1 Samuel Chapter 19 Verses 1 – 3

· At this point, Saul is completely preoccupied with David. His desire to destroy David is all that he seems to think about. It haunts him, makes him uncomfortable constantly, and he definitely doesn’t have any rest or peace for his mind. And what is his issue with David? It’s not David, and that’s the point. The issue is Saul’s own sin and what I’d like to put in front of you for your consideration is the fact that undealt with personal sin like Saul’s, bitterness or anger or unforgiveness or envy or whatever, perhaps yours isn’t even like Saul’s…, Saul had no real cause, he should have just handled David differently, perhaps yours is entirely justified, but the point is, it eats away at you until it eats you up!

· Proverbs 13:6 says, “Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.” Genesis 4:7 says, “Sin lies at the door, and its desire is for you, but you shall rule over it.” As much as you are justified in your anger or unforgiveness, the template for overcoming all of sin was set forth by Jesus in that He humbled Himself and laid down His own life and in so doing, defeated sin entirely. The danger is that if you don’t take up your own cross and follow the Lord, then Christian, it will eat you up…, and a little piece of you until all of you will become preoccupied with bitterness or unforgiveness or anger which all looks like the flesh because it all contributes to an unsatisfied soul…

· There are outward maladies as well… Saul has brought David into his own house, which David didn’t have a choice, and now he seeks to kill him. Jonathan loves David and Saul puts him in this impossible situation. The servants of Saul love David and he puts them in this impossible situation… Saul, because of his own sin that he won’t deal with, is himself, distressed, dissatisfied, preoccupied with nonsense, ineffective as king, husband, father, friend and boss…, and he is really affecting others around him… I do hope you won’t be ok personally with being like Saul…

· Especially when you have the power to not be. Because of the Spirit of the Lord dwelling within you, you CAN walk in righteousness. You can love and forgive when you are justified to hate and retaliate. And in a moment of considering all that you yourself have been forgiven, how is it that we hold onto so much against others…

1 Samuel Chapter 19 Verses 4 – 5

· I want you to take notice of Jonathan’s manner of speak to Saul who is not only his father but is also the king. Jonathan is definitely speaking against Saul here, make no mistake about that. Jonathan is telling Saul that he disagrees with him, that what he has said and what he has asked is foolish and it is wrong… Both of those messages against both your father or the king could cost you dearly if not your life in that culture…

· But even today, we have to deliver difficult messages. To our own parents, to our bosses, to our spouses, to anyone in leadership or authority in our lives… And in the culture we live in today of pride, self-worth, and equality, delivering this kind of message can come out quite sinfully. Here’s what I mean….

· Everything is all good as long as you agree. There’s respect, reverence, even obedience… Because whoever is in authority is doing what you would do. You agree. So, in effect, you’re really respecting you, revering you, obeying yourself…. But when there is something that comes up that you don’t agree with, that’s when the equality and pride and self-esteem come front and center…

· The other side of that coin are those that don’t question authority. They just become bitter… and over time bitterness eats them up and they leave. Divorce, or resignation, or just leave… Yes men and yes women for years all the while just banking up resentment… Which one is worse? Not sure… They are both equally terrible…

· The Biblical example of Jonathan is a good example to consider. Jonathan knows Saul is in the wrong, Saul’s in the flesh, AND Saul’s his father. He is his king. So, he doesn’t shy away from disagreeing with Saul, but what he does, (and let me tell you this has absolutely catapulted me in my own career and in ministry), what he does is he disagrees with tribute. I know that sounds odd, couldn’t grab a better word in my mind, but he makes very clear who Saul is to him and in this moment of disagreement, he holds up and intact who Saul has been to him for the thousands of days before and will be for thousands of days after…

· The first thing Jonathan does is he takes Saul to a private venue… For all my bosses at work, they invite me to disagree when I do. They count on me to make their decisions stronger and their leadership more effective. AND, I/they know very well, that I will not pose some sort of power challenge or insolence to any of them in any way in an open forum. That is foolishness and it invites subjectivity, emotion and contest into a situation that should be objective and cooperative. We stand united in open forums and we have open honest conversations behind closed doors.

· Then, the first thing Jonathan says to his father, who is also his king, “Let not the king…,” then he introduces David not as the one who has killed his ten thousands, or the one who has been anointed the king, but he says of David, “the servant of the king.”

· This approach to correcting Saul…, an approach of tribute, honor, respect, remembering and keeping intact who Saul is to Jonathan, notice, even someone who does not have the Lord, will listen… Because it separates the person from the problem… A skill that can be sharpened but very few take the care to sharpen it…

· Ever hear someone say, “It’s not what you can do or how good you are, it’s who you know.” Entirely TRUE! But it’s not about knowing someone because that’s my sister’s kid kinda knowing…, it’s the impressions that you make and the relationships that you build. So, whenever someone says, “It’s who you know,” that’s a personal indictment of culpability for not progressing personally!!! Because you can know a ton of folks through the tribute technique!!!!!

