Life Of David - Lesson 9

Saul's Pendulum - 1 Samuel 19

Prayer:

Lord, we each will face things that will shake us up.  We may get hurt or betrayed, we may be threatened, or we may face a difficult loss.  Help us Lord to prepare ourselves now for those difficult times, help us to be people that have ourselves firmly grounded in you, help us to look to you as our only source of security in this ever changing world.

Saul has gone from appreciating David to being envious of him, and has already tried to skewer him twice...  Saul has tried to manipulate the situation in a variety of ways, to either undermine David or get him killed off... Saul continues to feel more & more threatened by David.  If you've not already noticed Saul has some pretty extreme mood swings, caused by his own deeply rooted sin, and his moods appear to be amplified by the evil spirit that is tormenting him.  Unfortunately for David he is going to bear most of the brunt of Saul's wrath; however, God is still training David for the throne - so we need to try to see how God is using the situation for His purposes.

Quickly Form Groups and answer these Questions:

1. God has placed authorities over us, and asks us to be submissive and obedient to those authorities.  Is it ever ok to be disobedient?  (If yes, give examples)

2. What do you think would happen if you, like David, were to deliberately chose to love and serve someone you were at odds with?

3. What are the consequences of choosing sin, and of choosing to remain in that sin?

<have groups share answers... some thoughts:> (1) Human authority has limits, we should always be obedient to God as our ultimate authority over any other authority that might present itself.  (2) I have done this, in doing so both I and the other were blessed - but this can't be our expectation.  We should expect to be blessed in some way by loving (personal growth), but should not expect the other to respond well (as we'll see Saul doesn't respond well to the blessing from David being in his court). (3)  When we choose sin there are consequences, and choosing to remain in that sin cause the sin to grow (snowball) - in the case of Saul we will see how his sin of envy has grown into hatred, and the consequences are just going to keep getting worse!

1 Samuel 19 v1-3: As we learned at the end of chapter 18, David has continued to be successful in battle against the Philistines, and he's becoming increasingly popular with the people.  Saul can't stand this, his jealousy has peaked again and he's got his sights set on David, so he orders Jonathan and all of his attendants to kill David.  Jonathan does the right thing in disobeying his father the King, and warns David about the danger to his life.  Jonathan arranges a way to speak to Saul on David's behalf, somewhere near where David would be hidden & possibly within David's hearing, so that David can get a clear picture of the situation.  Jonathan made himself an intercessor on David's behalf.

v4-7: Jonathan reminds Saul of the blessings that David brings, and that David has not wronged Saul.  Jonathan reminds Saul about Goliath, and how Saul had been glad at what God had accomplished through David.  Saul listens and agrees with Jonathan, and makes an oath before the Lord that David will not be killed.  Jonathan's love and care reunite David and Saul, and all is well... the pendulum has swung back... at least for the moment... 

v8-10: Once again David has gone out to war against the Philistines, once again he is successful, and once again Saul's envy is aroused.  David is back from the battlefield, attempting once again to sooth Saul as he's being tormented by an evil spirit, and once again becomes Saul's target... and we're told that it was this very night that David made his escape.

Saul sees David as a threat to him.  Rebecca Manley Pippert in her book A Heart Like His, likens Saul's position to one of a CEO who is being forced to step down, she describes it like this:

"In the best of circumstances, it is extremely difficult for a CEO to step down.  But imagine the terror that would strike you if you were fired from a job that gave you a sense of being and power and prestige.  That was Saul's situation.  Samuel had just given him his 'termination papers,' due to a negative performance evaluation from Saul's 'Boss.'  The choice before Saul was probably the same choice that all CEOs have when their time is up.  Will they behave with humility and dignity during their remaining days in office?  Will they determine to face squarely the flaws that brought the termination?  Will they blame the boss or even their successor for their woes?  When the time comes, will they exit as statesmen, with behavior worthy of the office, or will they embarrass everyone by clinging to the last vestige of power?"

