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1 Samuel 25-31
25:1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.
Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs1 of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to the enemies of David2 and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”
23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal3 is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince4 over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
32 And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”
36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And about ten days later the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The LORD has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” 41 And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” 42 And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.
43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. 44 Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
26:1 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. 5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.
6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them.
13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the LORD’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”
17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the LORD who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the LORD, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the LORD, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
27:1 Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” 2 So David arose and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. 4 And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So that day Achish gave him Ziklag. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 And the number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and made raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites, for these were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as far as Shur, to the land of Egypt. 9 And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. 10 When Achish asked, “Where have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.” 11 And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, thinking, “He has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.”
28:1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.” 2 David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” 9 The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” 10 But Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” 13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the LORD has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done to you as he spoke by me, for the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover, the LORD will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The LORD will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, “Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. 22 Now therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.” 23 He refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, 25 and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.
29:1 Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek. And the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. 2 As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish, 3 the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.” 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? 5 Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,
‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the LORD lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. 7 So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” 8 And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 Now then rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light.” 11 So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
30:1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all5 who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,6 each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” 9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.
11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. 14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.”
16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. 18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him,7 and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” 23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” 25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD.” 27 It was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in Jattir, 28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, 29 in Racal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites, 30 in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.
31:1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
[1] 25:18
[2] 25:22
[3] 25:25
[4] 25:30
[5] 30:2
[6] 30:6
[7] 30:20
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Hey, everybody. I hope that you have your Bibles with you. If you if you do, you can go ahead and start turning to second Samuel chapter 1. If you don't have a Bible there are some in the back on the book table. I'd encourage you to, to at least be close to somebody that's got one tonight.
Jeffrey Heine:We're, we're gonna be all over the place. I I would have put all of the verses in the worship guide as as I often try to do, but it would have been more cost effective just to supply you all with Bibles. So if you don't if you don't have one in front of you, again, they're back there on the book table. If you don't own a Bible, take it home with you. So we'll be in 2nd Samuel.
Jeffrey Heine:Some of you who have been around for a while, I put the worship guides together and so over the last 5 years you've probably seen, a fair amount of mistakes here or there, but but tonight is not one of those mistakes when it when it says what the text for the sermon is. It is chapter 25 through chapter 31 of First Samuel. And then not as not a mistake again that that it's second Samuel as the text printed in there. Don't worry, it's not 6 chapters, it's probably gonna be closer to 7. So don't don't start making your way to the door just yet.
Jeffrey Heine:So this past Monday, Joel asked me if I would would be interested in preaching this Sunday. And, as always, I said yes because I really love this time with you all and this time in our our church community. And so, I said yes. And I said, where do you wanna end up on the the next sermon, the the Sunday after this? And he said, well, I'd like to pick up where David is king.
Jeffrey Heine:And I said, that's 6 chapters away. And he he took my hand and he said, I believe in you. No. He didn't. He didn't say that.
Jeffrey Heine:But I think I think he does. He didn't say it, but he kind of just the look in his eyes seemed to convey that. But, no, lord lord willing, we're gonna make our way through, these chapters, and we're gonna go pretty quickly. We're gonna kind of just hover over them and and catch a couple of things, and then we'll linger, with the death of Saul in chapter 31 and just kind of ask the question, what does this all mean today? So let's turn our attention now to second Samuel chapter 1 beginning with verse 17.
Jeffrey Heine:Beginning with verse 17, let us listen carefully for this is God's word. David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son. And he said it should be taught to the people of Judah, behold, it is written in the book of Jashar. He said, your glory, oh Israel, is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen.
Jeffrey Heine:Tell it not to Gath, Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fields of offerings. For there, the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul not anointed with oil, From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back. And the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely, in life and in death, they were not divided.
Jeffrey Heine:They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions. You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle. Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
Jeffrey Heine:I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant have you been to me. Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perished. Let's pray.
Jeffrey Heine:God, we, we desire to meet with you here in your word and by your spirit. And so we ask that you would instruct our hearts, you would open our minds, open our eyes to to receive your word, not to be like Saul who rejected your word, but to receive your word and that your word would change us. Lord, as we come into this place seeking to meet with you, we ask that you would you would honor this time, this gathering, that you would honor the reading of your word, and that you would meet with us in spirit and in truth, and that you would lead us to all truth, and that we would leave this place transformed with the renewing of our minds to the praise and glory of Christ our king. We pray these things and in for his name. Amen.
