THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE (1 SAM.19)
A pastor who is once of the most educated, talented, and charismatic person I know taught me all I care to know about power and ambition. He is gifted in languages, preaching, and teaching. His alma mater is one of the finest seminaries in the world, his mentor was a widely recognized leader, and his church was one of most established churches in the city. The church grew from one worship service to multiple services, from medium size church to mega-church, and from one ethic group to multi-ethnic groups. His staff was fiercely loyal, his board was typical cronies, and fellow pastors were impressed.
However, his huge success came at the expense of others. Every three years a showdown erupted, an upheaval ensued, and a group left. No one was safe from his short temper, his long memory, and his bully pulpit.
The years of unparalleled success made him less and less aware of his faults, weaknesses, limits, but the payback was fierce. When staff members tried to intervene in a conflict, he asked the board to fire all the staff, or else he would quit. When the board refused to fire them, he had nowhere to hang his head and hide his face, so he resigned and left. The minister had since drifted from church to church, moved from region to region, and jumped from ministry to ministry.
The twin towers of power and ambition can be found in any group, institution, or corporation. However, it’s been said, “The safest place is to be at the center of God’s will.”
One of the earliest lessons in David’s life was that power is overstated. David lived in the king’s house, married the king’s daughter and became the king’s son-in-law, but he saw first-hand the corruption of power and he was not willing to fight tooth and nail for it or pour heart and soul into it. Saul was not himself, things were not pretty and stakes were too high. God’s blessings were not in the palace or politics of Saul but in the person and presence of David.
Power can change lives and affect people. Power in the right hands can nurture a Churchill, but in the wrong hands will nurture a Hitler. How do we decide? Why is it harder to get out than to get in? What is the downside to power?
POWER IS MEANINGLESS WHEN THERE’S MORE HARM THAN HELP
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?” 6 Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.” 7 So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before. 8 Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him. 9 But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
A man who had a malicious brute and a big bully for a neighbor decided to sell his house and relocate from the area and the meanie, to the surprise of his other neighbors.
The neighbors persuaded him to stay, saying: “His sins will soon come to a head and he will pay in full for his misdeeds. Why not tarry a little longer and see what would happen next?”
The man replied, “That’s exactly why I am moving. I am afraid that his sins will come to a head - through me!”
Saul declared open hunting season on David and placed a “wanted” tag on his head. The Philistines were no longer the choice of weapons. Saul dispatched his son Jonathan and all the servants (v 1) – not some, but all - to do the job and finish David off. However, Jonathan was not cut from his father’s cloth. He looked out for his friend and his sister who was married to David, but Saul looked down on his own son (1 Sam 20:30) and rounded up her own daughter (v 17).
David did all he could to gain Saul’s trust, but when that failed, he fled and escaped. Tried as he did, David could not slow or stop the king’s madness. He did not blame Jonathan for having such a father, the soldiers for serving such a boss, and even Saul for issuing such an order. Saul was mad, but David was not. Staying would had made him a bigger nut. The third attempt on his life was the bottom line. He believed in the goodness of heart, but he also believed in the ravages of sin, the depravity of man, and the corruption of power. The madness of King Saul was in full swing. One minute he listened to his son, the next minute he listened to no one. One minute he thought David was an asset, another a liability. One minute he believed that David did no wrong to the king, the ensuing he had no right to be king. The king couldn’t decide if David was innocent or impeachable, if he wanted David fixed by his side or stuck to the wall. David was afraid to turn his head, rest his back, or close his eyes.
The good news of David’s conquest and the good side of David’s character again produced another bout of jealousy, madness, and violence. David’s works were not just good (v 4), but “very good” in Hebrew, which NIV translated as “benefited you greatly.” David was as trustworthy, impeccable, and faultless as a soldier could be. The king wanted him dead as much as the Philistines did. The Chinese say, “One can easily avoid spears in the open but not arrows in the dark.” He was Robin to Batman, Watson to Holmes, Superdog to Superman, what else could Saul ask for?