Saul could have repented, could have been the good guy, could have been looking out more for Israel than himself, but that's not what Saul chose... Saul had time to leave a good legacy, one source I was reading indicated that he ruled at least 10 years after Samuel told him he was rejected by God, but Saul didn't make the right choices, Saul left behind an embarrassing legacy.

v11-13: Here we get some additional details of what happened that day.  Saul has sent men to watch David's house, with the intent of killing him in the morning.  David's wife Michal doesn't want him killed, she encourages him to escape & helps him escape through a window - this was likely a window of a house that was built into external wall of a city (similar to the ones in Joshua 2:15 & Acts 9:25).  Then we're told Michal takes an idol and places it in the bed, covered with a garment, and with goats hair at the head.  Its possible this isn't an idol in the normal use of the term, but we don't know... at the very least its the equivalent of putting a dummy with a wig on into the bed.

v14-17: Saul's men come to David's house to "collect" him, and Michal tells them he's sick.  Saul won't have that excuse, orders him to bring David back in the bed if necessary so that he can kill him... the men go back and discover the dummy.  Saul is furious at his daughter, he's irate that she'd deceive him (notice he doesn't give a thought to her feelings in the matter), and questions her loyalty.  Out of fear and a sense of self-preservation Michal lies to her father, indicating that David would have killed her if she hadn't let him get away.

We're going to read through Psalm 59.  Though the exact timing of the writing of this psalm is not known, the notes that are placed in the ancient texts of scripture indicate that David wrote this psalm regarding this particular time of his life.  At this time of David's life he had been fighting the enemies of Israel (enemy nations), and is concerned about Israel; in addition, David is facing his own personal enemies in the form of Saul and his henchmen.  With those things in mind let's read Psalm 59.

We've just crossed into the next phase of David's life, David living on the run.  David hasn't done anything wrong but he's become the #1 fugitive on Saul's most wanted list, and Saul is obsessed with having David killed.  David has, in very short order, lost two good jobs (military & musical), his home, and his wife.  God has in essence removed all his worldly support system...

I was thinking about this during the week, and I was wondering how I would respond if life were to suddenly throw me a major curve... and wouldn't you know, a curve got thrown into my life.  I don't think we have any idea how we might react until something happens... I will admit, I was doing a bit of the "poor me", but I also found myself crying out in prayer, and eventually I decided (yes, I made a choice) to praise God despite my circumstances - I wish that would have been my first response, but God isn't finished with me yet!

David is the "man after God's own heart", David isn't so concerned with position & prestige.  Make no mistake about it - David is running for his life!  But David is running in the right direction...  David's response to being cut down is not to sin, but rather to seek God's help - so lets see what he does...

1 Samuel 19 v18-21: David knows right where to turn, he makes a bee line straight to Samuel - God's chosen prophet, and Samuel immediately moves them both to Naioth.  

<Some notes about Naioth:> Naioth may very well have been a colony of Prophets (indicated loosely in vs 20).  Chuck Swindoll, in his study on the life of David, tells that archaeologists found remains in that area that were houses built in a maze-like arrangement that would have made it an ideal place to hide out from Saul and his men.

In any case Saul learns where David is hiding and starts sending his men to capture him.  Three times he sends out men to capture David, three times the men encountered the prophets and started prophesying.  Saul's men aren't able to capture David, God is hindering them in following the King's commands.

v22-24: Finally Saul, frustrated at the failure of his men, goes after David himself... but his results aren't any better, in fact Saul is so blown over by the power of God working through him that he strips himself & lays down, unable to control himself.  Once again Saul's attempts to undermine & eliminate David have failed.

<Clarification: 1 Samuel 15:35 said Samuel never goes to see Saul again - and I think this means they are never face to face again during Samuel's life (which is what I taught when we covered that passage); however, its possible that Saul & Samuel saw each other in this instance, but notice its Saul coming to Samuel - not the other way around.  Another possibility is this: that when it says Saul is "in Samuel's presence" it may mean that he is in the presence of (or under the influence of) the same spirit that is influencing Samuel.>

Closing Prayer:  Thank you Lord for David's example which shows us to run to you for help when trouble strikes.  Lord the scriptures teach us that you are our Rock, our Fortress, our Firm Foundation.  As we face troubles of various kinds help us to turn to you first as our best source of help, of strength, of security.  Amen!

Quickly Form Groups Again, and answer the following questions:

4. What's your first response when trouble strikes?  How might you change your response to be one that glorifies God instead?

5. What scriptures do you turn to when facing trouble?  (suggestions: Jeremiah 29:11-13; Romans 8:28, 31; Psalm 143)  Share your favorites with the group.