Year 1, Day 305: 1 Samuel 19

Refusal to be Humble

Once again success brings conflict, rivalry, and jealousy.  You see, this is the way of the world.  David was winning great battles for the Lord.  If Saul’s mind was focused on praising God he could have rode that wave of victory as well.  If Saul would have been willing to humble himself and acknowledge that God is good and God deserves the praise, he could have taken David’s victories for what they were.  He could have given glory to God.  He could have been a great king who upheld the fact that God should be praised for being the center of life.

But this is not Saul’s mindset.  Saul desires to have the glory for himself.  He wants the name, the reputation, and the glory.  Saul focuses on his own fame.  We see that when a person is focused on their own fame there can be no sharing of the spotlight.  Saul doesn’t want to bask in the Lord’s glory; he wants to bask in his own glory.  Thus, Saul turns what should be a great moment for God and the Hebrew people into a reason to kill David and get him off of the scene.

I’m going to be blunt right now.  I find this perspective pathetic.  In fact, in this perspective I find all of humanity pathetic.  How many of us seek to do something so that our name is remembered?  How many of us seek our own glory?  How many of us know that our life is short, know how many people there are in this world, and know just how history forgets the vast majority of people once they die?  Yet what do we think?  We think we can be different.  We think that the world won’t forget us.  We are so convinced that we can do something so special and so important that surely someone will remember.

So we go through life looking for attention.  We go through life trying to remove God from the spotlight and insert ourselves.  The reason this is pathetic is that even if we could be successful and be that miraculous Abraham or David or Paul– whose names actually do get remembered for thousands of years – the reality is that we still can’t save anyone else much less ourselves.

Drawing Glory to Ourselves

What is the point in drawing the glory to me anyway?  If people remember how “great” I am, will that lead to anyone else’s salvation – much less my own?  If not, then is it all that significant?  What is better, to have people remember my name or to draw closer to God?

No.  I as a human being need to focus on how to keep God in the spotlight.  What I do is not anywhere near as important as what God can do.  That for which my name is remembered is not anywhere near as important as people learning God’s name.  God can save them long after I am gone.  What can I do compared to that?  Nothing.  So I need to get out of that spotlight.

Protecting David

As long as we are putting the focus on God, let’s give God the glory for protecting David in this chapter.  God gives a great friendship to David in Jonathon.  Jonathon heard about Saul’s plan to kill him, and Jonathon chose his spiritual bond over and above his tie to his family.  Now that’s the power of God, people!  It is rare that a person in this world will go against family, but the spiritual person will be willing to go against the desires of the family if those desires are against God’s will.  Again Jonathon shows his spiritual nature.  That should be celebrated.

God also uses Michal to protect David.  She learns that Saul has sent people to watch David for the purpose of doing harm to him.  She comes to David and the two of them concoct an escape plan.  David is spared.

God Works Through – or in spite of - Lies

While praising God for protecting David, I do have to turn at this point and show that even among people following God the sinful nature of humanity is not far away.  While I give praise to God for protecting David, I cannot celebrate the lie that Michal concocts once David leaves the palace.  Michal is trying to cover up her deception.  She uses a “household god” (or an idol) as a decoy.  When Saul comes to question her she expands the lie to make it seem like she had acted to spare her own life. 

God used Michal to save David, and I’d like to believe that Michal was a willing participant.  But she does not have the inner faith to be honest and faithful in her relationship with her father as Jonathon did earlier in this chapter.  Michal lies to make it seem like she wasn’t a willing participant.  Sin is always close at hand – even in the faithful act of following God.

God and Samuel

Then, of course, we see God using Samuel to save David.  David goes to the only place that makes sense.  If David had gone to his home in Bethlehem, he would have put his family in jeopardy.  Instead, David goes to Samuel.  Theologically, David runs to God for protection.  God does not disappoint.  God not only protects David, but God uses the moment to show Saul just how far he has fallen.  Even though Saul comes with murderous intent, he ends up prophesying and proclaiming God.

This passage shows us that God is indeed good.  He is able to protect His faithful.  He alone is able to save.  He alone deserves to have the spotlight cast upon Him.  That is the only life worth living.

<><