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Samuel chapter 18 contrasts the shepherd-boy David and King Saul.
Fresh from his victory over Goliath, David was brought to the king.
Remember that David had already been anointed king by the priest
Samuel and God had previously rejected Saul as king because of his
disobedience. David remained humble and passionate to honor God
while Saul became paranoid and jealous and feared David. “Whatever
Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him
a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people and Saul’s
officers as well.”
In
the villages of Israel the women sang for joy over the victories over
the Philistines, “Saul
has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands“.
We read, “Saul
became angry; this refrain galled him“.
Saul thought, “What
more can he get but my kingdom?”
Rejection
and jealousy had left Saul open to “A
disturbing spirit“.
The next day Saul hurled a spear at David while he was playing his
harp and we read, “David
eluded him twice“.
Apparently David continued singing and praising God after the first
attempt!
“Saul
was afraid of David because the Lord was with David and had left
Saul.”
Trying to set up David up for military failure, Saul schemed against
David, “I
will not lift my hand against David. Let the Philistines do that“.
Saul even used his own daughter to trip up David; “I
will give her to him… so that she might be a snare to him and so
the hand of the Philistines might be against him“.
After David successfully paid the king’s dowry price, “Saul
gave him his daughter Michal in marriage“.
But we read, “When
Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter
Michal loved David, Saul became even more afraid of him, and he
remained his enemy the rest of his days“.
The chapter ends with David’s continued success on the
battlefield. “David
met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers and his name
became well known.”
The
contrast between these two men is so great. Everything David did
succeeded beyond measure, much to Saul’s displeasure. Saul did not
seek to draw near to God; instead he wrongly blamed David for
everything that happened to him. It is important to recall the
lesson from Hebrews chapter 12 (11-15). “For
whom the Lord loves, He chastens… Now
no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful;
nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of
righteousness to those who have been trained by it… lest any root
of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become
defiled“.
I believe that if Saul had sought forgiveness from God and repented,
he would have been spared the bitterness that followed. Some of us
feel more like Saul than David. We wonder how to eliminate the
bitterness in our life. Ephesians 4:31 tells us where to begin, “Get
rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along
with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you“.
As always, peace with God begins with first focusing on the
forgiveness we have received. When we focus on our own forgiveness
it is hard to hold a grudge against others.