The King who Divides

Evening. Good to see you all here tonight. Today, this evening, we'll be reading from 1 Samuel 20.

I've entitled this sermon, The King Who Divides, so it's another episode in the life of Saul and David.

So the new year isn't all that old yet. In 2018 saw the close of the commemoration of the centenary of the end of the First World War.

Here are the kings on the three major powers that were in the First World War.

So this was obviously a major division that caused massive loss of life and suffering all through Europe.

They were really thinking about last year.

And the interesting thing about these three men is that they're all cousins.

All these kings that were formed up against each other and took their country to war against each other were related.

They were all cousins. King George, Kaiser Bill, or Kaiser Wilhelm, I should say, and Tsar Nicholas of Russia were all cousins related through their grandmother, Queen Victoria,

who acquired the nickname, the Mother of Europe, because many of the monarchs of the time in Europe were descended from Queen Victoria.

And the reason I thought of this and this division and this conflict was division is the big theme of this passage tonight.

The division we'll see here is not because of an argument in this sense or a sort of family dispute because of something like the First World War.

It's because one person is God's chosen king, David, and the other, Saul, is rejected.

So this division is based on each one's obedience or disobedience to God's will.

Up until this point previously in the life of David and Saul, we've seen the slow demise and decline of Saul.

We see how he's completely self-absorbed and only getting worse.

He's so intent on retaining the kingship, he'll ignore God and his will by trying to kill God's anointed king.

So this chapter is just another incident that shows how far Saul has come on his journey,

how far Saul has left good sense and God's will.

And all through this process of being chased and abused by Saul, how David has obeyed God and the king,

the king that's trying to kill him, even though he knows he is the rightful king.

So, a faithful friend from verses 1 to 23.

If you'll join me in looking at verse 1 of the passage,

we read and see that David has fled from Nioth at Ramah, where Saul chased him to.

He's come to seek out Jonathan, King Saul's son, to ask him a question and seek his help.

David asked Jonathan in the second part of this verse that we've read,

What have I done? What is my crime?

How have I wronged your father that he is trying to kill me?

So David has come before Jonathan and potentially put himself in danger.

Jonathan is Saul's son and may show loyalty to his father Saul by betraying David or killing himself.

But Jonathan replies in verse 2,

You are not going to die.

So Jonathan is not going to betray or harm David.

And then in verse 4, reveals to us Jonathan's heart and mind where David is concerned.

He says to David,

Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you.

Which is remarkable. It's mind-blowing.

David has come to Jonathan seeking his help.

David is the inferior and Jonathan the superior.

David is an important man in the kingdom, an army commander and the king's son-in-law,

but still not as important as Jonathan.

Jonathan is like Prince Charles here.

He's like the Prince of Wales of Israel.

So when he says to David his inferior who is running for his life,

they will do whatever he can to help him.

Jonathan asks, as I've said, as a faithful friend to David.

He puts himself under his inferior, at his command,

because he recognises David as God's true king, as his true king.

Even in spite of who he is,

and that his father is currently on the throne,

during this chapter,

Jonathan behaves as a faithful friend to David,

the true king.

And then going down to the next verse,

verse 5,

and if you'll look there,

in verse 5,

so David said,

look, tomorrow is the new moon feast,

and I'm supposed to dine with the king,

but let me go and hide in the field

until the evening of the day after tomorrow.

So David is devising this plan

to sound out Saul's intentions

and see what he means to do to him,

and also to convince Jonathan

that his father is out to get him.

So David was an important attendant of King Saul

by this point.

He was expected to be at this new moon feast,

to be at this new moon festival.

So with his absence,

David will be able to tell,

along with Jonathan,

what Saul intends to do,

without a shadow of a doubt,

what he wants to do to David.

At the end of the plan,

in verse 8,

David invokes the covenant

they had sworn between them

two chapters before in chapter 18.

A covenant just being a sworn,

holy, sacred agreement

between two parties promising

faithful, loving kindness.

So a modern day example

of a covenant would be marriage.