When David’s very best was not enough, it was time to leave and relocate – and not a minute too soon. When Jonathan’s stirring speech wore off his father (vv 4-6), Saul’s raving jealousy broke out immediately. The two sides of Saul were well chronicled. When Jonathan was present, Saul was an angel, but when his son was absent, he was David’s adversary. The army needed David for fighting, but Saul hated him for winning. David was in a lose-lose situation; he lost when he won (v 8). His winning struck a chord within Saul, but it was not music to his ears. Later, David’s music was not good therapy, but bitter medicine to Saul.
POWER IS MEANINGLESS WHEN THERE’S MORE HURT THAN HEALING
11 Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head. 14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, “He is ill.” 15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him.” 16 But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats’ hair. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?” Michal told him, “He said to me, ’Let me get away. Why should I kill you?’“
A big city lawyer went duck hunting in the countryside. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer’s field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.
The litigator responded, “I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I’m going to retrieve it.” The old farmer replied, “This is my property, and you are not coming over here.”
The indignant lawyer said, “I am one of the best trial attorneys in the country and, if you don’t let me get that duck, I’ll sue you and take everything you own.”
The old farmer smiled and said, “Apparently, you don’t know how we settle disputes here. We settle small disagreements like this with the “Three Kick Rule.”
The lawyer asked, “What is the “Three Kick Rule?” The farmer replied, “Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up.”
The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom. The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel toed work boot into the lawyer’s groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer’s last meal gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer’s third kick to his rear end sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.
The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get onto feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, “Okay, you old coot. Now it’s my turn.” The old farmer smiled and said, “Naw, I give up. You can have the duck.
An English proverb says, “When elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers.”
The hardest thing for David to leave was not the glory and the honor, but the love and the friendship. David had to leave his loving wife, his best friend, and his fellow soldiers behind. Hurting them was never on his mind. David had won many fights but not this fight, because the hunter was the father of his best friend and the father of his own wife. It was a fight he could not win and must not win. Staying behind hurt more than it helped. His best friend could not confront his father for long, nor could his wife fool her father more than once (v 14). Choosing father or husband and birth father or best friend were not healthy options. The father-son and father-daughter relationships were at breaking point. The father called her daughter’s husband his enemy to her face (v 17).
The Philistines used to be Saul’s traditional enemies (1 Sam 18:25), but now David was public enemy No. 1. For David, to win would make his friend and his wife fatherless and to make the nation powerless. Seeing people fight or die for him was not his style. The people would not accept a killer king either, and all Israel and Judah that loved David (1 Sam. 18:16), including the palace servants (1 Sam 18:22), would end up fearing him instead.
David did not want to stoop to the king’s level; he must soar to new heights. Defeating the weakened king, who had lost his head, his heart and health would not make him a better man. He did not want to follow in Saul’s footsteps – to be mad, moody, melancholy, manipulative, malicious, and murderous. If being king make one forget one’s family and friends, he wanted nothing to do with it. The father-child relationship in Saul’s family was so strained that someone might get seriously hurt. He did not want to risk innocent lives, destroy healthy families, and divide the army. David, who had killed Goliath and two hundred Philistines (1 Sam 18:17), chose to leave rather than fight Saul’s men who were merely following orders.
POWER IS MEANINGLESS WHEN THERE’S MORE HOSTILITY THAN HONOR
18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. 23 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. 24 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?”
The Chinese have a saying, “When the crane and the clam fights, the fisherman gains.” The occasion for this story is the refusal of the crane to release the clam from its grip after the bird spotted the clam on land and pecked at its delicious flesh. The clam, in order to save its flesh, closed its shell instinctively and gripped the bird. The two did not back down, call it quits, or give each other an inch and eyed each other tensely.
The crane dared the clam out of water, “You will be dead meat if it doesn’t rain soon.” The clam rebutted, “You cannot last a day without food, either.” The quarrel soon ended when a fisherman passing by nabbed the two defenseless creatures for food.
Saul couldn’t let go of his hatred and hostility for David. He would set trap after trap, send servant after servant, and involve child after child to betray David. The word “kill” occurs eight times in the chapter (vv 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 11, 15, 17). The bloodthirsty king even went ahead to do the job himself after three attempts by his men to find and kill David in Ramah failed. When the Spirit of God touched the men, they had no idea what they were doing, what they were uttering, and why they were there in the first place.
The hostility of Saul was unabated. Saul wanted David dead in the city or outside the city, by his men’s hands or by his own hands, and with or without God’s approval. He did not listen to his men, who stated that their human efforts were repelled and counterproductive. From this moment on, Saul would go after David by himself. Sending his men to hunt David down again was out of the question. He couldn’t trust anyone but himself to do the job and wanted no one to have the satisfaction of killing David. His ruthlessness had reached the doors and the heights of heaven.
When he heard that David had taken refuge with Samuel the prophet, Saul did not back off or wait outside. He breathed murder even in front of Samuel. He did not care if Samuel, God, or His Spirit was around. A seizure seized Saul and immobilized him, which deterred him from coming near to David as long as Samuel was around. The Spirit of God embarrassed Saul to no end. He stripped off his clothes, did the chicken dance, said the strangest things, and sat naked all day, as naked as Adam and Eve in the garden before the fall (Gen 2:25). Fortunately for the king, no one had a camera, digital camera or cell phone camera then. It would have been quite a sight.
Conclusion: Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Do not let power, ambition and success get to your head. Use what God has given you humbly, modestly, and respectfully. You don’t have to bow yourself at the altar of power or sell yourself at the altar of ambition. The only promise of Christ’s power in the Bible is its availability to the weak. The Lord says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9-10). Let’s pray that power is not an art, an acquired taste, or a way of life for you.
FOR BETTER AND NOT WORSE (1 SAM. 24:1-22)
When we applied for a mortgage we discovered how unforgiving the system is. Our credit report was not as impeccable as we thought. A few late or overlooked credit card payments caused us a major deduction of points.
Unfortunately, our society keeps a perfect record of our falls and shortcomings. A late credit card payment will cost you money. A traffic ticket will remain for two years on your record and will cause your insurance to go up for a few years. Bad credit will stay on your credit report for seven years. A bankruptcy or bad credit history will make it impossible for you to get any credit for years to come, and bad credit history will prevent you from getting credit for up to 10 years.
An apartment owner told me that owners can track a renter’s credit history even if they were given a wrong social security number! Records of jail time, police arrest, and even company firings are forever.
When David was on his own, he had the opportunity to make a fresh start, chart a new course, distinguish himself in leadership and distinct himself from Saul. David assumed responsibility for his brothers and parents and the outcasts of society (1 Sam 22:1-2). Everyone saw and knew that David was different from Saul. David treated the downtroddden and rejects like friends and family, but how would he treat his equal or his opponent? To the best of his knowledge and ability. The title of this message centers on the Hebrew word for “good” that looms large and appears five times in the passage (vv 4, 17, 18, 19, 19).
USE YOUR BETTER JUDGMENT
24:1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. 3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ’I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’“ Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” 7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
A man who complained that he had been libeled by a newspaper sought the advice of Edward Everett, the great American orator and statesman of the 19th century. The aggrieved man asked the great statesman what action, strategy, and attitude to take.
Everett told the man not to worry and gave the man this reliable formula: “Do nothing! Half the people who bought the paper never saw the article. Half of those who saw it did not read it. Half of those who read it did not understand it. Half of those who understood it did not believe it. Half of those who believed it are of no account anyway.”
Bob Dole in his eulogy to Richard Nixon, quoted from the fallen leader who sought to rehabilitate his damaged reputation. The former president said, “I just get up everyday to confound my enemies.”
Saul’s and David’s obsession about what others said couldn’t be any more different. The king welcomed a false and evil report concerning David from Doeg (1 Sam 22:9), but David weighed the pros and cons of his men’s advice. Saul was obsessed with the thought of killing David, but David was troubled by the idea of killing Saul. At the first word of David’s whereabouts Saul stopped everything he did. He sent 3,000 men, not just regular soldiers but chosen men, to hunt down David and his men that grew from 400 to 600 men (1 Sam 22:2, 23:13). The danger of cliffs, the cost of lives, and the waste of time, staff and resources did not bother the king. Saul was as foolish as the wild goats that brave the cliffs when he risked the lives of his choicest men and best fighters to cut down not the Philistines, but fellow Israelites.
When David had the opportunity to get rid of Saul once and for all he used his better judgment to restrain his men, to reject their argument and to resist their actions. The men quoted a verse out of context to persuade David to lay his hands on Saul. The original promise that God gave to David in 1 Sam 23:4 was “I am going to give the Philistines into your hand,” but David’s men generalized and broadened the warranty to say “I will give your enemy into your hands,” and included the next line “for you to deal with as you wish.” They did not make the suggestion so bad and evil that David would reject it outright, but they made it appear that David still had a choice of what to do to the king. In fact, the tempting option offered in Hebrew was “that you may do to him as it seems good in your eyes.”
David’s conscience, however, (v 5) not only disallowed him from hurting Saul, it forbade him from disrespecting, degrading or diminishing the king and his office. The God that prevented David from falling into Saul’s hands (1 Sam 23:14) also stopped him from following into Saul’s steps. His conscience struck him even though he did not touch the king. The Hebrew translation is “David’s heart smote him.” David’s heart seized and pounded him, not just offended or chastened him. His conscience did not bite, nibble or even tugged at him, but cut him like a knife, pierced him like a dagger, and flogged him like a whip. He was a fugitive and an outlaw, but not a murderer or a criminal. This is the only Hebrew reference to the heart raining blows on a man’s conscience, although Job did accuse men of using to strike or smote him (Job 16:10). David’s heart convicted him. Anger was as good as murder (Matt. 5:21-22), and infringing on the king’s garment was as good as infringing on the office. Harboring hateful thoughts and feelings amounts to planning murder in one’s heart, mind, and soul. Three times David called Saul the Lord’s anointed (vv 6, 6, 10), even though Saul was never mentioned as the Lord’s anointed. David was the one specified as the Lord’s anointed (1 Sam 12:3, 5); Saul was just the king. David was the anointed for all time; Saul was just the appointment of the moment.
ACT IN GOOD FAITH
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ’David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ’I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 As the old saying goes, ’From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you. 14 “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15 May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”
Marie Hines earned $7 per week in the years she was cleaning houses in order to support her three sons by John Gonsalves Jr., who left her in 1946. She gave $5 per week to her mother, with whom the family lived.
One day a friend handed Hines a clipping from a newspaper in nearby New Bedford, Massachusetts, with the caption “A Happy Man.” The picture showed Gonsalves, now 71, beaming and making a thumbs-up sign because he was the winner of a $5.1 million Megabucks lottery ticket.
Frail and beset with difficulties, Marie and Arthur Hines, her husband of 39 years, squeezed by each month on a combined pension and benefit package of about $1,300. Marie’s blood boiled when she read that with his lottery winnings, her former stood to take in $170,000 after taxes each year for the next 20 years.
Marie thought of a way to get back at her ex. She filed suit to recover back alimony and support for children who are now 54, 53, and 50.
The article was aptly titled “How Do I Hate Thee? His Ex Counts 5.1 million Ways.” (L.A. Times 7/21/94).
David did not kill Saul when he had a chance, but he did challenge Saul on his conspiracy theories (1 Sam 22:8), selective hearing (1 Sam 24:9), fixed mindset (1 Sam 24:10), and confronted the king famous for his needless and unfounded anger (1 Sam 18:8), jealousy (1 Sam 18:9), and fear (1 Sam 18:12).
