1 Sam 18:5-30 When Life throws you a Curve Ball

Intro: Think about your life for a Moment: When are you most comfortable?

A)I think most of us would say that we are most comfortable when things are in order. When things are in Place / we know our Place

B) Things are the best when we have a sense that we know what God is doing in our lives – when we understand where He is leading

1) In general we don’t like Surprises – ( Birthday) – We don’t like to be taken off guard – we don’t like it when our routines are interrupted

C) We like things in place/ in order - I see this on Sun mornings all the time:

1) You see some of you when you come into this Sanctuary – You sit in the same place every wk Not Bad/ Not Wrong / It is just a part of your Norm

1^st Service: Noakes / Andrews / Dave & Kerry Wagner / Clarks – ( Again I like it – I know where you are )

2^nd Service: Stearns / Carringers / Crawfords/ Ted V/ Bardeens / Bartons / Dunns / Nelsons / Dewitts / ( Again I like it – I know where you are )

3^rd Service : The Dewitts / Biernackis / Duffs / /

Sometimes I will mention to Denise I haven’t seen so & so in a couple of wks do you know if they are all right – She will say –How can you See ?

A)I Know where they sit !!!!

B) A few months ago now –the Dewitts really threw me – Usually sit over here / But they were – down here – What is wrong / some one die

1) For about 3 minutes during the message – distracted why are they sitting over there

C) Once during worship I watched as someone arrived late – only to find that someone else was sitting in their “seat” –

1) They just stood there for a minute – not sure what to do – flustered

We like order in our lives : We enjoy when things are in place & we especially like it when we can sense how & what God is doing

A)When we have a sense of the direction that He is leading us in / where He is taking us.

B) But when life throws us a curve ball / when God throws a monkey wrench into the equation

1) it can be upsetting / it can be disconcerting / those times have a way of breaking us up out of our comfort Zones

C) Those times can be unpleasant – but they are necessary tools if God is going to make us into the men & women of God that He wants us to be

1) That is exactly what is happening in David’s life in 1 Sam 18 / Rd 5-7

David’s life is cruising along in Obscurity : He is the Servant/ Son of Jesse – He is a Shepherd – servants Job – tends sheep

A)Curve ball #1 Comes – The Prophet Samuel – the most important spiritual - holy man in all of Israel – shows up at his house out of the blue

B) And after passing over all of David’s older / stronger brothers – Anoints David as the next King of Israel!!! Wow ! Mind is blown

1) Back to tending sheep – back to obscurity until Dad says – Take some food to your Brothers – at the battle

C) David obeys : Encounters – Goliath – now He is a National Hero

1) Saul is proud of him – wants him around / Jonathan Saul’s Son befriends David – Best Friends

D) And on top of this David has been Promised the hand one of Saul’s daughters in Marriage / his reward for Killing the Giant

1) I am sure at this Point – Everything in David’s mind is starting to make sense / starting to click

Perhaps David was thinking : I see what you are doing Lord – I see your Plan – Making me the Son in law of the King / Saul loves me/ people …

A)Jonathan is my best friend & as Saul gets older they are both going to see that You have chosen me to be Saul’s successor/ Great plan God

B) I can see David in a very humble way settling down into this situation

1) We love to speculate

C) War: Annoyed by all the annalist – all day – well if this happens then this might take place ( All these what ifs we like to do that )

1)We Like to think that We have the Lord figured out : There definitely would have been a temptation for David to do that at this point in His life

D) David is quickly becoming the Most Popular man in Israel. Cover of all the Mags – Shooting star / the Rising Son / GQ / People’s most Pop

How did David react to this sudden popularity? We are told 4 times in this Chapter that David behaved wisely in all his ways

A)ABSENCE OF PRIDE IN DAVID’S LIFE @ THIS POINT

B) Lesson : When you are praised and popular, it isn’t wise to let it go to your head.

C) David was no doubt happy to hear these affirming words, but he didn’t let it dominate his thinking or change his opinion of himself.

1) He kept the heart& mind of a shepherd, even in a season of great success.

D)This wasn’t easy. This was a test, one that the devil wanted to use to bring David down, & one that the Lord wanted to use to build David up.

