2008.08.03 What is Transformation: From Rebellion to Submission
Scripture: 1 Samuel 24
We are in the middle of a sermon series about transformation—the change that happens when our hearts are transformed to love God. To do this, we are looking at the story of David, a man who is described as one who longed to please God and do everything God wanted him to do.
Two weeks ago, we saw how David’s perspective was radically different than that of his fellow Israelites and King Saul as they looked upon the giant Goliath. David lived by faith; the others lived by fear.
Last week, we looked at the contrast between King Saul and his son Jonathan as they related to David. Jonathan exercised compassion. King Saul lived in envy.
This week, we are going to learn about the difference between King Saul and David as they related to God’s power.
But first, a story.
A few years back, I went for a long walk (~40 minutes) with two of my boys. My youngest was 1.5 years old and in a stroller. My oldest was 4.5 years old. When we returned home, we discovered that my youngest had lost his shoe.
My first instinct was to do what I normally do—take matters into my own hands. Given that the three of us were tired from the long walk, we climbed into the car. We slowly retraced our entire route, with my oldest and me peering out the windows at 5 mph. No shoe.
On the way home, my oldest suddenly said with much confidence, “I know where the shoe is.” I asked, “Where?” He said, “I’ll tell you when I see it.” We turned the corner for our street, and there, in broad daylight, was the missing shoe.
After I retrieved it, my oldest asked, “Do you know why we found it?” “Why?” I asked. “Because I prayed to God,” he answered simply.
What struck me at that moment was not some heightened appreciation for the power of prayer—it was, after all, only a kid’s shoe. What I was struck by was my oldest child’s confidence in prayer. Because of his awareness of God’s presence and God’s goodness he prayed for help to find his brother’s shoe and experienced a solid assurance that God would come through for us.
How often do you find that your first instinct in a time of distress is to pray? How much confidence do you have that God will take care of the situation, whatever it may be?
In today’s scripture, we enter the story of David’s ascent to the throne. Saul is still hunting David down because Saul, like we sometimes do, has chosen to take matters in his own hands. Saul knows that he has lost God’s blessing to be king.
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."
1 Samuel 13:13-14
Over time, it becomes apparent to Saul that David is this man of whom the prophet Samuel spoke. Yet rather than understand how God would want the throne to be passed along, Saul seizes power with two hands. And as we saw last week, Saul allows envy to consume him, which leads to his attempts to murder not only David but even, at one point, his own son Jonathan. And it is also what leads him to pursue David.
Saul, however, is still king, and he needs to take care of his country. A threat from the Philistines comes, and Saul has to abandon his pursuit of David to fight Israel’s longtime enemy. Then at the beginning of Chapter 24, we read:
1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4a The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, `I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'"
1 Samuel 24:1-4a
What an opportunity for David! Here is Saul, the man who is making David’s life horribly difficult. Saul has directly attempted to kill David while in the palace. Saul has attempted to kill his son and David’s best friend, Jonathan. These murderous intentions have forced David to live as a fugitive, and even caused David to take his parents to a neighboring kingdom to plead for their safekeeping. Saul’s violence has even been unleashed against those whom he perceives are in support of David, as can be seen in his order to destroy the entire town of Nob in chapter 22.
David is on the run, and here, handed to him on a silver platter, is the man who is causing all of this grief. Saul is alone and vulnerable. The men who are hiding in the cave with David see the opportunity—it’s too good to miss. They urge David to take action, for an opening like this—so easy, so straightforward—must be from God. David’s men even quote a promise of God, saying that David can deal with his enemy as he wishes. ("This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, `I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'") Saul is at David’s mercy.
(Let me note, however, that this promise is found nowhere else in Scripture. Instead, if you look at the footnote found in most Bibles, the alternative translation for this verse is the men saying “Today the Lord is saying…” They see the circumstances and assume that this must be a sign given by God.)
