David and Saul

Good morning, everyone. Open up your copy of God's Word to 1 Samuel, chapter 15.

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

! If you're visiting today or kind of new on the scene, we just started a series on the life of King David last Sunday.

So this is the second part of that series.

We started it last week, and David is one of my favorite Bible characters.

And without debate, he's one of the most enthralling, interesting, fascinating men in the whole of the Bible.

And very worth our attention because God Himself gives David a ton of attention in the Divine Word.

David is mentioned in 66 chapters of the Old Testament.

That's more than Abraham, Joseph, Moses, all together.

And also mentioned 59 times in the New Testament.

So when God does something like this, He's like, pay attention, learn.

God has much for us to learn about His interactions with David.

So just join me again in a quick word of prayer.

Lord, after much study the past week preparing for this, there's a great feeling of inadequacy.

And I just ask that you would use this time to bless your people, that your word would speak, that it would have its desired effect on the hearts of those who are here, and that you would be honored.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

So a really, really quick recap, since we have some new people with us today.

It's always good to kind of connect to the previous week.

But really quickly, just a little bit about David's background.

His name means Beloved One, which signifies strength and favor.

Born roughly around 1040 B.C.

He ruled and lived about 70 years before he died.

And he was the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, which is significant because that's in the line of Ruth and Boaz, that righteous line that God had promised.

And we studied how David was a gifted man, developing his skills and capabilities just by being faithful in everyday life in the context in which God reared him.

And we said that he was, we observed these things last week.

If you want to hear more, go back.

He was a shepherd.

He was a brave, responsible young man in charge of taking care of his father's flock.

Took care of them, loved them in a fresh pasture, and protected them from predators.

He was a singer and poet.

He's referred to as the sweet psalmist of Israel in 2 Samuel 23.

And he had a great sensitivity for the heart and his emotion and his relationship with God.

And he wrote about 73 psalms.

And as I was saying last week, there's something in the life of David almost for everyone here.

He doesn't fit our modern day stereotypes of like, mamsy-pamsy boy or tough man.

He's kind of like in the middle.

He's a singer and a poet, but he also was a warrior and a soldier.

He's called a man of valor, a man of war, meaning someone who was brave and could fight courageously on the battlefield.

Man of war refers to that he was trained in the weapons of his day.

He could pick up anything and use it in hand-to-hand combat.

He was a force to be reckoned with.

He could take any man in this room.

He practiced Kav Magra before Kav Magra was actually a thing in Israel.

So he was a tough warrior.

But as we also looked at last week, David's distinguishing trait was not those capabilities.

As he read that God indicated that he judges not by outward appearance, but the Lord judges in ways the heart.

So not just what is on the outside, but what is here.

We read that David was a man after God's own heart.

That was his defining trait.

David's heart, the beautiful thing about it is that it was after God's heart.

And we defined it this way, that a man or woman after God's own heart just means one whose deepest heart desires and longings are for his God,

shown and revealed in how one lives.

And we also, lest we think that God's love for us depends on how much we love or don't love God,

a quick reminder that God loved David first.

The reason why he was that way was because God had shown him so much love and shown much grace.

David loved him because God first loved David.

And so we also touched on this.

We're going to see a lot more of it today.

But Saul was the current king of Israel.

And as a result of continual disobedience, as we'll see in detail today, he was finally rejected by God.

And God sent the prophet Samuel to go and find David and anoint him as the new king of Israel.

And as soon as the spirit came down and rushed upon David to empower him to do his will,

we also see that simultaneously a tormenting, distressing spirit came upon Saul.

A very scary thing.

So a little bit more of an intro to the message today.

This is really a tale of two kings.

Last week, the short title of the message was David and his God.

Today, it is David and Saul.

And you may wonder why we're looking at Saul today when it's supposed to be a study of David.

But many reasons.

But one is it's hard to understand the great significance of David without the black, dark backdrop of Saul's reign.