Obviously in marriage,

two people promise themselves

to forsake all others,

all others in front of witnesses.

So David and Jonathan

have a sworn covenant

much like this,

between them,

but with God as their witness.

And in verse 8,

when it says,

as for you,

show kindness

to your servant.

That word kindness,

although the NIV,

the New International Version,

translates that word

as kindness,

a better translation

of that word kindness

there would be

faithful, loving kindness.

So kindness is part of it,

but it doesn't fully cover

the breadth and depth

of this word

in the original Hebrew.

It has to be built

in mutual love

for each other,

to be bound up

with loyalty

and friendship.

And then from verses 12

to 23,

this covenant is renewed

and extended

beyond David

and Jonathan

to their descendants

as well.

And if you look

with me at the end

of verse 13,

it says,

may the Lord be with you

as he has been

with my father.

So Jonathan is in

this conversation

with David.

He's standing before him

and by saying that

he's saying,

the Lord's favour

has been withdrawn

from my father.

And it's been given

to you.

Along with the Lord's favour,

he has also given

David the kingdom.

He's also given you

the kingdom.

So Jonathan is acknowledging

here David's rightful

place as king

and his rightful place

as a humble subject

of God's king.

And then Jonathan

then goes on to say

in the next verse,

verse 14,

if you look there.

Do not ever cut off

your kindness

from my family.

So he's saying here,

you're the king,

your line will be

established over mine

and my line

will serve yours.

Totally relinquishing

his status,

importance

and position

to serve God's king

and to do God's will

over his own.

And then David

goes on to reaffirm

his oath to Jonathan

and his descendants.

This chapter

is a hard one

to wrap our heads

around as we've

sort of said

and thought about.

It took me ages

and I initially

sort of got it wrong.

However,

it has a really valuable

lesson for us all

and the lesson

is learned

from how

Jonathan

conducts himself

and what he says

in this passage.

Jonathan

is faced

with God's

anointed king,

the man

that God has said

will reign after

his father.

The man

that will take

his place

as the next king

and it would be

understandable

from our sinful

position

and our sinful

point of view

if Jonathan

had acted

like Saul,

if Jonathan

had opposed

David

and tried

to kill him

like Saul

did.

However,

he doesn't.

When confronted

with the choice

between arrogant

rebellion

and humble

obedience,

Jonathan

chose wisely

and took

the rightful

place

as the humble

servant of God's

anointed king.

king,

we also face

that same

choice

every day.

We are faced

with making

a decision

about our

king,

Jesus,

our true

king.

Just like

David

divided

Jonathan

and Saul,

if you look

at the screen

I've put up

a New Testament

passage,

look chapter

14,

25 to 27

if you turn

there in your

Bibles,

we read

about a

similar

division

caused

by our

king,

the Lord

Jesus.

I'm just

going to read

this now

for us.

Large crowds

were travelling

with Jesus

and turning

to them

he said,

if anyone

comes to

me and

does not

hate

father and

mother,

wife and

children,

brothers and

sisters,

yes,

even their

own life,

such a

person cannot

be my

disciple and

whoever does

not carry

their cross

and follow

me cannot

be my

disciple.

Don't

misunderstand

the house

for not

being

Christians

and our

faith should

cause us

to argue

with people

unnecessarily

about small

issues and

small things.

In fact,

they should

give us more

love and

concern for

our family

and our

friends,

so I'm not

saying that,

so don't

go on the

phone to

anyone when

you get

back or

send out

any rash

emails.

And if

you do,

it wasn't

me telling

you to do

that.

However,

we need

to know

that the

Lord Jesus

acknowledged

that the

Christian's

faith in

him and

love for

him is

going to

cause us

to be

at odds

with society,

to be

at odds

with our

culture and

to be

at odds

with people

within it.

It will

lead us

to being

drawn into

conflict at

times with

people we

know in

various

different

contexts,

in our

workplaces,

in our

schools,

universities,

and our

colleges,

socially,

and where

we meet

other people

or friends.

