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Sunday, November 3rd, can you believe it!!?? And here I am just blogging the sermon from July 28th. Oh well, I've determined a long time ago now that God's timing is perfect. If this message was meant to go out to all of you sooner, it would have. While I was on my walk earlier this afternoon, the thought crossed my mind of blogging messages the same day; but obviously, that isn't always convenient, so here we are...
Not much to share in the way of prayer requests or news. Matt is home, I think. I know that when I was over last Monday and Tuesday, he was expected home Wednesday. While I haven't seen Andrea post about it, I did notice Matt's name on my "active contact" list on FB either yesterday or the day before, so maybe...
As to my son, Ben, no news is good news. At least for now, his decision to move back to Indiana with his ex is on hold. Continued prayers for wisdom and discernment are still appreciated, however.
Meanwhile, my ex-boyfriend, Jeremy has been ranting about one thing or another, and becoming bitter again. He's working on going to the Philippines to see his gf in person; but continuing to speak out against American women one day and preaching God's love to them another. His latest thing is frustration over his voter registration. IDK... I've learned to ignore him when he gets like this; knowing that he will eventually calm down and be rational again. ;p I prayed this morning in Church that he gets his mind right concerning all that he's dealing with.
Oh, and speaking of being at Church this morning, I actually had one of the Elders speak to me as we were leaving. He mentioned having emailed me about 10 days ago and also trying to call. He wants me to know that my absence is felt in our Fellowship Group, Anchored, and doesn't want me to end up leaving the Church as well, seeing my long history in the building over the years.* I texted him this afternoon about meeting up soon. Prayers appreciated for wisdom on both sides here. (He just now messaged me back. We're getting together for lunch tomorrow)
And now we can get to our next step...
I'm sure that most of us have experienced bullying at some point in our lives, right?? I literally grew up with it in school to one degree or another. The worst of it, as may be natural, was from 6th grade on. There was a particular boy in my class starting that year, and continuing through HS, who made my school days a living hell. In spite of the fact that he was rich, good-looking, got good grades, and played sports, he still felt insecure in some way. I've found out since then that I wasn't his only target, either. Whatever led him to feel the need to lash out, he honed in on those whose insecurities were far more visible. His other target and I were not among the "in crowd" due to our appearance and lower economic status. (at least the 2nd one was true for me, I'm not actually sure about the other guy) Regardless of this, neither me nor the other guy became bitter or took our frustrations out on others.* We stayed quiet and trusted God to fight for us.
In our passage today, we look at a similar connection between Saul and David.
Turn with me, to 1 Samuel 18 --
1 Samuel 18
New International Version
Saul’s Growing Fear of David
18 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang:
“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
10 The next day an evil[a] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
17 Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”
18 But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 19 So[b] when the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”
22 Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’”
23 They repeated these words to David. But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man and little known.”
24 When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.
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During the "Welcome to our Church" portion of the service, during worship, someone who works with a ministry to former inmates presented his organization and shared how these men find forgiveness for themselves and a love for God. (Unfortunately, I didn't catch the name of it)
In giving an overview of our Scripture here, Pastor Matt brought out the themes of jealousy, anger, and an "evil" or "upsetting, tumultuous" spirit in Saul. Particularly toward David. He mentioned that the word "evil" here, is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 when Paul is explaining to them about his "thorn in the flesh".
At the same time, as we read through the story above, we find that Saul's children LOVED David. Now, it occurs to me that we are not specifically told that Saul knew that David had been anointed as the next king yet. (A brief search suggests that verse 28 of our passage indicates that he knew; but I disagree. I feel that's inconclusive here. A more definitive reference is given in 1 Sam. 24.) While it's true that David's increasing success and popularity were primary sources for Saul's anger, stemming from his fear of losing power; the fact that he saw that God was "with David" doesn't necessarily guarantee that he was aware of David's having been anointed by Samuel. In the moment, I think it was simply the fact of David's presence that aggravated Saul.* In any case, Pastor Matt's points that this passage shows the effects of faith versus fear, and the fact that evil is relentless, remain valid.
This bears out another, more general, albeit equally powerful theme in our passage. The vast difference in results between Saul's Approach of Leadership, signifying Empire and it's fear-mongering ways, versus the Kingdom of God in the peaceful harmony encompassed by the word "Shalom". While man's tendency toward power focuses on outward control; God sees the bigger picture, thus working on building a humble people. His focus lies inward.*
In relation to my personal story above, both Saul and the bully at school appeared to have a great life; but as Pastor Matt pointed out, fear of loss can sometimes dictate our decisions. (granted, my bully's fear may not have been about loss, but it definitely led down the same path as Saul's) When Saul reacts poorly to David's success, he suffers the opposition of God by having His Spirit removed. Saul has fallen out of favor with God and now has to face life (and authority) on his own. From this point on, as we read through the book of 1 Samuel, we see Saul being destroyed over time. (about 14 yrs. according to my earlier search) Saul was consumed by words rather than enjoying victory.
