Old Testament: 1 Samuel 29-31
Poetry: Psalm 69
New Testament: Galatians 5:1-15
1 Samuel and 2 Samuel are, in your Bible and maybe in your mind, two different books.
However, they are one story. We should not really end 1 Samuel without going on to 2 Samuel, the same way ending your movie marathon of the Lord of the Rings after just watching “The Fellowship” is lacking.
1 Samuel ends with Saul and Jonathan and the other sons of Saul dead on Mount Gilboa, their bodies first desecrated and then given a proper burial by the men of Jabesh-gilead.
But it is David’s response that is striking, and that comes in 2 Samuel. Forgive me for reading ahead, but look at what David does in 2 Samuel 1.
He kills the man who claimed to kill Saul (even though we know Saul killed himself) because this man did not respect the Lord’s anointed.
He laments, not only over Jonathan, but over Saul his enemy.
His heart is broken because of this man who really and truly hated him.
1 Samuel has been a journey, and I am glad you have allowed me to go on it with you over the last two weeks. Here has been my take-away:
Be David and do not be Saul.
Saul did not start off wrong. He began as a shy, possibly humble, man who was given the gift of kingship. But instead of living up to that role, he first consistently and then later constantly rejected the will of God. He offered sacrifices on his own, he directly disobeyed the commands of God so the people would be impressed by his power. He lifted his hands against the Lord’s anointed constantly. When he couldn’t get an answer from God, he turned to demons. As a friend of mine said, Saul is the cautionary tale.
David started off right. A humble young man who worked the field, he was also given kingship. He was found to be a man after God’s heart, who obeyed God. He made mistakes, but he sought God’s forgiveness. He sought to do God’s will, to bless those who blessed him, but to let God give justice to those who cursed him. He gave compassion to the Lord’s anointed, but fought against the enemies of God. At his best, he is a model king, a model disciple, and a model man. Even in his failings, he repents and turns towards God.
My brothers and sisters,
May you start off from this moment right. God can and will forgive you for everything in your past and start you off with the salvation offered through the death of Christ. By “putting on” Christ in baptism, you become a son or daughter of God, a child of the King of the Universe. You are given a type of kingship, and the power of God, the spirit of God, to do all that this kingship requires. You are training to reign with Christ in his Kingdom, and so you are to show love to all people, to show justice to sinners (telling them of God’s justice), to show compassion to all repentant (expressing God’s mercy), and to show honor to God’s anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bless you as you become “Davids”, following the son of David. Amen
-Jake Ballard
Reflection Questions
- In what ways or times have you had a touch of Saul in you? What did it look like? What did God want to see instead? Have you confessed and repented?
- How do you treat God’s anointed?
- What does it take to become a David? What will you do today to make is so?
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Jake Ballard is pastor at Timberland Bible Church. If you’d like to hear more from him, you can find Timberland on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TimberlandBibleChurch/ ) and on Instagram (https://instagram.com/timberlandbiblechurch?igshid=t52xoq9esc7e). The church streams the Worship Gathering every Sunday at 10:30. Besides studying and teaching God’s word, he is raising three beautiful children with the love of his life, plays board games and RPGs, and believes it was fine that Tom Bombadil was not in the LotR movies. If you’d like to reach out to talk Bible, talk faith, or talk about how the LotR movies might be an improvement on the books, look Jacob Ballard up on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jacob.ballard.336) or email him at jakea.ballard@yahoo.com.
God bless you all!
Seek Grow Love 