David with him. And as we enter
into the 18th chapter, you have to be wondering, what are the
thoughts in David’s mind. Most scholars
feel he’s about 18-years-old at this point in time. He’s been sitting on this thing that happened
to him, as Samuel had anointed him and the oil ran down upon him, and he heard
Samuel whisper in his ear ‘Thou art the king of Israel.’ The Holy Spirit has been on his life. Now God I’m sure, in David’s mind, certainly
has confirmed the calling he has on his life with this incredible victory over
Goliath. And yet David now will step
into a period of his life that lasts probably around 15 years, if not a little
more, where it seems that everything is spiraling downward. His experience, at this point in time,
contradicts no doubt, what he had anticipated in regards to the LORD. And you and I, I think that’s one of our
struggles is, in anticipation of the way we think he should act, because of who
he is, we trust him because we know he’s a God of love, he’s given his own son
to die for us. And sometimes we have
unrealized expectations. We think of
John the Baptist, the greatest Prophet that had ever lived, greater than David,
greater than Elijah, greater than Ezekiel or Daniel, and the Lord has to say to
his disciples, ‘Go tell him what you see, the dead are raised, the blind
see, blessed are the poor that have the Good News preached to them, and blessed
is he who is not offended in me,’ because John the Baptist had
unrealized expectations. Jesus wasn’t
being what he thought he should be in the circumstance, and the Lord had to say
to him ‘Blessed is he who is not offended in me.’ And David enters no doubt into one of
those periods in his life where he is questioning, where he’s struggling, and
God gives it to us in great detail.
Now, I wish he wouldn’t do that sometimes, because I have a feeling that
he wants me to learn something from it. Not you, me.
I’m hoping tonight he wants you to learn something from it, and not
me. But there are these lessons attached
to it, that’s why he gives us these details. [What lessons of David might those
be? Just this, before we get to become
kings and queens in the Kingdom of God (cf. Revelation 5:9-10), just as David
had to endure Saul’s persecutions and still fight the Philistines, we also have
to endure much persecution, as David did, and still fight our Philistines. These lessons are written for us from 1st
Samuel 18 through to the end of 1st Samuel 31.] So we look at this young man now, in the prime
of life, incredible victory over Goliath, in some ways the zenith of his
spiritual experience, certainly at the height of everything he ever thought the
LORD would do. Jonathan
Is Knit To David In Close Friendship And
chapter 18, verse 1 says “And it came to pass, when he had made an
end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of
David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his
father’s house. Then Jonathan and David
made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.” (verses 1-3) So he is brought into the court of Saul, and
Saul would no longer let him return home.
Realize as we look at this, it says the Jonathan loved David, it tells
us that twice. There are those that
would turn that into something unclean and insinuate that there may have been a
homosexual relationship between Jonathan and David. It uses a very specific word for the love
that they have for one towards another, and it is a personal commitment, it is
a trust, it is a covenant, it is never used for sexual love anywhere in the Old
Testament. That word, the Hebrew word Y’vHav,
[spelled phonetically, not sure of spelling] to love and have sex is never
used, ever, with David and Jonathan, ever, of David and Jonathan, this is a
noble relationship, it is a remarkable relationship. Look, in fact, it tells us over in verse 16,
“But all of Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and
came in before them.” that’s the same word, obviously that’s not
homosexual, all of Israel and Judah “loved” David, they were knit to him, they
trusted him. So we have this interesting
picture. Listen, Jonathan was commander
of his father’s troops, a third of the army.
Back in chapter 14, Numbers chapter 13, I believe verse 1, or 3, verse
1, said you had to be at least twenty years old to be in the army. So Jonathan way back then, had looked at the
Philistine army, and the chariots and the soldiers without number, it tells us
it was the largest gathering ever of the Philistines, and Jonathan couldn’t
stand it, he said ‘These uncircumcised Philistines, they’re outside the
Covenant.’ He said to his
armourbearer ‘Look, let’s go up, let’s see, who knows what the LORD
might do. It doesn’t matter with the LORD
to save by many or by few,’ and it was his
Goliath, and very much in the same spirit of David in regards to trusting the LORD,
and being jealous for the things of God.
Jonathan as a young man, probably not much older than 20, those many
years before this, before David was born, entered into the same kind of
conflict and saw incredible victory and slaughter of the Philistines. Now here he is these many years later, he’s
probably 36, 37, David’s somewhere around 17, 18 years old, Jonathan is old
enough to be David’s father, but he’s standing there watching this young guy go
out into the middle of this battlefield, and Goliath the Philistine saying ‘I’m
going to give your flesh to the fowls of the air,’ and David said ‘You
know, you come to me with a spear and with a sword, but I come to you in the
name of the LORD
of hosts, and everybody is going to know there is a God in Israel this day, and
I’m going to give your carcase and all the carcases of the entire army of the
Philistines to the fowls of the air.’ And
Jonathan is resonating with all of this.
And here comes David to his father’s camp, it says, carrying the head of
this big yucky giant, fat head of Goliath, dragging it around, and as he’s
listening to David talk with his father.
And maybe Saul is saying ‘Aren’t you the kid that used to play [the
harp, etc]?’ ‘Ya, that’s right,’ Saul then saying ‘I want you to
stay here,’ and they’re dialoguing about that battle, and David saying ‘I
just knew in my heart the LORD
was with me.’ Whatever
he was saying to Saul, Jonathan loved him.
