Spear Leader (1 Samuel 18:10-19)

In the early 1600s, the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, sat on China’s throne. The kingdom had problems inside and out. But the biggest threat of all was the emperor himself, who probably accelerated the collapse of the Ming dynasty.^[1]

He was isolated, miserly, controlling with unpredictable mood swings. He refused to take responsibility for his own failures. Most of all, he was paranoid that people were conspiring to steal his power. One biographer writes his behavior “was like a slow acting poison that infected the blood and organs of the Ming state, day by day.”^[2]

Enemies were at the gates. Yet the emperor “remained unable to…solve the empire’s problems.”^[3] Into the void came a brave warrior named Chonghuan. He led the army to multiple victories. He rescued Beijing from invaders. He was made minister of war. He was – and remains – a cultural hero.

But then the emperor’s paranoia took over. He became convinced that Chonghuan was conspiring against him. And so, in a shocking turn of events, the emperor had Chonghuan executed. The kingdom was ultimately overrun and the emperor killed himself rather than face capture.^[4]

History like this seems so far removed to us. It’s hard to imagine ourselves in these dramatic stories about places we’ve never been and people whose names we’ve never heard. But spiritual history in the Bible is not meant to be like that. The Bible tells us, “If you’ve got an ear to hear, listen to this.” Stories like the one we’re reading today are given to us as an example so we can apprehend how to walk with God and so we can avoid the mistakes made by others. For us, spiritual history is a present possibility. The circumstances may not be the same, but the principles, the pathways, the choices are. God’s word shows us the way to life and fruitfulness and also shows the road to ruin.

In our text, Saul is accelerating on the road to run. Though David has been a gift from God, a paranoid Saul becomes consumed with a desire to kill him by whatever means necessary.

How did things get so bad? How did Saul become so malicious and dejected? It began when he rejected God’s word. His rejection set him on this path to dejection. Let’s take a look:

1 Samuel 18:10-11 – ¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit sent from God came powerfully on Saul, and he began to rave inside the palace. David was playing the lyre as usual, but Saul was holding a spear, ¹¹ and he threw it, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David got away from him twice.

Saul is hardly recognizable compared to where he began. He began in humility. He began in willingness to serve. But those days are over and he’s become something quite different.

Just because I walked by faith earlier in life does not guarantee that I am following Jesus faithfully today. As one author puts it, our Christianity is a “long obedience in the same direction.”^[5] Disciples don’t coast on what happened in the past, but concern ourselves with how God is leading us today, what God is commanding today, how His word is speaking today.

Saul goes into a frenzy.^[6] It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last. But it’s interesting – the same term used for Saul’s raving here is elsewhere used of prophetic utterance.^[7]

There are a lot of people out there who present themselves as authorities you should follow. Evaluate whether their message is scriptural or just human ravings. Are they in line with God’s word? Are they submitted to the word of God in what they say, what they do, and how they do it?

This week there was some news out of Cleveland. There’s a “church” there led by someone who calls himself a prophet. This so-called prophet had his wife share that God spoke to the prophet and told him he should have a second wife. They announced that polygamy is fine for the prophet and brought up his second wife. And people clapped for them.^[8] You can tell the difference between a Godly utterance and the ravings of a man by whether it aligns with God’s word.

As you read books, hear podcasts, watch videos people send you, test those messages. There is a world of difference between Saul’s utterance in chapter 10 and his ravings in chapter 18.

But now consider David. He’s had quite a week. He’s gone from tending a flock and delivering food to fighting a giant to being in a victory parade to being appointed as part of the king’s cabinet.

Where is he the next day? Providing the soundtrack as court musician. He wasn’t too important to do this smaller service. He was a famous hero now, but he didn’t see this job as beneath him.

Christians are never too important to push a broom, empty a trash can, or wash feet. Our mentality should be like David’s here, doing what was needed. “I want to fight giants and conquer cities.” Ok, but today, the king needs a song. Sadly, despite his faithful service, Saul tries to kill him.

