INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO CLIP- Apollo 13
• SLIDE #1
• Can you relate, you are in outer space, and for no particular reason, something starts to go wrong.
• Today as we continue with our series WHY ME, we are going to examine a part of the life of David where David will face one of those WHY ME moments.
• The event we will examine comes before David is the king.
• When David was a boy, God anointed him to be the next king of Israel. After David was anointed by Samuel, David goes back to tending the sheep.
• In chapter 15 of 1 Samuel, we read that the Spirit of God departed from Saul and Saul was tormented by an evil spirit, so Saul hears that David can play the Lyre.
• Saul called on David to be a part of his court. When Saul was afflicted by the spirit, David would play the Lyre and Saul was receive relief.
• In chapter 17, we have the famous David and Goliath incident. David defeats Goliath and saves the nation from becoming the slaves of the Philistines.
• David’s fame rose precipitously from that point.
• People were singing songs in honor of David, and King Saul started to become jealous.
• So today we are going to see a story of a guy who was anointed the be the next king, who was a blessing to the current king, and who saved the nation by killing Goliath.
• David is going to face one of those WHY ME moments and from David’s experience, we will gain some insights as to how we can deal with the inevitable WHY ME moments we face in life.
• Let’s begin by looking at 1 Samuel 19:1
• SLIDE #2
• 1 Samuel 19:1 (CSB) Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much,
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Bad things can happen when you least expect it.
• Wow! Up to this point think of the life that David has led.
• The nation wanted a king to lead them as all the other nations possessed. Saul was the man.
• Saul started going off the rails, so God tells Samuel to go to the house of Jesse to anoint a new king who would take over at some point in the future, so Jesse parades all of his sons before Samuel, all except the youngest, the shepherd boy David.
• After being anointed the next King, David goes back to the sheep. That says a lot about the heart of David.
• I think I would have made sure everyone knew that I was about to be the next king. ?
• God had been with David from the beginning, God has anointed David, protected David and prospered David up to this point.
• Life was good for David.
• Have you ever been in that LIFE IS GOOD time?
• Life is good isn't it during that time, not a care in the world, all is good, everything is right.
• This is where David is at this point.
• When you get into a WHY ME moment, we have to be conscious of the fact that bad things can happen when you least expect it.
• David has been nothing but good to King Saul and for King Saul, yet before this chapter, Saul has threatened David's life in 1 Samuel 18:11 and had assigned him to military tasks virtually guaranteed to bring about his death in 1 Samuel 18:13, 17, and 25.
• Much like Stephen whom we looked at last week, David is doing the will of God, he is faithfully serving Saul, then when all seems good, Saul wants to kill David.
• David wanted to marry one of his daughters, Michal (ME CALL) and Saul set a price that was meant to get David killed.
• Verses 20-ff in chapter 18 tells us that Saul found out that David loved His daughter Michal ME CALL,
• This made Saul happy according to verse 20. He thought he could get David killed.
• So, Saul devises a plan.
• SLIDE #4
• 1 Samuel 18:25 (CSB) — 25 Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price except a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’ ”
• Actually, Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.
• We do not see that David thinks anything of what Saul was doing up to this point.
• David was so diligent that David and his men killed 200 Philistines and presented the, well, the PRIZE to Saul.
• Verses 28-29 Saul became even more afraid of David when Saul realized the Lord was with.
• Saul was David’s enemy from that point forward.
• Verse 30 tells us that every time the Philistine commanders came out to fight, David was more successful than all of Saul’s officers. David’s fame grew.
• David has done nothing wrong, he was not seeking to oust Saul, or disrespect Saul, he was merely blessed by God!
• So here is a person who God had anointed, and God had blessed facing the King who now is not hiding his intentions, He is seeking to kill David, and he has ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to do the deed.
• At this point, David is none the wiser to Saul plan.
• He is about to learn what Saul has in mind.
• SLIDE #5
• 1 Samuel 19:2–5 (CSB) — 2 so he told him: “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning and hide in a secret place and stay there. 3 I’ll go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are and talk to him about you. When I see what he says, I’ll tell you.” 4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father, Saul. He said to him: "The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn't sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you. 5 He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”
• SLIDE #6
II. Accept the help of those who love you.
• Once Jonathan knew that his father wanted David killed, he decided to step in and help David.
• Do not forget that Jonathan had the most to gain of David was out of the picture since he was next in line to be king.
• Jonathan loved David, he was closer than a brother.
