Rose City Baptist Church

“As the one who feared the Lord, David did not choose the way of self-realization by getting rid of his enemy by himself. In other words, David didn’t allow himself to disobey God’s commands by interpreting this occasion as a God-given opportunity to commit murder. Rather than to take things into his own hand, David was patient and willing to entrust the matter to God’s good judgement…And so once again, David swallows his pride for the sake of peace…Let us consider how David, in this chapter, points to Christ Jesus, the greater Son of David…Because of Christ’s obedience, even allowing himself to stand before unjust tribunals and kangaroo courts, and bearing the sentence of death on a cross, and because his Spirit now dwells in each of those who likewise lay down their lives to follow him…You and I can now also glorify God by humbling ourselves, even before the proud.”

“God is not on your side, but you can be on God’s side. We know if we are on God’s side if we are dedicated to fulfill his purposes, his agenda, and for his glory…God was not on David’s side, per se, but David was on God’s side. He was not expecting God to achieve his goals, but had committed himself to God’s goals, this is why he prays (Psalm 57:2) ‘I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.’ And he states with confidence (Psalm 138:8) ‘The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me…’…We think that Saul is insane for thinking that God is blessing his endeavors and helping him to catch David; that God is blessing those who help him get what he wants. But how many professing Christians believe and act the same way? Confidently pursuing our own agenda, our own desires, our own purposes, and then expecting that God will come alongside and help us out? The church is full of Sauls’. Church, you only have God on your side if you have taken God’s side. You can only expect the protection and faithfulness of God—as David did—if you have given up living for yourself and now live for God…”

“You see, church, that faith towards God is not merely believing that he exists, or even believing that he can help us in every situation, but faithfully acting on that belief. Living as though what we say we believe is true! ‘I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me,’ (Ps 57:2) even if that purpose does not bring about immediate relief from my discomfort. We exist for the glory of God, so let our prayer continuously go forth: Be exalted in me, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be revealed in your church over all the earth! God did exalt himself greatly in David, who was not alone in the cave, and his physical solitude was soon relieved…The warning to us church, is that, as with Saul, the judgment of God does not always wait until we breathe our final breath, but if we are disobedient to his word, and do not live for his glory, he may give us over to the terrible results of our rebellion. According to Romans 1, this is the ‘wrath of God… revealed.’ When people fail to honor God rightfully, and fail to give him the thanksgiving he deserves, they are often given over to the foolishness of their hearts…”

“The problem wasn’t that Israel wanted a king. The problem was the reasons why they wanted a human king…They wanted a king to bring them influence and status, order and prosperity, safety and security, without having to rely on the unseen work of God and his provision of daily bread…And so when God consents to this idolatrous request, it is our natural human reasoning to assume that God will show them the errors of ways by providing them a terrible king, with disastrous results, so that they will see just how much better off they were under God’s own direct rule. But that is not what we see here in these four chapters at all! In fact, I’ve somewhat controversially titled this message: God Gives Israel a Good King…No, Saul did not end well…But that should not color our reading of these chapters. God did set Saul up for failure, nor did he spitefully shackle Israel with a loser king. In a shocking act of mercy and grace, God set Israel up for success!”