Saul’s Choice on How to Handle David’s Awesomeness
6 When the men arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments. 7 The women who were playing the music sang,
“Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!”
8 This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, “They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?”
12 So Saul feared David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul.
14 Now David achieved success in all he did, for the LORD was with him. 15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him.
1 Samuel 18:6–8,12,14–15 Read More
As we have been talking about songs and music and their effects on us, notice that the conflict here is amplified by the songs of the women. At this time that Saul could be rejoicing that he has such a mighty warrior in his army, instead he is burning with jealousy that the credit isn’t his. Instead of thanking God that he doesn’t have to fight anymore, he is jealous about the attention David is receiving.
David is a Gift from God to Saul
Look at all of the victories that happen in Saul’s time as king that are a result of David’s holiness. Even more than Goliath, David marches into battle and comes back a winner every time. Saul is old and is in a position to stay a the castle and really rule the country, but he doesn’t take advantage of that. He desires the glory that David gets, without taking the time to draw close to the God that gives David that glory.
David’s Popularity is Helpful for Saul
Just because David is in the 10X category of a warrior and Saul is a 1X level, David’s popularity builds up Saul’s popularity. As the women sing about David, they aren’t forgetting Saul. Everyone knows that Saul is the king and that isn’t at risk (at this point.) Many of the people of Israel don’t even know that David has been anointed by God to replace Saul. As far as they know, they are best buddies.
I heard a guy say once that every Protestant should care about what the Pope says because 90% of people that don’t go to church assume all Christian people are the same. There is wisdom in that. Whenever someone that is Christian says something on the news, we have a chance to be jealous, divisive, encouraging, or silent. Whatever you thought about Mel Gibson, his movie about the passion got conversations going. We had the chance to handle it like Saul and choose sides or join in the discussion and ride along with the questions.
Was Saul Finally Putting Things in God’s Hands?
Ok, so he threw a spear at David – MULTIPLE TIMES – but eventually, he gave David up to the Philistines to see if they would destroy David in that way. The problem is that he’s still trying to manipulate the world by his own schemes. He doesn’t ask God if God will destroy David like this, instead, it describes it like he is trusting in the Philistines more than God. Just like Saul thought he brought about this kingdom and all of these victories by his own hands, he thought the Philistines would have victory by their own hands.
He may give lip service to God, but he is being a functional atheist. He knows that God has blessed David (it says that a few times in here) but instead of joining God and joining David, Saul rejects them both.
David’s Motives are Good
Through all of this, David is not doing great just to show Saul what a fool he is. Instead of being motivated by men, David is motivated by God. It is so easy, as we go about our day to day activities, to do things just to boast or just to shame our enemies. Look at what happens when David follows the Lord! He has ten times the victories of Saul. He has ten times the reputation and the honor.
David found the glorious life God desires, not by seeking it, but by seeking the author of that life.
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