So we

shouldn't

look for

conflict or

argument with

our loved

ones or

anyone else.

people.

But let's

be aware

that this

division does

exist in

the Christian's

life and

in this

modern day

and it's

important that

we respond

correctly to

the Lord

Jesus.

Respond in

faith and

obedience.

If we don't

respond in

faith and

obedience,

then we will

find ourselves

rejecting the

king, which

will look

different for

the people

who do.

It's not

going to look

like this in

this passage.

No one

here is going

to throw

any spears

at you or

anything like

that.

So it

probably won't

look like

this, but

it will end

up, like

Saul, frustrated

and unfulfilled.

And worst

of all, each

person is going

to meet our

king Jesus.

And if we've

rejected him in

life and been

on the wrong

side of this

division, then

he will reject

us in time.

So we need to

be on the right

side of the

division.

like Jonathan

and learn

from Saul

and his

side of

division and

his reaction

to the

king.

And that

leads me on

to my next

point.

So a

spiteful king

from verses

24 to 42.

And if you

look at me,

look at me,

look at me,

but certainly

as well look

at verses

30 to 31.

Saul's anger

flared up at

Jonathan and he

said to him,

you son of a

perverse and

rebellious woman,

don't I know

that you have

sided with the

son of Jesse

to your own

shame and to

the shame of

the mother who

bore you?

As long as the

son of Jesse

lives on this

earth, neither

you nor your

kingdom will be

established.

Now send and

bring him to

me, for he

must die.

So we see

in these verses

the extent of

Saul's decline.

He has

steadily

departed from

all good

sins.

Jonathan has

just told his

father, Saul,

that David will

not be present

at the new

moon feast with

the king for

the celebration

and feasting.

David had

said to

Jonathan,

if Saul is

calm when you

tell him this,

then I'm safe

and the king

doesn't want my

life.

And if Saul

becomes angry

that he and

David will be

absent from the

celebration, then

Saul does mean

David's harm and

he does want to

kill him.

So this is

confirmed here.

He does indeed

want to kill

him.

So let's, I'm

going to move on

and pick some of

this apart so we

can understand it

a bit better and

see the extent of

Saul's thinking

about David and

Jonathan and

really reveal his

heart in all

this.

So you son of

a perverse and

rebellious woman.

This insult is

directed at

Jonathan rather

than his mother

as it says,

meaning that he's

a disobedient son

and he should be

ashamed of how he

has endangered his

birthright and

turned his back and

betrayed his father

the king.

Don't I know that

you have sided with

the son of Jesse

to your own shame

and to the shame

of the mother who

bore you?

When he says

that don't I

know, you can

almost hear the

contempt and

disgust in his

voice.

Here he's saying

he's either been

told of the

covenant between

David and

Jonathan or

that he's been

put together the

pieces of the

puzzle and

worked out and

how Jonathan and

David treat each

other and conduct

our friendship.

You have sided

with the son of

Jesse.

Here is Saul

drawing a division

all of his own

making between

him and David.

There's no need

for this but he

does it anyway and

he's saying to

Jonathan you have

sided, you've chosen

the wrong side, you

have to be loyal to

me, I'm the king, I'm

your father.

When actually Saul

should be on the

same side as

Jonathan supporting

David rather than

trying to kill him,

acknowledging him as

king as opposed to

chasing him all over

the country.

And in this verse

when I've underlined

the son of Jesse,

this is another

insult Saul throws

at David.

Saul hates David so

much he will not

even call him by

name.

Almost trying to

take David's

accomplishments and

fame from him by

invalidating his name

and refusing to

speak it.

He calls David

this twice as well

in verse 31.

where he calls for

Jonathan to betray

David and bring him

to Saul so he can

kill him.

Sighting that

Jonathan and his

claim to the

kingdom will not

come to fruition as

long as David is

alive.

Jonathan realises

that's not true.

Saul however thinks

that he will be able

to get rid of David

and secure his fame

and glory.

So let's not be

confused.

