Have you ever found yourself in a situation where there seemed no way out? Maybe a situation caused by the betrayal of someone you thought you could trust?
That was the situation David faced. He had entered the king's service as a harpist, to relieve Saul's troubled mind. He had won a great victory for the king over Goliath and the Philistines. But our chapter starts with Saul issuing orders for his son Jonathan and all his attendants to kill David. If I'd started by showing a western, this would be the scene where sheriff puts posters up around town and sends out his posse looking for the outlaw.
Except, of course, David is no outlaw. He has broken no rules, he has not defied the king. And that's exactly the point Jonathan makes to his father. Verse 4: Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. There is no doubt that Jonathan was a tremendous ally and friend of David, and we'll be looking at his whole example of friendship next week. But for now all Jonathan is able to do is grant David a temporary reprieve.
Saul by this stage is being troubled by an evil spirit from the Lord. We don't know exactly what this evil spirit was, but it was a sign that the Lord had withdrawn His favour because of Saul's disobedient and unrepentant heart. And although Saul's behaviour may be extreme, isn’t it generally true that when we are no longer following God's will for our lives, we start to experience a general lack of peace and joy? The whole tragedy of Saul's life was that he was anointed as king so that he could be blessed by God and be a blessing to others. Yet he forfeited those blessings, and his later years are a powerful warning of what can happen to anyone who turns their back on God. Because a troubled soul is not only miserable in itself, it also tends to make life miserable for others.
And this is what happens here. David briefly comes back into Saul's service. He wins another great victory over the Philistines in verse 8. But Saul's response is only to try and pin David against the wall with his spear. From this point on, the action moves quickly. David flees back to his home, but he knows he's not safe. We're moving here into the world of the spy movie, with secret agents standing on the street corner watching his every move, and the elite unit hidden just out of sight ready to move in at the crack of dawn.
But like any good hero, David has a female lead to help him escape. His wife Michal lets him down on a rope, and delays the soldiers long enough for David to get away. David flees to Ramah, to the house of Samuel, the great prophet who led Israel for many years and who anointed him as king. Yet even the home of such a great man is no safe place for David any more. The elite unit is sent out once more to capture him there.
It looks as if the net has finally closed in. Rather like in our clip our hero seems destined for a horrible end. There seems no way out. The soldiers are on the road, approaching the city gate. David is holed up, and has nowhere to go. What will happen next?
Well, we'll return to the climax in a few moments. But for now, I want to go back a little and think exactly why Saul was so hostile to David. If you were here last week you will remember that we looked at David's victory over Goliath. We didn't look right at the very end of the story but it seems that Saul genuinely admired David. We discover that he watched David defeat Goliath and immediately afterwards had David brought before him, in order to find out exactly who this brave young man was.
But in chapter 18 we see things going wrong. Verse 2 tells us: From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. Is that because Saul sees David as useful? Or maybe he begins to see David as a threat and doesn’t want to let him out of his sight? We don't know. But Saul understands David's value and gives him a high rank in the army. Which is fine, until Saul hears the women in the towns of Israel singing, verse 7, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." As verse 8 goes on to tell us: Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" David is no longer the shepherd boy turned army chief. He is the pin-up boy of the day, and a rival, at least according to Saul's way of thinking.
So as verse 9 tells us: … from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. Now our Bible translation has added the word "jealous" but it seems a perfectly justified addition. All too quickly Saul's admiration of David has turned to anger, to rivalry, to jealousy. It's a lesson to us of what happens when we do not check the thoughts and imaginings of our hearts.
And the real problem with jealousy is that it so hard to contain. Once it takes hold of us, it becomes an all-absorbing passion, and sadly, all too often, it can lead to actions we later regret. Certainly that was the case with Saul. The very next day – just as we read in chapter 19 – he tries to pin David to the wall. But David escapes. So Saul tries a slightly more subtle approach. He notices David is in love with his daughter Michal. He agrees to the match, providing David kills a certain amount of Philistines. Just in case we haven't quite worked out why Saul embarks on this course of action, verse 25 makes it plain: Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
But Saul's plan fails. Well it had to really, otherwise we couldn't have had chapter 19 as our reading this morning. But seriously, this failure on Saul's part leads to the final breakdown of the relationship between Saul and David. Chapter 18, verses 28-29: When Saul realised that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy for the rest of his days. Until Saul's death David ends up living as an outlaw, on the run, hunted, with no place to go.