Emperor Chongzhen’s paranoia caused him to sacrifice General Chonghuan. He didn’t execute him by spear, but by the gruesome “death by a thousand cuts.” I’ll spare you the details.

What Saul does is shocking. Even more astounding is the fact that he does it twice. Now, David doesn’t allow Saul to kill him, but notice: He doesn’t give his two weeks notice, either.

The Bible has some really bad work environments. Joseph in Egypt. Daniel in Babylon. But in all of those cases, God’s people don’t just cut and run. They trust God through adversity.

That doesn’t mean you can’t even quit your job. But in our culture, the reflex is to quit. The impulse is to run. If we don’t like a situation at our jobs or at our church or in our marriage, the culture says, “Pack up and leave.” But that is not the first reflex in the spiritual mind. In Christ, our reflex should be to ask, “Lord, what do You want me to do? Do You want me to stay or go?” David stayed to serve both the nation and this king who resented him and tried to kill him – twice.

1 Samuel 18:12 – ¹² Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul.

Saul knew. He knew that this was a spiritual issue. And yet, he chose to fight against God anyway. Rather than humble himself, rather than repent, he kept accelerating away from God.

Are you fighting against God? There was a time when the apostles stood before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was full of murderous rage toward the Christians. A Pharisee named Gamaliel, said, “Brothers leave these guys alone, because if this is from God, you can’t stop it and you do not want to be found fighting against God.”^[9] But they wouldn’t listen.

Why had the Lord left Saul? Because Saul wouldn’t obey. He wouldn’t follow. If he would repent, if he would humble himself, if he would turn toward God, God would received him. God sent David to help Saul personally and professionally. But Saul hardened his heart to his own hurt.

1 Samuel 18:13-14 – ¹³ Therefore, Saul sent David away from him and made him commander over a thousand men. David led the troops ¹⁴ and continued to be successful in all his activities because the LORD was with him.

He threw David out and demoted him. But who did this hurt? Not David, because God was with him, even in this demotion. The only person it hurt was Saul, who now did not have that ministry David provided when the evil spirit came upon him.

Selfishness, pride, jealousy, resentment, anger – these things make us captives. They erode our lives from the inside out. These are things God wants to save us from.

Meanwhile, David isn’t shown throwing a tantrum. We can serve God faithfully and joyfully even in demotion. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

1 Samuel 18:15-16 – ¹⁵ When Saul observed that David was very successful, he dreaded him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was leading their troops.

Saul no longer walks by faith, but by feelings. Feelings fueled by his pride, by his jealousy, by his selfishness. And what does it do? It leads Saul into more isolation, more frustration, more fear.

This was not what God wanted for Saul. God had chosen him. Anointed him. Empowered him. Transformed his heart. Moved on other valiant men to support the throne. But Saul left God’s path and followed his own designs and desires. And this is where that path leads. Fear and failure.

And more and more we see David stepping into the role that Saul was supposed to play. David leading. David fighting. David being used by God.

You know, the Lord won’t make us exercise our faith. He won’t make us be used for His glory. He wants us to. It’s His delight to do His work in us and through us. But He won’t force us. As Mordecai told Esther: “God put you in this time and place to be used for His purposes. But if you choose to keep silent, God will allow it, but He will bring His relief and deliverance from someone else.”

The choices Saul’s making have national consequences. As one scholar points out, it was only David’s loyalty, his faithfulness, his humility, that kept things calm, politically speaking.^[10] Look at how much support he had. If he wanted to, he could’ve led an uprising against Saul. There could have been civil war. Thank goodness that between Saul and David one of them was willing to be humble. One of them was willing to patiently serve and trust the Lord.

1 Samuel 18:17 – ¹⁷ Saul told David, “Here is my oldest daughter Merab. I’ll give her to you as a wife if you will be a warrior for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I don’t need to raise a hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

Emperor Chongzhen made Chonghuan an offer: If he could drive out China’s enemies and recover the lost territory, he’d be made an earl. He gave Chonghuan the imperial sword and sent him out to fight.^[11] Quite an incentive for someone who came from a family of timber merchants.