Jeffrey Heine:So about 500 years or so after Saul's death, Sophocles would write, Oedipus the king, Oedipus Rex, the Greek tragedy, which is kind of like the apex of the Greek tragedy. And then that moved on to the Roman tragedy and then the British tragedy. And and and tragedies always have this this character, this lead character, the protagonist. And and the the tragedy is about this person who's lifted way up, who's brought way low. And here we have the tragedy of Saul.
Jeffrey Heine:Now, in all of those, the protagonists, they have a tragic flaw, this this flaw about them. Not just a particular action that they've done, but something that's more innate, something in their character that that keeps drawing them off course and it's going to result in the big fall. So how do we get to this lament? What happened? What happened to go from the anointed one, Saul, who was the king of Israel, the one anointed by god himself, the one chosen by god, the one anointed by Samuel, how did they how'd they get here?
Jeffrey Heine:How did it turn into this lament for Saul and his sons? What happened? And so we're gonna we're gonna work our way backwards and and look at what happened. How did we get here to David's lament? First, look in chapter 25 of first Samuel.
Jeffrey Heine:And then, I'll I'll be calling out some different verses from from here on. You can make your way there. If you wanna just scratch them down and look at them later, that that would probably be wise too. So last week, we left off with 24 where David spared Saul's life in the cave. You know, he cuts off a bit of a robe and then he kinda holds it in front of him and he says this is how close I was.
Jeffrey Heine:Essentially, I could have ended it all. This whole, is Saul going to kill David? He's throwing spears. He's sending out this search for David. And this whole back and forth could have just been put to rest, and and he didn't.
Jeffrey Heine:David spared the life of Saul. And then you hear that at the end, he's there's this seems like this reconciliation, that he's not going to hunt him down. He's not going to try and and kill David anymore. But then in 25, something pretty critical happens. At the very beginning, you'll see Samuel dies.
Jeffrey Heine:Samuel dies. Samuel is the prophet who has been kind of interspersed throughout this story so far as the the wise counsel, the wise counsel from Yahweh to Saul and to David. And now he's gone. He he's died. He he was kind of introduced as an old man.
Jeffrey Heine:He kept being an old man and then he and then he died here in in chapter 25, the death of Samuel. And then from that, David goes into the wilderness. And and the the reason for him going into the wilderness might be that now that Samuel is dead, he thinks Saul might be off his hinges again. Saul might be wanting to seek me again and try and kill me, so he goes into the wilderness. And while he's out in the wilderness, he comes across these shepherds and he takes care of these shepherds and he finds out that they belong to this guy named Nabal.
Jeffrey Heine:And Nabal, he, owns a lot of property. And so David, out in the wilderness, he doesn't have a lot of food or or drink out there, he sends some of his men to say, hey, we've been taking care of your shepherds. We've been defending them. They profit you. How about you send some kind of kindness in return?
Jeffrey Heine:And he says, David who? Son of Jesse who? Like, he really says that. He said he's like, David who? Son of Jesse.
Jeffrey Heine:And they're from I I do not know where. So he doesn't recognize the name, and so he says, I'm not sending anything. Well, David gets word of this and he says these are all like these classic scenes, you know? Like, the, who's this David guy? He's from where?
Jeffrey Heine:And then David says, put on your swords, guys. And and they start making their way to Nabel's house. They're stopped by Abigail, the wife of Nabel. They're stopped and she has the kindness. She has the kind return to him and and so he says, okay.
Jeffrey Heine:We're not gonna come and destroy your house, but bad things are gonna come to him. Your kindness has spared him now, but the Lord's gonna take care of this. And here's what happened. A few days later, the Lord strikes him dead. Just strikes him dead.
Jeffrey Heine:Who comes in to scoop up the wife and the treasure? David. That's called vindication. Kind of like as clear cut as possible. He's like, oh, you're gonna stand against me?
Jeffrey Heine:Well, you know what? Your time's coming. Lord strikes him dead, and he gets the wife. You might be thinking back to McCall and wondering if she's okay. Well, she now has a different husband, so it gets complicated from here when it comes to the marriages.
Jeffrey Heine:Let's let's be honest. So David marries Abigail, and and they start making their way. Chapter 26, David spares Saul again. Now how did this situation come about? Well, Saul gets word of where David is hiding.
Jeffrey Heine:And not really hiding, but he's just kinda laying low for a while. So he's laying low and word gets to Saul where he's at. And Saul, even though this he has now made this I'm not going to kill David statement 2 or 3 times now, swearing to the name of the lord, all these things, he says, now would be a good time to go kill David. So he gets 3,000 men and he heads out to kill David. So as they're making their way, David then sneaks into the camp with one of his right hand men, which I was a little leery of this at first too.
