The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

ONE WISE WOMAN

& TWO FOOLISH MEN

1 Samuel 25: 1 – 42

REVERED
 1 Samuel 25:1 (ESV)
1  Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

REQUEST
1 Samuel 25:2-9 (ESV)
2  And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3  Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 4  David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5  So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6  And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7  I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8  Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’” 9  When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited.

REFUSE
1 Samuel 25:10-13 (ESV)
10  And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11  Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12  So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13  And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

Philippians 3:19 (ESV)
19  Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Matthew 5:38-39 (ESV)
38  “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
39  But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

REDRESS
1 Samuel 25:14-22 (ESV)
14  But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them.
15  Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16  They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17  Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.” 18  Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19  And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20  And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.
21  Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good.
22  God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

REMARKS
1 Samuel 25:23-31 (ESV)
23  When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24  She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25  Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26  Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27  And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.  28  Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29  If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30  And when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, 31  my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

RESTRAINT
1 Samuel 25:32-35 (ESV)
32  And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!  33  Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34  For as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35  Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

RECOIL
1 Samuel 25:36-38 (ESV)
36  And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37  In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
38  And about ten days later the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.

RESULT
1 Samuel 25:39-42 (ESV)
39  When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The LORD has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife.
40  When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.”
41  And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”
42  And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

Proverbs 9:10 (ESV)
10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 2:6-8 (ESV)
6  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7  he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8  guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.

The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

SHOWN MERCY TO SHOW MERCY

1 Samuel 23:19 – 24:22

A DEPLORABLE ACT
1 Samuel 23:19-24 (ESV)
19  Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?
20  Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”
21  And Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. 22  Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning.
23  See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
24  And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.

A DESPERATE SITUATION
1 Samuel 23:25-29 (ESV)
25  And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
26  Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27  a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.”
28  So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.
29   And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi.

The Lord Upholds My Life
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David Hiding among us?”
Psalm 54:1-5 (ESV)
1 O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might. 2  O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3  For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Selah 4  Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. 5  He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them.

A DESIRABLE OPPORTUNITY
1 Samuel 24:1-7 (ESV)
1   When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2  Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks.       3  And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4  And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5  And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6  He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.” 7  So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

A DECLARED LOYALTY
1 Samuel 24:8-15 (ESV)
8  Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9  And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10  Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11  See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12  May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13  As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14  After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15  May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

A DECEPTIVE CHANGE
1 Samuel 24:16-22 (ESV)
16  As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
17  He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.
18  And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands. 19  For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20  And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21  Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” 22  And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

1 Peter 2:22-23 (ESV)
22  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
23  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

AFFLICTED BUT BLEST

1 Samuel 22:6 – 23:18

SAUL’S INSANITY
1 Samuel 22:6-10 (ESV)
6  Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7  And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8  that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.”
9  Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub,
10  and he inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

ILLEGAL TRIAL
1 Samuel 22:11-17 (ESV)
11  Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king.     12  And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13  And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 16  And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17  And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 24:16 (ESV)
16  “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

EVIL MURDER
1 Samuel 22:18-23 (ESV)
18  Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod.
19  And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword. 20  But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21  And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22  And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 23  Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

The Steadfast Love of God Endures
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
Psalm 52:1-5 (ESV)
1 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
2  Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. 3  You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
4  You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.
5  But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

DELIVERED TOWN
1 Samuel 23:1-6 (ESV)
1  Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2  Therefore David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3  But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4  Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5  And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6  When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand.

UNGRATEFUL CROWD
1 Samuel 23:7-13 (ESV)
7  Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8  And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9  David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10  Then David said, “O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11  Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12  Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” 13  Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition.

ENCOURAGING FRIEND
1 Samuel 23:14-18 (ESV)
14  And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
15  David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16  And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God.
17  And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.”
18  And the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David, when he was in the
wilderness of Judah.
Psalm 63:1-4 (ESV)
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3  Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4  So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

1 Peter 5:8-10 (ESV)
8  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10  And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

2 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)
3  His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4  by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

ON THE RUN

1 Samuel 21: 1 – 22: 5

DAVID IN DECLINE
1 Samuel 21:1-9 (ESV)
1   Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2  And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3  Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4  And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5  And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?”
6  So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.      7  Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen. 8  Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”       9  And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”

Mark 2:23-28 (ESV)
23  One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
24  And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
25  And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26  how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
27  And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
28  So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

ACTING TO ESCAPE 
1 Samuel 21:10-12 (ESV)
10  And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.
11  And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
12  And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13  So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.
14  Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me?
15  Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

In God I Trust
To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on
Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
Psalm 56:1-4 (ESV)
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; 2  my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly. 3  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
Psalm 34:1-4 (ESV)
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2  My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.
3  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4  I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

TEAM OF TROUBLED
1 Samuel 22:1-2 (ESV)
1  David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.
2  And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

You Are My Refuge
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave.
A Prayer
Psalm 142:1-6 (ESV)
1 With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.
2  I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.
3  When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.

1 Chronicles 12:1-2 (ESV)
1  Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.
2  They were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand; they were Benjaminites, Saul’s kinsmen.

