prophecy
Showing posts with label prophecy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prophecy. Show all posts

Warrior. Poet. King. Pt. 2 David and Saul


Warrior. Poet. King
Pt. 2 David and Saul
1        Samuel 24:1-22

We’ve started going through the story of David. We’re giving his story a few articles, because there is so much for us gain from it. We’re specifically reading through the stories of his relationships. Last week was the story of David and Goliath. As you read, be sure to remember who is who. David represents God, Goliath represents the overwhelming sin in our lives, and the scared, helpless soldiers represent us.



Do you remember how David’s story begins with him being anointed as the new king-to-be? Keep this in mind as we go through the timeline of what happened next. David had killed Goliath. So Saul brings David to live in his palace. He loves David, and accepts him as part of his family and gives him responsibilities in the military. But something starts happening. David is extremely successful and Saul promotes him to the status of general; both a social and political status of honor. And he starts winning the hearts of the Israelites. The people start cheering for David and Saul notices those cheers are getting louder than his cheers. (I Samuel 18:6-9)

On top of this growing jealousy, Saul had this nagging memory about how David was prophesied and anointed to be the next king, and this started driving him crazy. It escalated to the point where Saul became unwilling to let the throne be passed on to David. He was denying David his rightful place on the throne! And this was the beginning of a dramatic saga of betrayal, assassinations, and corruption. Saul’s jealousy, anger, and self-righteousness flared up so violently that in the very next verses he attempted to kill David. (I Samuel 18:10-11)

This actually happened twice! And David eventually took a hint and went on the run.

There were soldiers in David’s authority that were still loyal to him. So several hundred soldiers flee out of the country with David also. And Saul pursued them! At this point, Saul is on a rampage. He’s killing everyone who stands in his way; entire cities including, priests, women, and children! The dude is nuts!

Eventually, David and his men find themselves living in caves. When Saul heard about it he started scouring the hillsides looking in all of the caves. At one point, nature calls and Saul has to use the restroom. And so, while on a break from hunting for David, he goes into a cave to relieve himself. Lo and behold, it was the very cave that David and his men were hiding in! (Talk about embarrassing.) Saul does his business, completely unaware that dozens of men were hiding behind him. (1 Samuel 24:1-4)

During this awkward moment, a few of David’s soldiers get the idea, “Let’s take this guy out! We’ll never get a chance like this again!” But David says no, and actually chooses to spare Saul’s life. Instead, he gives him grace and mercy. (1 Samuel 24:5-7) Let me give a quick definition of these two words.“Mercy= not getting what you deserve” “Grace= getting what you didn’t deserve”.

Here’s the point: I am Saul. I am self-righteous, arrogant, angry, and insecure. In my self-righteousness, I have attempted to deny Jesus His rightful place on the throne. And if you were to be honest, I think you would say the same thing. But Jesus, our David, spared our lives and has returned grace to our violence.

In the movie Hacksaw Ridge, Desmond Doss is a conscientious objector, meaning he was against the war. Nevertheless, he feels compelled to join the army as a medic. His reason as he said was, “With the world so set on tearing itself apart, it don't seem like such a bad thing to me to want to put a little bit of it back together.” He joined with the promise that he wouldn’t have to touch a gun or be combat trained. The problem was, his commanding officers and fellow soldiers didn’t like that. If he wouldn’t fight there, then he wouldn’t fight on the battle field, and wouldn’t be able to save them. So they took every opportunity to force him to fight. At one point they even jumped him while he was asleep and beat him. Still, he continued his training in every other area. The entire climax of the movie tells the story of how Desmond went to battle with his battalion, and acted heroically in spite of being called Doss the Coward. By the end of the night, he had saved 75 wounded soldiers, without firing a single shot.

Desmond Doss illustrates Jesus giving grace to those who have been unkind, cruel, and even violent to Him. And it’s the same thing we are commanded to do in Matthew 5:43-44

What are we to do then? Because of the Gospel of God’s grace on us, who have been cruel and unkind to God, we are to extend that grace to others. Not so we can be like David, but so we can be like Christ. Did you know the Bible says in Romans 2:4 that it is God’s goodness that leads to repentance? It’s not God’s wrath that causes people to turn to Him. It’s not His justice, wisdom, or sovereignty. It’s His goodness.

That’s what happened with David and Saul. After Saul left the cave, David followed him out and said, “Saul, look here. I had your life in my hands. I could have killed you, but I spared you. Just to prove it, here is a piece of your robe that I cut off. I will not kill you.”

And here is Saul’s response to David’s grace. I Samuel 24:16-22 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

David’s goodness brought Saul to repentance. When we’ve been treated with evil, we are to return grace, because we are like Saul, and God has given us grace. And just as God’s goodness has shown us His beauty, mercy, and grace, we too can share that with those who’ve hurt betrayed us. Who knows, it just might bring about their repentance as it brought about yours.
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Warrior. Poet. King. Pt. 1 David and Goliath


Warrior. Poet. King


Pt. 1 David and Goliath
 
David is possibly one of the best shadows of Christ we have in the Old Testament. Throughout his story you will notice that this was a well-rounded man. He was a strong, valiant, warrior. He was a gentle, graceful poet. And he was a noble, just king. He is the kind of person that we would all want to be like. In fact, to this day, Jews will still use him as a reference point when they talk about their kings and presidents to this day. They’d say, “King Jehoshaphat is great, but he was no David.”

