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My Sermon on 1 Samuel 20

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I love preaching through 1 Samuel. The way God worked in the hearts of evil and good people to bring about His king — then tried and did it all over again!

This is where Jonathan and David make a covenant with one another. This is hesed at it’s finest. Jonathan puts loyalty to his father and his own rise to the throne aside to accomplish what God wants. David has the choice to run off on his own, or to receive that hesed from Jonathan.

David enters into the covenant and they would stick up for each other and defend each other even after the death of Jonathan.

Mercy, Focus, Calling

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In 1 Samuel 23, David is on the run, but at the same time, one of the cities to the south is being attacked by Philistines. Instead of worrying about running from Saul or how to organize his men so that he can become king, he rushes to the rescue of the city of Keilah from the Philistine attackers.

Once he rescues the city and defeats the Philistines, he finds out that Saul is coming to get him. Not only that, but the city he is in is a locked up, walled city, and once Saul gets there, David will be trapped. To make matters worse, God reveals to David that when Saul comes, the people of the city that he just rescued will hand him over to Saul and not protect him.

What opportunity for bitterness, revenge, hatred! “I just rescued you and now you are going to turn me over to Saul!?” It wouldn’t have even been out of context w/ the story if David slaughtered them all or stayed and fought against Saul using the walled city as his own fortress.

But that’s not what he did. He came to save that city, not to abuse their resources. He was focused and determined to do what God was calling him to do, not move his own progress forward.

THAT is what made David into a king, not that he sought the kingdom for himself, but that he sought the kingdom of God for God.

Saul the Sorcerer

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1 Samuel 15:18-21

18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

Saul has a horrible case of “Hear-what-I-want-itis” when he talks to Samuel here.

What Samuel Says What Saul Says
Kill everything We killed only the diseased and worthless
Leave nothing alive We brought the best animals back alive
God doesn't need your sacrifices Won't God love these sacrifices?

And of course God doesn’t like it at all when people do their own thing and say that is what “God” wanted them to do.

22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”

Do you see what he said there? Rebellion, in this case religiousness is like being a witch or a sorcerer. How is that? Well, the main problem with sorcery is that the wizard is putting himself in a position to control supernatural powers. When a person does a religious act to force God’s hand, that’s just like trying to be a wizard.

Saul is trying to make God like him, or to earn something from God. What God wants is to be who He is, ruler of the galaxy. He doesn’t need the religious activities nor is He swayed by them.

v. 24-25
Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.”

Oh man! Do you see what he did there?! I’m sorry for being overly religious, now forgive me so I can keep being religious! Look at how pious I am as I seek forgiveness for my piety!

This whole idea of doing what we want to do and saying that it’s what God wants us to do is really striking to me. I wonder if we have become so trained to do our own thing, to follow our own will, that we don’t even know what it feels like to be led by God. I’ve experienced several things this summer where somebody was making a horrible decision, but they said that God was leading them to make it.

I think I would have believed it if they hadn’t hidden those decisions behind so much piety!

May we be thankful for the works that Jesus’ death freed us from, and may we take hold of the simple, submissive life He has given us! No magicians here, just servants!