Saturday, 27 August, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Samuel 19:1-10

¹ And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. ² And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” ⁴ And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. ⁵ For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” ⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷ And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

⁸ And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. ⁹ Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. ¹⁰ And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

God has already revealed to Saul that He will rip the kingdom away from Saul’s family and will give it to one of Saul’s servants. Now God is prospering everything that David does. Saul is watching for signs of who this “usurper” of his kingdom might be, and he is becoming insanely jealous of David, realizing that David might be the next king.

It is interesting that Jonathan, who has as much to lose as his father Saul, has a completely different attitude toward David. Jonathan loves David and protects David from Saul’s murderous rage.

God placed Saul in leadership over His people to guide and protect Israel. But because of his disobedience, God is removing Saul from being king. Rather than repenting and submitting to God, Saul fights against it, and ends up fighting against God’s anointed rather than against the enemies of Israel.

We see also that in his rebellion against God, Saul receives his own punishment as God give him up to a harmful spirit from the LORD. God abandons Saul, and Saul ends up tormented by spiritual forces that hate God and desire to destroy God’s anointed. Saul starts out as God’s anointed but ends up serving the enemies of God attempting to destroy God’s anointed.

What do we learn from this?

Those who fight against God, He will surrender to their own desires as a just punishment for their rebellion. The sin that they commit is its own punishment as God lets them continue to sin freely.

Saul’s rage against David became a torment to himself and your own indulged and unrepented sin also can become a punishment to you.

Rather than give yourself up to your sin, repent of it. Come to God for forgiveness and seek His mercy rather than indulging it. For as you continue to sin, you are receiving your own punishment. Be sure your sin will find you out.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Throughout the scriptures we see Satan’s attempt to destroy the line of promise, the line that will bring Jesus Christ into the world. From Cain murdering Abel, down to Herod murdering the children at Bethlehem, the seed of the serpent was attempting to destroy the seed of the woman. Here we see Satan allowed to use Saul in another futile attempt to destroy the seed of the woman. Saul tries to kill David, who will be king, and through whom God brings Jesus Christ into the world.