HFL
MAY 1, 2011
2 SAMUEL 1;1-5
1After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and with dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
3“Where have you come from?” David asked him.
He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4“What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”
He said, “The men fled from the battle. Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
I AM A STAR WARS FAN. I HAVE LOVED THOSE MOVIES. THEY CAUGHT MY IMAGINATION. Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977, THE FINAL MOVIE IN THE SERIES, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, was released on May 19, 2005. THE BASIC STORY LINE IN THE SERIES IS REALLY PRETTY SIMPLE; IT IS THE BATTLE OF GOOD AND EVIL. YOU HAVE A HERO AND A VILLAIN. THE HERO FINDS HIMSELF IN PERIL THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STORY, ALWAYS BEING PURSUED BY THE VILLAIN, OFTEN ONE STEP AWAY FROM BEING DESTROYED. WHEN THE STORY IS COMPLETED, THE VILLAIN DIES, AND THE HERO SURVIVES. THIS IS TRUE OF STAR WARS, BUT IT IS ALSO TRUE OF ALMOST ALL STORIES. NOT ONLY IS THIS TRUE IN MOVIES, IT HAS ALSO BEEN TRUE IN HISTORY AS WELL. IN GERMANY IN THE 30’S AN UNKNOWN COMES TO POWER, PEOPLE WANT SOMEONE TO LEAD, AND HE LEADS THEM. RIGHT INTO WORLD WAR 2, AND HIS ARMY IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO ALMOST TAKE OVER ALL OF EUROPE. THE STORY ENDS WITH HIM BEING DESTROYED AND THE TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL.
THIS MONTH, WE WILL TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE OT BOOK OF 2 SAMUEL. AS WE OPEN IT THIS MORNING, WE SEE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE HERO AND THE VILLAIN. OUR HERO IS DAVID, THE VILLAIN IS SAUL. IN ORDER FOR US TO CLEARLY UNDERSTAND, WE NEED TO BE REMINDED OF A COUPLE OF THINGS. FIRST, SAUL WAS THE KING OF ISRAEL. HE WAS PUT IN THAT PLACE BY GOD. BUT SAUL FAILED, AND GOD CHOSE DAVID TO REPLACE HIM AS KING. SAUL HAD SONS, BUT GOD SAID THAT THE REIGN WOULD BE REMOVED FROM SAUL AND HIS FAMILY. THIS WAS REALLY DIFFICULT, BC ONE OF SAUL’S SONS WAS JONATHON, WHO WAS THE BEST FRIEND OF DAVID.
AT THE END OF I SAMUEL, WE LEARN THAT THERE IS A WAR WITH THE PHILISTINES. DAVID WAS NOT ALLOWED TO BE A PART OF THIS WAR. DAVID HAS RETURNED TO ZIKLAG, AND HE FINDS THAT HIS WIVES AND CHILDREN HAVE BEEN CAPTURED. HE PURSUES AND RESCUES THEM. WHILE DAVID IS DOING THIS; SAUL AND HIS SONS ARE AT WAR. THIS WAR THAT SAUL IS IN HAS NOT GONE WELL.
A MAN FROM SAUL’S CAMP ARRIVES AT ZILAG, AND HE TELLS DAVID THAT SAUL AND JONATHON HAVE BEEN KILLED. DAVID, WANTS PROOF, AND THE YOUNG MAN BEGIN TO TELL THE STORY.
INSTEAD OF TELLING THE TRUTH, HE EMBELLISHES. HE THINKS, SAUL IS DAVID’S ENEMY AND IF I TELL THIS RIGHT, THEN I WILL GAIN FAVOR WITH DAVID. IT’S NOT REALLY TELLING IT RIGHT; IT’S TELLING IT THE WAY HE THINKS DAVID WOULD WANT TO HEAR IT.
AS HE RELATES THE STORY, HE TELLS DAVID, THAT HE FOUND SAUL, ALMOST DEAD, AND SAUL ASKS HIM TO FINISH THE JOB. THAT WAS CLOSE TO THE TRUTH. LET ME SHARE WITH YOU SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE SHARED WITH ME A WHILE AGO. THE GREATEST LIE, IS NOT THE OUT THERE WHOPPER, RATHER IT IS THIS; THE GREATEST LIE, IS THAT WHICH IS SO CLOSE TO THE TRUTH, AND YET IS NOT THE TRUTH. IT LOOKS LIKE THE TRUTH, BUT IT ISN’T. AND BC IT IS SO CLOSE, PEOPLE BELIEVE IT. THE STORY THAT THE YOUNG MAN TOLD, WAS CLOSE BUT NOT THE TRUTH. THE TRUTH WAS; SAUL WAS NEARLY DEAD, HE CALLED HIS ARMOR BEARER TO RUN HIM THRU WITH HIS SWORD. THE ARMOR BEARER WOULD NOT DO IT. SO SAUL, took his own sword and fell on it, THE ARMOR BEARER AFTER SEEING SAUL, DID THE SAME THING AND TOOK HIS OWN LIFE AS WELL.
