We continue our worship of our Creator God by hearing and learning from His own words for us. Open your Bibles to 1 Samuel 18….
David had just defeated the Giant Goliath and the Philistine army. The King of Israel at that time was Saul who called David to his service.
There is a lot said in our passage this morning but I’d like us to focus on what Saul was like compared to David.
Read along with me 1 Samuel 18:5-30….
What can we say about Saul?
v6-7: was honored as king!
v8-9: Saul was angry and jealous of David, why??
Saul had a big ego problem!
v10-11? Saul was so mad at David, he tried to kill David with a spear!
Now, look again at v12…. What can we note here??
Saul knew he had the wrong spiritual condition in comparison to David! Saul knew he was sinning and he was afraid of godly David!
And look again at the end of v17: Saul enticed David so that David can get killed!
We also note in v20-25: Saul was scheming to have David killed using his own family members!
And finally, look at v29…. Saul became so wicked, he had a lifetime of hate against David, who represented God!
Now let’s take a look at David:
v5: was successful in everything he did. What does this tell us about David??
David had qualities of a hard worker: disciplined, trained and equipped, persistent, leader but a team player, and
v12,14: are also indicators for us of why David was a success! The Lord was with David; why? David yielded to God’s presence!
Note that God tried to be with Saul, but Saul rejected God. It was not God’s fault that Saul became like that; God allowed bad things to happen to Saul with the hope of repentance, turning back to God.
v16: David was well loved by the people because of his godly work!
And what can we note about David in v18 & 23?? David had a humble spirit!
Now, what can we say about David in v25-27??
In summary, we can note a positive and a negative truth about David:
+ David hated the Philistines because they were ungodly!
- David was overzealous by doubling his kill.
How can we apply these biblical truths for our lives today? It is obvious that as Christians, we are to follow the good things about David; for God called him a man after God’s own heart!
But can we learn anything from Saul?
Saul was a believer of God. Saul was called by God to be king. God provided for Saul! But what did Saul do wrong??
Even after experiencing the power and love of God, Saul turned away from God and his life went downhill. And so, we are to take heed of this as well.
1. Just like Saul, Believers can choose to turn away from God and life will become bitter, to the point of trying to kill someone with all sorts of evil schemes! Always check your heart: Is your heart truly after God or just after self?
2. Follow David’s example except for one thing:
a. With the Lord’s help, aim to do everything successfully!
b. Yield to God’s presence and power!
c. Have a humble spirit! Always check your heart and motives! Why am I doing what I am doing?
d. Hate what is evil!
e. Watch out for getting overzealous! Do not get ahead of God!