Although Saul

speaks to Jonathan

and uses the language

of Jonathan

inheriting the

kingdom from Saul

Saul is in fact

only concerned with

himself.

Saul loved the

adulation of the

people and the

fame it brought

and when David

received more praise

and more honour

from the people

than Saul did

that began to turn

Saul against David

and now we see

Saul for what he

really is.

A spiteful king

willing to do

anything to hang

on to power

and fame

and glory.

In verse 33

it goes on

to confirm this

thinking even

further

that Saul is

only concerned

with himself.

So in verse 33

if you look there

now

Saul flies into

a seething rage

with Jonathan.

So verse 33

says

but Saul

hurled his spear

at him

to kill him

then Jonathan

knew that his

father intended

to kill David.

So Saul

throws his spear

at his own

son Jonathan

at the start

of verse 33

but not just

to kill him

it's not just

that he wants

to kill him

and murder him

he specifically

tries to kill him

the exact same

way he tried

to kill David

earlier in the

story.

He thinks so

little of Jonathan

this humble

servant hearted

man

that he will

try and kill

him in the

same way

he tried to

kill his

supposedly great

enemy David

and just the

fact that he

tries to kill

his own son

and all this

is shocking

and then the

end of verse

33

is Jonathan's

realisation

that yes

Saul

my father

the king

is indeed

trying to

kill David.

And you can

almost feel

and hear

the remorse

in Jonathan's

voice as he

comes to that

realisation

that Saul

his father

the king

is trying to

kill his

friend

and this

friend is

God's chosen

king for

God's chosen

people.

David's been

chosen for a

very important

and special

task to

steward God's

nation Israel

as king.

Saul had been

chosen for the

same job

and he'd

blown it

basically.

Rather than

being a

servant-hearted

king like

God commanded

and God

laid out in

his law

Saul was

proud and

used the

kingship to

aggrandise

himself with

fame and

glory and

honour at

the expense of

God often

forgetting God

and neglecting

God's fame and

glory over

his own.

And in

verse 34

Jonathan

leaves the

king's

presence and

is ashamed

of how

Saul has

treated

David.

For two

reasons.

Because David

is Jonathan's

friend and

because David

is God's

king and

Saul is not

just sinning

against David

but against

God as

well.

And then

continuing in

verse 41

David and

Jonathan meet

each other

once again

after Jonathan

has used the

code of the

arrows to

communicate that

Saul does

indeed want

to kill

David.

And this is

hard to hear

for the two

friends.

Hard because

now they

must part.

Hard because

Saul will

seemingly stop

at nothing

to kill

David.

And hard

because the

current king

of God's

people is

very quickly

going off

the rails.

Just like

any time you

have to say

goodbye to a

friend you

know you won't

see again for a

long time because

they live abroad

or they have

such a busy

lifestyle it's

hard to meet

them.

It's hard and

painful for

Saul and David

here.

And Saul is

very quickly

descending into

madness and

violence.

Consumed by

his own

importance,

his fame and

the legend that

he has actually

started to

believe about

himself.

He's forgotten

the days when

he like David

was an ordinary

Israelite and

that God

also picked

him for

the task.

God doesn't

work like

men and

his throne

is not to

be controlled

as Saul is

trying to.

That just

because Saul

sits on the

throne that

his descendants

will as well

is an

assumption that

Saul is working

on.

Even though

Samuel has

told Saul the

opposite of

that.

And moving

on to the

last verse in

the passage,

verse 42,

if you'll look

there with me.

Jonathan said

to David,

go in peace

for we have

sworn friendship

with each

other in the

name of the

Lord,

saying,

the Lord has

witnessed between

you and me

and between

your descendants

and my

descendants

forever.

Then David

left and

Jonathan went

back to the

town.

Jonathan sends

David away as

he said he

would if his

father Saul

wanted to kill

him.

Citing their

sworn friendship

with God as

our witness,

this covenant

between them

and also

between their

houses in the

future.