Sometimes you see a kid, you hear the things they say. People say in marriage opposites attract, and
I’m glad of that, in some ways. But
there is another kind of comradeship where there’s a kindred spirit, where they
were one soul, where you see people with the gift of mercy working together,
they flourish there, people with the gifts of helps and so forth. These guys were warriors, there was something
in their heart relative to God’s glory, and though Jonathan was a much older
man, ‘he loved David’ it says, as his own soul.’ And he’s watching this concourse between
David and his father, realizing how like-hearted they are, and again in verse 3
it repeats that Jonathan and David ‘They made a covenant, because he,’
Jonathan, ‘loved David as his own soul.’
“And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him,
and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and
to his girdle.” (verse 4) now that’s his royal robe, the signature of the
fact that he was next in line for the throne.
It doesn’t say he didn’t have a garment underneath, he took off his robe,
he gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and his bow, and his
leather sash, belt, [buckler, which would hold the sword’s sheath, and any
other weapons], he gave those things to David.
And what Jonathan is acknowledging is this, he’s acknowledging that he
knows that God’s hand is on David. And
what Jonathan is saying is, ‘Rightly, according to blood, according to
DNA and inheritance, the throne is mine.
But according to God’s choice, I recognize David, the throne is yours.’ That’s going to be ratified in chapter 20 and
chapter 23, where Jonathan will say to David, ‘Look, you flee, you get
away from my father, but you make a covenant with me that you will always be
kind to my house, not just while I’m alive, but after I’m dead.’ He says in chapter 23, ‘David,
when you’re on the throne, I’m going to be second in command to you.’ So something in the heart of Jonathan
is huge towards the work of God. [And I
personally believe Jonathan had the Holy Spirit in him, and if so, he’ll be in
the 1st Resurrection to Immortality along with David, and Jonathan
may yet rule second in command to David, who, as it prophecies in Ezekiel
37:15-29, that David will rule as king over the 12 tribes of Israel, forever,
while Yeshua haMeschiach, Jesus Christ will rule the whole world as King of
kings and Lord of lords. We’ll have to
wait and see. It won’t be long now, as
the song says.] And why it’s important
is, he’s not envious, he’s not in competition, he doesn’t have an agenda. This is a man who is big enough, and he’s
still young, 36, 35 years old, but he is huge in his heart towards the things
of God, and he is willing to set aside the throne, he’s willing to set aside
the things that other people would clamour for, that people in this world fight
for, that everybody would tell him ‘This is rightfully yours,’ he’s
willing to set it all aside for the glory of God and for the purpose of God,
for the calling of God, because he sees something in David he can’t help but
acknowledge, and he says ‘David, here’s the royal robe, that should be
mine by birth, but it’s yours by ordination, by God’s sovereignty, here’s the,
the royal sword,’ and he gives those things to David, and he makes a
covenant with him, acknowledging. These
two kindred spirits now have this covenant one with another. The
Rise & Fall Of David Under Saul--God’s ‘School Of The Spirit’ For David Verse
5 says, “And David went out
withersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he
was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s
servants.” Now that’s a very telling
verse. Again, because in Numbers chapter
1, verse 3, it says there that you had to be twenty years old and upward to go
to war, and David’s only about 18 years old, now he’s set over all the men of
war [a pretty high position]. Jonathan
had been a great warrior, Abner, there’s people there whose names we’re going
to hear, and now here’s this kid, 18 years old, made the head of the armies of
Judah, of Israel [Judah’s one tribe, Israel is composed of 12 tribes, let’s
keep that straight], Soul’s armies. And
it says that David was accepted of the people and of the men of war. Very important, they didn’t despise his
youth, they had seen him go on out on the battlefield, they had watched him,
and the heart of the nation was drawn to him.
So it says “David went out
withersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely:” now
your translation might say “he prospered,” that’s the same word in the
Hebrew. Over in the Book of Deuteronomy
it says “if you keep my ordinances, you keep my statutes, then you shall
prosper,” that’s our word here, he did wisely, and in that certainly he
prospered. But as we follow this through
the chapter, ah we find, look in verse 14, it says “And David behaved
himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD
was with him.” and it adds this “in all his ways.” Then down in verse 15 it says “Wherefore
when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.” And if you look in verse 30 it says “Then
the princes of the Philistines went forth:
and it came to pass, after they went forth,” now it says “that
David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his
name was much set by.” So each time
it adds to that. Here’s an 18-year-old
kid. And how are 18 year old kids going
to act when the world is given to them?--the armies of Israel are handed to
them? When they go out and go in with
great pomp and great notoriety, there’s something about David, from when he had
killed the bear, and he had killed the lion, and he had killed the giant, that
he knew it wasn’t him. There’s something
about David and his heart towards the LORD
that God is still honouring. Now, God is
not done with him, God is going to take him through his seminary, and whittle
away certain things in David’s life, so that when the time comes for him to
take the throne, he’s already anointed to be king, but he’s not the king he was
anointed to be yet. And God wants to
remove from him every false confidence.