THIS YOUNG MAN TELLING THE STORY, KNEW THAT DAVID HAD BEEN PURSUED BY SAUL. HE KNEW THAT SAUL HAD WANTED DAVID DEAD. HE REASONS; IF I SAY I KILLED SAUL, AND SINCE HE WAS ALMOST DEAD ANYWAY, I WILL GAIN FAVOR WITH DAVID. HE HAS TAKEN THE CROWN AND THE ARMBAND OF SAUL, AND HAS BROUGHT THEM TO DAVID. WHEN DAVID KNOWS THAT SAUL IS DEAD, HE TEARS HIS CLOTHES. THEY MOURN AND WEEP AND FAST. NOT JUST FOR SAUL, BUT FOR JONATHON, AND THE ARMY OF ISRAEL.
DAVID UNDERSTANDS THAT THIS IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST ABOUT THE DEATH OF THE KING. ALL OF ISRAEL WILL BE IN TURMOIL. THIS WOULD BE A NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING. BUT, DAVID IS NOT FINISHED WITH THE YOUNG MAN.
WHY WERE YOU NOT AFRAID TO LIFT YOUR HAND TO DESTROY THE LORD’S ANOINTED? DAVID DOES NOT WANT THE BLOOD OF SAUL ON HIS HANDS. SO HE ORDERS THE YOUNG MAN TO BE PUT TO DEATH. ALL THIS YOUNG MAN HAD TO DO WAS TELL THE TRUTH. HIS FAILURE TO DO SO COST HIS LIFE. THIS YOUNG MAN HAD A PLAN, BUT HIS PLAN BLOWS UP IN HIS FACE.
THE DEATH OF SAUL WAS NECESSARY IN ORDER FOR DAVID TO TAKE THE RULE OF KING OVER ISRAEL. HE HAD BEEN ANOINTED BY SAMUEL AS KING, BUT NOW HE MUST UNITE THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE. JUMP INTO 2 SAM 2 WITH ME. IN THE COURSE OF TIME, DAVID WANTS TO BE IN GOD’S TIME, NOT HIS. A PROBLEM THAT I FACE, AND SOME OF YOU DO AS WELL IS THIS, WE ARE NOT ALWAYS PATIENT. I WANT IT, I WANT IT NOW. HAVE YOU SEEN THE STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS COMMERCIAL? IT’S MY MONEY AND I WANT IT NOW. THAT BECOMES OUR MANTRA TOO OFTEN. SOMETIMES, GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS, YES, OR NO, OR HE MIGHT SAY WAIT. DAVID UNDERSTOOD THIS. HE IS ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD, HE IS READY BUT HE WANTS TO BE IN THE CENTER OF GOD’S PERFECT WILL FOR HIM. SO, WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT, HE INQUIRED OF GOD. SHALL I GO UP TO JUDAH? THE QUESTION WAS REALLY THIS; IS NOW THE PROPER TIME FOR ME TO ESTABLISH MY KGD? DAVID KNEW THAT GOD HAD MADE HIM KING, BUT TIMING WAS CRITICAL.
GOD ANSWERED DAVID’S PRAYER. “YES, GO UP.” DAVID WANTS TO BE CERTAIN, “WHERE SHALL I GO?” AND GOD AGAIN ANSWERS, “TO HEBRON”.
SO DAVID WENT TO HEBRON OF JUDAH, AND THE MEN OF JUDAH CAME TO ANOINT DAVID AS THEIR KING. HE BECAME KING OVER THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, BUT NOT ALL ISRAEL. THE TIME WAS NOT RIGHT FOR THIS YET. IT WOULD TAKE LONGER TO UNITE THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE.
AND WHILE SAUL WAS OUT OF THE WAY, HE HAD A SON, WHO HAD BEEN SIT UP AS KING OF ISRAEL. AND REMEMBER, GOD HAD SAID, THE THRONE WOULD BE TORN FROM THE HANDS OF SAUL AND HIS ANCESTORS.