Saul makes a pretty big offer here, but let’s remember he already owed his daughter to David. He had promised to give her to whoever killed Goliath. But obviously he didn’t keep his word.

His outright attack with the spear had failed – twice – so now Saul tries this combination of reward and manipulation so that, hopefully, the law of averages would get David killed in battle.

But look how he tried to spiritually manipulate David. “If you will fight the Lord’s battles!” Well, first of all, that’s exactly what David had been doing. And second, that’s what Saul was appointed to do. But a person dominated by selfishness doesn’t serve. They expect others to serve.

Meanwhile, Saul assumed David would eventually fail, which reveals he still didn’t trust the Lord or believe the Lord was helping Israel. And even worse, in his heart he’s hoping for a Philistine victory over his own troops! This is where selfishness, self-centeredness, pride, and jealousy leads.

God’s way leads to life, man’s leads to death. Saul has sunk to using his own, precious daughter as a ploy, as bait, to try to get an innocent man killed.

On the day before Emperor Chongzhen killed himself, he gathered members of his imperial household for one final meeting. He had been offered terms of surrender, but the he refused them. Instead, he killed one of his daughters, and cut the arm off another, then hanged himself.

Sin destroys. It brings forth death externally and internally. When we turn from the path of the Gospel, ruin is the destination. But God has given us the word of truth so that we can live, so that we can be fruitful, so that we can bring life to the lives around us, rather than death.

1 Samuel 18:18 – ¹⁸ Then David responded, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?”

David is consistently humble and patient in this period. It would’ve been hard to wait for the Lord during these years. David has been anointed as king. He has enough popular support to overthrow Saul. Now he has the chance to become the king’s son-in-law, which gets him that much closer. But David is not like Saul. He’s not scheming, he’s serving. He has this great, “Who am I?” mentality.

In Psalm 144, David wrote, “What is man, that God cares for us?” When God tells David that his throne would be established forever, David goes into the Lord’s presence and says, “Lord, who am I that You have brought me this far?” Here, David says, “Who am I?”

The New Testament explains that we get into spiritual trouble when we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. It causes us to be out of joint in the Body of Christ.

At the same time, we should marvel at the theological answer to the question, “Who am I?” Who are you? You’re beloved by the God of the Universe. You’re the treasure He paid all to acquire. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. His special possession.

Don’t turn your eyes from the God of love. Don’t take to your own path, thinking you know better. Run into His embrace. Run toward His truth, His commands, His leading for your life. This Almighty King Who has decided to make you a son and daughter in His house.

1 Samuel 18:19 – ¹⁹ When it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

It’s hard to know how this played out. Some translators consider this to have happened on the wedding day.^[12] But once again, David is patient, faithful, servant-hearted. No tantrums. No demands. He trusts the Lord. He allows the Lord to guide as he endures these situations.

Meanwhile, Saul will go on to try to use his son and another daughter as tools to get David. And, tragically, Saul dooms Merab’s five sons, who will die as a result of his sinful acts.^[13]

When Emperor Chongzhen decided he wanted to kill General Chonghuan, he waited 8 months to actually do it just in case the military situation got worse and he needed to be recalled to duty.

Saul’s schemes have failed again, so he bides his time. After all, he really needed David to fight the battles that Saul was too weak to wage.

We don’t want to take the path Saul is on. But it’s easy to find ourselves on it. This is the result when we turn from the word of God. When we live life by our own designs and desires.

You’re making progress one way or another right now. You’re growing fruit today. Either the fruit of the Spirit or the work of the flesh. Look down the road at the destination shown to us by Saul, by the Sanhedrin, by those who refuse God’s word and way.

Instead, choose to trust the God of love. Go His way. It requires obedience. It requires patience, endurance, humility, and surrender. But we know where His path leads. It’s the path of righteousness. The path of life. A beautiful inheritance of blessing and rest and growth as God continually fills our life with His goodness and grace.