The Bible says “Blessed is the man that trusteth not in the arm flesh,”
we’re to work together, we’re to labour together, but at the same time, you
know, as we love one another, as the Body builds itself up in love, at the same
time, we are to be self-dependent in our relationship with him. You don’t want to be dependent on other
humans for the vertical, you want to be working together, labouring together on
the horizontal, but if the vertical is not in your life and the vertical is not
in my life, there’s nothing to shed forth that will bless or build other
people. And David is going to learn to
be God’s king, and God’s going to take him through a very deliberate process to
take him to that point. So here it says
“he behaved himself wisely.” Maybe
that’s why Solomon would write so much in Proverbs about wisdom, maybe his
father had talked to him much. “and
Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the
people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. And it came to pass as they came, when David
was returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, that the women came out of
all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets,
with joy, and with instruments of musick.
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul
hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (verses 5b-7) Now look, the women are rejoicing, because
when the army came back, it was either a really bad day for the women, because
their husbands and sons were dead on the battlefield, slaughtered by the enemy,
or if they heard there was remarkable victory, they were heroes, the mills were
quiet, the businesses were set aside, the work at the home stopped, and the
women of the nation rejoiced. It means
that the nation quieted down and they came together as their army came back,
and the women are there singing and rejoicing, with music and instruments, “And
the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain
his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (verse 7) Now it’s the number one hit in Israel at this
point in time, on the radios, everywhere.
And there was truth in it, in the sense that David is the one who gave
courage to the entire army of Israel, and they pursued and then slaughtered
thousands of Philistines, so ‘Saul has slain his thousands, David has
slain his tens of thousands,’ and verse 8 says, “And Saul was
very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto
David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the
kingdom?” Listen, it’s a very interesting study, because Jonathan who was a
grown man, his heart is completely different because of the LORD,
he gives David his robe, gives David his sword, he acknowledges what God is
doing in the life of David. His father,
we’re going to find, is jealous, we’re going to find he’s angry, he’s envious,
and all of that turns to fear. Jealousy
is cruel as the grave, the Bible says.
Don’t let that go on in your heart.
Envy, people with an agenda never like it when anybody else moves ahead,
‘That should be me,’ and they always have, and isn’t it interesting,
sometimes when God does great things in your life, people are almost surprised
that other people are envious. You know,
we’re Christians, we expect other people to rejoice with us, but instead other
people give us a hard time. David is
entering into ‘the School of the Spirit,’ and Saul is going to be part of
the acid of that, Saul is jealous, Saul is angry, Saul will be given over to
fear as this process moves forward. And
it’s interesting in verse 8 where it says “he was wroth” the Hebrew word
means “a slow burn,” the slow burn in Saul will begin, and it will go on to the
day of his death (for over 15 years).
But it begins with this “Slow burn,” this acid, this discontentment. And it will flair up into rage at times. But it begins, Saul was wroth, he has this
slow burn going on inside of him. He’s
got everything, he’s got the palace, he’s got the army. David is his servant, remarkably. Saul has everything, David has nothing, and
we’re going to see in the final sense that David has way more than Saul
does. And I believe, by the way, as we
watch this, if Saul would have said ‘You know what, I’ve sinned, you know,
Samuel’s right, I have been a failure as a king, David, I see God’s hand on
your life, let me bring you along here as best I can, let’s meet with the
cabinet, Jonathan and the rest of the warriors, and when they feel the day is
right, we’re going to hand the throne to you, and if I can just serve I’ll be a
content man, if I can go to the altar and have a sacrifice offered for my sin,’
God would have blessed Saul for the rest of his life. [In a sense, God did honour and bless Saul in
allowing him to reign up to the end of his life, 15 to 17 years later.] He was not willing to do that. His ego was involved, his pride was involved,
and his arrogance, because God had said ‘I’m going to give the kingdom to
another, I’m taking it away from you,’ he said that through Samuel,
he’s fighting with that now. It says “And
Saul eyed David from that day and forward.” (verse 9) you see that word
there, “e y e d” the evil eye. He was
watching David from that day forward. “And
it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul,
and he” Saul, “prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other
times: and there was a javelin in
Saul’s hand.” (verse 10) that’s not good news. So, Saul’s in the house, it says the evil
spirit from the LORD
comes on Saul, and it says there’s a javelin in his hand, and he “prophesied,”
that’s never the Hebrew word used of true prophecy in the Old Testament, it is
the word that means “to babble,” it is the word that means “to rage,” it is the
word that means “raving” like a lunatic.
Saul is not prophecying like Isaiah or Jeremiah, the Spirit is not on
him as the Spirit was on Samuel, it’s in a different sense, he’s tortured by
this spirit. Now, it’s an interesting
phrase, because we’re going to run into it over and over again, throughout,
literally, and I’m not sure what to do with it, if you come up with a good idea
you can let me know, it says “a spirit from Jehovah evil to Saul came upon
him.” That’s the way the phrase is built
and constructed in the language throughout.
A spirit that is from Jehovah [i.e. the LORD,
YHVH] that was evil to Saul came upon him.
So it doesn’t say that the LORD
sent a demon, it doesn’t say the LORD
sent an evil spirit, it says the spirit was evil to Saul. That spirit may have been saying to Saul, ‘David
is king, you’re not yielding,’ it may have been telling him the truth, and
not doing what everybody thinks in their minds it was doing, but it comes upon
him and drives him out of his mind, whatever it is. By the way, we all know people you drive them
out of their minds when you tell them the truth [😊]. So whatever, whatever the dynamic is here, is
this spiritual influence, it drives Saul insane, and it makes him angrier and
angrier when he sees David, David sees Saul flipping out, raving, he’s flipping
out, so David comes in with a harp to try to calm him down, and Saul’s sitting
there with the javelin in his hand, “And Saul cast the javelin; for he said,
I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.”