Imagine the temptation that lies before David here. With his own two hands, he can end the misery he has been living and step up to claim the throne for which the prophet Samuel has already anointed him. So then, urged by this companions, David moves forward:
4b Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
1 Samuel 24: 4b
To everyone’s surprise, David does not exact vengeance. He does not answer Saul’s violence with more violence. Instead, he cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe. And then..
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
1 Samuel 24: 5-7
David’s guilt is surprising because compared to what he could have done, what he actually did was so minor. He just cut off a corner of piece of clothing. Yet that piece of clothing was the king’s robe. The royal robe. A robe that served as a powerful symbol of authority—the authority of the throne of Israel. A modern-day analogy could be cutting off a corner of the original Constitution of the United States or flying a U.S. flag with the corner cut off. It doesn’t make a real difference to the power communicated by the object, but it is deeply disrespectful.
Yet why should this disrespect cause David even one moment of grief? The things that Saul has done to him far outweigh the act of cutting the king’s robe. The answer to this question can be found by understanding the state of David’s heart. Looking at his words to his men, David states twice that Saul is the Lord’s anointed. The Lord God is David’s commander-in-chief, and David recognizes that Saul was the one whom God first anointed as king. David respects that decision. David respects the work of God.
So despite the fact that, by all appearances, David would have justified in bringing great harm, humiliation or even death to Saul in that cave, David’s modus operandi is not to take matters into his own hands. Instead, David opts to respect God’s authority in all matters, including this ongoing battle that Saul is waging against David.
After Saul leaves the cave, David makes his intentions clear:
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, `David is bent on harming you'? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, `I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed.' 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, `I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" As the old saying goes, `From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you.
1 Samuel 24: 8-13
“From evildoers come evil deeds.” This wisdom is repeated in the New Testament, in Matthew, Chapter 7: “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit… Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
(Verse 13: " As the old saying goes, `From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you.) David is not going to become the king of Israel through the “bad fruits” of violence and vengeance. David has not done wrong against Saul, and yet Saul is hunting him down to take his life. David does express his wish that Saul is paid back for the wrongs he has inflicted upon David. However, the right to exercise this justice remains in God’s hands, not David’s. Thus, as David’s speech developed, he moved from bowing to Saul and addressing him respectfully as “My lord the king” to the intimate title of “my father” (v.11). David’s speech is not one of righteous anger but one compassion and forgiveness. He vows to Saul, as he has already done with Saul’s son, that David’s hand “will not touch” him. The violence with which Saul is attacking David, the violence with which Saul is, in the bigger picture, rebelling against God, will not be continued in David’s time.
This is in complete contrast to the violence that Saul demonstrated toward David. Saul screwed up and lost God’s approval to be the king. Yet rather than repenting and changing his ways, Saul became consumed with envy as David, a rising star, entered the scene. Then, in order to exert some control over a world that was spinning out of control, Saul began to hunt David down, hurting and killing many along the way. Saul’s actions were not simply actions against David. In the larger picture, what we see is that Saul is rebelling against God, against God’s authority.
When do we behave like Saul? In situations of distress, how often is our first instinct one of control, or management, or getting the situation in hand? Saul saw that he was going to lose the throne, and he didn’t like it.. and he felt that there was little that he could do about it.
So, paradoxically, he tried to seize control as his recognized that his fate had become uncontrollable. Unfortunately, Saul did this through violence, and sometimes we do too. There is the violence of the streets, which is in the news every day, but there is also the violence in our homes and our offices. Yelling is violent. Threats are violent. And they are almost always directed toward one who is weaker because that is our way of exerting control when in the bigger picture we feel as though we have very little control. And regrettably, sometimes words are not enough, so we resort to physical violence.
The remarkable thing about David is that he was a man to whom life’s circumstances had been grossly unfair. He defeated the Philistine champion on behalf of Israel, and in return for his service, he is running for his life, hiding out in caves where people go to use the restroom.
We can go through our days incredibly stressed out or anxious about so many things—the recession, the weak housing market, the cost of gasoline, the horrible state of California’s schools, the rising prices of food, global warming.. and that’s just the general stuff. Each of us also has burdens that we carry within our extended families and our immediate households, as well as in our workplaces, and yes, even the future of this ministry.