The Bible transitions to the story of David.

But when it does that, it happens in the context of the story of Saul.

So you can't really divorce the two.

You can't ever really learn to appreciate or understand David until you can contrast him with Saul.

Saul is one of the Bible's most tragic heroes.

After his abandonment by God, he is a doomed man losing his mind.

In fits of melancholy and erratic behavior.

A picture of what happens when God wants to, if he removes his grace, if he removes the influence of his spirit, what that can do.

One writer wrote about Saul.

Saul's terrible and inevitable degeneration will remind the modern reader that Shakespeare must have studied the account of Saul with considerable detail before writing Macbeth.

Some of you are like, who is Macbeth?

I cheated in high school.

I watched the movie.

I rented it at the movie store.

I didn't read it.

The teacher was like, you know this so well.

I'm like, well, I rented the movie.

But anyway, I tried to read it.

Just couldn't understand it.

Don't tell your kids to do that.

Let's pick back up from where we were last week.

I apologize.

Let's look at the end of chapter 16.

This is just an introduction.

This is when David actually meets Saul for the first time.

And Saul is unaware at the moment that Samuel has anointed David.

He doesn't know.

But we're just going to read this.

Guys, look, there's a lot of reading today.

So if you don't have a Bible, you're going to be lost.

If you actually don't have a physical Bible, come and tell me.

The church would love to buy you one.

We don't need to be tiresome over reading God's Word.

But before you're too hard on me, there's almost 16 chapters of this story of David and Saul.

We're not reading all 16, but it also is really hard to narrow down a few passages to look at.

But this is the introduction.

This is where David first meets him when he comes into Saul's court.

Look at 16, verse 14.

Very scary.

Let our Lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is a skillful in playing the liar.

And when the harmful spirit of God was upon him, he will play it and you will be well.

And so Saul said to his servants, provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.

One of the young men answered, behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, a man of good presence.

And the Lord is with him.

There's a description of David for us right there.

Verse 19.

Therefore, Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, send me David, your son, who is with the sheep.

And Jesse took a donkey, laden it with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David, his son, to Saul.

And David came to Saul and entered into his service.

And Saul, listen to that, underline that, Saul loved him greatly.

And he became his armor bearer.

And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.

And whenever the harmful spirit of God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand.

So Saul was refreshed and well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

So that is the introduction.

Okay?

So we see even there that, like, to some degree, there's something spiritual about music.

If you can pick that up.

Talented musicians know, which I'm not one of them, that you can play certain keys and you can invoke certain emotions in people when you do it.

This is why we don't try to manipulate the, we just kind of play music.

And so, today, we're going to look at some of the major contrasts between David and Saul.

And I think, I could be wrong, but I chose chapter 15 to show you these contrasts.

I think it's most clearly seen.

And I have three main points for you today.

One is religious versus regenerate.

Meaning that Saul was a religious man while David was indeed a regenerate man.

Saul outwardly behaved like he knew God, like he belonged to God.

He said all the right words.

He did all the right rituals.

He got involved in serving God.

He believed in God, but it wasn't like the true belief that leads to joy and repentance.

It was more like the belief that the demons have of God.

This is mentioned in James.

It says, like, oh, I believe in God, so what?

So do the demons.

The demons know exactly who God is.

It was that kind of belief that Saul had.

He got involved in serving God, but yet, at the end of his days, he continually rebelled against God.

And did not truly know him or belong to him.

He gives a face, if you would, to a certain theme that's in the Bible.

He is the man in Matthew 7 who comes forward and says,

Lord, Lord, I did all these great things in your name.

And Christ says, depart from me, you worker of lawlessness.

I never knew you.

He also, in Matthew 25, is like the worthless servant.

He is the face of Hebrews 6.

A false convert.

Someone who has tasted the heavenly gift.

Come around the church.

Had an outward display of goodness.

Tasted the heavenly gift, but fallen away.

So that's Saul.