We read in verse 11 that David avoided Saul's attacks with a spear at least 2x. Pastor Matt shared a personal story here involving a t-shirt launcher at a picnic; but sadly, I don't remember the details. I'm guessing it had to do with not getting hit with a t-shirt.
Regardless, we find that Saul turned to conniving (vs 25), and remained David's enemy the rest of his life (vs 29).
Conversely, David's circumstances started out more humbly than had Saul's. You may recall that shepherds were the lowest working class of Jewish Society while Saul's people were expert sling throwers. (See previous post) Although David had already been anointed as the next king, David didn't go barging into the Palace and demand the throne. He humbly waited for God's timing. David had also been lesser known up until his confrontation with Goliath. (he was probably known only as the younger sibling to his brothers) We see in this that David's success stemmed from his continued humility, even in the face of having been anointed by Samuel to lead Israel at some future time.* It was his faithful trust in God that kept him in His favor. His quiet humility worked toward creating a peaceful atmosphere, both for himself and for those who shared it. Verse 14 tells us that God was with David "in all things".
Getting back to Saul's devious plans to destroy David (verses 24-25), we will observe Saul's mockery of God's Covenant of Circumcision. (like God needed another excuse to cause him trouble) As we read on, we find that David brings back double the requested number of skins to prove his worth as Saul's son-in-law. (Pastor Matt paused here to question who actually counted??) ;p
As we've seen before in this series, God is always working to turn enemies into family. We see this played out here in Jonathan's friendship with David*; as well as Michal's love for him. This is yet another "foreshadowing" of Jesus and how His Sacrifice makes adoption into God's family available to us all. (Rom. 5:8, 8:15 + Gal. 3:26) While Saul's pride in himself brought on his ultimate destruction, David's humility and focus on God's glory brought him favor. This proves that God's favor rests on those who faithfully walk with Him. (See Gen. 3)
We may sometimes get mad at God when life doesn't go our way. (I know Jeremy certainly does) But when that happens, we need to stop and ask ourselves, "Whose name do I live to make great??" God's or mine?? Rather than looking at our circumstances, we need to walk in trust and faithfulness with God. He invites us to know him.
Pastor Matt shared briefly here about an old friend of his who had worked his way up in the Insurance business. Dale remained humble in his success, not bragging on himself; but allowing others to brag on him. This man later became a Pastor.
David's story in our passage above is one of many that extends an invitation from God to live in abundance as we walk in faithfulness rather than fear. Pastor Matt closed the message by bringing out the encouragement of Romans 8:28-39, reminding us that God works for our good; and because of this, we should make every effort to be conformed to His image. We are born of His Spirit, no matter what our circumstances look like. And finally, "If God be for us, who can be against us??" Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
-- God Bless!!
Footnotes:
My history in the Church building I now attend goes back even to before I started school there. My parents were members in 1973, when I was only 4 yrs old. The school wasn't even founded until '74, when I became one of the first Kindergarteners as a charter student. I graduated in 1988, only returning for special occasions until Aug/Sept of 2017 when Jeremy and I started attending regularly.
While the other guy didn't retaliate forcefully at school, he was later singled out for military assignments later that fit his distinct psychological profile. (I'm sure that the bullying played at least some part in that)
In relation to my thoughts on David's presence aggravating Saul, a quote comes to mind about how, if someone doesn't like you without good reason, it may be simply that your spirit irritates their demons.
Since God's thoughts are above our thoughts (Is. 55:9), He understands that good leadership requires a good heart. This puts me in mind of the CS Lewis quote when he said, "One cannot make man good by law; but it takes good men to make good laws." (apropos, considering Election Day this Tues.) 'Nuff said??
5. The fact that both Saul's and David's initial anointings were done in secret brings to mind the idea of Jesus telling His mother not to tell anyone about changing the water to wine, because His time had not yet come. At this point, Jesus had not officially begun His Earthly Ministry, so it wasn't the right moment for too many people to know what had happened.
6. While some may try to claim that verse 1 of our passage above suggests a Homosexual relationship, the fact that David marries Saul's daughter, and later obsesses over Bathsheba refutes this out of hand. (And just fyi, the word "Bathsheba" more likely proves where she was from rather than her name.) That being said, however, the Bible does show evidence of other Homosexual relationships. (See Luke 7:1-10, for one) I plan to write a post about this at some point, so be vigilant... although right now, I'm actually working on one about Tattoos. :)
Music -- No rights, ever. I promise!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCi0UGiD7X4