(verse 11) listen, “twice,” that’s a bad day, twice. No sin on David’s part, David has not done
anything wrong. David has stepped out in
faith. How many of us would have stepped
out on a battlefield with a sling to fight Goliath? There’s no sin on David’s part, he’s not
doing anything wrong here. I wonder what
his thoughts are? [he’s very slowly waking up to the reality of Saul’s feelings
toward him, as we’ll see.] ‘LORD,
I’ve put myself out there, I’ve done everything for you,’ and he’s loosing
no doubt his confidence. One thing after
another, God is stripping away things from David, this crutch is knocked
away. He’d been carrying around the head
of that giant for a few days, and he ain’t thinking about that anymore. Now he’s got a seven-foot king throwing a
javelin at him, and no doubt his confidence has to be shot. I hear people tell me that about work all the
time, you know, ‘I’m a good employee, I get there on time, the other
employees tell me ‘Woe, slow down, what do you think you’re doing? you make us
all look bad,’ and my boss is aggravated with me, and I’m the one person that
does work,’ and then you think ‘God’s mad at me, God’s getting me.’ Well listen, that overlays this whole
process here very nicely. God is willing
to make men old fast these days. He
doesn’t have 40 years like he had with Moses on the backside of the desert for
forty years. He doesn’t have the years
that he had to take John the Baptist, that he was in the wilderness to train
him. If you really want to serve the
Lord, he can wear you down very quickly.
[And when Pastor Joe gave this sermon in 2009 we weren’t nearly as close
to the end-times as we are now, after the 24th of February 2022,
when Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation attacked the Ukraine with 190,000
troops, along with tanks, jet fighters, attack helicopters, missile firing
cruisers and submarines, giving the member nations of the European Union a
very strong incentive to unite into some form of United States of Europe, a
Euro-superpower in its own right.
The Bible predicted the rise of this Euro superpower over 2500 years ago
(see https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm).] Don’t remind me I said that when I’m having a
terrible time. I wonder what David’s
thoughts are as he’s going through this and this is taking place. David’s
First Demotion It
says in verse 12, “And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD
was with him, and was departed from Saul.” Now I don’t know about you, that’s hard for me
to discern when I’m ducking spears. ‘The
Lord is with you Joe,’ ‘Really? Look at
my back. I’m ducking spears all day
long, why don’t the Lord be with you for awhile, and then I’ll pray for you.’ Saul was afraid, maybe this spirit from the LORD
that was evil to Saul was telling him, ‘That’s the king, that’s the king,’ he
said, ‘because the LORD
was with David, and was departed from Saul.’ “Therefore Saul removed him from him, and
made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the
people.” (verse 13) [made him a Battalion Commander, in essence] It seems he demotes him now, and he puts him
over a thousand, and he went out and he came in before the people, he’s sending
him out to battle, bringing him back, sending him out to battle, bringing him
back, hoping that David’s going to get killed in battle. Because if David get’s killed, it’s not
Saul’s fault, and if David gets defeated, then he looses his popularity with
the people. So either his death or his
defeat in battle is win-win for Saul, so he demotes him, puts him over a
thousand where he’d been over the whole army before. And he’s sending him out to battle with a
thousand men, and David is coming in and out with having victory. Verse 14, “And David behaved himself
wisely in all his ways; and the LORD
was with him.” now look, in all his ways, when you’re
getting javelins thrown at you, when you get demoted, when somebody’s stacking
a workload on you that is unreasonable, against all odds, I don’t always behave
myself wisely in all my ways at that point in time. [I’ve had to in my last electronic job, where
I was under two women bosses who happened to hate each other, and I was stuck
in the middle between them. Eventually
the Lord enabled me to get out of that situation and into a department I loved,
and they loved me. God is real, you just
have to endure, and he will create the rescue.
Not easy to do.] He behaved
himself wisely in all his ways, what he said, how he acted, in his prayer-life
no doubt, in his trust of God, in his relationship with those around him,
‘he behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the LORD
was with him.’ “Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself
very wisely, he was afraid of him.” (verse 15) this fear now, Saul begins
to be afraid of what he’s seeing. No
doubt he remembered Samuel said that God’s going to raise up, has somebody else
all picked out, whose a better fellow than you.
Then when he ripped Samuel’s garment, telling Samuel not to leave, Samuel
said to him ‘So hath God ripped the kingdom away from you Saul,’ and
no doubt all of that is resonating in his heart, he’s afraid now here, it says
he was afraid of David. The
Duplicity And Treacherousness Of Saul In Giving His Daughter To David As His
Wife “But
all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.”