By contrast, David was a truly regenerate man.

He truly loved God from its inward parts and obeyed God with all his heart.

He truly knew him and walked with him.

And as we're going to see in a few weeks, David was not sinless.

But he understood, if we confess our sins, that he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, as it says in 1 John 1.9.

So we see this deep contrast here in chapter 15.

Let's just start in verse 10.

And this is after Saul has disobeyed for the final time.

Like, God has given him a chance and another chance and another chance.

And he just continues to rebel and not do what God said.

So this is the final straw.

Verse 10.

The word of the Lord came to Samuel.

I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.

And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.

And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning.

And it was told to Samuel,

Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument to himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.

And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him,

Blessed be you to the Lord.

I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

And Samuel said,

What then is this bleeding of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?

And Saul said,

They have brought them from the Amalekites,

for the people spared the best of the sheep,

and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God.

And the rest we have devoted to destruction.

So that's our first part.

But right here,

a quick observation.

Saul sought his own glory.

Saul sought his own glory.

He disobeyed a very direct command from the Lord.

The Lord's command was,

Go and destroy the Amalekites, all of them.

Slaughter their livestock.

Don't leave anything alive.

So, you know, rough, but very clear.

Very simple command.

Right?

But when Samuel was on his way there,

he was grieving.

He was upset.

But to add insult to injury,

as he gets close to Carmel,

he hears that Saul has set up a monument to himself

to celebrate his great victory.

Contemptible pride.

An expression of his own self-love and self-worship.

Very scary.

Notice in verse 15,

he's talking to Samuel,

and he goes,

The Lord your God.

Underline that.

He doesn't say the Lord our God,

or the Lord my God.

It's the Lord your God,

which stands out.

But he set up this monument for his own self-love and his self-worship.

And Jesus reminded the religious leaders that were rejecting him.

He says,

I know that you do not have the love of God within you.

How can you believe when you receive glory from one another

and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

So how is it possible for you who claim to believe

when you seek praise and glory from other people

and you don't seek the praise and glory for God alone?

So any good we have is something we need to learn here.

Saul did not know this.

Any good thing we have,

any good thing we accomplish is all from the Lord

to keep us humble.

He deserves all the glory.

Any success you have,

any position you have,

any favor at all

is by his hand.

It is the Lord's doing.

And so sin has blinded Saul,

where he almost seems to be happy

to see Samuel.

If he truly knew,

he wouldn't be behaving this way.

But really, he's like,

what's up, Samuel?

My man, good to see you.

I did exactly,

look, I told you,

I did exactly what God told me to do.

What do you think of my work?

And Samuel's like,

what?

And he kind of asked him a sarcastic,

rhetorical question.

Oh, you've obeyed, have you?

Okay, then what's this noise that I hear

of sheep bleeding and oxen?

What do I hear?

You're telling me you did it all.

And tragically,

Saul

was to obey the voice of the Lord,

but now the air is filled with the noise

of his disobedience.

As we teach our children,

delayed obedience

or partial obedience

is all-out disobedience.

Go on to verse 16.

Then Samuel said to Saul,

stop.

He can't take it anymore.

Stop.

I will tell you what the Lord said to me

this night.

And Saul said to him,

speak.

And Samuel said,

though you are little in your own eyes,

are you not the head of the tribes of Israel?

The Lord anointed you king over Israel,

and the Lord sent you on a mission

and said,

go and devote

to destruction the sinners,

the Amicalites,

and fight against them

until they are consumed.

And why then did you not obey

the voice of the Lord?

Why did you pounce on the spoil

and do what was evil

in the sight of the Lord?

So really simple,

he stops them.

He's like,

I can't take anymore.

Like, stop.

Be quiet.

Listen to what God says to you.

And very like falsely,

he's like,

okay, speak.

And he astoundingly claimed

that he's carried out God's commands.

Like, I did what he asked me to do.

I destroyed the Amalekites.