Jeffrey Heine:I was like, he sneaks there are 3,000 men, and he just kinda tiptoes in. Is anyone on guard? Well, no. God cause causes them to fall asleep into a deep sleep, and they make their way in. David goes and he stands above Saul's body.
Jeffrey Heine:And that's when look at verse 9 in chapter 26. Chapter 26 verse 9. Verse 9, but David said to Abishai because Abishai wants to kill him right then. He's like, this is this is the moment. This is our chance.
Jeffrey Heine:He's asleep. God caused this this kind of mystical sleep to happen, and and he's defenseless. And David says to him, do not destroy him. For who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? And David said, as the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.
Jeffrey Heine:The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water and let us go. So here, again, you see him taking this evidence to later show Saul what could have happened. He takes the jar of water and he takes the sword and he calls out, after there's some distance between them, and he calls out and he says to king Saul, look. Look what has happened again.
Jeffrey Heine:You've sought to kill me again, and the Lord delivered you into my hand again. And again, I would not lift my hand against the Lord's anointed. And, again but in in some new language that he hasn't before, look at verse 21. Saul says this. Chapter 26 verse 21.
Jeffrey Heine:Then Saul said, I have sinned. I have sinned. Return my son David, for I will no more do you harm. Because my life was precious in your eyes this day, behold, I have acted foolishly and have made a great mistake. So, again, he spares him.
Jeffrey Heine:But again, David has this sneaky suspicion. After all of this, and even though he said, I've sinned and I feel bad and I'm not gonna do this again, David says in the very beginning, verse 21 or sorry, verse 1 of chapter 27. Then David said in his heart, now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of my of seeking to kill me any longer with the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.
Jeffrey Heine:So now David, who is known I mean, even outside of, like, any faith circle, Judeo Christian history, even like, you could just pick up the most random person, and if you said, who is King David? What did David do? They would say he killed What? Who was a Philistine. From yeah.
Jeffrey Heine:See, I got you there. Alright. No. He's a Philistine. And and as as David has known, he's the Philistine killer.
Jeffrey Heine:He has done this, and he has he has taken out the big giant, but now there this there's still this this threat. And now David's going to go join them. But he's gonna go join them. He's gonna go hide with them because he still believes, and rightly so, that if given the opportunity, Saul is still going to hunt him down. And so he says, may maybe the the best thing, maybe the better thing for me to do at this point is just to have distance on the on the border of Israel, and I will go to be with the Philistines.
Jeffrey Heine:And the Philistines kind of had 5 different city states. One of them was Gath, and that's where David went. And he befriended the ruler there in Gath. And he was given he was given this property, a place to live and for his men to live called Ziklag. Now, this is the moment where I've lost about 3 fourths of you.
Jeffrey Heine:Right? Trains, Ziklag. I mean, has anyone ever, like, been really into Lord of the Rings and, like, tried to explain it to you? And You're like, I just want to watch the movie. I just want to see Does Elijah Wood and Rudy, do they make it up the mountain?
Jeffrey Heine:That's all I care about. And they're like, but ziklag. Okay. Alright. So I understand.
Jeffrey Heine:I understand. A little bit of Old Testament fatigue here. I get it. But he's given this land that he is supposed to kind of take care of, and he can have his men there, and they're they're hiding out. And then a really, really bad thing happens, but it's happened time and time again.
Jeffrey Heine:The Philistines want to fight the Israelites. But now who's with the Philistines? David and his men. And so the war trumpets begin, and here comes another epic battle of the Philistines and the Israelites. And David is on the border with the Philistines.
Jeffrey Heine:Word gets back to Saul, of course, that the Philistines are wanting to make war with them. And so he goes to the Lord and he's seeking the Lord. He's like, what's, what's going to happen? He usually would go to Samuel to find out some information, but Samuel's dead and God's not responding in prayer, he's not responding through the prophets, he's not getting word, and Saul gets nervous. We've seen this before when Samuel was supposed to meet him before war in chapter 13.
Jeffrey Heine:Samuel doesn't show up in the time frame that Saul is expecting, and Saul decides that he's going to start doing the ceremonial sacrifices himself. And kinda like Aaron says to Moses, he was like, I was in this position, and I just I had you. I made myself do these sacrifices like it was against his will. But he was being disobedient. He was disobeying the command of the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:And so here in this scene, he's not hearing from God. He's prayed his prayers, he's consulted his friends, his confidantes, and and they're not giving him any word from Yahweh. So someone says to him, there's there's a witch in Indore. Maybe we could go to her and and she could give you some information. Now, Saul himself had outlawed witchcraft.