Jonathan once

again pledging

his loyalty to

David and the

loyalty of his

descendants after

him to David

and his

descendants for

all time.

As we saw in

this chapter,

David is a

king who

divides opinion,

splitting Saul

from Jonathan.

he divides

father and

son.

And Saul

unfortunately

finds himself

on the wrong

side of this

division.

He finds

himself not

just set

against Jonathan

and against

David,

but most

importantly set

against God,

set against

God's will,

set against

God's king.

Saul is

hard-hearted

and refuses

to accept,

believe,

and act

appropriately in

the face of a

clear and

direct word of

God.

Instead of

bowing to

this, Saul

continues to

rage and

tries to

help Jonathan

in the process.

Saul by this

point is

completely caught

up in his

own fame and

ambition.

And we face

the same

division which

I had mentioned

earlier.

the division

between our

reaction to

the king.

Not King

David like in

the chapter,

but our far

greater king,

King Jesus.

And in those

verses we looked

at from the

New Testament,

from Luke

Luke 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14,

25 to 27,

Jesus says

that he will

divide families,

relatives and

friends.

One side of

that division is

with Jesus and

the other against

him.

and the

people who

are with

him.

This is the

only true

division in

life.

All the time

in the news

we're hearing

about other

divisions and

hostility between

people over in

America, between

Donald Trump and

his supporters and

the people that

oppose him.

Over here,

Brexit, with

people who want

to stay in the

EU and people

who want to

leave.

And even in

Scotland, between

those who want

independence and

those who want

to stay as

part of the

United Kingdom

and countless

more we can

think of, such

as World War

I or any

other number of

ones from the

past or from

the present.

However, none

of these divisions

that I've

mentioned deserve

as much attention

as the division

we're discussing

here tonight,

because this is

a life and

death scenario,

i.e.

everlasting life

or everlasting

punishment.

If we are with

Jesus, then we

are safe and

our future is

secure.

We will be

welcomed by

Jesus and be

given a glorious

inheritance.

And if we are on

the opposite side

of this division,

then you are in

great danger.

no one knows

when their life

is at an end.

If we die

without receiving

forgiveness for

our sins from

Jesus, then we

will find ourselves

eternally separated

from Jesus and

eternally on the

wrong side of this

much greater

division.

And we will be

trapped on the

wrong side of this

division.

to go back to

the First World

War, Roger

Kipling, a

favourite and a

famous author from

that time, wrote

in a national

newspaper at the

time in an effort

to drum up

national pride and

patriotic fervour for

the war effort.

However the world

pretends to divide

itself, there are

only two divisions

in the world

today.

Human beings

and Germans

I don't agree

with that.

Don't take that

home with you

either.

But even in the

terrible days of

the First World

War and all the

suffering and

inhumanity, that

assertion there is

incorrect.

And whatever other

division we would

think about today

that I've mentioned

is incorrect.

Despite what was

going on at the

time and people's

feelings and the

war and all that,

there was only ever

been this one

divide we have

spoken about here

this evening.

The divide between

Christians and

non-Christians.

Those who have

been forgiven of

their sins by the

Lord Jesus and

those who have

not.

If you're here

tonight as a

Christian, again,

you're on the

correct side of

this division and

you are secure.

If you're here

this evening as a

non-Christian,

however, then you

are on the wrong

side of this division

from God and

from Jesus and

need to come to

Jesus and ask for

forgiveness and

shelter as well.

Let's just pray.

Heavenly Father, we

thank you for your

word and what we

have read here

tonight.

we thank you that

you have sent the

Lord Jesus to

bring us over this

divide to yourself,

Heavenly Father,

that although we are

sinners, we can have

this forgiveness and

cross this divide and

be secure in the

knowledge that when

the Lord Jesus

returns again, that

we will be on the

right side of this

division and we

will be welcomed and

we will not be

rejected.

Heavenly Father, we

just pray that you

will help us to

think in these things

and think in your

word in this week to

come and think of

this division and

where we are in

regards to it.

And we ask this all

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.