Deeper Devotional

Read: 1 Samuel 13:5-14; 1 Samuel 15:1-34; 1 Samuel 24:1-10; 2 Samuel 16:5-14.

One of the great studies in contrast between two people in Scripture is the comparison between King Saul and King David. Time and space do not permit an in-depth study, but here are a few comparisons. When it came to making decisions, Saul would choose what he thought was in his best interest rather than obey God. Life was about who he was and centered on him.

In our reading today when Saul was at Michmash assembling the people of Israel to fight 30,000 Philistines, he became fearful when the people began to desert him. He was supposed to wait on Samuel to perform the sacrifice to God, seeking God’s favor and support as they went into battle. When Samuel did not show up at the appointed time, Saul took on the role of the priest (which was limited to those of the tribe of Levi) and offered the sacrifice himself (in direct disobedience to God). He used the sacrifice as a ploy to keep the people there for his own protection, rather than trust in God to deliver them. Saul was concerned with the outward appearance and his own possible victory and safety more than the attitude of the heart.

When Saul was directed to kill the king of Amalek and all his people, and destroy all their possessions, Saul spared the king and kept the best of the possessions and livestock. When Samuel confronted him, Saul said that he disobeyed God because he feared his own people. Even then, Saul sought after Samuel to “honor him before the people.” His outward image before the people was more important to him than any obedience and repentance of the heart before God.

In contrast to Saul we see David, “a man chosen after God’s own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14) David, when he was pursued by Saul who was attempting to kill him, time and again was counseled by his friends to take the opportunity to kill Saul while he had the chance. David’s repeated response was one of respect toward God and the office of king as God had appointed Saul. David’s response always was, “I will not lift my hand against God’s anointed.” In other words, David was saying, “I trust God to protect me, and if He wants to remove Saul, He will do it.” For David his honor and obedience before God was more important than any risk to his own life.

Toward the end of David’s reign as king, he was faced with the overthrow of his kingship by his own son, Absalom. David knew that this was a result of his own sin. So when he was forced to escape on foot out of the city with a few of his supporters, he was accosted by a man named Shimei, who was a descendant of Saul. The man, bitter toward David, cursed him and threw stones at him. One of David’s warriors wanted to kill him, but David stopped him. David saw the occasion as a possible rebuke from the Lord, and he accepted it as part of his punishment. He accepted the humiliation at the hands of this vagrant as being from the Lord. To David, repentance and acceptance by God was more important than his image before the people.

Yesterday you were asked to look at your list of all the good and bad things that had happened to you and what lessons you had learned. Today, look again at that list of events and ask yourself, “How did I respond to those events? What decisions did I make as a result of these events? Did I make Godly decisions or ungodly decisions?”