David acted in good faith before the king by announcing his presence, bowing his face, and showing his hospitality, hideout and hand. He let the king know he was armed but not dangerous, able but not willing, and apprehensive but not afraid. David had the upper hand, but he took the high ground. He had a clear edge, view, and chance, but he did not gloat, grin, or glory in his advantage. The king was caught with his pants down, parted from his fighting men, and like the proverbial rat in the hole.
With Saul dead, David and his men needed not run, hide, or fear, but David had a different idea. He had 600 men with him but he chose to meet the king alone. Even though Saul had left the cave (v 7), David wanted a chance to tell his part, to respond to charges, and to converse with Saul. Saul had never been honest, frank, or direct with him. He spoke through his servants (1 Sam 18:22) and to his son (1 Sam 19:1), but never to David except about marriage (1 Sam 18:17). Jonathan was David’s spokesman (1 Sam 19:4, 20:28) since the king was out of his mind and not in the right mind. David showed proof in his hand that he had respect for the rightful king and his office and reverence for the True Judge and His Sovereignty.
FIND THE BEST RESOLUTION
16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me of the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.” 22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
A renowned surgeon was invited to a dinner party, and the host began to carve up a gorgeous roast duckling, keeping up a running commentary as he carved: “How am I doing, Doc? Do you like my technique? I’d make a pretty good surgeon, don’t you think?”
The surgeon took the comments in silence, waiting until the entire duck was sliced neatly on the serving platter.
At last he spoke up. “Anybody can take them apart - let’s see you put it back together.”
Saul wept non-stop because he realized how irrational, desperate, and extreme he had been. David and Saul couldn’t be any more different. Saul would burn all bridges, take no prisoners, and even shoot the fence-sitters, but David was the type that would that would bind the wounds, call off hostilities, and mend the fences. The king was cruel, ruthless, and barbaric. No sacrifice was too big for him, no travel was too far for him, and no one was safe from him. He terrorized people from Gibeah (1 Sam 22:6) to Keilah (1 Sam 23:7), executed the priests and commoners, women and infants, and people and animals of Nob (1 Sam 22:19), and tracked David through forest (1 Sam 22:5), deserts and hills (1 Sam 23:15, 25) to cliffs and caves (1 Sam 24:2-3).
Saul left an odious name behind. His name was synonymous with madness, mayhem, and massacre, but David was known for his righteousness, goodness (v 17), and simplemindedness. The contrast couldn’t be any more different. Saul was feared for his godless lifestyle and practices, but David was admired for God’s presence (1 Sam 23:14) and guidance (1 Sam 23:12). Saul was cold-hearted, bloodthirsty, and hotheaded, but David was good-hearted, kindhearted, and tenderhearted or softhearted.
Unfortunately, Saul’s bloodlust was due to his partial understanding of God’s will. He pursued David thinking his rival would take over his throne and replaced him in life, but David succeeded Saul only after the latter’s death. He had hunted David out of a false premise, a big misunderstanding, and a low self-esteem. David was Saul’s enemy according to Saul (1 Sam 18:29, 19:7, 24:19) and even to David’s men (1 Sam 24:4, 1 Sam 26:8), but not according to David. David was Saul’s enemy but Saul was never David’s enemy. David reserved the word “enemy” only for Gentile invaders (1 Sam 30:26). David wanted to put their past behind, close ranks with Saul and fight the common enemy – the Philistines. He even called Saul “My master, the Lord’s anointed” (v 6), “My lord the king” (v 8) and “My Father” (v 11). He showed Saul that the latter needed not fear, follow or fight him.
Conclusion: Let God be the judge (12, 15, 15) of all things and in all things. The Chinese say, “If people keep retaliating, when will things end?” Let us resolve not to keep score, get even, or harbor hate, but let us purpose to do good, right wrongs, and seek peace. The Bible says, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth (1 Cor 13:6). Let us save the energy and the fight for the real enemy, the devil (1 Peter 5:8).
Victor Yap
http://epreaching.blogspot.com/
www.riversidecma.org
www.preachchrist.com (Chinese sermons)