And unfortunately, sometimes we take that anxiety, that sense of being a little overwhelmed or that things have slipped into chaos that is just beyond our control, and we funnel it into mini pockets of control. Whether it is yelling at our kids, being rude to our spouses, being very harsh at work, or even acting passive aggressively.. the violence can take all sort of shapes and sizes. What are doing in these instances is, in the bigger picture, rebelling against God. We are refusing to acknowledge that God is sovereign, that God loves us, that will care for us.
David chose to meet violence with compassion. David chose to reject vengeance in favor of humility. He was able to do this, not because he was a perfect person, but b/c he recognized God as the one who is in control. God would be the one to judge between David and Saul. God would be the one who would avenge the wrongs Saul had done to David. In the meantime, David stayed true to his respect and honor of God. As a tree, his “fruit,” so to speak, would continue to produce good. He continued to acknowledge Saul as the king, he treated Saul as the Lord’s anointed. He refused to exercise vengeance. As a result,
16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David my son?" And he wept aloud. 17 "You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me of the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family."
22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
1 Samuel 24: 16-22
The scene ends with the two men going their separate ways. Yet before their departure, Saul has uttered the words, “I know” (v.20). Saul has conceded the kingdom and acknowledged that David is the future—the future that Saul, despite his best efforts to make it different, has failed to forestall.
There are many lessons that we can learn from Saul and David’s interactions. Yet today we are asking what a transformed life looks like. How does a person who loves God behave in the midst of uncertainty and crisis? In David, we see that it is possible to choose humility, patience, compassion.. in short, submission to God’s word and God’s will. I am sure that there will be many occasions in the future where we find ourselves instinctively choosing the path of Saul—to reject God’s plan and take matters into our own hands. Yet such a choice can only bring heartache. In the end, what we truly want, if we were to take some time to consider it, what we truly want is to live a life of confidence and assurance that God is our ever-present help in times of trouble. We would do well by considering the example of David and his actions toward Saul.
We are in the middle of a sermon series about transformation—the change that happens when our hearts are transformed to love God. To do this, we are looking at the story of David, a man who is described as one who longed to please God and do everything God wanted him to do.
Two weeks ago, we saw how David’s perspective was radically different than that of his fellow Israelites and King Saul as they looked upon the giant Goliath. David lived by faith; the others lived by fear.
Last week, we looked at the contrast between King Saul and his son Jonathan as they related to David. Jonathan exercised compassion. King Saul lived in envy.
This week, we are going to learn about the difference between King Saul and David as they related to God’s power.
But first, a story.
A few years back, I went for a long walk (~40 minutes) with two of my boys. My youngest was 1.5 years old and in a stroller. My oldest was 4.5 years old. When we returned home, we discovered that my youngest had lost his shoe.
My first instinct was to do what I normally do—take matters into my own hands. Given that the three of us were tired from the long walk, we climbed into the car. We slowly retraced our entire route, with my oldest and me peering out the windows at 5 mph. No shoe.
On the way home, my oldest suddenly said with much confidence, “I know where the shoe is.” I asked, “Where?” He said, “I’ll tell you when I see it.” We turned the corner for our street, and there, in broad daylight, was the missing shoe.
After I retrieved it, my oldest asked, “Do you know why we found it?” “Why?” I asked. “Because I prayed to God,” he answered simply.
What struck me at that moment was not some heightened appreciation for the power of prayer—it was, after all, only a kid’s shoe. What I was struck by was my oldest child’s confidence in prayer. Because of his awareness of God’s presence and God’s goodness he prayed for help to find his brother’s shoe and experienced a solid assurance that God would come through for us.
How often do you find that your first instinct in a time of distress is to pray? How much confidence do you have that God will take care of the situation, whatever it may be?
In today’s scripture, we enter the story of David’s ascent to the throne. Saul is still hunting David down because Saul, like we sometimes do, has chosen to take matters in his own hands. Saul knows that he has lost God’s blessing to be king.
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."
