When Things
Aren’t What They Seem
1 Samuel
18:17-19:24
Left
off : Goliath – Kings Armor Bearer – Personal Musician
A) Special friend ship with
Jonathan – King Saul’s Son
B) David was Prospering:
V.5 So David went out wherever Saul sent
him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was
accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's
servants.
14
And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the LORD was with him.15
Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him.
C) This began to be the heart
of the Problem – Saul becomes insanely Jealous of David – Seeks to Kill him
1) Jealous can lead a person
to do some crazy things : Mom of Cheerleader in Texas / OJ
"Among
the most terrible of human sins is jealousy/ the parent of the darkest &
blackest crimes that have disgraced the annals of our race." (Meyer)
D)
Jealous that prompted Cain to Kill his Brother Abel –
1)
Jealously can be overcome – Cain sin lies at the door of your heart it’s desire is for
you but you should rule over it
E)
In Other words the Lord was saying to Cain –
1)
This doesn’t have to consume you and rule over you – you can rule over it
F)
Cain didn’t & neither does Saul – Grows worse & worse – until Absolutely
out of Control
Pick up the Story in V. 17 –
Then Saul said
to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a
wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles." For Saul
thought,” Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines
be against him."
What
happens next is that we begin to see a series of attempts by Saul to kill David
or to have him killed – this is the first
A) Saul owed David a
Daughter for a wife – Reward for Goliath
B) Promises Merab – but
wants further Performance from David
Be
Valiant for me in Battle – over the Philistines you can have Merab
C) This seemed like
a gesture of kindness & goodness on Saul’s part.
1) Saul wanted David to believe that all
was forgiven & forgotten
2) let bygones be bygones. He
wanted David to think He threw two spears at me before, but all of that is over
now."
D)
In Saul’s heart was a different motive: Let my hand
not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.
It was Pure
Manipulation:
A) Manipulation tries to
maneuver people and events to accomplish this hidden agenda.
1) He takes advantage of David’s loyalty & patriotism
(only be valiant for me).
B) He takes advantage of David’s courage and heart for
the Lord (fight the Lord’s battles).
1)Manipulation can be smart in the flesh, but will never be
blessed by God.
Bb) Titus 1:15 To the pure all
things are pure, - David was so innocent & pure in his heart
that – he thought nothing of this request
C) In Fact we learn from his
response in V.18 that he didn’t feel worthy of such a reward – So David said to
Saul,” Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel, that I
should be son-in-law to the king?"
1) Not right for me – Pure
in heart – man of Humility
D) Titus 1:15
goes on to say : but
to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind
and conscience are defiled.
1) That was Saul – he was
defiled through and through by
his bitterness and Jealousy
So
David is thinking – things are looking up again – but just when he is ready to
RELAX – he discovers they weren’t what they seemed RD v.19 -21
A) Now It Shouldn’t surprise us
that Michal was attracted to David, because of his character, Physical
qualities, and fame.
B) But it is evident later in
David’s marriage to Michal, she was not really attracted to David’s heart for
the Lord. ( Singles that is the key )
1) Fame/ Looks / Wealth – doesn’t matter- all fade –
Heart for the Lord is the Key { Looks Fade / Wealth can come & Go { Heart remains
C) Now the Phrase That she might be a snare to
him: This may be meant in two ways.
1) Saul knew his daughters
character & heart, & knew that she would be snare to him as a wife, / turned
out to be the case 2 Sam 6
D) Wives listen you can be either a blessing or a snare to your husbands
E) God brought you together so
that you could be his help mate / partner / encourager – that is what God wants
you to be !
1) But You
WILL BE a snare if you are always
putting down / constantly Critical / tearing apart in your words { Always discontent
V21
Therefore Saul
said to David a second time,” You shall be my son-in-law today." [So
Plan #2 to bring down David is underway RD V.22-27]
So Saul finds that he is
Foiled again a second time – Can’t get rid of this KID RD
V. 28-30
David is a
wonderful Picture for us of a man who was walking in the Spirit: - God’s hand
was upon him
v.5 Behaved wisely
v.14 “
“ “ in all His ways
v.14 Behaved very wisely
v.30 Behaved More wisely than ……
God’s hand is
upon David – but things are about to get more intense
David is about to enter into the Fire – the heat is
on / attack is underway
A)But what we see in this Chapter is how the Lord
brings 4 different entities into David’s life to help him cope / help keep perspective
B) I suggest to you that these
same 4 entities are important to have in our
lives to help us cope when the storm clouds come rolling in / Read v.1-5
1st
Entity that we see a man needs when the
storms come rolling in is a Strong & Loyal friend. – David had JONATHAN
A)We already
noted some things about Jonathan friendship to David in Ch.18/How he gave to
David – His Robe / Sword / Armor
B)Here we see that Friendship Progressing – Jonathan
Stands in the gap for David – Notice how Does
this 4 things
#1 He warns David of
His Fathers intentions
A)Jonathan was a faithful
friend – Faithful to stick up for David – He wasn’t a fair weather friend
B) Jonathan
goes to David & Warns him / tells him to hide out until he can get to the
bottom of this
C)
Jonathan could have said, "Look, I want no part of this. I’m not going to help
my father do something I know is wrong. But I won’t try to stop it either. I’ll just be
neutral and let God work it out."
