In the Hand of God • 1 Samuel 19-20

David is on a great trajectory. He’s anointed king of Israel while he’s a kid. He distinguishes himself by killing Goliath. He rises from being Saul’s armourbearer to being a commander of 1000 and marrying the king’s daughter. We look at that and we say, David is exceptional. God is blessing him. We expect God to bless him like this.

But we don’t expect what happens next: everything in David’s life falls apart. He loses all he has gained up until now. 

This is not popular theology, but it is true theology: God is moulding and shaping David’s life to be what He wants it to be.  He uses difficulties and afflictions and dire straits. Everything is going to turn out for good because David is in the hand of God.

I’m reading in 1 Samuel 19. 

1. Saul is talked out of killing David, vv. 1-7.

A. Notice that the last verse of chapter 18 is David going out to fight the Philistines. He’s victorious, behaving himself wisely, distinguishing himself, and doing well.

B. David’s success is a trigger for Saul so that he considers David his enemy.

1. He thinks: If David prospers I’m losing. If He loses, I win.

2. It’s the zero-sum game that the devil plays. If you win, I lose. If I win, you lose. It’s me or you but not both of us. One of us has to lose and it isn’t going to be me.

3. This brings in jealousy, envy, competition, and hatred directed against David. It’s all self-centred, it’s self-preservation at all costs. There’s no love in this.

C. So Saul gives the orders to kill David.

D. Jonathan pushes back with facts, logic, and reason. And he convinces Saul. “You’re right. He isn’t out to get me. He’s a good guy. You’re right.”

2. Everything is okay until David’s next victory, then Saul reverts to jealousy and fear, vv. 8-17.

A. David goes in as before to play for Saul when he suffers from this evil spirit. You have to admire David’s courage because he’s had to dodge Saul twice. But Saul does it again, and David dodges Saul’s spear and runs.

B. This time it’s for good. Saul sends messengers to watch David’s house, and his wife Michal says, “If you don’t get out of here tonight you’ll be dead by morning.” He escapes and she covers her involvement by saying he threatened her.

3. God protects David at Samuel’s place, vv. 18-24.

A. David escapes to Samuel’s home town, Ramah. Samuel anointed him king by the word of the Lord. He is a mentor of sorts to David. He can get counsel and protection for a little while.

B. Notice v. 19: It was told to Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” This begins the constant spying and informing against David.

1. People all around him are reporting his location so that Saul can find him. And it’s for a reward, to get in good with Saul. This will go on for years.

2. These informers are seeing an opportunity to make their situation better, and it depends on making David’s situation worse. It’s a zero-sum game. There’s no love here.

3. People might appear friendly but they could well inform on him. He can’t trust anyone. David loses his good name and the respect from Israel.

C. Three times Saul sends messengers to take David. This means hit squads to kill him. But three times the Spirit of the Lord comes upon these men and they prophesy. They become aware of the glory of God and are overcome with amazement and they are basically helpless in this realization.

D. Saul is getting frustrated. I wonder if he’s thinking, “If you want something done right, ya gotta do it yourself.” Or, “Well, I know for sure one person whom the Holy Spirit is NOT going to come upon, and that’s ME.”

E. But notice, the Holy Spirit comes upon even Saul, the one whom God fired, who is disobeying Him, who is an enemy of the king whom God anointed. He is helpless before God. Now, if the Holy Spirit can come upon Saul, then He can come upon you as well. Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:13

4. David meets with Jonathan, and it is wonderful to see their covenant of the Lord put to the test and hold firm, vv. 1-23.

A. David convinces Jonathan that he really is in trouble. 

1. David says, “What have I done wrong that your father is trying to kill me?” And Jonathan doesn’t believe him at first. “Man, if my father was trying to kill you he’d tell me about it. That’s not so.”

2. But instead of saying, “You’re just paranoid and trying to get me to go against my father,”Jonathan hears David out and eventually says, “Okay, whatever you say I will do it for you.”

B. It’s the feast of the New Moon, David should be there to eat with the king. Tell Saul that David had to be with his whole family for the yearly sacrifice. Lay it on thick: it’s for the whole family, he couldn’t miss it. If Saul blows up, realise he has decided on evil.

C. But why wait for him? If I am sinning, why not kill me now? Jonathan says again, no way. But he still doesn’t really think it’s as bad as David thinks. And they renew their covenant of the Lord. He will always be between them, He is the one who connects and unites them in relationship. God is the strength of their bond, it is a bond of chesed, of strong, faithful love of God.

