David – Man After God’s Own Heart, Object Of Persecution

Feature 1 – July/August 2014 — Grace & Truth Magazine

© Michael Levy | Dreamstime Stock Photos

DAVID
A Man After God’s Heart
But Object Of Saul’s Persecution

Saul – The Rejected King
To please God, it is essential to obey Him. Proud King Saul, head and shoulders taller than any of his people, had again and again acted in self-will and disobeyed God’s explicit commands. Through the prophet Samuel, God told him, “Because you have rejected the word of the L ORD , He has also rejected you from being king” (1 Sam. 15:23 NKJV ).

Saul did not accept this word from the Lord. He insisted that he would worship the Lord and that Samuel should honor him before the elders of the people. Sad to say, thereafter we find him defiantly making every effort to keep the throne for himself, even to the point of persecuting and repeatedly trying to kill David, the man God chose to be his successor.

David – The Man After God’s Heart
In 1 Samuel 16, sometime after Saul was rejected, God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice and to anoint a new king over Israel. God refused the seven older sons of Jesse and chose David – the youngest, a shepherd and the one whom his family had not thought important enough to even call to the sacrifice. God does not look for what man looks for, but looks at the heart, desiring to see there some reflection of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Saul, who was occasionally troubled by an evil spirit, sought a harpist to soothe him at such times. One of his servants recommended David, saying he was “skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him” (1 Sam. 16:18). Saul initially was pleased with David and even made him his armor bearer.

Saul’s Jealousy Results In Persecution
But when David, trusting in the Lord, killed the giant warrior Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, Saul’s attitude toward him soon changed. Saul’s son Jonathan loved David and made a covenant with him, appreciating his worthiness. The people of Israel and Judah loved him. David behaved himself wisely. The women of Israel in their songs of victory praised him more highly than Saul. These things angered Saul and he became jealous. From that day forward he eyed David. He was afraid of him because the Lord was with David and no longer with Saul. He threw his spear at him, but David escaped from his presence twice.

Saul then demoted David from being over the men of war to being a captain over a thousand. He sent him on dangerous missions, promising David the opportunity to become his son-in-law while treacherously hoping that he would be killed by the Philistines. He did not succeed in having him killed, nor in killing him himself, for the Lord was with David. When Jonathan put in a good word for David, Saul threw his spear at his own son. He made effort after effort to kill David, hunting for him wherever he felt he could find him. David fled, first to Samuel and then to one place after another, ever seeking to escape from Saul.

David’s Conduct While Being Persecuted
The hatred and persecution was very one-sided – Saul against David but never David against Saul. David fled; he did not fight. At least twice he had an easy opportunity to kill Saul. Once he was close enough to cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. On another occasion he took Saul’s spear and jug of water from near his head while Saul, surrounded by his men of war, was sleeping. But David would not retaliate. As long as Saul was on the throne he respected him as “the Lord’s anointed.” David would fight against the Philistines and deliver Keilah, he would march against wicked Nabal and thankfully be deflected by Abigail’s coming and conduct, and he would make raids on the enemies of Israel in the south of Judah – but David looked to the Lord to deal with Saul in His own good time and way.

What Do We Learn From This?
Although we live in a different day and age, there are at least two important lessons from this story for us who are Christians. First Romans 13:1 plainly tells us, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” And 1 Peter 2:13-14 teaches, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors as to those who are sent by him.” These instructions were written during the reign of Nero, a most wicked and cruel Roman emperor who persecuted Christians tremendously. Since God establishes authority, He never approves of rebellion against those who are in authority. In the dispensation of law when He was dealing with Israel, His earthly people, there were occasions when He raised up instruments to execute His judgment on wicked nations or rulers. Wherever there is a clear issue between God’s supreme authority and the authority He has delegated to man, He clearly tells us that we must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29), but then we must accept the consequences this may entail.

Second we are not to avenge ourselves when we have been wronged. Before David’s day God had said in the Song of Moses: “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them” (Dt. 32:35). A portion of this verse along with Proverbs 25:21-22 is quoted in Romans 12:19-21: “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” At one point David almost violated this principle by coming to kill Nabal who had insulted him, but he was deflected from that course by Abigail’s coming to meet him with ample provisions and some wise words of advice which David thankfully accepted.

In addition David learned to appreciate many down-and-outers – men who were distressed, indebted and discontented. He became their captain and molded these men who came to him into an able fighting force. When we are persecuted do we value and learn to work together with others in similar straits? David also thoughtfully made provision for the protection of his aged parents while he was being persecuted (1 Sam. 22:2-4). Do we think of the needs of others, especially of those weaker than we are, and look out for their help and protection?

Mixed Results
David repeatedly sought and accepted direction from the Lord as to what he should do and where he should go. We see this in 1 Samuel 22:5, 23:2,4,9-12, 30:7-8 and 2 Samuel 2:1. But sad to say, David did not always seek the Lord’s direction. Twice he sought refuge with the Philistines, the long-standing enemies of Israel. The consequences were not good either time. The first time David had to pretend madness to escape their hands. The second time he lived a double life, pretending he had turned against his people and then was expected by the Philistine king of Gath to fight against Israel. God delivered him when he cried to Him, but these episodes were not to David’s credit. How we need step-by-step direction from the Lord in times of persecution rather than leaning on our own cleverness!

Through all his trials David learned to lean hard upon the Lord. Satan would gladly have done away with him many times, but the experiences David had during his persecution at the hand of Saul and the much later and harder persecution at the hand of his son Absalom resulted in David’s writing some very precious psalms. Similarly, we remember that Paul and Silas could pray and sing praises late in the night with bleeding, hurting backs and feet fastened in the stocks in the prison at Philippi. This resulted in the Lord’s shaking of the prison with a most peculiar earthquake, fellow-prisoners’ crowding in to hear them and the jailor and his family’s getting saved.

In Conclusion
If we feel the world’s hatred and persecution, let’s remember that our Lord Jesus, who only did good, was eventually crucified – the Jews and Romans having united in rejecting Him. Let’s follow our Lord and Savior, learn of Him, walk in His footsteps and bring glory to His name! We can count upon His sympathy and help for each step of the way. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

By Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.