The Direction of Your Heart

Prayer

Saul’s Fall & David’s Rise

So we finished last week with David showing up on the scene in a big way, winning the one-on-one battle with the giant, Goliath, which led to the Israelites defeat of the Philistines. Though in reality, as we talked about last week, it wasn’t really a one-on-one battle. The thing that gave David his giant-sized faith was the confidence that the Lord was with him, that it was really His battle.

So we pick up the story in 1 Samuel, chapters 18 & 19, where we see David and Saul moving in complete opposite directions - David rising in success and popularity among the Israelites because, as we’ll see repeatedly, “the Lord is with him.” At the same time, Saul is sinking into a mix of fear and anger and paranoia - because the Lord has left him. It’s clearly much, much better to have the Lord with you.

1 Samuel 18 begins with a description of the relationship between David and Saul’s son, Jonathan. Jonathan, if you recall, was the one who, along with his armor-bearer, led the courageous attack against a Philistine outpost, defeating it, in spite of being outnumbered, 10 to 1. Jonathan and David are kindred spirits, and they form a tight-knit bond of friendship. They are described as being one in spirit, each loving the other as himself. They make a covenant, committing themselves to one another.

We’ll come back to their friendship next week, because it’s a wonderful picture of what it means to be a true friends, what it really means to be for another.

But between David and Saul, it’s the exact opposite, at least on Saul’s side. After David’s great victory over Goliath, he goes into service under Saul, essentially conscripted into military service - he’s not allowed to return home. And it’s here that we see the rise of David and the fall of Saul.

1 Samuel 18:5-9 - Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well. 6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

So David just keeps having success after success, no matter what mission Saul sent him on. And because of his success, everyone is pleased with David - the troops, Saul’s officers, the people of Israel. The women celebrate him to the point that they are singing and dancing - and Saul does not like their song. Because David is given more credit than him, the king! We see here the anger and jealousy growing in Saul. And growing to the point that we see the first of many attempts by Saul to take David’s life. It will become an obsession for him.

1 Samuel 18:10-11 - The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. This harkens back to 1 Samuel 16, when we were first introduced to David, and he was sent to Saul to play the lyre when the tormenting spirit came upon Saul in order to sooth his spirit. But here the spirit comes so forcefully on Saul that he tries to kill David.

1 Samuel 18:12 sums it up well - Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. And this fear of David, this paranoia, leads Saul to actively plot to kill David (the first time, it was pure impulse, but he seems to like the idea). He sets him as the commander of 1,000 troops, in hopes that as he sends him into battle, that he will be killed. But because the Lord is with David, the strategy backfires, because David keeps succeeding, keeps winning. And, of course, that makes David that much more popular among the Israelites. Which in turn grows fear in Saul.

So Saul then plots to use his daughter to lead David into more dangerous situations with the Philistines, offering his older daughter, Merab, in marriage to David if he will fight for him. But David is poor, feels as if he cannot pay a bride price worthy of a king’s daughter, so he turns it down.

Then Saul learns that his younger daughter, Michal, is in love with David, so he tries again - this time asking for a bride price that David can pay - 100 Philistine foreskins. Conveniently, this will also put David in danger. But David is up for the task, and goes and fights the Philistines, returning with not just 100, but 200 Philistine foreskins.

So Saul gives his daughter, Michal, to David in marriage. And again, we get this summary, 1 Samuel 18:28-29, When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. So we see here that Saul’s heart is now completely closed off to David. David, who has served him faithfully, is now his enemy.

So the attempts to kill David continue as we move into 1 Samuel 19 - here Saul makes his desire known, telling his son Jonathan and his attendants to kill David.

But as we saw, Jonathan had made a covenant with David, so he warns David to go hide while he goes to speak with his father about David. Jonathan reminds Saul that David has one him no wrong - in fact David’s military victories have benefitted Saul greatly. Saul concedes that he is in the wrong here: 1 Samuel 19:6 - Saul listened to Jonathan and took his oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.