1) David never received this kind of affirmation when he was keeping the sheep. The sheep never danced and sang a song praising him!

E)His brothers & Father surely didn’t think of him in that way – so here David faces the challenge of success & David Passes the test

1) he behaves wisely in all His ways & / Curve ball #2 v.8-11

"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)

A)Saul begins to act insane by His Jealousy: The Phrase v10 Saul Prophesied must not be misunderstood

B) The Hebrew grammar used here can be used of idle ramblings as well as of prophecy from the Lord.

1) Saul was simply babbling like a man not in his right mind.

C) Saul responds by throwing a spear at David. – Listen If a spear is in your hand, you’ll probably use it!

1) If you have a knife in your hand – it chances are it will end up in someone’s back

D) Speaking not of Physical spears & Knives – But the ones that we throw w/ our tongues / Cutting words / Piercing communication / Hurts / Kills

E) Starts w/ the ill thoughts & bitterness that we allow to take root w/ in our hearts ( Comes out in a tense moment – Fleshly Reaction – revealing heart)

1) Saul’s problem starts in v.9 Because of his jealousy he eyed David from that Day forward

F) The idea is he watched him w/ a critical eye – looking for some flaw – some mess up / the more he watched more frustrated / fearful he became

1) He saw in David – what was missing in His own Life – The Lord !!!!

REACTS IN THE FLESH

Perhaps the most remarkable word in this chapter is in v.11 twice. This means that Saul threw the spear twice. This means that Saul missed twice.

A)This means that after the first miss, David came back and played again!

B)This is where many of us will draw the line. "Look, I’ll sit with the bulls-eye on my chest once, and I’ll dodge the spear. I’ll even leave the spear on floor and resist the temptation to throw it back.

But one spear whizzing by my head is enough. One miss and I’ve paid my dues. Once is submission to the Lord. Twice is stupidity!"

C) Saul reacts in the flesh – but David doesn’t retaliate in the flesh: Why

Was it because David lacked courage? No, he demonstrated his courage in the battle against Goliath.

A)You can bet that if almost anyone else had thrown a spear at David, he would have picked it up and killed the man who tried to kill him.

B)But David knew the principle of Romans 13:1 before it was ever written: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

C) In fact David would intimate that very thing latter on when he had the opportunity to Kill Saul – Not touch the Lord’s anointed

David’s actions were saying "Lord, you put Saul on the throne. And I know I’m supposed to the be next king, because You have given me Your promise and Your anointing. But getting Saul out of the way is Your business. I won’t touch it, because he is an authority appointed by You. You started his reign, so You have to end it."

Psa 59 I will wait on the Lord my strength & my defense

Let Saul act in the flesh. Let Saul take matters into his own hands. Let Saul throw spears. David will have none of it.

A)David will trust the Lord/ David will wait on the Lord

B)In doing so, David will not only dodge the spear that could end his life. David will also dodge the spear that could ruin his soul.

See When one is pinned to the wall with a physical spear, blood pours out and you die.

A) When one is pinned to the wall with an intangible spear, bitterness pours out and you die. David dodged both kinds of spears.

B)In doing so David – showed that He was in submission to something other than His own Passions / He was in submission to the Lord

1)Resulting in a RIGHT RESPONSE rather than a WRONG REACTION.

C) It was during this time that David penned these words Psa 5

Give ear to my words, O LORD,Consider my meditation.

² Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God,

For to You I will pray. ³My voice You shall hear in the morning,

O LORD;In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

D)When King Saul was not acting at all like a King – David directs his eyes to the King of Kings – Look up !!!!

1) It was also during this time David penned Psa 25

Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.¹³ He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.¹⁴ The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,

And He will show them His covenant.¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the LORD,

For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

E) David went back a 2^nd time because He was walking in the Fear of the Lord instead of the Fear of Saul

1) He knew that God was going to protect Him – watch over Him !!!

So David behaves wisely again: Saul’s reaction ? V.12-17

Now before you think that Saul is giving David a Promotion Saul true motives for putting David in that position are seen in v. 17 For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

A) This seemed like a gesture of kindness & goodness on Saul’s part. Saul wanted David to believe that all was forgiven & forgotten

1) let bygones be bygones. David to think He threw two spears at me before, but all of that is over now."