1 Samuel 13:13-14
Over time, it becomes apparent to Saul that David is this man of whom the prophet Samuel spoke. Yet rather than understand how God would want the throne to be passed along, Saul seizes power with two hands. And as we saw last week, Saul allows envy to consume him, which leads to his attempts to murder not only David but even, at one point, his own son Jonathan. And it is also what leads him to pursue David.
Saul, however, is still king, and he needs to take care of his country. A threat from the Philistines comes, and Saul has to abandon his pursuit of David to fight Israel’s longtime enemy. Then at the beginning of Chapter 24, we read:
1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4a The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, `I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'"
1 Samuel 24:1-4a
What an opportunity for David! Here is Saul, the man who is making David’s life horribly difficult. Saul has directly attempted to kill David while in the palace. Saul has attempted to kill his son and David’s best friend, Jonathan. These murderous intentions have forced David to live as a fugitive, and even caused David to take his parents to a neighboring kingdom to plead for their safekeeping. Saul’s violence has even been unleashed against those whom he perceives are in support of David, as can be seen in his order to destroy the entire town of Nob in chapter 22.
David is on the run, and here, handed to him on a silver platter, is the man who is causing all of this grief. Saul is alone and vulnerable. The men who are hiding in the cave with David see the opportunity—it’s too good to miss. They urge David to take action, for an opening like this—so easy, so straightforward—must be from God. David’s men even quote a promise of God, saying that David can deal with his enemy as he wishes. ("This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, `I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'") Saul is at David’s mercy.
(Let me note, however, that this promise is found nowhere else in Scripture. Instead, if you look at the footnote found in most Bibles, the alternative translation for this verse is the men saying “Today the Lord is saying…” They see the circumstances and assume that this must be a sign given by God.)
Imagine the temptation that lies before David here. With his own two hands, he can end the misery he has been living and step up to claim the throne for which the prophet Samuel has already anointed him. So then, urged by this companions, David moves forward:
4b Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
1 Samuel 24: 4b
To everyone’s surprise, David does not exact vengeance. He does not answer Saul’s violence with more violence. Instead, he cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe. And then..
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
1 Samuel 24: 5-7
David’s guilt is surprising because compared to what he could have done, what he actually did was so minor. He just cut off a corner of piece of clothing. Yet that piece of clothing was the king’s robe. The royal robe. A robe that served as a powerful symbol of authority—the authority of the throne of Israel. A modern-day analogy could be cutting off a corner of the original Constitution of the United States or flying a U.S. flag with the corner cut off. It doesn’t make a real difference to the power communicated by the object, but it is deeply disrespectful.
Yet why should this disrespect cause David even one moment of grief? The things that Saul has done to him far outweigh the act of cutting the king’s robe. The answer to this question can be found by understanding the state of David’s heart. Looking at his words to his men, David states twice that Saul is the Lord’s anointed. The Lord God is David’s commander-in-chief, and David recognizes that Saul was the one whom God first anointed as king. David respects that decision. David respects the work of God.
So despite the fact that, by all appearances, David would have justified in bringing great harm, humiliation or even death to Saul in that cave, David’s modus operandi is not to take matters into his own hands. Instead, David opts to respect God’s authority in all matters, including this ongoing battle that Saul is waging against David.
After Saul leaves the cave, David makes his intentions clear:
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, `David is bent on harming you'? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, `I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed.' 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, `I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" As the old saying goes, `From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you.
1 Samuel 24: 8-13
“From evildoers come evil deeds.” This wisdom is repeated in the New Testament, in Matthew, Chapter 7: “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit… Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
(Verse 13: " As the old saying goes, `From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you.) David is not going to become the king of Israel through the “bad fruits” of violence and vengeance. David has not done wrong against Saul, and yet Saul is hunting him down to take his life. David does express his wish that Saul is paid back for the wrongs he has inflicted upon David. However, the right to exercise this justice remains in God’s hands, not David’s. Thus, as David’s speech developed, he moved from bowing to Saul and addressing him respectfully as “My lord the king” to the intimate title of “my father” (v.11). David’s speech is not one of righteous anger but one compassion and forgiveness. He vows to Saul, as he has already done with Saul’s son, that David’s hand “will not touch” him. The violence with which Saul is attacking David, the violence with which Saul is, in the bigger picture, rebelling against God, will not be continued in David’s time.
