This morning we’re pushing through 1-2 Samuel—we've been looking at the lives of Samuel, King Saul, and King David. The first place I was taught “many” of the stories in the Bible, was on a flannelgraph, in Sunday School. Anyone else? For those born after 1980… long before churches had state-of-the-art media capabilities. . . (overhead projectors, slide machines, VCRs). . . you would tell Bible stories with a flannelgraph!
Each month a company would ship you these cartoonish paper cutouts of Bible people, places, and things. Each cutout had a magical backing that would help them “barely cling” to a big flannel board. On the board, your teacher would manipulate the sterile flannelgraph objects, to tell Bible stories. In 1980, I don’t think they’d even invented Velcro yet! The person who invented Velcro was probably a frustrated S.S. teacher. “Dear God help me make these stories stick!”
When I read 1-2 Samuel, I feel this urge to want to sterilize (white-wash) much of what I’m reading. Isn’t it the job of good preachers and teachers to make God feel safe and innocuous? Isn’t it our job to tame, to make all these Bible characters out to be likable, infallible, super-heroes? Isn’t it our job to wrap up every story with a simple explanation, tidy conclusion, and obvious practical applications?
What if reading the Bible causes us to wrestle with God even more, and not less? Last week, we dealt with the life of Saul. God “anointed” Saul “king” over all Israel. When God anoints a man, he does it according to his own sovereign purpose and plan. God doesn’t anoint according to any standard or thing that impresses men. The Bible says God judges by the heart—and this is true. Yet time and again, whether its Saul or David… anointing seems to have far more to do with the character and purpose of God and far less with the character of any one man. We might be tempted to make too much of one man or another. Yet these men are merely instruments, anointed to serve, despite great personal failings, character defects, even sinful, prideful, selfish actions.
In the beginning, both King Saul and King David seem to have pure hearts. But as their story unfolds, you begin to wonder who spiked their Kool-Aid. Even after God withdraws his Spirit from Saul, he continues to be God’s anointed (God’s instrument). Consider for example 1 Samuel 15:10-11: “Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, ‘I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions. So, Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.”
“Regret" is the same language Genesis employs. God regrets having made man, because man had become so evil in his sight. In 1 Samuel 16:1 God says he’s also “rejected” Saul as king over Israel. Even as Saul’s character fails, God’s sovereign purpose and plan marches forward. Paul says it this way in 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” God may lament, and regret, and reject, and dethrone but he still acts in loving faithfulness toward his people, according to his covenant promises.
Throughout the rest of 1 Samuel, Saul’s failures become more prominent. He failed the test in the heat of battle, when he made that unauthorized sacrifice, instead of waiting on Samuel. He failed the test when he didn’t obey God’s command to completely destroy the Amalekites. Instead, he plunders their land and spares their king! In 1 Samuel 15:33, Samuel (a prophet and priest mind you) demands Saul bring the evil King Agag forward. He does to King Agag what the brutal King Agag did to countless women and children. He hacks King Agag to pieces! Samuel metes out God’s wrath, whereas Saul withheld punishment.
In 1 Samuel 16 the Lord tells Samuel to look for a King of Israel among Jesse of Bethlehem’s sons. As we saw, Jesse is direct descendent of Boaz and Ruth! When the Bible talks about God raising up a “shoot” of Jesse, it’s referring to God raising up a “child or descendent” of Jesse to be King over Israel! Not only was David a shoot of Jesse, but in time, Christ Jesus himself would also be a direct shoot or lineage of Boaz and Jesse. 1 Samuel 16:7 God tells Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” Jesse presents all seven of his grown sons to Samuel, but none of them are God’s anointed. Finally, Samuel asks Jesses, are these “all” of your sons? Jesse hadn’t bothered bringing his youngest son, David. David was left behind to look after sheep. Now, Samuel calls for David to come and 1 Samuel 16:13 says, “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward.”
We saw this same language when Saul was anointed. God changed Saul’s heart immediately, and God’s Spirit came powerfully on him. This same language surrounds Christ Jesus. Jesus was God’s anointed messiah and king. He was conceived of Holy Spirit, baptized in Spirit, led by Spirit, filled, ministered, healed, taught…
From 1 Samuel 17 forward we have two parallel stories. We have the continued fall of Saul and the rise of David. In 1 Samuel 17 you have the flannelgraph board favorite—the story of David and Goliath! Goliath was a giant Philistine, breathing threats upon the Israel’s army. They were so terrified of his size, no one, not even King Saul dared confront him. Every day Goliath taunted Israel, “send me a man so we can fight!” Israel lost their courage and were filled with terror.
Long story short… one day little David is told to take lunch to his big brothers on the Israel and Philistine battlefront. David hears Goliath’s taunts and is bewildered nobody in all Israel is making him eat his words. David is fearless. In 1 Samuel 17:34-37 David tells Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Then David stares down Goliath and says, 1 Samuel 17:45-47, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.”