Saul’s oath does not last - David returns to Saul’s service, things are normal for a while. Until once again the evil spirit comes upon Saul again and he hurls a spear at David who is playing the lyre. So David plans his escape, but Saul is after him - sending men to his house to watch it with orders to kill him in the morning. But David’s wife, Michal, helps him escape, letting him down a window and then taking her idol (which is very telling that Saul’s daughter has a household idol), laying it in their bed, decorating it up to look like a person sleeping, claiming David is sick when Saul’s men come to get him. As you can imagine, Saul is not happy with his daughter for siding with David over him.

The chapter ends with David making his way to Ramah where Samuel is. Saul finds out about it and sends men to capture David. Here we see God directly at work through his Spirit - the Spirit of God comes upon Saul’s men and they join the prophets in prophesying.

So Saul sends a second group of men - and the same thing happens. The Spirit of God comes on them, and they join in prophesying. It happens a third time - until Saul decides that he himself must go. It doesn’t end like Saul thinks it will, 1 Samuel 19:23-24 -

So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” Not what Saul was expecting, I’m sure as he made his way to Ramah.

With God, With his Spirit - or Against

With David and Saul we get great examples of what a life open to God, to his Spirit, humbled before him, looks like, and what a life that is closed to God, shut off, resisting the Spirit, full of pride and fear, looks like.

Saul, in these chapters, reminds me of the character, Walter White, from the TV show, Breaking Bad. White is an ordinary guy, finds himself diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, wants to secure his family’s financial future. Being a high school chemistry teacher, he connects with a local drug dealer, offering to make meth to sell. The series is a long, slow, gradual slide for White, getting sucked deeper and deeper into the “Bad”. He’s a monster of a man by the end. This is what we see in Saul.

And its all the dark elements of his soul that he keeps feeding. His anger and jealousy over the Israelite women celebrating David’s success in battles. Of course, as God continues to give David success, all that anger and jealousy grow. Saul can’t stand that its not just Israelite women singing his praises, but his fellow army officers and troops, all favorable to David. And then Saul’s own children, his son and daughter, Jonathan and Michal, who both deeply love David.

And, as always, Saul’s fear. His fear that with David’s rising popularity, the clear evidence that the Lord is with him, Saul fears losing the kingdom. Remember - God has already told Saul through Samuel that he has rejected him - that he is going to take the kingdom from Saul and give it to another. It’s increasingly obvious that that person is David - everyone, including his own children, can see it. But Saul is resisting it, he thinks he can thwart God’s will. He thinks he can kill David, eliminate the threat and save his kingdom.

It could not be more clear that this will never happen by the event that happens at the end of 1 Samuel 19 - when Saul sends his men to capture David while he is encamped with Samuel and the prophets at Ramah. Every time, the men Saul sends are overwhelmed by the Spirit of God, they are caught up - the prophecy.

And when Saul himself goes, it happens to him - the spirit of the Lord comes on him and he walks along prophesying until he reached Samuel. Then it says that he strips off his garments - now, it may mean that he really is naked here - or it may mean it’s just his outer garments - either way, he is stripped off his royal clothing - laid bare before God, humbled, all day and all night.

As one commentator noted - the Spirit of God coming on Saul was initially an indication of God’s presence with Saul (if you remember, this was one of the three signs Saul was given when he was first anointed king by Samuel). But now it has become a sign of God’s judgment on Saul.

What we see here is God coming against Saul, demonstrating to him that he cannot thwart the will of God. Nor can anyone. It will not go well for you. Those who humble themselves before the Lord will be exalted (like David) and those who exalt themselves, who try to put themselves above God, defying him - as Saul is doing here, will be humbled. And Saul is definitely humbled. Unfortunately, he still doesn’t learn his lesson - as we’ll see in the weeks to come.

On the other hand, David demonstrates to us what a life lived open to the Spirit, open to God’s power and presence with us, humbled before him, looks like. We’ll see more and more of this as we continue in the story, but David never succumbs to malice, to desire for revenge, on Saul (even though we’d certainly understand it if he did). He doesn’t pick up the spear and throw it back at Saul!