But, you know,

I saved a few things for myself.

But he disobeyed.

And he basically was like,

Saul, if God made you king,

he anointed you king.

You're the leader.

Why then do you care so much

about the opinions of your soldiers?

Like, that should not matter.

You're making an excuse.

But Saul's sin has blinded him

so that he thinks he's above reproach,

that he thinks he's obeyed God's command.

Look at verse 20.

And Saul said to Samuel,

listen to this,

I have obeyed the voice of the Lord.

I have gone on the mission

on which the Lord sent me.

I have brought Agag,

the king of Amalek,

and I have devoted the Amalekites

to destruction.

But the people took of the spoil,

the sheep and the oxen,

and the best things devoted to destruction,

to sacrifice to the Lord your God

in Gilgal.

So, look, sin,

sin by nature,

blinds us.

It deceives us

into thinking that we're being obedient.

It blinds people to their disobedience.

It's all things he's done,

the right thing.

And basically, Samuel's,

no, you have not done the right thing.

Real simple principle.

We obey who we fear.

We obey who we fear.

Saul feared the people.

He loved his own reputation.

And therefore, he despised God.

Being big in our own eyes is small.

Here, we witness firsthand

the excessive desire for praise.

The praise of man,

the approval of man,

can pull us away

from the presence of God.

And this is what we see,

this excessive desire for that.

And Saul, instead of taking ownership,

you know what?

You're right.

You're right.

He doesn't.

He shifts blame.

You see that?

He's like, look, Samuel,

I did what I was supposed to do,

but the people didn't listen to me.

At some point,

in this act of false piety,

Saul determined

that his own way of honoring God

was better than the way

that God had actually told him

to honor him.

He's like,

I captured all these animals

to go and offer a sacrifice

to the Lord.

It's not what God told him to do.

And,

very scary,

instead of owning up

and owning his sin,

he justifies it.

He makes excuses

for his disobedience.

He takes no responsibility.

He doesn't repent.

He blames the people around him.

He takes the footsteps of Adam,

if you would,

in the fall.

Argues that his sin

was no big deal.

He points the finger

at everyone else

but himself.

And in our victimized society,

we do that a lot.

It's other people's fault

that I'm this way.

It's other people's fault

that I behave this way.

We all need to understand

that the judgment seat,

we all be held accountable

for our sin.

His anointing,

Saul's anointing,

as the first king of Israel,

was a cause for great celebration

but due to his sin

and his failure to repent,

he has been now rejected

by God as king.

And so no excuses

are going to fly.

It's embarrassing.

Being caught in sin

is embarrassing

and shameful.

So what pulls your heart

away from God?

Is it the praise of men?

Samuel goes on

to tell him in verse 20.

This is very scary.

Verse 20.

Samuel said,

Has the Lord

as great delight

in burnt offerings

and sacrifices

as in obeying

the voice of the Lord?

Behold,

to obey

is better than sacrifice

and to listen

than the fat of rams.

For rebellion

is the sin

of divination

and presumption

is as iniquity

and idolatry.

Because you have rejected

the word of the Lord,

he has also rejected you

from being king.

So,

Samuel shoots out

an essential truth

that goes throughout

the whole of Scripture

that God delights

in inward obedience

from the heart,

not just mere

external conformity.

And some of us

may have that done well.

We look the part,

we act the part,

we say the right things,

but our hearts

are far away

from God.

Saul's sacrifice

did not please God

because it wasn't

flowing from a heart

of true faith

and obedience.

Heart obedience

is always preferred

by God

as to ritual.

And sadly,

he delivers that

final word of judgment,

like,

look,

you're gone,

you're done,

this is it.

There's no more,

well,

one more chance,

there's none of that.

It's very scary.

And he goes,

look,

the Lord has stripped

your kingdom from you.

Your line will not succeed.

Very scary and tragic.

But then it gets worse.

Like,

it can't get any worse,

it gets worse.