Jeffrey Heine:But they go. Saul is in a disguise, the witch of Indore. I I'm pretty sure David Bowie was in the movie of this. See if you can find it on Netflix. But it's so the witch of Endor, and he goes to this witch and she's she's asking him these questions.
Jeffrey Heine:She says, but this is illegal. And he says, no harm will come to you. And then she says, well, who do you want me to call up? And he says, Samuel. Look in verse or chapter 28.
Jeffrey Heine:Chapter 28 verse 15. Then Samuel said to Saul so Samuel shows up. That's kind of a strange place to begin, but Samuel shows up or at least it seems like Samuel, that she said, it was there's this old man and he's kinda got his robes on and stuff. And so it looks like Samuel's and it sounds like him and the things that he's about to say. In my mind, I picture like a really small Samuel, kind of like the hologram Obi Wan, but he might have been full size.
Jeffrey Heine:I don't I don't have any records of that. But so here Samuel shows up and he's interacting and and he says this, Samuel said to Saul, why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? And Saul answered, I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore, I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do. Verse 16.
Jeffrey Heine:And Samuel said, why then do you ask me since the lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David, because you did not obey the voice of the lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek. Therefore, the lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.
Jeffrey Heine:Bad news from Samuel. Saul is terrified. He actually falls out on the ground. Takes him a while to revive him and give him some food and to get him back up and on his feet and back to the camp. Now in chapter 29, the Philistines are getting ready for battle.
Jeffrey Heine:Remember? So back back over to the Philistines in their camp, getting ready for battle. And David shows up with his men to fight with the Philistines, to fight for the Philistines, and they say, this guy's gonna fight with us? And the other rulers, they said, not a chance. The commanders within the army said, he's not fighting with us because he'll he'll turn against us and he'll start attacking us.
Jeffrey Heine:And now during this time where he had befriended the ruler in Gath, he had been doing some shady business. He would he would he would go off and conquer an area and come back and say that it was just some people that were friendly with Israel and that he was doing that to get back at Israel. That wasn't true. So he had been kind of playing this double agent over there, and so they were right to suspect him. And so he gets sent back.
Jeffrey Heine:And during that time, while they had been gone, Ziklag had been plundered. The wives, their possessions had all been taken back. And and then we see in chapter 30, David takes those things back. He's successful. He defends his people.
Jeffrey Heine:He defends them, and he retrieves the women. He retrieves the wives and and their goods. He's victorious. In fact, he seems quite kingly in this endeavor. But that is how David is not a part of this battle that comes to Saul.
Jeffrey Heine:But then it happens. The battle begins. The Philistines, the Israelites, it comes to a head in chapter 31. Look with me in verse 1. Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
Jeffrey Heine:And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malekashua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him. And he was badly wounded by the archers. And then Saul said to his armor bearer, draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and mistreat me. But his armor bearer would not, for he feared greatly.
Jeffrey Heine:Therefore, Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus, Saul died and his 3 sons and his armor bearer and all his men on the same day together. And when the men of Israel, who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead. They abandoned their cities and fled.
Jeffrey Heine:And the Philistines came and lived in them. Verse 8. The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his 3 sons fallen at Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news, to carry the gospel to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashretoth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth shan.
Jeffrey Heine:And when the inhabitants of Jabesh gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went by night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from from the wall of Beth shan. And they came to Jabesh and burned them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted 7 days. First Chronicles and its account of this story, first Chronicles 10 adds this note. Pretty much everything before it was was word for word.
Jeffrey Heine:But he adds this note. So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the lord in that he did not keep the command of the lord, and he consulted a medium seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore, the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse.
Jeffrey Heine:Thus ends the tragedy of Saul. That's what happened. That's how we got here. This is what happened to king Saul and why David laments his death in second Samuel chapter 1. This is what happened.
Jeffrey Heine:But why did we get here? Why did he have to die? Well, first Chronicles 10 was saying it's because he didn't keep the command of the Lord. And there are 2 points in time where that really happened. We've already referenced them tonight.
Jeffrey Heine:But in first Samuel 13, with the unlawful sacrifice and then in chapter 15, with the plundering of the Amalek, where they kept things when they were supposed to destroy everything. They brought things back with them, treasure with them. And he played it off like he was gonna use it as a sacrifice, but really they were they were plundering, and god told them not to. So that's the first thing. He did not obey the command of the lord.