It’s not surprising that David’s love for the Lord leads to having deep and loving relationships with others, we see this especially in how he and Jonathan develop a deep bond of friendship - openness to God, his Spirit, opens us up to loving others fully and freely. Saul is closed off not just from God, but others - his life becomes darker and more secretive, while David’s is open, full of shared love.

Now, I don’t want to promise that we will never fail, that God being with us always leads to success (because God never promises that) - but it definitely opens us up to God’s blessings, when we are open to God, surrendered to his Spirit. We’re going to be led into what he wants us to do - his hand of favor will be with us. It certainly was with David -success on the battle field, against his enemies, protection from Saul’s repeated attempts to kill him - notice how often those attempts were thwarted by those who had come to know and love David, including Saul’s own children! They willingly defied their father to aid David.

In our time of confession, we looked at the passage from Ephesians 4:30-31, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. I’m so intrigued by the fact that Paul writes here not to grieve the Spirit. Don’t make the Spirit sad, don’t break the Spirit’s heart because you’re engaging in rage, anger, slander, malice.

The Spirit mourns when we resist his work in us to become like Jesus. When we act like Saul, give into our jealousy, anger, fear. We dwell on them. We let them settle in our hearts, fester there, and grow until they consume us. Saul didn’t start out as a man driven by fear and anger, filled with murderous intent - but he sure ended up there.

The Spirit wants to lead us into a life filled with the joy and peace and love of God. But if we’re closed off to the Spirit, it won’t happen. In Acts, one of the disciples, Stephen, accuses the Jews of resisting the Spirit. Paul describes how we might oppose the Spirit in 1 Thessalonians as quenching the Spirit. We douse the flame, the fire of the Spirit in us. Instead of resisting the Spirit, we are to embrace the Spirit. Instead of quenching the Spirit, we are to, as Paul tells Timothy, to fan into flame God’s gift to us, the Holy Spirit.

Saul could have chose to do that - Saul could have celebrated David’s success, rejoiced with him - instead he was jealous and angry. Saul could have humbly recognized that the kingdom was being taken from him, graciously surrendered it. Instead, he moved to thwart God’s will by trying to kill David.

The Spirit is always seeking to move us toward Jesus - into the fullness of life he offers, becoming like him, sharing in his mission. We embrace the Spirit in us, we fan that gift into flame when we are open and attentive to the Spirit, his nudging, his leading. And it’s happening day-by-day, often in the smallest of things

This past week, I had an opportunity to express love more openly towards someone - and I found myself hesitating, fear rising up - fear of exposure, making myself vulnerable. But I knew in that moment it was a prompting of the Holy Spirit, call to be more open hearted.

At the Presbytery meeting just this weekend, opportunity to give toward Hurricane victims - initially resisted (already gave), surely you can give a little more to those who’ve lost so much!

Struggling with a relationship right now, just want to cut it off, minimize it, there’s lots of frustration on my part (just to be clear, it’s no one in the church). But I keep getting this nudging from the Lord, to sit down and talk with this person face to face, quit avoiding it. But that’s going to be awkward! Uncomfortable. What if he doesn’t respond well? I’m wrestling with obedience to God in this situation.

These are the things that are going on in all of us all the time. And always, always, the Spirit of Christ in us, wants to move us toward faith over fear…humility over pride…forgiveness over resentment…compassion over indifference…love over judgment…gratitude over jealousy…toward Jesus rather than away.

Spiritual Disciplines

We talk a lot about the importance of engaging in the Discipline of Confession on a regular basis. But what I want to encourage us in this morning, is cultivating an openness to the Spirit, a willing surrender to the Spirit’s leading as you engage in Discipline. To invite the Spirit to reveal to you about your heart. Key to growing in Christ is learning to be more attentive to your heart through the Spirit. To be attentive to those feelings of jealousy or anger or those judgmental thoughts - and a readiness to confess them, reject them, and to move toward a posture of love.

Spend time bringing your heart before God as you reflect on the events of the day. Give yourself time and quiet to do this, so you can be attentive to the Holy Spirit in you. As the Spirit reveals, pray in response.

My hope and prayer is that we want to move in the direction of David, his heart - and certainly not Saul’s!