As I have suggested already, this whole story reveals the destructive power of jealousy. As a piece of a literature, it is a cracking read. But it was written far more than to simply entertain us. Paul writes in Romans 13:13: Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Jealousy is a sin. It ranks, according to Paul, alongside the more obvious sins like sexual immorality and pleasure-seeking. Why? Because it destroys relationships. It is like a poison that no matter how much we try and contain eventually seeps out and radically affects our behaviour towards others.
That's why, brothers and sisters, if you find yourself jealous of someone this morning, let me urge you to do something about it. Confess your sin before God and seek reconciliation with the person you envy. Jealousy, you see, is too dangerous to be left unchecked. It was the reason why Joseph's brothers plotted to kill him and sold him as a slave. It was the reason why, as our gospel reading tells us, the Pharisees decided to do away with Jesus. Be honest with God about how you feel and do something about it. After all, the Lord knows the attitudes and desires of all our hearts, and there's no use covering up our feelings before Him.
Back to the story. We left our hero, David, holed up in Naoith in Ramah. The soldiers are marching towards the town, with orders to capture him. How will he escape? Will the Lord suddenly reach down and rescue him, rather like our video clip? Will he bravely fight off the attackers?
Well, no, because what happens is even more surprising than that. As the soldiers close in on the town, they run into a group of prophets led by Samuel. We might note incidentally how brave Samuel must have been to go out to meet the soldiers, knowing that they wanted to arrest the man hiding in his very house. Anyway, the soldiers get caught up in the excitement and the joy of the prophets, and before they know it, they too are prophesying and praising God. Any thought of arresting David quickly goes out of their minds.
This, of course, wasn't what Saul had planned. So he sends out a second group of soldiers. And the same thing happens to them. They too end up prophesying and praising God. Saul sends out a third group of soldiers. And guess what? They too end up in the same state of wonder and ecstasy. By this time Saul has had enough. And what happens? Verses 23-24: So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
So what does the end of this episode in David's life teach us? Very simply, that the power of the Holy Spirit is greater than even the power of jealousy, or any other human emotion. What do I mean by that? Well, first of all God has the power to touch any human heart, even the hearts of those who hate us. We've already been told at the end of chapter 18 that Saul had become David's enemy. He had turned his back on God and God had rejected him. Yet the Lord still was able to prevent him carrying out murder. For a brief period of time he was once again prophesying and praising, just as he had done when he first became king.
And this story illustrates powerfully the reason why Jesus tells us to pray for those persecute you. That person at work or school who seems to dislike you for no apparent reason; the family member who regularly makes fun of your faith; the organisation or government department that tries to prevent you expressing your beliefs. God is able to bless the most unlikely of people. After all, He has blessed us. And we need to pray with faith and persistence that God will work even in the hearts of those who are hostile to us, so that His love defeats the poison of jealousy and hatred that damages so many lives.
Of course David's problems did not magically disappear overnight. As long as Saul was alive, he would still be an outlaw and on the run. But David discovered once again the power of the Lord to save and to rescue. Some words from Psalm 59 which may have been written during this time in his life:
They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.
They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.
But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.
Aren't those amazing words? With the secret agents out watching his every move, the elite units waiting to snatch him, David still learnt to trust in God as his refuge, and his fortress. And that too is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. You see, it can be all too easy to meet jealousy with hatred or fear or bitterness. It can be all too easy to seek revenge or think of ways to get even. It is a very human, very natural reaction. But that is the way of the world. It can never lead to peace or healing or reconciliation. That's why when Paul writes to the Romans these words: Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Because in the end it is the way we handle this messy, complicated business of relationships that shows most effectively we are followers of Christ. We do not let hatred and jealousy take over our hearts, but we seek forgiveness and reconciliation instead. We do not curse enemies, but pray for the Lord to bless them. And when we are wronged, we look to the Lord to put things right, rather ourselves seek revenge.
Now none of this is easy. Saul and David were never permanently reconciled. David had to learn so many lessons along the way about trusting the Lord. For us, it may mean coming back to the Lord again and again for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit in order to cope with the situation. We may find ourselves misunderstood, rejected, ridiculed. Yet what should keep us going is that Jesus, the Son of David, also faced opposition, but kept going, faithfully obeying His Heavenly Father and doing His will. So let's pray that whatever situation we face this morning, we can be more like Christ and show His love even to those who are our enemies…
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