Jeffrey Heine:And then the second thing, he consulted the medium. He consulted the witch, and he didn't seek the guidance of the Lord. Now, if you heard in that section there in in 28, he had gone to the Lord. He had asked. He had prayed, but he wasn't waiting on the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:He wasn't patient with the Lord. He prayed probably like we do sometimes, a very quick prayer and that we want some kind of result right then and there. And if we don't see that, then we're gonna look for a sign. And if we don't see a sign, then we're gonna ask a friend. If we don't get an answer from a friend, we're probably gonna find a book.
Jeffrey Heine:We need to find a book, and we start flipping through, and we we want answers and we want information and we want god to fill us in right now, right here, answer me. That doesn't happen. So, yeah, he's he was seeking God, but he wasn't seeking God. He wasn't seeking after the Lord. He wasn't following after him.
Jeffrey Heine:And even if he had gotten word, do you think he would have done it? I don't know. Do you? It's it's it's really hard to say that if he had just gotten this vision, if he had gotten this this information right then when he wanted it, what would that have changed? Because he swore to Yahweh time and time and time again of what he was going to do or what he was not going to do, and yet he failed.
Jeffrey Heine:And then we come to the death of Saul. And in those days when a king would die, it reflected on his god or gods, reflected on what the deity was that he worshiped, which is why his head and his armor ended up in a foreign temple to put before their god and say, this is King Saul, King of the Jews. This is Yahweh's anointed one. But who killed Saul? Who killed king Saul?
Jeffrey Heine:First Chronicles tells us in verse 14, it was his god that put him to death. The lord put him to death. And it wasn't just the witch in Endor and it wasn't just the Amalek and it wasn't just his sacrifice in chapter 13. Going all the way back to 1 Samuel 8, Do you remember these words? It's been some time since we read them in verse 19.
Jeffrey Heine:But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, no. There shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. And God says to Samuel, obey the voice and make them a king. You see, the very office, the very throne of Saul was a testimony to the people rejecting God as king. They rejected God as their king, and they wanted to look like the other nations.
Jeffrey Heine:They wanted a man in front of them on a throne. They wanted somebody that would go out and fight before them. And then they got Saul. They rejected god as king and so they got Saul as king and he was, by all practical purposes, a failure. There there were times when he was strong in battle and and he did, as David lamented, he did bring luxury and some goods to the people.
Jeffrey Heine:But when it came to submitting to the lordship of god, he was a failure. He was a failure. There are 3 failures that we can highlight. 1, he was consumed and preoccupied with power and envy. He was consumed with this, I'm gonna kill David.
Jeffrey Heine:I'm not gonna kill David. I'm gonna kill David. I'm not gonna kill David. You're not doing a lot of governing when you're just warring back and forth with whether or not you're going to kill your heir apparent. The second failure, he he made no real progress in defending against the Philistines.
Jeffrey Heine:No real sizable change there than when they had no king and the Philistines were pressing in. So he didn't govern and then he didn't really defend that well. And then the third failure, from his disobedience and rejecting god's commands, God rejected him. First Samuel 13 and 15. He rejected him and he broke the dynasty.
Jeffrey Heine:He said your kingdom shall not continue. He failed to preserve the kingdom. He didn't govern, he didn't defend, and he didn't preserve. That's why it didn't continue on through his children. Now there's gonna be a a battle coming up for the throne, but but that's why in first Samuel 13, god says your kingdom shall not continue, meaning your line, your your throne.
Jeffrey Heine:Now the throne continues on to David, but but what had been promised to to Saul ends. Preservation of the kingdom was lost. Saul failed, but the people of god needed those things. The people of god needed those things from their king, and he failed. And the people of god still need those things.
Jeffrey Heine:Consider this past week. We still need a king, a king who would govern with righteousness. We need a king who will defend us from enemies and from death. We need a king who will preserve us forever, and Jesus is that king. Have you ever read John's revelation, maybe after reading one of the gospel narratives, and and you're kinda like, I don't know if I really recognize this Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:He seems different. It's not just a robe. Like, he seems different. That's because as in the first advent, when Christ came, he came to reconcile us back to God, to bring us back into relationship with the father. And as he returns in that second advent, when he comes in glory, he comes as king.
