2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
As we are led to continue our examination of the story of David, Saul, and the events that laid out after David’s historic covenant with Saul’s son, Jonathan, we are now brought to the place where we see God’s adjudication of Saul’s long history of disobedience. The terrorists of this world have been on the earth for a very long time. If we truly have faith in God and take the time to know Him well, we can take some comfort from what this story of Saul’s fate foreshadows. My understanding of our Abba is that there is definitely a limit to how much evildoing and for how long He will allow. Over the history of mankind, we have seen this limit placed on unrighteous people who disobey Him. It is promised that all of this evildoing will eventually, and I believe in the not too distant future, be put to an end. That is the hope that the book of Revelation has given us. Now, let’s return to Saul and David’s story to see what lessons God has for us in it.
1 SAM 31: 1-3, “The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them including King Saul and his sons, fled. But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul’s sons, Jonathan, Abindadab, and Malchishua. The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he himself was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded.” God’s punishment of Saul here is long in coming and painful. No parent ever wants to live to see his children die before him. One’s immediate emotion here might be to say, “Saul is getting what he deserved, but what about Jonathan? He was faithful to God, so isn’t God being unfair in taking his life too?” What God was doing in delivering final punishment to Saul is pretty clear to see. However, Jonathan’s death here requires us to recognize that we do not have God’s perspective on things all the time [see IS 55: 8-9]. God had decided Jonathan should be a martyr. We are challenged to look at REV 6: 9-11 to gain a better understanding of God’s ultimate compassion and justice. “Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I [John] saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God’s word and had been faithful in their witnessing. They shouted in a loud voice, ‘Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until You judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?’ Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of their fellow servants and brothers were killed, as they had been.” These martyrs will not be denied the reward of eternal life with the Father that they deserve.
Saul’s death was to be ignominious. He knew he was mortally wounded and commanded his young weapon carrier to finish the job of killing him with his sword. The young man was too terrified to do this. Thus in 1 SAM 31: 4, Saul brought about his own death by impaling himself on his own sword. That day, the Philistines won their battle, sending the Israelites fleeing from the other side of the Jezreel valley east of the Jordan River abandoning their towns. There is a deeper significance to this from the Jewish cultural point of view. In those days, going east of the Jordan River was thought of as the same as going to hell. To make matters worse, the Philistines plundered the bodies of the dead, taking Saul’s weapons to display in the temple of Astarte, the female god of idolatrous Baal worship. That was not all. Saul’s corpse was nailed to the wall of the city of Beth Shan (8-10). When the people of Jabesh in Gilead (east of the Jordan River), heard about this, they sent their bravest men to retrieve Saul’s body and bury it at Jabesh, not far east from Beth Shan. They fasted for seven days following this burial (12).
2 SAM 1: 1-16 reveals the depth of David’s obedience and also how a just God deals with men led by the flesh. A young man with torn clothes and dirt on his head (to show his grief) arrived in David’s camp bowing to the ground with respect. He told David of the defeat of Saul’s army and that the king and his three sons, including Jonathan, had been killed. Then, the man told a lie in (6-10). He told David that he had seen Saul leaning on his sword and the enemy advancing. Saul asked him to identify himself, and he told Saul that he was an Amalekite (which was true). The lie came when this man said that he and, not Saul himself, killed the disobedient king. Then, this liar presented David with Saul’s crown and bracelet as proof of what he said. After grieving with this man, David responded in a way the young man never expected. He ordered one of his men to kill this Amalekite messenger saying, “You brought this on yourself. You condemned yourself when you confessed that you killed the one whom the Lord chose to be king” (16). Then David’s soldier killed the Amalekite. Initial inspection of this act might lead one to believe David is bloodthirsty. However, we must remember that David is carrying out two covenant promises. One is his covenant with Jonathan, which was still in effect even through Jonathan was dead. The other is part of the old covenant between God and the Jews and is revealed in EX 17: 15b-16, “The Lord is my Banner [Jehovah Nissi]. Hold high the banner of the Lord! The Lord will continue to fight against the Amalekites forever!”
PRAYER: O Lord, We struggle at times to understand surprising things we find in the Scriptures. But we must remember that as You revealed through Isaiah in IS 55: 8-9, “’My thoughts,’ says the Lord, ‘are not like yours, and My ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are My ways and thoughts above yours.’” As we deal with the spiritual warfare in our own lives, we must learn to accept that Your perception is so much greater and exacting than ours. That is why You are trying to teach us the importance of obedience to You in keeping our covenant agreements. Your righteousness is enough motivation for us to trust You. Saul’s fate reveals Your justice. Understanding Jonathan’s and David’s reaction to the Amalekite messenger is harder for us. But, we must accept Your will even when we don’t fully understand it. We may take great comfort as we deal with the attack on America and other evil in our lives, that if we are willing to trust and obey You, You will not only see that justice is done, but You will protect us in a way that transcends the grave. That is why You sent Your only Son to die on the cross for us, so that we could have faith in Him and be saved. These OT saints that died obedient and faithful to You will be given the same opportunity for salvation that we have. That is testament to Your fairness. We come before You today to humbly pledge our trust, obedience, loyalty, adoration, worship, glory, honor, praise, and thanks to You. We are blessed to be Your children in Christ and offer this prayer in His name. Amen.
Tomorrow God leads me to continue in this remarkable story that leads up to David’s relationship with Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. I know it has been a long wait, but the lessons on the way are truly worth it. Hang in there Dear Ones, our goal is in sight. Know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the One and Only God, and that His love for each of us is profound. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn