Monday, 05 March 2012

• David and Saul: Learning Through Example

  ...while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. - 1 Samuel 18:10-11

  After David killed Goliath, King Saul sent him on various missions; he then placed David at a high rank in the army. It says that this pleased all the troops and Saul's officers.

  When Saul and the troops were returning home, all the women came out to welcome them singing joyful songs: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” Saul was furious, angry that they gave David credit for 10,000 and him only 1000s. He says, "What else can he get? the kingdom?" From that day on, in the eyes of Saul, David was a threat.

  The next day, the evil spirit came again and was tormenting Saul. David, as he did many times before, would play music with the lyre (looks like a harp). Saul took his spear and it hurled at David, but David used his light saber and cut the spear in half! No, I wish. He dodged it, the same way we dodge that phone call from work! The Bible says that Saul was afraid of David because God was with him, so he gave David command over a thousand men, and in everything he did he had success, "because the Lord was with him" (1 Samuel 18:14).

  A hardened heart does not recognize jealousy -- it welcomes it. Saul's heart is lost, filled with anger and all the things that follow. He tries to kill David, the guy that just saved Israel from a giant!

  You've been at a show and the poor opening band is doing the best they can in those 30 minutes given to them, when some fan of the headliner band can't take it anymore and throws them a gift: water bottles, cups of beer, spit! I've seen shoes hit the artist, but never a spear!

  When Saul places David as a high commander, it is not because he promoted David. At this time, it was hand to hand combat (Braveheart style), so the commanders would be in the front lines, leading their men. Saul wanted David to die in the hands of the Philistines. But God was with David, and with every campaign, he won more and more of the love of the people and the trust of those he commanded. Saul is slowly moving into Darth Vader territory. Come on, David is totally Luke Skywalker in the story!! Right?

  It's easy to judge Saul, but he just might be more relatable than we think. Our Spiritual decline is always a slow one, to the point where we don't notice how far we are from God. The spears we throw are made of hurtful words, angry text, actions, thoughts, envy, jealousy. As much as I want to be like David, my actions look more like Saul's, and that has to change. If God calls us to share our heart with one single person or a thousand, we should be faithful and obedient. By focusing on why God is using some other person "more," we fail to be used at all.

  The best thing for David, in our eyes would have been for God to just take Saul out of the picture. We know He is powerful enough. So why does God allow Saul's heart to do these things? Saul plays a vital role in who David becomes. God keeps Saul very close to David, so that David would remove the "Saul" he had inside of him. The only way to remove the "Saul" inside of David's heart, was to put David right next to everything his heart should never be. How convicting is it when you ridicule someone, and as those words are coming out you realize you have been doing the same, even worse?

  How many times do we find ourselves on a road paved with envy, fueled by jealousy, while sincerely believing we are still close to God? Our hearts know better; they know when we lie to ourselves. If we have reached our goal in our personal walk with God, we should check the map again. Maybe God is using a "Saul" in our lives so we will get back to where we should be. Yeah the road might not be as nice, but the view is so much better! And so is the company. The good and the bad in our lives are His hands shaping us into who He wants us to be.

  Is there a Saul in your life God is using as an example to teach you who not to be?  How has God shown you examples of how not to live through relationships with other people?

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