And sure enough, David runs quickly into battle, reaches his hand into bag, takes out a stone, and slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. But before the stone sinks into Goliath’s head, cracks open his skull, and blood sprays everywhere, and David decapitates Goliath’s head with Goliath’s own sword, and feeds it to the birds… and the crowd goes wild, we cut off the broadcast. The women of Israel go wild when they hear about David’s feat. They begin singing and dancing, “Saul has killed his thousands but David his tens of thousands”
This pivotal moment catapults David into the limelight; But the Bible tells us Saul becomes furious and resents the song. He becomes jealous of David and begins obsessively watching him. Saul becomes so jealous that on one occasion he hurls a spear at David, to pin him to the wall. David was successful, Saul dreaded him!
Saul next plots to kill David by giving his daughter Michal to him in marriage. Every potential son-in-law would have to pay a bridal cost. David was a poor shepherd boy, what could he offer King Saul for his daughter? Saul set a trap, and asked David to produce a hundred Philistine foreskins. The only way you’re going to get a hundred Philistine foreskins is to kill a hundred Philistines. Saul’s hope is David would get killed in the process, but David succeeds! This enrages Saul even more and in truth Saul becomes afraid of David.
Next Saul orders his son Jonathan to kill David—but Jonathan tips David off. Jonathan makes an oath to never harm David, going even against his father, Saul. After his anointing as God’s King, Saul starts hunting David like a wild animal. As Saul’s paranoia increases, he shows himself even willing to kill priests to get to David. Several times over, God hands Saul over to David. Once Saul is relieving himself in a cave. Once God causes Saul and his army to fall into a deep sleep, and Saul's spear is sitting right next to his head. On both occasions David has the chance to kill Saul but instead spares his life! Saul gives his word to David again and again that he won’t kill him, but Saul's word means nothing. In Psalm after Psalm, David prays for God's protection and care. He prays for God to vindicate his cause.
Psalm 23:1-6 takes on a completely different meaning when you set it in the context of King Saul hunting down King David throughout the hills, pastures, rivers and cities and caves of Israel. King Saul made himself King David's enemy! “The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies [he's no longer able to sit at Saul's table in peace]; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.” Despite all Saul’s deeds, David becomes more and more powerful.
At Saul’s lowest point, he disguises himself, and seeks out a spiritist to summon Samuel from the grave. In 1 Samuel 28:15 he says, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul says, “I’m in serious trouble,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He doesn’t answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams. So, I’ve called on you to tell me what I should do.” 1 Samuel 16-19, “Since the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me? 17 The Lord has done exactly what he said through me: The Lord has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. 18 You did not obey the Lord and did not carry out his burning anger against Amalek; therefore the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will also hand Israel over to the Philistines along with you. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the Lord will hand Israel’s army over to the Philistines.”
In the end, 1 Samuel 31, Saul draws his own sword and commits suicide rather than face the Philistines. He dies along with his three sons.
Goliath wasn't the only giant David had to face. In many ways, Saul was an infinitely more dreadful foe than Goliath. David slayed Goliath with one shot to the head. In contrast, King Saul relentlessly pursued David much of his life. Still David honored Saul as God's anointed. While Saul was alive, he prayed. He refused to take vengeance and kill him. He let God fight his battle. David severely punished anyone who raised a hand against Saul. In death, David paid tribute to Saul and honored him.
Another giant David had to face was his own sin. When David saw Bathsheba from his rooftop, and summoned her, he became the most famous adulterer in world history! But David didn't just become an adulterer—he also became a murderer. He had Bathsheba's husband murdered in battle. Ultimately David is conscious stricken, when Nathan the Prophet boldly confronts him. When confronted with his sin, David humbles himself and pleads with God for restoration. David is as famous for his Psalm 51 prayer of restoration as his Psalm 23 prayer of reliance.
Psalm 51:1-17 he prays, “Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2 Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge. 5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast[b] spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God— God of my salvation—and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.”
Still another giant David had to face down was the consequences for his sin. Though forgiven, God's punishment remained upon David. The greatest consequences David ever faced were directly to his own family. As a result of David's adultery with Bathsheba, their child becomes sick and dies. One of David's sons commits incest with his sister. David's son Absalom openly dishonors David not only sleeping with David's concubines, but usurping David's throne. Whereas David's early life was marked by great faith and character, his later years were stained by sin and passivity. No matter how evil Absalom became, David refused to hold him accountable. Perhaps David blamed himself for what Absalom became. The only semi-bright side of all David's children was Solomon. His path to kingship would be anything but smooth.
A good way to wrap up the story of David is to reflect upon the moment when David did evil in God's sight, and did a census count of his fighting men. God was so displeased, he gave David three choices for punishment. In 2 Samuel 24:13 God asks David, “Do you want three years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days?” In 2 Samuel 24:14 David says, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord’s hands because his mercies are great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.” At the end of the day, when you consider all the highs and lows of David's life… he was wise to this one thing. Better to fall into the Lord's hand, trusting his great mercies. No matter what Goliath David had to face down—even Goliaths of his own making—he always turned to God for the mercy he needed.