Verse 24,

Saul said to Samuel,

I have sinned,

for I have transgressed

the commandment of the Lord

and your words,

because I feared the people,

see that,

and obeyed their voice.

Now,

therefore,

please pardon my sin

and return with me

that I may bow

before the Lord.

And Samuel said to Saul,

I will not return with you,

for you have rejected

the word of the Lord,

and the Lord has rejected you

from being king over Israel.

And as Samuel turned around

to go away,

Saul seized the skirt

of his robe

and tore it.

And Samuel said to him,

the Lord has torn

the kingdom of Israel

from you this day.

And has given it

to a neighbor of yours

who is better than you.

And also,

the glory of Israel

will not lie

or have regret,

for he is not a man

that he should have regret.

Highlight that one.

God doesn't just make things up.

Then he said,

I have sinned.

Yet honor me now

before the elders

of my people

and before Israel

and return with me

that I may bow

before the Lord your God.

So Samuel turned back

after Saul

and Saul bowed

before the Lord.

So,

don't be fooled

in verse 24.

This outward remorse

of his sin

is not genuine.

There's not genuine repentance.

He clearly is more upset

over the consequences

of his sin

than the fact

that he actually

has sinned against the Lord

and hurt the Lord

and angered him.

Whenever we're sharing

the gospel with people,

don't mistake people's guilt

as repentance.

It's very different.

Even people who don't know Christ

can feel bad

about things that they've done.

And that's what's going on here.

He feels bad

about the consequences

but not that he had sinned

against God.

He wasn't mourning

over that fact.

But notice that

he basically says,

you're right,

I've sinned

but please just,

you know,

we've all been there.

I meant well.

I meant well

sorry.

So,

why don't you

just walk back with me

so that all the people

will see that

we're good.

Let's just keep this

between us.

No one has to know.

Just walk back with me

so that everyone

will see that me

and you are cool

and that I still have favor

with everyone else.

Very embarrassing.

So,

he cared more

about his personal

dignity

and vanity

which sometimes

can be the greatest

obstacle

to our obedience

to God.

Caring about how

others perceive us

can be sometimes

the greatest hindrance

to our obedience

to God.

And this is what

Saul is doing.

Instead of repenting,

he just wants to

save face with the people.

Like,

if you return to me,

everyone will see

that everything is fine.

But remember,

sin is never private

and affects all people

around us.

So,

this is Saul.

This is painting

a grim picture

of how he dealt

with sin.

Which we're going to see

a huge contrast

later

when we look at

how David sinned,

how different

they responded.

So,

Saul was a religious man.

This is the longest

point,

by the way.

David was a

regenerate man.

We will see David

in heaven one day.

We will not see Saul.

So,

by contrast,

David sought

God's glory.

He loved God,

feared God,

and sought to live

a life that was

pleasing to God.

So,

even when his life

was under constant

threat by Saul,

he was hiding

in the wilderness,

trusting in God's

providence,

praising God.

If you want an example

of that,

just to save some time,

I may not read this

whole thing to you,

but write down

Psalm 57.

I'll read just a piece

of it to you,

but he wrote this

when he was hiding

in the wilderness

while Saul was

pursuing him.

He said,

Be merciful to me,

O God,

be merciful to me,

for in you,

my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow

of your wings,

I will take refuge

till the storms

of destruction

pass by.

I cry out to God,

most high,

to God who fulfills

his purpose for me.

He will sin from heaven

and save me.

He will put to shame

him who tramples on me.

Thinking about Saul.

And he has great love

for God,

great glory for God.

Verse 7,

My heart is steadfast,

O God,

my heart is steadfast.

I will sing

and make melody.

Awake,

my glory.

Awake,

O harp and lyre.

I will awake the dawn.

I will give thanks

to you among the peoples.

Be exalted,

O God,

above the heavens.

Let your glory

be over all the earth.