D. They set up signs so that they can communicate without anyone knowing what is going on. If they are caught it’ll look like conspiracy and it’s not going to go well for Jonathan.

E. The first night of the feast Saul says nothing. “He’s probably unclean. It’s okay, it’s okay.”

F. But the second night he asks Jonathan, “Where is the son of Jesse?” 

1. That’s a bad sign right there, that he can’t bring himself to call David by his first name. To call someone by just “son of” without also using his first name is disrespectful. 

2. That’s when Jonathan tells him David is at the yearly family sacrifice and Saul hits the roof, calls Jonathan insulting name, tells him you are being disloyal to me and you won’t have a throne if he sticks around. It’s him or you. The zero-sum game. He is your enemy. And he throws a spear at Jonathan just to make his point.

G. But Jonathan holds fast in covenant to David and gets up angry because his father is dishonouring David.

5. Saul is furious, Jonathan is furious, and David has to flee, vv. 24-42.

A. Jonathan goes out to the rock where David is hiding and takes some target practice. He gives the second sign. He shoots arrows, and yells to his little helper boy the code: “Are not the arrows beyond you?” Then he sends the little helper boy back to the city with his gear. No one could question the boy and find out anything. “No, he was by himself when I left him.”

B. David comes out and meets Jonathan and they both weep. This is awful.

1. David has no job. He has to leave the court, his position in the army and in the government. 

2. He’s had to leave his wife, she can’t come with him. He’s lost his home, with all its comforts. He’s lost his family, they can’t support him without Saul taking revenge on them. No income. No security; Saul is looking to kill him, people are informing on him; he can’t trust anyone.

3. He can’t stay with Samuel, his mentor, he even has to leave Jonathan, the one guy he CAN trust, who has stuck up for him over his own father. They have a covenant of the Lord, there is no question about their commitment to one another. No more help from his closest friend. 

6. So what?

A. We think that the anointed of God would be blessed, that everything would go right, and there wouldn’t be any difficulties. You marry the king’s daughter, you command a thousand soldiers, you win every battle. 

B. But it looks like God isn’t even there. Everything is going wrong. Saul is bent on killing David. He has to flee for his life. He loses everything. If you only go by what you see you would conclude that there is no God. Random forces are in control of your life and Murphy’s Law reigns.

C. You have to know what God is doing that you can’t see. He is humbling David. 

1. God is removing all David’s relationships that he could rely upon for support. David has to experience that he must rely upon God alone. That’s really hard. It seems hard, unfair, mean of God. But this is how you learn that God alone is enough. 

2. On the other hand the Lord is saving David, protecting him. He will never allow Saul or any enemy to prevail over David.

3.  From here on David must rely on His covenant relationship with the Lord, that God is for him, that God will accomplish all things that concern him. That becomes more important to him than anything else. 

4. God is teaching David that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. David already knows that because Moses wrote it down. But it has to be more than words on a page. Now David learns it is true by experience. He will know by experience that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. He experienced that. He is the testimony to God.

D. There is something more important than having a nice, smooth life. That is learning humility, to stop thinking about yourself, to go from being self-centred to being God-centred. 

1. This is the very attitude of God. This is what makes Him God: He is not thinking about Himself; He thinks of others. Everyone in covenant relationship with Him learns that without exception.

2. Israel already has a king that thinks only of himself. He doesn’t go God’s way, he only does what is right in his own eyes. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

3. God wants a king for Israel that will only go His way because that will be the best for everyone.

4. You are going through difficult times to learn the same things as David. You also will learn humility before God and to go God’s way only.

E. There is a teaching that if you are right with God then you will be healthy and prosperous. You will not be sick, you will not go through difficulty, you will not be in need. If this is true, then David must be sinning against God. Job must have sinned against God, and Paul, and Peter, because they both suffered greatly, and Jesus should be the worst because He was crucified. He suffered greatly and lost everything, He must not have been in right relationship with God.

F. But that’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Here is the biblical teaching. 

1. Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. 

2. We are perfected in the same way. Hebrews 12:7-11 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

G. If you are going through a difficult time and you are isolated, just realise: It is not God punishing you. It is not the devil. You are in God’s hand. He is disciplining you to depend on Him. You will share His holiness. Your salvation is right on schedule. God is going to give you grace. 

H. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. 

1. Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

2. God doesn’t want anything from the wicked because He knows their hearts. He’s not impressed. 

3. You think you’re being a bother to God, always asking. You delight Him when you pray, because you’re asking for what He wants to do in you. 

Let’s pray.