D) But
Jonathan didn’t take that attitude.- He was a faithful friend and he went to
warn David of his fathers intentions
1) Jesus John 15 13Greater love has
no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
E)
Jonathan is seen clearly here of willing to risk his own life for David
How could Jonathan
justify disobeying his father?
A)Because Saul, his father and
king, commanded him to do something that was clearly disobedient to God.
B)Jonathan knew the 10
Commandments, You shall not murder (Ex
20:13).
1)
He was submitted to a higher Authority
C) We are People under
authority, and commanded to submit to God’s order of authority in many
different arenas.
1) There is
the submission of children
to their parents,/ wives to their husbands /of citizens to their government,/ employees to their employers
D)Yet, even in all of those
relationships, we are never excused from sin because we obeyed an authority
that told us to sin.
1) In this instance, it would have been wrong for Jonathan to obey
his father and kill David.
E)
This was a case where Jonathan could say as the apostles said when they were
told to stop preaching the gospel: Ought to Obey God rather than
men
The 2nd way we see that Jonathan stood in the Gap for
David is v.4 He spoke well of David to
Saul his father
A)Jonathan did more than secretly
help David with information. He spoke well of David to Saul his father. Went on record
B)
Jonathan let Saul know, "Father you have a certain opinion of David. But I
don’t share that opinion. I love & support David. You should also."
C) It was wonderful for Jonathan
to support David secretly, when it was just him and David. That itself was a
gift.
1) It was
another thing for Jonathan to support David before others, and before those who
were against David.
D) Real Friend Go on Record – Not
let someone Bag on or Trash talk
1) One way to take yourself out
of Gossip –circles – defend a friend
3rd way He challenged his Dad to not sin v.4 Let
not the king sin against his servant
A)Jonathan was bold enough to
tell his father that his anger and jealousy against David was sin, and to say, "he has not sinned against you."
B)Saul felt that David had
sinned against him in some manner and he felt righteous in his cause.
But Jonathan delivers a needed word of correction.
1) Calls a Spade a Spade – Dad you are Sinning
– you are blowing it
4th v.5 Jonathan Reminded Saul of God’s hand upon David –how He took
his life in his hands & killed the Philistine
A)Why did Jonathan remind Saul of
these events? It wasn’t because Saul had forgotten them.
B) It was because Saul
"spun" these events with a meaning that justified his jealous desire
to murder David.
1) Saul knew
that David killed the Philistine. But Saul could not believe that David did it
for a righteous reason.
C) In his mind, he thought
"David did it just to become famous and to take his throne. That was how
Paranoid Saul was .
D) Jonathan is trying to bring
Saul back to reality. He reminds his father: "You
saw it………… and rejoiced just like
everyone
1) So Jonathan shows himself to be
a great & loyal friend standing in the gap for David
Result of Jonathans
intervention v.6,7
6
So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, "As the LORD lives,
he shall not be killed."7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told
him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his
presence as in times past.
A)Saul heeded the voice – Saul
has a change of mind but not a change of heart – Remorse – but not repentance –
Re occurring thing w/ Saul
B) Side note: Jonathan Stood
in the gap for David because David was a great Guy & Jonathan
delighted in him
1)
He
gave up everything in order to help his friend
C) Jesus stood in the gap for us – We weren’t great
guys / gals – full of sin / rebellion /
1) He stands
as our Advocate to defend us / not based on what we have done – we have sinned
/ based on what He did for us !!!!
RD V.8-12
This leads us to
consider the 2nd Entity in
David’s life at this point – that Every man needs in the Fire
A)If He is married He needs a supportive wife –
B) Since Michal was Saul’s
daughter,/ this was a conflict of loyalties for Michal. Should she act in her
father’s interests or in her husband’s interests?
C)Here, she makes the right
choice and supports her husband David.
1) Michal is
acting according to the principle of Genesis 2:24: Therefore
a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they
shall become one flesh.
D)Though the Genesis passage speaks specifically of the husband, it
expresses a principle that applies to both partners in a marriage:
1) that the former family loyalties and obligations take a back
seat to the loyalty and obligation to the new family.
Michal
helped by warning David & David did well to receive this warning from his wife
A). Sometimes men are so
Prideful, hard headed and even hard hearted that they never hear how God might
warn them through their wives.
B)If David would have ignored
this warning because he didn’t like the source, he might have ended up dead.
C) Guys we need to
realize that God has brought your wife into your life for the reason of being
your Partner & Helpmate – Listen to her
1) She will share from a
perspective that you are not seeing
D) She will share things that you
never thought about – just because she is a woman!!!!