(verse 16) the idea is, in victory. “And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter
Merab, her will I give thee to wife:
only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD’s
battles. For Saul said, Let not mine
hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.” (verse 17) He’s still hoping to get him bumped off. Now Saul had made a promise on the
battlefield that whoever killed Goliath would get his daughter to be his wife,
his family would be tax-exempt in Israel, he went through all of these things,
he hasn’t fulfilled any of that now. So
now he’s saying ‘OK David, I’m going to give you now my daughter Merab,
only do this for me, be valiant and go out and fight the battle of the LORD,’
and Saul was thinking, it tells us, in the back of his mind ‘I’m going to
put him the front of the battle, and I’ll let the Philistines kill him,’ no
doubt David knows that. Sadly, David one
day, will repeat the same sin, when he sends Bathsheba’s husband Uriah to the
front of the battle so that he might be killed by the enemy, sadly. But at this point, Saul’s trying to take David’s
life. “And David said unto Saul, Who am
I? and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I
should be son in law to the king?” (verse 18)
‘Why me?’ “But it
came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David,
that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.” (verse 19) it
assumes now that David acquiesced and said ‘ok, I’ll marry Merab,’ that
he had victories in the interim. “it
came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to
David,” they had set a date, “that she was given unto Adriel the
Meholathite to wife.” So, I don’t
know what Saul’s doing, it doesn’t tell us how deliberate this is [personally,
I think Saul is trying to mess with David’s mind, playing mind-games with poor
David], when it comes time for the wedding, the king changes his mind and gives
the bride to another guy, maybe thinking of the story of Samson, wanting to
drive David over the edge. Listen, I
have people here in the church, dating, because the person they’re dating
breaks up with them, they think the person’s the anti-christ, or they think ‘God
fell off the throne and doesn’t love them anymore.’ Look, he’s getting pushed, David, he didn’t
want to yield to this, he finally acquiesces, he’s going to take Merab to be
his wife, the arrangements are made, and when it comes time that she should
have been given to David, Saul gives her to another guy. I’m sure this is all part of Saul’s
deliberate attempt to provoke David. But
it says this in verse 20, “And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased
him.” no doubt, these guys are David’s friends, who see David heartbroken
because the engagement was ruined, and then they say ‘Saul, your other
daughter, Michal, we don’t know about Merab,
but Michal’s in love with this man David.
And the thing pleased Saul.’
“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. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt be
my son in law in the one of the twain.” (verse 21) she must be quite a gal, there’s not many
fathers that think that, ‘I hate this guy, so I’m gonna give him my
daughter, makes me sick, I’m hoping he’s gonna die, I know, I’ll marry him off to
my daughter.’ He’s thinking, one or
the other is gonna get him, either Michal’s gonna get him or the Philistines are gonna get him. “Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt
be my son in law in the one of the twain.” King James says “in the
one of the twain.” it means “for the second time,” he’s saying the same
thing to him that he had said in regards to Merab. So he’s saying this again, ‘David,
you’re going to be my son in law.’ “And
Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and
say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love
thee: now therefore be the king’s son in
law.” (verse 22) ‘butter him up, tell
him I’m talking about him behind his back all the time, I love him, I’m saying
great stuff, I’m delighted, be sure to tell him everyone in the kingdom is in
love with him. Now therefore, be the king’s
son in law, you need to do it.’
and they’re probably genuine, David’s star is rising, Saul’s was fading,
“And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said,” no doubt to many of his
friends, “Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king’s son
in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?” (verse 23) ‘Look, I’ve been a shepherd most of my
life, I don’t have a dowry for a king’s daughter.’ In Genesis and Exodus there are
places where this was mentioned, it was like alimony in advance, you married
somebody’s daughter, you gave a chunk of money or a chunk of land, you gave
something so that if you ever divorced her, the father had a means to sustain
the daughter. And David said ‘I’m
a poor man, I can’t marry the king’s daughter, I don’t have anything to offer,
I have no dowry for a king’s daughter.’ “And
the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David,
The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines,
to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But
Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.” (verses
24-25) ‘Forget about the dowry, I’ll
take a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.’ Times have changed. I’m sure a pre-nuptial would have been way
scarier. I’m suspect of this family
already. I’m thinking ‘Michal, let’s
just elope, I got family over in Moab, we should probably just get away from
your dad.’ Usually mother-in-laws
are tough, but this is father-in-law…I don’t know what to think about it, I
don’t even think we should think about it [laughter], so don’t. ‘This is the dowry, 100 foreskins of
the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies.’ “But Saul thought to make David fall by
the hand of the Philistines.” that’s what he was hoping to have
happen. “And when his servants told
David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son in law: and the days were not expired.” (verse 26) ‘but that’s way cheaper than what I
thought I was going to have to pay.’
“Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the
Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave
them” Kodak moment, “in full tale” somebody actually counted them, I
didn’t write this, “to the king, that he might be the king’s son in
law. And Saul gave him Michal his
daughter to wife.” (verse 27) and I’m not sure how Michal feels about this
dowry, ‘You mean, Dad, if he ever divorces me, this is what you’re gonna
have for me?’ This to me is a bad
start, I don’t know about you guys, the whole thing here. “And Saul saw and knew” he’s guilty, he
understands “that the LORD
was with David, and that Michal Saul’s daughter loved him.”
(verse 28) and Samuel already told him that
rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, stubbornness is like idolatry, and
Saul is proving it out over and over here, because being rebellious, he’s being
stubborn, he knows in his heart he will not yield. “And Saul saw and knew that the LORD
was with David, and that Michal Saul’s daughter loved him. And Saul was yet more afraid of David; and
Saul became David’s enemy continually.” (verses 28-29) though
married to the king’s daughter, best friend with the king’s son, and the king
becoming his enemy continually. “Then
the princes of the Philistines went forth:
and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved
himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much
set by.” (verse 30) “much set by” it has the idea the name of David became
precious in Israel or loved. Listen, the
word “David” means “beloved.” You
and I hear David, David, David, very common to us. I think there’s twelve chapters about Abraham
in the Bible, thirteen chapters about Joseph, there’s over 65 chapters about
David, he is by far the one single person that we are given besides Jesus, more
press than anybody. And all of this is
laid out in great detail. But remember,
to the nation of Israel, this is the first David, Daveed in the
Bible, it wasn’t a common name. There’s
no David’s before this that we hear of.