This is in complete contrast to the violence that Saul demonstrated toward David. Saul screwed up and lost God’s approval to be the king. Yet rather than repenting and changing his ways, Saul became consumed with envy as David, a rising star, entered the scene. Then, in order to exert some control over a world that was spinning out of control, Saul began to hunt David down, hurting and killing many along the way. Saul’s actions were not simply actions against David. In the larger picture, what we see is that Saul is rebelling against God, against God’s authority.
When do we behave like Saul? In situations of distress, how often is our first instinct one of control, or management, or getting the situation in hand? Saul saw that he was going to lose the throne, and he didn’t like it.. and he felt that there was little that he could do about it.
So, paradoxically, he tried to seize control as his recognized that his fate had become uncontrollable. Unfortunately, Saul did this through violence, and sometimes we do too. There is the violence of the streets, which is in the news every day, but there is also the violence in our homes and our offices. Yelling is violent. Threats are violent. And they are almost always directed toward one who is weaker because that is our way of exerting control when in the bigger picture we feel as though we have very little control. And regrettably, sometimes words are not enough, so we resort to physical violence.
The remarkable thing about David is that he was a man to whom life’s circumstances had been grossly unfair. He defeated the Philistine champion on behalf of Israel, and in return for his service, he is running for his life, hiding out in caves where people go to use the restroom.
We can go through our days incredibly stressed out or anxious about so many things—the recession, the weak housing market, the cost of gasoline, the horrible state of California’s schools, the rising prices of food, global warming.. and that’s just the general stuff. Each of us also has burdens that we carry within our extended families and our immediate households, as well as in our workplaces, and yes, even the future of this ministry.
And unfortunately, sometimes we take that anxiety, that sense of being a little overwhelmed or that things have slipped into chaos that is just beyond our control, and we funnel it into mini pockets of control. Whether it is yelling at our kids, being rude to our spouses, being very harsh at work, or even acting passive aggressively.. the violence can take all sort of shapes and sizes. What are doing in these instances is, in the bigger picture, rebelling against God. We are refusing to acknowledge that God is sovereign, that God loves us, that will care for us.
David chose to meet violence with compassion. David chose to reject vengeance in favor of humility. He was able to do this, not because he was a perfect person, but b/c he recognized God as the one who is in control. God would be the one to judge between David and Saul. God would be the one who would avenge the wrongs Saul had done to David. In the meantime, David stayed true to his respect and honor of God. As a tree, his “fruit,” so to speak, would continue to produce good. He continued to acknowledge Saul as the king, he treated Saul as the Lord’s anointed. He refused to exercise vengeance. As a result,
16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David my son?" And he wept aloud. 17 "You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me of the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family."
22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
1 Samuel 24: 16-22
The scene ends with the two men going their separate ways. Yet before their departure, Saul has uttered the words, “I know” (v.20). Saul has conceded the kingdom and acknowledged that David is the future—the future that Saul, despite his best efforts to make it different, has failed to forestall.
There are many lessons that we can learn from Saul and David’s interactions. Yet today we are asking what a transformed life looks like. How does a person who loves God behave in the midst of uncertainty and crisis? In David, we see that it is possible to choose humility, patience, compassion.. in short, submission to God’s word and God’s will. I am sure that there will be many occasions in the future where we find ourselves instinctively choosing the path of Saul—to reject God’s plan and take matters into our own hands. Yet such a choice can only bring heartache. In the end, what we truly want, if we were to take some time to consider it, what we truly want is to live a life of confidence and assurance that God is our ever-present help in times of trouble. We would do well by considering the example of David and his actions toward Saul.
Labels: 1 Samuel 24
posted by New Hope Presbyterian Church @ 11:28 PM
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