Jeffrey Heine:The king he's always been, but the king revealed in his kingdom in fullness. He comes as the reigning king of everything, and it can be startling. He is the true and good king. King Saul feared for a long time whose sword he might die by, and it turned out to be his own. That's irony.
Jeffrey Heine:He falls on his own sword. He rejected God's commands. He was impatient, and he was a failure. I could be describing any one of us here. Let me say them again.
Jeffrey Heine:He rejected god's commands, he was impatient, and he was a failure. See, the danger in judging someone else as a failure is thinking that I'm not one. It's it's really easy to go through these chapters and and to just see how, I'm gonna do this, and then he turns and he does that. I'm gonna do this and then he's gonna do that. I'm thankful that thus far no one's written a biography about me.
Jeffrey Heine:I hope that remains the case, lord willing, because it would just be it'd be it'd be my tragedy. Right? It'd be it'd be my downward spiral, just as easily as Saul's. There's no real difference between me and him. I reject God's commands.
Jeffrey Heine:I'm impatient. I'm a failure. I have a tragedy just the same. And whether you wanna believe it or not, so do you. But Jesus is greater than our failures, All of them.
Jeffrey Heine:Being a failure is one of our generation's, like, most dreaded fears. Being a failure. I could be lots of things, but I don't wanna be a failure. I could be lots of things, but I don't wanna be unimportant. Jesus rescues failures.
Jeffrey Heine:Failures like us, and he brings us into his kingdom, his perfect kingdom. He rescues failures. And in his kingdom, he governs with his love and his peace. Colossians 2 and Colossians 3:15, we see a Christ who is the head and rule of all authority, that his peace would rule in our hearts. He governs us with love and peace.
Jeffrey Heine:He defends us. He's the true king who defends us from condemnation, from ruin, and from wrath. Romans 8 verse 34, who is to condemn? Christ is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Jeffrey Heine:He defends us against condemnation. He is our advocate. He defends us from wrath. Romans 5:9. Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Jeffrey Heine:He defends us perfectly, and he preserves us. Luke chapter 1 verse 33 in the birth narrative, the prophecy over who this Christ who this anointed one is. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end. The true king, the one who rescues failures. John chapter 10 verse 28, I give them this is Jesus speaking.
Jeffrey Heine:I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. And no one, no one, no one will snatch them out of my hand. That is the true and good king. That is the king that will not fail us. That is the king when we are scared, when we turn on our TV and we're scared when we turn it off.
Jeffrey Heine:That is the king who holds all things together and who, behold, is making all things new. That is our king. The tragedy of Saul reminds us that our own failures and our own ruin are redeemed by 1 king. There is a king who is greater than our failures, one who gave his life as a ransom for many that we might hope in him forever. Here's a, I'm just gonna torpedo Joel going into the future.
Jeffrey Heine:Spoiler alert, David will fail too. Because we've had this downward spiral of Saul and this lifting up of David, and he's gonna come in pretty triumphant, but he's going to fail too, in some ways worse than Saul. David will fail too. Everyone does and everyone will. But it's not about trying just to try to be perfect.
Jeffrey Heine:It's about serving and submitting to the perfect one, the one who is perfect. It's serving that king, the king of kings, the lord of lords, the savior of the failures and the victory over our tragedy. Let's pray. Oh, god, we we are a people of unclean lips, and we dwell amongst the people of unclean lips. And, lord, to even speak the good news of the gospel is a grace.
Jeffrey Heine:To hear it is a grace. And so we we want to enjoy and soak in you lavishing that grace on us in this very moment. You are extending grace to us because we are hearing the good news of the gospel, and we can live in the good news of the gospel. And so we we treasure this moment together as a family of faith that you speak good news to us. As you said in Isaiah 40, that comfort, comfort my people, speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Jeffrey Heine:In your gospel, you are speaking tenderly to us in our failure, in our brokenness, in our fear. You speak to us right now tenderly. And our perk our perfect sacrifice is our perfect high priest, The one who showed us how to perfectly serve, who came to us to serve us, teaches us how to serve as he is the king, do our service. So we stand in this gospel grace tonight, and we thank you. Give us hearts to respond, to see honestly our failures and our sin, but with equally fervent eyes that we would see the grace purchased for us through the cross and through the resurrection and through the ascension of our lord and king, Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:In this moment, fix our eyes on him. Fan into flame our faith for those here in this moment whose faith might seem weak and small and but a flicker, fan it into flame by your spirit, lord, and call sons and daughters to trust in you. Lord, we thank you for this time together. We we treasure it. We pray this in the name of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:Amen.