Surely this is one of heaven’s greatest blessings: we won’t cross the golden street to avoid anyone! Foreseeing their paths diverging, but not their devotion to each other, Jonathan had asked David to make a covenant with him (1 Sam 18:3), later ratified and explained (20:14-15), lasting for generations to come. If their hearts were […]
The whole of human history is decided on the choice between loyalty to, or betrayal of, God. Life is real and its challenges are often convoluted. Some of the most difficult of these to face are the cross-currents of competing loyalties. A “contention” so “sharp” that it separated Barnabas and Paul in Acts 15 comes […]
Saul didn’t rush to his doom unopposed. Here he is impeded both by God’s Word and God’s Spirit. As we approach the end of 1 Samuel 19 (vv 18-24), we have a stunning scene. David, under constant threat, fled Saul’s court to Samuel at Ramah. Twelve times Saul had attempted to kill David just in […]
Read More… from November 1, 2023 — Saul Neutralized By The Word
Saul and his children prove the opposites: “Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave.” The definition of mercurial exactly fits Saul’s behavior: “subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.” As 1 Samuel 19 opens, the king is giving instructions to his court: “Kill David” (v 1). Jonathan informed […]
Saul evidently had never heard that a man’s word is his bond. He thought words were to bend. Here was the offer Saul had made to anyone willing to take on the giant challenge in the Valley of Elah: “The man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his […]
“The envious man,” wrote Horace (65 BC–8 BC), “grows lean on the success of his neighbor.” The first 16 verses of 1 Samuel 18 seem to be a rerun. How many times did Saul seek to kill David? I’ve lost count. This incident follows the signal victory of Israel over the Philistines, attributed to one […]
One of the true measures of a sterling character is seen in the constancy of a loyal friendship. The last four verses of 1 Samuel 17 are sometimes misunderstood. Why would Saul, after he had employed David in the palace and had this historic conversation with him, still ask Abner, the commander of the army, […]
David didn’t worry about the enemy’s trash talk. He just removed the source of the problem! What a lovely pastoral scene it is to observe someone feeding the birds and animals. Well, not exactly! Goliath says he intends to feed them with David’s flesh (1 Sam 17:44). But David is planning a much larger banquet: […]