1) Guys
in leadership – Love to talk w/ them – They expand my Vision
E)
But the other day – talking to Denise – about something going on – she had an
opinion – I said The guys thought it was ok
–
1) They
are all men – She is right – Comes to certain aspects of our New
Facility – Look to the women for their input – Women’s rest room
So David
showed wisdom in heeding the warning of his wife /but At the same time, Michal
spoke to David wisely:
A)Now She might have said, "David
here’s the problem let me tell you what to do."
B)She might have said, "David I am here to save your life. Let me tell you what to do."
1) Instead,
she simply told David, "This is what I see. Now it is up to you.
I’m not going to try
to save your life, but the way I see it, if you do not save your life tonight,
tomorrow you will be killed."
C) And when David decided on a
course of action, she was there to support and help him put it into practice.
1) Michal
helped by letting David down through a window.
D) So Michal is seen as a
Supportive wife – warning & helping David – but her help is flawed & it
stems from her lack of trust in the Lord RD v.13-17
A)Michal took
an image: the image was a teraphim, a figurine used as a household idol,
or as a fertility and good luck charm.
B) Rachel, the wife of Jacob, also
had teraphim (called household idols in Genesis 31:19).
C) In the godly reforms of Josiah, he prohibited the use of household
idols Clearly, God’s people had no business having or using an image like
this.
D) But this is an indication of
wear Michal’s heart was at toward the Lord
So instead of
just telling the truth & say that David had escaped or going even further
& standing up for David like Jonathan
A)Michal resorts in the flesh to Deception & ends
up making matters worse having to cover one lie w/ another – by saying David threatened to Kill her
B) Now this would only – add fuel
to the fire of Saul’s outrage against David – I
will really go after him for now he is threatening my Daughter!!
C)This also shows something of
the depth & the outwardness of the hatred Saul had for David,
1) because he wanted to deliver the death-blow himself (bring him up to me . . . that I may kill him).
The
next support entity we see in David’s life is the Church –A Church is not a
Building but a gathering of believers
A)It is a place where the presence of God clearly
dwells & that is where David flees next for help
RD v.18-20
B) There are two reactions
that people have in Difficulties – some run to the Church – others run from it
1) David Runs to it – He flees to
Samuel & his school of the Prophets in Naioth !!!!
Bb) Notice what are they doing v.20 They were speaking
words of prophecy
1)What is prophecy ? It is simply
declaring the word of God – It can be Predictive/ or also Instructive/
C) This gives us insight into what
the Church is to be about – a Place where the Word of God is Preached &
Proclaimed
Acts 2:42 And they
continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking
of bread, and in prayers.
D)Not a place where people come
seeking –esoteric experiences / not a place
people are looking for the warm fuzzies / Emotional high
1) Iris
Herrea – today- Can’t
find a Church –
Tony Clark – who does what you are doing
E) What David needed at
this point in his life was not to experience the warm fuzzies but to be
reminded of the truths of God’s word
That is also what we need: Why we take time to study:
Heb 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and
of joints and marrow, and is a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.
A) Because the Word is like a
Knife – it cuts / Convicts
B) But when surgery is needed an
Incision is Necessary – We come to gather w/ the People of God to hear
the word of God
1)Allowing God to take the Scalpel of his word & do surgery on
our hearts
C) That is the role of the Church –
place of sanctuary – Declaring the words of God to the heart of the weary :
D) Now in this instance Saul’s guys
come to Naioth & they hear the Prophets prophesying – declaring the word of
God –
1) HS comes upon them and they
start to Prophesy as well – and then watch what happens - RD v.21-24
Now this must have blown David’s mind – His enemies are right there in
the mist but they are powerless to do anything –
A) Restrained by the
Spirit of God
B) This is the 4th
support entity in David’s life – ALSO the most important – the Spirit of God
C) See God wants to show David that it’s not by might, nor
by power, but by His Spirit.
1) We so often think that the way for God to get rid of
our enemies is just to wipe them out, to destroy them.
D) In fact David prayed that way often, in Psalm 44 David said, 5 Through You we
will push down our enemies; Through
Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
E) In Psalm 3 David says, 7 Arise, O LORD;
Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
We like that don’t we? God here are my
enemies, wipe them out, crush them, destroy them, break their teeth.
A) But how about this, God save my enemies, God fill my
enemies with your Spirit,
B) God bring those who hate me to Church so that they can be over
come by your Spirit,
1) God so fill them with your love that every ounce of venom is drained
out of them.
C) The greatest victory would NOT be that our enemies to be
crushed, the greatest victory would be for our enemies to be saved and redeemed
and forgiven and Baptized in the Holy Spirit. That’s victory.
God wants David to Know He has Support : Loyal friend in Jonathan
A helpful wife in
Michal / A Church – Samuel & Prophets /
But most of all He has the Help & Aid of the HS -