His entire life is so spectacular that we’re going to spend a few articles on it. It’s a story of conspiracy, war, adultery, bravery, beauty, and nobility. Those characteristics are often best seen in his relationships with other individuals like Saul, Jonathan, Bathsheba, and his Mighty Men. So we’re going to do a study on the different relationships David had, and how they reflect the Gospel to us.

His story begins with an unexpected visit from a prophet. Samuel shows up at David’s house and tells the family that David is destined to be a king! This is the making of a great fantasy novel, right? Then the prophet leaves the family for all of them to just dwell on what he announced. It was very long after this that David started getting some notoriety. Perhaps the one event that launched David into the spot light of the kingdom is the most famous part of David’s life; when he fought Goliath. So let’s talk about that historical moment with a new lens.

The Setting


There’s a stand-off between two armies. The Philistines are on one side of the valley. Israelites on the other side. I want you to place yourself in the shoes of the soldiers. Sleeping every night thinking you could go to battle the next morning. Cooking every meal as if it was your last. Constantly listening for the sound of the enemy. And then David shows up to see this strange moment. He was bringing food to his soldier brothers. But he got curious. Why was nobody fighting? Why was everybody just camped out? So, he starts asking around.

It turns out there’s this Philistine giant who’s laid out a challenge. If anyone beats him then they win the whole battle! Pretty simple, right? This was actually a typical Philistine tactic. It allowed the Philistines to decrease the loss of their own soldiers, while also laying claim on more of the enemy’s soldiers. It was a win-win for them. Especially because of who their champion was.

It’s hard for us to imagine what Goliath looked like, even with a description in the Bible, because we’ve never seen anybody quite like him! The tallest man on record is Robert Wadlow who lived in the early 1900’s. He stood at 8’11”. That’s crazy tall! But even when you look at his picture, you wouldn’t think of him as a soldier. Goliath was 9’9”! In addition to his height, he was strong. His spear is described to be like a beam. He had one man designated to carry his shield. This dude was bred for war!

Now contrast this giant killing machine with teenaged, shepherd boy David, who was probably about 5’7”( that’s the average height for a 15 year old.) It’s no contest! My money is on the giant spear!

So David hears and sees all of this. And in his typical teenage boy wisdom asks, “Why isn’t anyone taking this guy on?” So he then offers to combat the giant soldier. Can you imagine? Some farm boy, basically estranged from his family and all of society, shows up with cheese and bread, and says, “Hey, I’ll fight that giant!”

Of course, anybody would be skeptical. But everybody is also desperate, including the king. He’s unexpected and unlikely. They don’t think he can pull this off. So David explains just who he is. “Listen, I’ve fought off a bear and a lion with my bear hands. I’ve been fighting for sheep. I stand for those who can’t stand for themselves. I’m a protector, a fighter, a warrior.” And the King, at the shock of every around, agrees to let David fight for them.

David, an unlikely shepherd, who seemed unqualified to fight this giant, stands in the place of every soldier.

The Climax


As King Saul and the whole army waits in anticipation, David goes out to a stream and finds five smooth stones. And you have to wonder, is David regretting this whole thing? Does he have any doubt about God actually getting him through this? If David fails, the Philistines will take over Israel! And David will go down in history as the failure who plunged Israel back into slavery.

Nonetheless, he confronts the giant and delivers an awesome monologue. You have to read this. I Samuel 17:41-47 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

And then he does exactly what he said he would do. He kills the giant with a supernaturally accurate stone, and beheads him with his own sword. That might be the most boss thing you read in the Old Testament!


So David, the unlikely hero, slays the undefeatable giant! And all of the Israelites enjoyed the victory.

The Point


Remember, David is a shadow of Christ. The unlikely hero who stood in the place of all of mankind to defeat an enemy that seemed impossible to defeat. Who are we in this story? The soldiers shaking in our armor. The cowardly King Saul. The skeptical older brothers. We are unable, and maybe unwilling, to face our own giants. We avoid the confrontation.

Goliath then represents an enemy that we can’t defeat: sin. We are soldiers literally living in fear of our enemy. We desperately need a savior. We need our own David to step up.

David goes out, and crushes the enemies head. This is not fulfilling any prophecy, but it is actually reaffirming a prophecy made about Jesus. Remember, in the story about Adam and Eve God tells Eve that her offspring would crush the head of the serpent? David doesn’t fulfill it, but reaffirms it. He is a picture of what Jesus Christ would later do. David stood alone in the place of all of his people. Just as Jesus stood alone in the place of all of mankind.

So what is your Goliath? Is it an addiction? Do you have a stronghold in your life? Is your Goliath a giant of fear? A giant of jealousy? Anger? Lonliness? The lesson for you is this: you can’t defeat your giant on your own. You’re not David. You need a hero. And your hero has already come! He crushed the enemies head!

At this point, your giant is already defeated! You don’t have to fight FOR your victory. You can now fight FROM your victory. Remember, the Israelite army jumped to their feet and chased the Philistines out of their country! So rise up, soldier! Give chase to your defeated enemy. Your giant is a beheaded corpse. You are not a slave to your sin. You are not a victim of Satan’s temptations. You are on the winning side. Enjoy the victory that has been won for you!
 
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