B)But Saul wasn’t thinking that way at all. In his heart was a different motive: Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.

C)It was smart in the flesh, but God would not honor Saul’s manipulation. Manipulation uses hidden agendas and concealed motives.

1) It is sneaky and secretive. Manipulation tries to maneuver people and events to accomplish this hidden agenda.

Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles:

A)Saul is working as a clever manipulator. He takes advantage of David’s loyalty and 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.

b) In the flesh, Saul might have tired to justify his manipulation. "I do want David to be valiant for me. I do want David to fight the Lord’s battles. There is nothing wrong in me asking for those things."

C) But that was dishonest, not because it was an outright lie, but because it didn’t tell the whole truth.

1) Sure, Saul wanted David to be valiant for him and to fight the Lord’s battles. But more than that, he wanted David dead.

2) That was his greater motivation than anything else was.

¹⁸So 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?”

A) Now David was not out-maneuvering Saul. David had no idea what was going on in Saul’s heart.

B)David simply had a humble heart before the Lord, and God protected him against Saul’s manipulation.

C)The question "Who am I?" shows David’s humble heart. He was nationally famous.

1)All Israel loved him. All Saul’s staff loved him. The crown prince Jonathan loved him. All over Israel, women sang and danced in his honor.

D)Yet when the hand of Merab is offered to David, he doesn’t think, "Well, this is about time. I’m glad someone noticed."

1) His response I don’t deserve this – although He did – It was His reward for killing Goliath

E)God Resist Proud Grace to the Humble)

1) God was showing His grace to the humble heart of David by protecting Him

So things are starting to look up again – for David – but then comes curve ball #3 -

¹⁹But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

A)This was another attempt by Saul to get David to Sin / Saul was seeking to arouse his anger – get him to retaliate & do something stupid

B)Something that would cause David to be Charged w/ TREASON

But all his efforts failed to arouse even a transient impulse for revenge." (Meyer)

Psa. 25 ¹ To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.²O my God, I trust in You;

Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.

³ Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;

Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

⁴ Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.

⁵ Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.

V.20 –21

SO Saul was happy to hear this (the thing pleased him).

A)It doesn’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

C) Now the Phrase That she might be a snare to him: This may be meant in two ways.

1) First, obviously Saul wanted David to be snared by the dowry. V.25 100 foreskins of the philistines

D) But it may also be that Saul knew Michal’s character & heart, & knew that she would be snare to him as a wife, / turned out to be the case 2Sm 6

1) 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

F) Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom – Fear of man is a snare – unfortunately a lot of men live in fear of their wives -

V.22-26

Now notice it says that when David heard this – it pleased him to be the Kings Son in law – not to get 100 foreskins

A)This is gross – suddenly an R – rated bible study – thank God for Children’s ministry.

B) David’s life at this point is this Roller coaster w/ Saul – up & down

v.27 therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and 200 men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins,& they gave them in full count to the king, Picture that – 50 99 100 / 120 that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.

Read v.28-30

Key to David Behaved wisely – Growing in Wisdom = Knowledge applied

v.5 Behaved wisely

v.14 “ “ “ in all His ways

v.14 Behaved very wisely

v.30 Behaved More wisely than …….

David is a picture of the man walking in the Spirit – Note 4 things

A)#1 Humble heart – He knows his blessings are from the Lord not him

B) #2 David doesn’t retaliate in the flesh – responds in the Spirit – no spear throwing

C) #3 David doesn’t seek for Revenge – but suffers long – He looks to His King He waits on the Lord

D)#4 David served in whatever state – w/ all his heart – God rewarded him

David’s wise behavior and high esteem were both closely connected to his humble heart. The same is true (in a far greater sense) of the Son of David, Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:9 says of Jesus, Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.

Why was it that the name of Jesus became highly esteemed? Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

This mind, this heart, was in David. This mind, this heart, is in Jesus. God wants this mind, this heart, to be in each of us.

A)Tonight HS work in conforming us to the image of Christ