Though it’s very common to us, it says the name Daveed, it
becomes precious in Israel, the nation holds onto it, they haven’t seen these
kinds of victories, and the nation hasn’t had this much esteem and national
pride since Samuel was in his prime. 1st
Samuel 19:1-18 “And
Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill
David. 2 But
Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David:
and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill
thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take
heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide
thyself: 3 and
I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art,
and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell
thee. 4 And
Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not
the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned
against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: 5
for he did put his life in his hand, and
slew the Philistine, and the LORD
wrought a great salvation for all Israel:
thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent
blood, to slay David without cause? 6
And Saul hearkened unto the voice of
Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the
LORD
liveth, he shall not be slain. 7 And
Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he
was in his presence, as in times past. 8
And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the
Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. 9
And the evil spirit from the LORD
was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 10
And Saul sought to smite David even to
the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he
smote the javelin into the wall: and
David fled, and escaped that night. 11
Saul also sent messengers unto David’s
house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If
thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. 12
So Michal let David down through a
window: and he went, and fled, and
escaped. 13 And
Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’
hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. 14
And when Saul sent messengers to take
David, she said, He is sick. 15
And Saul sent the messengers again
to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. 16
And when the messengers were come in,
behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair
for his bolster. 17 And
Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy,
that he is escaped? And Michal answered
Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee? 18
So David fled, and escaped, and came to
Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.” Further
Demotion--David Loses His Job, His Home And His Wife--And Has To Flee For His
Life “It
says “And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they
should kill David.” (verse 1) now Saul’s just coming out in the open
now. Before he’s trying to work plans
behind the scenes, trying to set up David’s death, he can’t take it anymore, so
now he speaks openly to his servants and his son Jonathan ‘that we just
need to kill David.’ “But Jonathan
Saul’s son delighted much in David: and
Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to
thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide
thyself: and I will go out and stand
beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my
father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.” (verses 2-3) ‘I’ll
let you know how it turns out.’
Listen, Jonathan to me, remarkable, remarkable man. You know there’s a commandment in the
Scripture about honouring your mother and father, and there were a lot of
things that no doubt Jonathan could not honour about Saul, but he could honour
about David. But Saul was the man, the
vessel God used to give him life and to bring him into the world. And Jonathan will be loyal to Saul to the
point of a broken heart, even to laying down his life on the battlefield, and
being hung on the walls of Bashan.
Remarkable, remarkable man, isn’t it interesting, he probably no doubt
has a greater love emotionally for David at this point in time, but he has such
a commitment to what is right before the LORD,
he goes to talk to his father, to stand beside him. And he says ‘David, I’ll let you know
what happens.’ Now however old
Saul is, you know, he’s an older man now, again, his son, he’s 36, 37 years
old, these are two men. And I believe
that they loved one another. “And
Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not
the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned
against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good. For he did put his life in his hand, and slew
the Philistine, and the LORD
wrought a great salvation for all Israel:
thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent
blood, to slay David without a cause?” (verses 4-5) And it says
Saul, now in a saner moment “And Saul hearkened unto the voice of
Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the
LORD liveth,
he shall not be slain.” (verse 6) notice, he
swore. Now Saul was a liar, and Saul was
doubleminded, and Saul is a man whose swinging back and forth as a
pendulum. James in chapter 4,
verse 8, says ‘Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts
ye double minded.” James says
the problem is, cleanse your hands, you sinners, don’t get involved in sin,
your carnal nature, your flesh, cleanse your hands, get rid of it, put it away,
but then he says ‘purify your hearts, you double minded.’ Someone we call a split personality, the
Bible says it’s heart problems, not mental problems, there’s something more
powerful, there’s something deeper in man, there’s something in man that longs
for God, and the problem with Saul was, he was double minded. Because he was jealous, he was envious, one
minute he’s saying ‘I won’t hurt him,’ the next minute he’s throwing
javelins at him, one minute he’s saying one thing, another minute he’s saying
another thing. And God would say to
Saul, ‘Purify your heart, Saul, this is a heart issue, you’re envious,
you’re jealous, you’re rebellious, you’re stubborn.’ Interesting to see him sware to
Jonathan that David will not be slain. “And
Jonathan called David,” on his cell phone “and Jonathan shewed him all
those things. And Jonathan brought David
to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.” (verse 7) he stood
there with the guard in the palace. “And
there was war again: and David went out,
and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they
fled from him.” (verse 8) Saul, immediately, who swore he wouldn’t hurt
him, now he becomes jealous again, and it says “And the evil spirit from the
LORD
was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.”
(verse 9) now David’s gotta be watching when he’s
playing with one hand and watching the javelin with the other hand at this
point in time. “And Saul sought to
smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of
Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.”
(verse 10) Another crutch being
knocked away, David’s position, loss of employment, loss of position. He had taken away his confidence before, no
doubt, now David’s position is knocked away.