So even while he was

being under constant threat

of Saul,

his mind was on

how do I honor God

in this time?

So he puts his total trust

in God.

A very different contrast.

And we'll see later

how he actually responds

to his sin

and his failure.

David yearned for

not just the blessings

from God,

but the presence of God.

He feared God.

And then also,

as again,

we'll see later

in 2 Samuel,

David repented of his sin

and he feared God.

The very opposite.

Saul justified his sin,

made excuses.

David repented of his sin.

A very different response.

After,

much in the same way

that Samuel

went to Saul

and called him out

on his sin,

the prophet Nathan,

as we know,

goes to David

and he calls him out

for his adultery,

his conspiracy,

and his murder.

And out of his mouth

comes,

I have sinned

against the Lord.

He couldn't live

in sin.

He couldn't do it.

And in Psalm 51

is written,

which you'll look at later,

but he says,

I know my transgressions

and my sin

is ever before me.

And then he says

to God,

you and you alone

have I sinned against

and done what is evil

in your sight.

Very different.

David repented of his sin

and he feared God.

A huge contrast.

This is point number two.

Point number two.

The first one was

religious versus regenerate.

The other two

won't take as long.

Envy and treachery

versus faithful friend.

All right?

I'll try to summarize

this for you as well.

In 1 Samuel 18,

you can flip over there

if you want to.

But this is the first time

that Saul begins

hating David

and envying him.

1 Samuel 18, verse 6.

1 Samuel 18:6

It says,

They were coming home

when David returned

from striking down

the Philistines.

So this is right after

David kills Goliath.

The women came out

from the cities of Israel

singing and dancing

to meet King Saul

with tambourines

and songs of joy

and musical instruments.

And the people sang

one to the other

as I celebrated.

Check this out.

Saul has struck down

his thousands

and David

his tens of thousands.

No, no.

And Saul

was very angry.

And this saying

displeased him.

And he said,

They have ascribed

to David

tens of thousands

and to me

they have ascribed

thousands.

And what more

can he have

but my kingdom?

And Saul

eyed David

from that day on.

All right,

so deep down

any man

wants women

singing about

his victories

on the battlefield.

but what's going on

is like Saul

is angry.

He's like,

They're giving praise

to David

and not me.

So from that day on

he became suspicious

of David.

Verse 10,

The next day

that harmful spirit

came upon Saul

from God

and he raved

within his house

while David

was playing the lyre

as he did

day by day.

Saul had a spear

in his hand

and Saul hurled

the spear

kind of like a javelin

for he thought

I will pin David

to the wall.

But David

evaded him twice.

Saul was afraid

of David

because the Lord

was with him

but he had

departed from Saul.

So Saul removed him

from his presence

and made him

a commander

of a thousand.

And he went out

and came back

and before the people.

And David

had success

in all his undertakings

for the Lord

was with him

and when Saul

saw that he had

great success

he stood

in fearful awe

of him.

So

at some point

after his suspicion

happened

Saul was determined

to kill him.

So he hurls

a javelin at him.

One of those

so like

David would have been

really good at dodgeball

but he hurled it

he moved it out of the way

cleared it

like okay man

like jeez

alright we're good

and I don't think

any of our friends

have ever done that before.

And so

Saul despised him

because he was

receiving all the attention

all the glory.

So we see

Saul's envy

and treachery

is the first time here

don't worry

we're not going to read

much more

but this erratic

behavior that came

upon him

he evaded him twice

and amazingly

he gets out of the way

so then Saul's like

alright I'm done with him

just send him

into the ranks

maybe he'll get killed

give him a command

but because the Lord

was with him

he excelled

even on the battlefield.

And that just made Saul

even more angry

more frustrated

at David's success.