• A real friend will be there for you even if standing by you and for you would not be in your friends’ best interests.
• Clearly, for Jonathan, it would be in his best interests to see David out of the picture.
• Jonathan prudently said nothing in public to oppose his father’s plans.
• He realized, however, that there were always men eager to commit the most heinous crimes at the bidding of the king. Jonathan took swift action.
• Jonathan did not tell David to get out of town; instead it was his goal to see reconciliation between David and Saul.
• Jonathan revealed to David that his father was looking for the opportunity to kill him.
• He warned David to be on his guard the following day.
• He also urged him to go into hiding and stay there until it was safe to reappear at court and promised to spend time alone with his father the next day to find out more precisely what his plans might be regarding David.
• David could have had a horrible day which would have ended in his death; however, David listened to Jonathan, and he trusted Jonathan with his life.
• When you face one of those WHY ME moments, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you are alone and that you have to take care of the problem on your own.
• When you are faced with the WHY ME moment, I would encourage you to seek out those who really love you and lean on them for help.
• If you were David and knew the king was gunning for you, what would you do?
• Would you run, would you not trust anyone, especially the one who has the most to gain by your demise or failure?
• I admire professional athletes who when they are nearing the end of the line, are willing to take on the role of mentor for those under them, knowing that the person they are helping will take their position at some moment.
• David is facing a WHY ME moment and his friend who is closer than a brother steps up to help him.
• Jonathan intended to steer his father into the field where David was hiding. His purpose in so doing was not so that David might overhear the conversation in his hiding place; but that Jonathan might more easily report to him the result of his conversation without having to track him down. (College Press Commentary, 1 and 2 Samuel)
• Who is your Jonathan? Who do you have in your life that you can count on no matter what, who is it that you can count on to stand with you, and to watch out for you?
• So, Jonathan laid out the groundwork for Saul to relent. He made 7 points to his father.
• Jonathan appealed to Saul not to wrong (lit., “sin against”) David. This in effect was a warning that to take the life of David would be a sin.
• He argued for the innocence of David. He had not wronged (lit., “sinned against”) the king, who certainly had the right to execute wrongdoers, but not those who were innocent.
• Jonathan pointed out that all that David had accomplished had been a benefit to the concerns of the crown (lit., “his deeds are very good for you”).
• David's loyalty to Saul could not be questioned since he took his life in his hands, i.e., he voluntarily exposed himself to the peril of death, when he killed the Philistine. (
• Jonathan also pointed out that God had worked through David to give a great victory to all Israel.
• He reminded Saul of his previous disposition toward David when he rejoiced over David’s defeat of Goliath.
• Utilizing a rhetorical question, Jonathan admonished his father not to do wrong to an innocent man (lit., "sin against innocent blood") by slaying David. College Press Commentary, 1 and 2 Samuel.
• Let’s look at verses 6-7.
• SLIDE #7
• 1 Samuel 19:6–7 (CSB) 6 Saul listened to Jonathan’s advice and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed.” 7 So Jonathan summoned David and told him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he did before.
• SLIDE #8
III. Don’t panic!
• I do not know about you, but if I hear the IRS or the CIA is gunning for me, I am in panic mode.
• David’s situation could go from bad to worse in a hurry.
• What happens when we panic, we tend to make bad decisions!
• David could have panicked and fled, but it would have eventually caught up with him.
• Saul listened to the counsel of son and swore an oath that David would not be killed.
• I hate to say this, but not too long after this Saul went back on his word and tried to kill David.
• But for now, David was safe. His trust in Jonathan paid off.
• After the vow from Saul, Jonathan called out to David and brought David to Saul.
• Talk about trust, was Jonathan leading David to slaughter or was he helping him.
• We all need folks in our life that we are willing to trust with our lives.
• One thing that I find amazing is what the end of verse 7 tells us.
• Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he did before.
• David came back and served Saul as nothing happened.
• Later in the story, David has the chance to kill Saul while David is on the run from Saul, David's men tell him the Lord is given Saul into your hands, yet David would not strike the Lord's anointed!
• When we panic, we forget who has our back!
• David knew that he would be king one day when God deemed it time, so David was willing to trust that God would do what God promised David!
CONCLUSION
• Why ME moments are fun, aren’t they? ?
• We always need to realize these moments can happen when we least expect them, that we need to lean on those who love us when those times strike, and finally, do not panic, trust that God is with you and has a plan!