Let me tell you something, we could sit here, we talk about it, we’re
living in an economy right now where they’re talking about between 10 and 11
percent unemployment, probably the truth of that is around 17 percent. We’re seeing that affect our churches, it’s
very difficult when somebody has a position somewhere for a good amount of time,
there’s a certain measure of confidence in that, and that is taken away from David
here. Even as a young man, that is hard
blow. This is all by the hand of
God. God is taking away every crutch
that David might lean on, until David will come to a place where he has no
direction to look but up, and God then will start to build the man, he will
then start to build the man. He flees
that night from the palace. “And Saul
also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the
morning: and Michal David’s wife told
him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be
slain.” (verse 11) And we can’t do
it tonight, but Psalm 59, if you read the title on this Psalm, it says “It’s
when Saul sent messengers that surrounded the house of David to kill him.” We don’t get the sense that David wrote
the Psalm right then, he may have written it when he was the Cave of Adullam,
he wrote a number of Psalms then, but it was a night that stayed on his
heart. We just read it here [see https://unityinchrist.com/Psalms/Psalms59-61.htm]. In the Psalm you’ll hear that Saul’s men,
they were creeping through the town, they were going through the streets, they
were sneaking about, they were seeking his life, he was aware of it, it made a
huge impression on him as a young man, to be hunted, to have a bounty on his
head. “Saul also sent messengers unto
David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him,” she
knew what was going on, “saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to
morrow thou shalt be slain. So Michal
let David down through a window: and he
went, and fled, and escaped.” (verses 11-12) He’s leaving his home now, I can’t imagine
what it would be like for Kathy to have to let me down out of a second story
window with a rope. First of all, she’d
have to all the kids on that end or I’d pull her out the window. But I just can’t imagine what it is like to
get let down out of your house and have to flee and leave your wife and leave
your home. As we read through this,
these are real issues. She let him down
through a window, “and he went, and fled, and escaped. And Michal took an image, and laid it
in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered
it with a cloth.” (verses 12c-13)
Now this is a teraphim, we hear of that in Genesis chapter 31, Rachel
had smaller ones under the saddle. Here
Michal took an image, a teraphim, and laid it on the bed, and put a pillow of
goat’s hair for the bolster, and covered it with cloth, “And when Saul sent
messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.” (verse 14) Now, we’re not sure of everything that’s
happening here. Why David would ever let
Michal have these false gods in the house is a huge question. Solomon will multiply this sin and let it be
exercised to a much greater degree, to where his wives will be building temples
and altars to their gods throughout Jerusalem.
Possibly David is intimidated, with the king’s daughter, possibly
they’ve argued over this. Saul said ‘Hey,
she’ll be a snare unto him.’ We
don’t know, it’s evident she loves him at this point in time, she wants to get
him out of there. So she takes the
teraphim, you know Rachel had hers under the saddle, this has got to be a big
teraphim if they see it laying in the bed and think it’s David. She puts some goats’ hair on the head, it
says “woven of goats,” it doesn’t tell us specifically. Did David’s hair look like goats’ hair? He’s got goats’ head disease, look at him,
he’s all white, he’s got the goat-flu, H1N2, you know. When Saul sent the messengers she said ‘He’s
sick, look at him, you want to get near him, go on,’ they thought ‘Wow,
I ain’t going in there.’ They must
have gone back to Saul and said ‘He’s dying anyway, leave him alone, we’ve
never seen anybody that white, and his hair, man.’ “And Saul sent messengers again to
see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.” (verse
15) ‘If you’re afraid to touch him,
just pick the bed up and bring the whole bed here, I’ll kill him when you get
him here in the bed.’ “And when the
messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a
pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster.” (verse 16) they went in and
they look and here’s this idol laying there, in the bed, with a woven thing of
goats’ hair for his bolster by the head.
They must have dragged her back, “And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast
thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped?” now
Michal lies, “And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why
should I kill thee?” (verse 17) ‘He
was threatening me, dad, he was being abusive, he told me if I didn’t lie for him,
he was going to kill me. What do you
want me to do in light of this?’
Again, look at David, now his wife is taken away, she’s turned tail as
it were to her father’s side to preserve her own life, another human
relationship that David no doubt thought he could trust to some degree, was
taken away. God
Is Knocking Every Single Human Crutch Away From David And
verse 18 says this, “So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel
to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.” ‘Samuel, you and your oil started this
whole thing. I was a happy shepherd boy,
you called me in from the field, you dumped that stuff on my head, you
whispered in my ear ‘You’re the king of Israel,’ I should have whispered right
back ‘No thanks, you can be the king of Israel.’ And this is terrible, ‘I
thought I was serving the LORD,
I stepped out on the battlefield with the giant, I had this great victory, and
I come, and now the king’s chasing me, I’ve lost my confidence, I’ve lost my
position, I’ve lost my home, I’ve lost my wife, I need counseling.’ And
you go to your mentor. You go to your
counselor, he goes to Samuel. And we’re
going to find out then that he has to flee away from Samuel. Listen, watch what God is doing, God is
knocking every single human crutch away from the man. What’s important here for you and I, the lesson
is, there are times when God wants us alone.
And it is a sanctified loneliness.