A lesson here for us guys

like please

listen to this

we all have this problem

when we are jealous

of the gifts

and blessings

and positions

of other people

we are not just angry

with that person

we are angry

with God himself

because we're saying

God

and his wisdom

and his sovereignty

and his goodness

we're calling it

into question

and saying

we are smarter

than him

and falsely

charges God

with men

so Saul is filled

with envy

and jealousy

over David's gifts

his abilities

his success

and wishes

that he had

what David had

instead of being

thankful

that God

has taken care

of the nation

he's angry

so his sin

this jealous rage

he seeks to murder

his loyal servant

in the following chapters

David flees

he runs

from Saul's presence

Saul pursues him

the soldiers

it's a band of warriors

to stay loyal

to David

and all in the following chapters

is this back and forth

of David

trying to run

from Saul

but here's what's crazy

Saul is the

envious

jealous

treacherous friend

David is the faithful

friend

his faithful love

for Saul

despite that jealousy

David truly

loves Saul

and respects him

he's fiercely loyal

to Saul

the scripture says

in Proverbs 17

17

some of you

struggle making friends

because you don't

pick good ones

Proverbs 17

17

a friend

loves

at all

times

and a brother

is born

for adversity

a true friend

shows and displays

love towards

their others

at all times

in favorable times

troubling times

thick and thin

they're not fair

with their friends

and usually

all the time

most people

are people

who are fellow

believers

so

cultivate those

friends

with fellow

believers

who have the

same Lord

that you have

but

going on

Saul ruthlessly

pursues him

it's so great

though

is David's love

for Saul

that he had

two opportunities

not once

but twice

to actually

kill Saul

and he didn't

he forgave him

he was patient

with him

he felt

remorseful

for him

he felt so

sad

for Saul

so you can

imagine that

the person

that you love

and that you

admire

trying to

kill you

so

first

he spares

his life

in chapter

24

1 through

22

and then

another time

after the death

of Samuel

and his marriage

to Abigail

David spares

Saul's life

again

and

I want to

read this

to you

and we'll

be close

to being done

1 Samuel

24

now think

about this

you're getting

a chance

to kill

the guy

who's

pursuing

you

and just

look at

David's

love

and response

and respect

for Saul

let us learn

something

from God's

word

again

I know a lot

to read

today but

it's God's

word

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 24:8

24

verse 8

afterwards

David also

arose and

went out of

the cave

and called

after Saul

my lord

king

and when

Saul looked

behind him

David bowed

his face

to the earth

and paid

homage

so he

caught Saul

unawares

and he

bowed down

before him

and David

said to Saul

why do you

listen to the

words of men

who say

behold

David seeks

you harm

behold

this day

your eyes

have seen

how the

lord

gave you

today

into my

hand

in the

cave

and some

told me

to kill

you

so David

had men

saying

hey here's

your chance

end this

right now

kill them

and David

said no

I will not

but he said

I spared you

I said I will

not put out

my hand

against my

lord

for he is

the lord's

anointed

see

my father

see the

corner

he loves

Saul so

much

he calls

him

my father

see the

corner of

your robe

what happened

was David

went in

there

and he

took a

piece of

Saul's

robe

off

cut it

off

while he

was

sleeping

he's

like look

at this

I could have

killed you

here's your

robe

so it stands

as proof

for by the

fact that I

cut off the

corner of your

robe and did

not kill you

you may know

and see that

there is no

wrong or

treason in

my hands

I have not

sinned against

you though

you hunt

me

hunt my life

and take it

here's

here's

something

amazing

he says

this

may the

Lord

judge

between

me and

you

and may

the

Lord

avenge

me

against

you

but my

hand

shall not

be

against

you

as the

proverb

that the

ancient

says

look at

this

out of

the

wicked

comes

wickedness

so David

was like

I'm not

I'm not

going to

do that

but my

hand

shall not

be

against

you

after

whom

has the

king

of

Israel

come

out

after

whom

do

you

pursue

!

flee

may the

Lord

therefore

be

judge

and give

sentence

between

me

and you

and see

to it

and plead

my cause

and deliver

me from

your hand

so an

amazing

thing

David's like

look I

respect you

I refuse

to kill

I'm going

to trust

God

to deal

with

you

he

says

that

vengeance

is

his

it

won't

be

on

me

your

blood

will

not

be

on

my

hands

you

are

the

Lord's

anointed

so

David

was

the

faithful

friend

even

until

the

end

Saul

was

treacherous

and sought

to kill

David

but you

see

his

trust

in

God

to

handle

the

situation

thirdly

lastly

!