1 Chronicles 12:8 (ESV)
8  From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains:

CARE FOR PARENTS
1 Samuel 22:3-5 (ESV)
3  And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4  And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5  Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

LOYALTY OF A FRIEND

1 Samuel 19: 18 – 20: 42

POWER IN THE SEMINARY
1 Samuel 19:18-24 (ESV)
18  Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.
19  And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”
20  Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21  When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22  Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”
23  And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24  And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

QUESTIONS IN THE AFTERNOON
1 Samuel 20:1-8 (ESV)
1  Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” 2  And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” 3  But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”4  Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5  David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6  If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7  If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. 8  Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

COVENANT IN THE FIELD
1 Samuel 20:9-17 (ESV)
9  And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?”
10  Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?”
11  And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field. 12  And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you?
13  But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father. 14  If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die;
15  and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”
16  And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David’s enemies.”
17  And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

MESSAGE IN THE ARROWS
1 Samuel 20:18-23 (ESV)
18  Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19  On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. 20  And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21  And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22  But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away.
23  And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”

TROUBLE IN THE HOUSE
1 Samuel 20:24-34 (ESV)
24  So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.
25  The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.
26  Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” 27  But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
28  Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.
29  He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.” 30  Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31  For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” 32  Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33  But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34  And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.

SORROW IN THE FRIENDSHIP
1 Samuel 20:35-42 (ESV)
35  In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy.
36  And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37  And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”
38  And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39  But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40  And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41  And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42  Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)
17  A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)
17  Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:6 (ESV)
6  Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Proverbs 18:24 (ESV)
24  A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

THE JUST AND THE JEALOUS

1 Samuel 18: 1 – 19: 17

FRIENDSHIP IN BROTHERHOOD
1 Samuel 18:1-5 (ESV)
1  As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2  And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3  Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4  And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5  And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

1 Samuel 14:6-15 (ESV)
6  Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7  And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” 8  Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9  If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10  But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 11  So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12  And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13  Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14  And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land. 15  And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.

JEALOUSY IN A KING
1 Samuel 18:6-11 (ESV)
6  As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. 7  And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” 8  And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9  And Saul eyed David from that day on.
10  The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. 11  And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

Proverbs 14:30 (ESV)
30  A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

SCHEMING IN ROYALTY
1 Samuel 18:12-19 (ESV)
12  Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. 13  So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. 14  And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him.
15  And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16  But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. 17  Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
18  And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?”
19  But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

PLOTTING IN THE PALACE
1 Samuel 18:20-30 (ESV)
20  Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21  Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.” 22  And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king’s son-in-law.’” 23  And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” 24  And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” 25  Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26  And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27  David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28  But when Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29  Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually. 30  Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

CHARACTER IN THE FAMILY
1 Samuel 19:1-8 (ESV)
1  And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. 2  And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3  And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4  And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5  For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6  And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7  And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
8  And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him.

SPEAR IN THE WALL
1 Samuel 19:9-10 (ESV)
9  Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.
10  And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

DISCERNMENT IN A WIFE
1 Samuel 19:11-17 (ESV)
11  Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
12  So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.
13  Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14  And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15  Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16  And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head.  17  Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’”

Psalm 59:1-5 (ESV)
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; 2  deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. 3  For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD, 4  for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Awake, come to meet me, and see! 5  You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.

Psalm 59:16-17 (ESV)
16  But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17  O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

THE HARP AND THE SLINGSLOT

1 Samuel 16: 14 – 17: 58

GOD PREPARED DAVID
1 Samuel 16:14-23 (ESV)
14  Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.
15  And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16  Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17  So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
18  One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.” 19  Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20  And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21  And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22  And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23  And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

GOD ARRANGED FOR DAVID
1 Samuel 17:1-11 (ESV)
1  Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.   2  And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.    3  And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4  And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5  He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
6  And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
7  The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him. 8  He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
9  If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
10  And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”
11  When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

GOD SENT DAVID
1 Samuel 17:12-19 (ESV)
12  Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. 13  The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14  David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15  but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16  For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. 17  And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18  Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.” 19  Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

GOD INSPIRED DAVID
1 Samuel 17:20-27 (ESV)
20  And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21  And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
22  And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23  As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. 24  All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25  And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26  And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27  And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

GOD ENCOURAGED DAVID
1 Samuel 17:28-37 (ESV)
28  Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29  And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30  And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before. 31  When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32  And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33  And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 34  But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35  I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36  Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37  And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

GOD DIRECTED DAVID
1 Samuel 17:38-40 (ESV)
38  Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39  and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40  Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

GOD STRENGTHENED DAVID
1 Samuel 17:41-47 (ESV)
41  And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
42  And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43  And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44  The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45  Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47  and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

GOD ENABLED DAVID
1 Samuel 17:48-54 (ESV)
48  When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
49  And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
50  So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51  Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
52  And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
53  And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
54  And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

GOD BLESSED DAVID
1 Samuel 17:55-58 (ESV)
55  As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56  And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57  And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58  And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

The Story of David

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

A MATTER OF THE HEART

1 Samuel 15: 7 – 16: 13

BACKGROUND
Exodus 17:8-16 (ESV)
8  Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
9  So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
10  So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11  Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12  But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.    13  And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 14  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15  And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, 16  saying, “A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

FAILURE
1 Samuel 15:7-11 (ESV)
7  And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8  And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9  But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. 10  The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11  “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.

EXCUSES
1 Samuel 15:12-21 (ESV)
12  And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13  And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” 14  And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15  Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”  16  Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.” 17  And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18  And the LORD sent you on a mission and said,‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19  Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20  And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

 PRONOUNCEMENT
1 Samuel 15:22-23 (ESV)
22  And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
23  For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”

John 4:23-24 (ESV)
23  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
24  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Colossians 3:16 (ESV)
16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Psalm 51:15-17 (ESV)
15  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

ASSIGNMENT
1 Samuel 15:34 – 16:5(ESV)
34  Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35  And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 16:1-5 (ESV)
1  The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
2  And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3  And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
4  Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
5  And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

ANOINTING
1 Samuel 16:6-13 (ESV)
6  When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” 7  But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 8  Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9  Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10  And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11  Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12  And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV)
12  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Psalm 78:70-71 (ESV)
70  He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
71  from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.