There are times when no counselor, no mentor, no pastor, no human being
will do you any good, because it is God’s design to get every human voice out
of your life, so you can hear him speaking clearly. Counseling’s wonderful. You know, we’re to be accountable, God’s put
leaders in the church to be an asset to you, and to help you in your spiritual
walk [and I would strongly advise you to find a church to fellowship in that is
real, that avoids the pitfalls of so-called Christian nationalism that so much
of evangelical so-called Christianity has fallen into (see https://unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans6.htm
and https://unityinchrist.com/history2/choosingachurch.htm)]. Again, there are times ‘When cursed is
the man who trusteth in the arm of flesh,’ there are times when God can
only do the work that he wants to do in our lives, when he removes every single
other false confidence we have relative to the circumstances we’re in. And there’s something about us, we’re so
stubborn, we’d rather grab everything tangible, and one thing after another God
will remove that, he’ll go Nob, God will take the priest away from him, God
will take Jonathan away from him, God will finally take himself away, he’s
going to be in Gath drooling like an idiot, and it isn’t until he gets to the
Cave of Adullam he looks up. He says one
thing, everything else is gone, ‘One thing have I desired of the LORD,
and that’s what I’ll seek after, LORD,
that I might dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days, that I might enquire in your temple, that I might behold your
beauty.’ He sits in the Cave of Adullam
looking at the Valley of Elah where the whole thing happened, where he defeated
Goliath, reduced to nothing in one sense, in God’s seminary in the other
sense. Everything that has happened to
him has been a mandatory course and not an elective. David would write ‘Take me by the hand,
and lead me in the way everlasting,’ I would say ‘lead me in the way
everlasting, kicking and screaming.’ You
know it’s like that Frankenstein movie, ‘I’m going to go in and I’m going to
talk to the monster. When I get in there
no matter what you hear, do not open the door.
Whatever you hear do not open the door,’ and as soon as he gets in
there ‘OPEN THE DOOR YOU IDIOT, LET ME OUTA HERE!!! GROWL!!!’
It’s one of those things ‘Lord, take me by the hand, ok, I’m ready
today, lead me in the way everlasting, and if I start whining and screaming, I
get the whine-flu, don’t listen to me.’ And
as soon as things get tough we say ‘You’re not listening to me, I knew you’d
do this to me,’ after we ask him, ‘no, no, take me through this.’ And that’s the situation here. Look, again, we read it, these are real
lives, these are real human beings, there’s emotion all over these things. We’re going to have to pick up here next
Wednesday night if the Lord tarries, if we get Raptured we can ask David and
Samuel about all of this. [It’s been 13
years since he said this, and now we’ve in the middle of a major war being fought
between the Ukraine and Russian Federation, with the European nations being
given a HUGE incentive to unite into a superpower for their own economic and
military protection. We’re getting close
folks (see https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm).] Let’s pick up here in the end of chapter 19,
we’ll pick up here next week, let’s pray, let’s bow our hearts, let’s have the
musicians come. Look, as we go through
this, several things, just realize tonight, envy, jealousy, those things are
listed under the acts of the flesh in the New Testament (cf. Galatian 5:19-21),
carnal nature, pride. Your agenda should
be the Lord’s agenda. This is an iota of
time that’s relative to eternity, and that’s what we need to be thinking
of. If one man, Jonathan, his name means
Grace, he’s willing to lay down his royal robe, he’s going to lay down
everything that would be rightfully his, and say “LORD,
I bow all of this before your plan, I
see what you’re doing, I see what you’re doing.’ Another man,
Saul, envious, jealous, angry, fearful, none of the fruit of the Spirit,
everything God doesn’t want to see in us.
And David, look at the central figure, and you watch him, you think,
certainly from his perspective as a young man, ‘LORD,
you’re so good, maybe I am going to be king of Israel, you know, Samuel dumped
that oil on my head and said ‘You’re going to be the king,’ and that giant went
down, I look back and think ‘I must have been crazy going out there,’ but you
gave me courage and you were with me, and then everything starts to go wrong,’
and those are the times we think ‘What am I doing wrong, what have I done,
do I have some secrets in my life, did I curse at my aunt Sally when I was 12
years old,’ you know, you guys are wracking your memory going back through
all these things. No, no, he’s right in
the middle of God’s will, there’s no sin in his life, he hasn’t done anything
that’s wrong. He’s exercised remarkable
faith, he’s put himself out on the place where he’s proven that he’s God’s
man. And step by step now God will
slowly make him into the king that he’s been anointed to be. It’s an interesting journey put on the page
for us, put on the page for us…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on
1st Samuel 18:1-30 and 1st Samuel 19:1-18, given by
Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue,
Philadelphia, PA 19116] related
links: when
Pastor Joe gave this sermon in 2009 we weren’t nearly as close to the end-times
as we are now, after the 24th of February 2022, when Vladimir
Putin’s Russian Federation attacked the Ukraine with 190,000 troops, along with
tanks, jet fighters, attack helicopters, missile firing cruisers and
submarines, giving the member nations of the European Union a very strong
incentive to unite into some form of United States of Europe, a Euro-superpower
in its own right. The Bible
predicted the rise of this Euro superpower over 2500 years ago. See https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm “It’s
when Saul sent messengers that surrounded the house of David to kill him.” See
https://unityinchrist.com/Psalms/Psalms59-61.htm I
would strongly advise you to find a church to fellowship in that is real, that
avoids the pitfalls of so-called Christian nationalism that so much of evangelical
so-called Christianity has fallen into (see https://unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans6.htm
and https://unityinchrist.com/history2/choosingachurch.htm Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED657
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