· Jonathan makes a very skillful and objective and effective plea to his father and to his king… And it works…, for the moment…

1 Samuel Chapter 19 Verses 6 – 10

· It says in verse 6 that Saul “swore,” which means (the Hebrew word defined) that he took an oath. That word also means that by his own volition, he bound himself to a commitment. But notice only a few scenes later, AND after David had served him even more, his oath is broken. This is one of the lowest and most pitiful conditions you find in Saul, or in any person for that matter. One who makes an oath, but their word is worthless…

· I want you to take notice of the result of Saul’s character. What Saul needs the most as king is the Spirit of the Lord. Instead, he is companions with a distressing spirit. What Saul needs probably the second most…, is David. What does Saul have? His spear. The spear is left in the wall of the palace; David is forced to flee…

· It almost always ends up like this when you have someone that is not able to humble themselves and live unto the Lord. You have someone that has it all…, forsakes it all, ends up with what they don’t need…, and ends up losing what they do need… Be it their spouse, job, family, situation, church family, ministry, what have you… And what is left is only that which continues to harm them…

· Jesus warned of this in speaking of the father of the flesh in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it abundantly.”

· This is the last time David will be in the palace until he is king. For almost two decades, David will live as a fugitive until Saul dies…

1 Samuel Chapter 19 Verses 11 – 12

· Just a principle here to take notice of… Michal is serving her husband over her father and I just want to make the point that is what every wife is to do. Every husband is to serve his wife over his parents, over his children, over his ministry, over his job… Every wife is to serve her husband over her parents… Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Those that make the mistake of continuing to serve their parents over their spouse ruin the bond of unity in their relationship with their spouse.

· This is the second time Saul has overtly broken his oath. The saddest part of that statement is that the oath means nothing to Saul. Obviously. But David will remember it for the rest of his life. He remembers it now. It divides David’s broken heart like a hot sharp sword and Saul couldn’t care less… This is the curse of a broken commitment, a broken oath… Christian, you must let your yes be yes and your no be no…, and you must be someone that holds to your commitments or, if you have fallen, MAKE it right! Humble yourself and renew the commitment and hold to it.

1 Samuel Chapter 19 Verses 13 – 17

· No doubt Michal feared for her life. Saul, her own father, was not a man of his word and he was not a man of Godly character. She lies here to preserve her own life.

· Many tie this “image” to an idol in the house of David. I can’t go there. David would NOT allow an idol/image to a false god in his house. What was this “image?” We simply aren’t told. And we certainly aren’t told that this image was an idol.

· Now, I know that the word used here is the Hebrew word “terpim,” which is the word for household idol… That would be the only tie someone could make… But the text doesn’t say its Michal’s. The text simply says that she took “an image.” Perhaps she went down to Image-Mart and bought it just for this occasion. Perhaps she borrowed it from a neighbor. Both of those scenarios are spoken of in the text just as much as this was a household idol of David’s…

1 Samuel Chapter 19 Verse 18

· I love this. David did the best possible thing when in an impossible situation. He goes and spends time with a Godly friend. Hey, Godly friends out there, make yourselves available. People are so busy nowadays. Chasing money…, doing business on their phones… side hustles, social business, serving their own interests… busy hiding their issues and never growing…

· Christians, we ought to be messaging to folks in our interactions with them that we have availability if and when they are in need. And this business of, “well, I didn’t want to text you because I know how busy you are,” is just simply nonsense. Getting a text that says, “Can you pray for me,” or, “here’s what I’m going through, what would you say?” These texts are blessings because they open the door for ministry… And those that minister are always ministered to…

· Now, if you are one to continually dump problems you should be handling yourself on others…, that’s a bit of another story. In that case, the best thing you can do for that person is respond slowly… Take a day or two… train them to go to the Lord. These texts are ones that are marked/filled with gossip and reports rather than requests for prayer and guidance…

1 Samuel Chapter 19 Verses 19 – 24

· Ok, what a way to end the chapter Samuel, HA! What on earth is going on here!? Well, first, and I just love this, these men…, Samuel and David, are SO filled with the Holy Spirit and pre-occupied with serving the Lord that even when their enemies come around them, they are humbled! They are affected and even changed (if only for the time they are there)! I love that!

· Have you ever seen that meme that shows a picture of a mosquito… And it says something like, “I want to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that when a mosquito bites me its flies away singing, ‘Nothing but the Blood!?’” Ha, yea, something like that. That’s this scene…

· This scene is rich with flavor! First of all, this scene proves that a person can be greatly affected by the Spirit of God, even having the Spirit of God upon him/her, and NOT be submitted to the will of God! Signs and wonders and ministry abilities are not the mark of a true fellow of Jesus. The marks of a true servant of God are love (agape), selflessness, otherness, joy, peace (one who makes peace), longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control!

· A person can be affected by the power of God which can result in amazing experiences and seasons of sweet stuff, but that same person can also not be surrendered to the power of God, and so their life remains unchanged in general…

· Second, this shows us that if God wants to stop someone from doing something to his anointed, He can simply jump ‘em! HA! I love that! God is such a heavenly Thug sometimes!! MY MAN!! Just one scripture example of this, Psalm 34:19-22, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.”

· The bottom line is that God protects David but He doesn’t protect him unto immediate deliverance. This is the wilderness versus the castle equation again… God is with David and yet David’s situation stays rather grim for quite some time…, BUT…, NOT FOREVER! Reminds me of Galatians 6:9, and encourages me to stay the course, “Do not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart!”