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FIRST
SAMUEL
First Samuel was taught by Dr. James Modlish
CHAPTER
TWENTY FOUR
OUTLINE OF THE
CHAPTER:
I. THE LORD DELIVERS
SAUL INTO DAVID'S HANDS - (1-8)
II. DAVID DECLARES HIS
INNOCENCE TO SAUL - (9-15)
III. DAVID AND SAUL REACH A
TEMPORARY TRUCE - (16-22)
I. THE LORD DELIVERS SAUL
INTO DAVID'S HANDS - (1-8)
Saul returns from a
short diversionary skirmish with the Philistines. The "momentum" of the game suddenly shifts into David's
favor. At the end of chapter (23), Saul was "hot" on
David's trail and had the definite advantage, from a
human standpoint. In chapter (24), Saul unwittingly
chooses the very cave David and his men are hiding in to
"bed down" for the night. God certainly has a sense of
humor.
Saul considers this very
serious business, he has chosen 3,000 elite storm-
troopers, to go against the motley crew of 600 social
rejects (23:13) that for many different reasons have
decided to join forces with the king in exile.
In verse four, David's men
encourage him to take full advantage of the God- given
opportunity to kill his adversary,. David is not.
interested in taking the responsibility of killing the
king, into his own hands, regardless of the
circumstances. David's wisdom proves why he is the leader
and they are the followers; he considers all aspects of
the decision, for he, as the leader, must live with the
responsibility of the consequences of his decisions. It
is easy to make a hasty decision as to what you would do,
when you don't have to live with the decision afterwards.
"If I were him, I'd kill the...." We have many armchair
quarterbacks in Christianity.
Instead of slitting Saul's
throat, he cuts off a piece of his outer garment off, to
prove that he has been in the near vicinity. After all,
if he can get away with a piece of his clothing, he could
have taken his life' David's heart is very tender; verse
five says that, his "heart smote him," he felt guilty
even cutting his clothing. You would think that David
would have been a bit more hardhearted after all that has
happened. We might ask ourselves, "Why wasn't he bitter?"
David was able to maintain a proper attitude and
perspective in spite of the intense pressures applied
upon him. The exceptions prove the rule
(21:13).
"...He is the anointed of
the Lord." (Psa. 105:15; 1 Sam. 26:9,11,16,23). God had
placed Saul in his position of authority, it was God's
responsibility to remove him and David knew He would when
the time was right. David was able to maintain an
objective perspective on the whole situation, for he knew
God was in control!
As Saul leaves the cave in
the morning, David follows him out and reveals his
presence in a most humbling fashion, "he stooped ...
bowed himself."
Some vocabulary: sheepcotes
(vs. 3) - a small pen or enclosure for sheep; privily
(vs. 4) privately; stayed (vs. 7) - to stop; to stand
still; to forbear to act; to remain.
II. DAVID DECLARES HIS
INNOCENCE TO SAUL - (9-15)
"Wherefore (why)
hearest thou men's words .... The "grapevine" is often a
very unreliable source of information. Human nature being
what it is, has an uncanny ability to pervert, twist,
misrepresent, exaggerate, and just simply lie, concerning
information about other people (I might add ... about you
too). The dangers of believing or passing on such
information (gossip) are frightening in their potential.
Of course, then there is Saul's problem, gossip really
was not the issue. David is being most kind blaming
others for the false information, for it was Saul who had
imagined, through sin, envy, and jealousy, that David was
his enemy. Such was not the case. Two rules: don't pass
on second hand, or for that matter, first hand
information, that is unnecessarily derogatory; secondly,
don't believe 50%-75% of what you hear about yourself
good or bad!!!
Notice, that in (vs. 11),
David calls Saul, "my father," and in (vs. 16), Saul
calls David, "my son." In the strictest sense of the
terms, neither is true, yet, we see that the Bible's
terminology is not always confined to the strictest sense
of any word, context determines meaning, for David is
Saul's son-in-law (1 Sam. 18:20; 19:11). This is very
important for this use of terminology explains a "Bible
contradiction" in the New Testament, in (Matt. 1:16 and
Lk. 3:23). In (Matt. 1:16), Joseph is the son of Jacob;
in (Lk. 3:23), he is the son of Heli. In (Lk. 3), you
have Mary's lineage, Heli is Mary's father, and Heli is
Joseph's father-in-law! There is no contradiction, the
terms are valid.
In (vss. 12,5), you have an
excellent example of how to pray for/against your
enemies. Instead of taking things into your own incapable
hands, pray, "The Lord Judge between me and thee...." It
is very difficult to pray this way when you are
wrong!
"Wickedness proceedeth from
the wicked." The idea is, you don't get bananas from an
apple tree. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth
speaks."
In (vs. 14) David asks Saul
why the King of Israel is wasting his time on an
insignificant individual like himself, "a flea, a
dog.
III. DAVID AND SAUL REACH A
TEMPORARY TRUCE - (16-22)
"Saul lifted up his
voice and wept" (vs. 16). "For godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the
sorrow of this world worketh death." (2 Cor. 7:10). Verse
(11) follows with the "fruits of repentance." Confession
(17-19) and tears (vs. 16) are not enough. Notice, that
Saul's confession omits the fact that he has sinned
against God! See (Psa. 51:4; Gen. 39:9). Esau is probably
the classic example of this failure. "...when he would
have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he
found no place of repentance, though he sought it
carefully with tears." (Heb. 12:17)
"...For thou has rewarded me
good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil." (vs. 17), (Rom.
12:21).
Saul prophesies that David
will be king (vs. 20), yet, in his heart, he cannot
accept God's plan. Saul's self-pride and envy of David,
are his greatest enemies. A man left to himself,
rejecting God's direction in his life, will eventually
destroy himself.
Mephibosheth, (2 Sam.
9:1ff), becomes the recipient of the promise of (vs. 20).
See also (1 Sam. 20:15; 2 Sam. 21:7).
"David sware...," his word
was as good as gold.
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