Saul's

kingdom

was

stripped

we

just

read

it

from

a

human

perspective

Saul

had

every

chance

every

advantage

to be

a

good

king

over

the

people

but

he

squandered

it

he

failed

and

his

line

would

not

continue

he

chose

to

sin

and

rebel

against

God

he

chose

to

please

man

over

God

so

that

heartbreaking

exchange

so

we

also

know

the end

of the

story

which

we'll

get

to

eventually

in

another

Sunday

but

he

fought

against

the

Philistines

and

as

God

had

promised

to

judge

him

he

did

the

Philistines

killed

him

and

his

son

Jonathan

and

cut

off

Saul's

head

tragic

so

God

pronounced

judgment

on him

and he

says

the

Lord

your

kingdom

will

not

continue

the

Lord

has

sought

out

a

man

after

his

own

heart

killed

in

battle

so

his

kingdom

was

stripped

David's

kingdom

promised

forever

so

following

David's

final

victory

over the

Philistines

he brought

the ark

back to

Jerusalem

and God

makes a

covenant

with David

this is in

2 Samuel

7

13

and God

says to

David

makes a

great promise

to him

he shall

build a

house for

my name

and I

will

establish

the throne

of your

kingdom

forever

God

told him

I

will

be

to

him

a

father

and

he

shall

be

to

me

as

a

son

when

he

commits

iniquity

I

will

discipline

him

with

the

rod

of

men

with

the

stripes

of

the

sons

of

men

but

my

steadfast

love

will

not

depart

from

him

David

as

I

took

it

from

Saul

whom

I

put

away

before

you

and

your

house

and

your

kingdom

shall

be

made

sure

forever

before

me

your

throne

shall

be

established

forever

the

second

samuel

7

13

through

16

so

notice

that

God

says

your

house

your

kingdom

your

throne

will

be

established

forever

so

in

this

we

see

the

fulfillment

of

the

Abrahamic

promise

in

Genesis

12

a

gathering

up

and

refocusing

of that

promise

saying

that

the

future

Messiah

the

son

of

David

the

son

of

God

would

come

and

he

would rule

forever

we're

going to

give

a lot

more

attention

to

that

later

this

is

the

Davidic

covenant

but

drawing

something

else

we see

in this

story

that as

the king

goes

the people

goes

we see

that just

as David

loved and

showed

mercy to

Saul

despite

his sin

against

him

so

Jesus

showed

incredible

mercy

to those

who sought

to kill

him

and oppose

him

just

as David

recognized

that vengeance

was the

Lord's

that he

would not

kill

Saul

so our

Lord

also

trusted

his

father

to take

care of

those

who

persecuted

him

as it

says in

first

Peter

when he

suffered

he did

not

threaten

but he

continued

entrusting

himself

to him

who judges

justly

so we see

that he

trusted God

he didn't

take vengeance

he trusted

all that

in the

capable

hands

of his

father

and

lastly

we see

Saul's

failures

and then

later

David's

failures

he

reveals

this

tremendous

need

for a

perfect

sinless

righteous

king

to come

and all

foreshadows

and points

forward to

the coming

of our

Messiah

Jesus

Christ

who was

able to

actually change

the hearts

of his

people

so there

you go

rebellious

versus

regenerate

treachery

and envy

versus

faithful friend

in a kingdom

that is

torn away

and a

kingdom

that will

last

forever

hope we've

learned something

from God's

word today

let's pray

together