The Story Week 11

Sorry, I got sidetracked and didn't post there for a few weeks. Let's get back on track. I want to tackle this chapter by dividing it up by characters. I want to focus our attention on the 3 main characters in this chapter because all of us are, in some ways, similar to these characters. Let’s work backwards from bad to better.  

Saul
Saul started out as an alright guy. However, somewhere along the way he became full of himself, greedy, cruel and disregarded the things God. God had picked him as the first monarch of the chosen nation, and that went to his head. God’s blessing can actually turn into a burden and problem if we don’t handle it correctly. A talent can become a stumbling block. A relationship can cause stress and sin instead of comfort and godliness, etc.

Saul’s issues before David comes on the scene are obviously centered around his own poor decision making. The worst decision being that he thought he could approach God on his own terms by offering a sacrifice Samuel was to make. When he does that the Bible says “the Spirit of the Lord left Saul.” From then on it pops up throughout the story that Saul is tormented by a spirit from the Lord. “The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul.” What does this mean? How can this be the case when the Bible teaches that God is completely just and does not do anything that could be considered wrong? Gen 18:25, Deut 32:4.

We need to understand several things about ancient Hebrew thinking, literature and definitions. First, ancient Hebrew writers commonly employed a literary tool called a “metonymy of subject” in which someone who passively allows something to happen is said to actually have done it. So it is possible that saying this evil spirit was from the Lord could actually mean the Lord didn’t stop something that was trying to happen. Next we need to understand the words. Evil (ra or ra-ah) can mean evil in the spiritual sense. However, this word also often meant anything negative in any way. It is elsewhere translated as angry, unhappy, bad, sad, and tormenting. Spirit (ruach) is also a very broad term that can mean spirit, soul, breadth, wind, mind, attitude, or disposition. So, to say an evil spirit came from the Lord can mean anything from God sent a demon to torment Saul, to God stepped back and allowed Saul’s disposition to become aggravated. Which one makes more sense in light of God’s character?

Do you want to know my theory on what’s going on here?
-Saul rashly made his soldiers take ridiculous oaths.
-He was ready to kill his son because he ate honey. Had the crowd not intervened he would have.
-He was paranoid that David was trying to kill him, or at least trying to take his kingdom.
-He was prone to outbursts of anger and violence (chucking spears at David).
-Saul was bothered that girls sang songs that David killed more people (self important).
 -Saul was often troubled and music calmed him greatly.
-Saul committed suicide on the battlefield.

Symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia from the Mayo Clinic
• Auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices
• Delusions, such as believing a co-worker wants to poison you
• Anxiety
• Anger
• Emotional distance
• Violence
• Argumentativeness
• Self-important or condescending manner
• Suicidal thoughts and behavior
A 2006 study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry concluded that music was nearly always soothing during a schizophrenic episode and patients engaged in music therapy had a measurable decrease in symptoms. David played music for Saul and it soothed him. I think Saul was schizophrenic and God kept it at bay because he had chosen Saul as king. I think after Saul disobeyed God so many times and God removed his anointing from Saul it allowed the mental illness to run its course.

 Now, just because you aren’t schizophrenic that doesn’t mean there is nothing to learn from Saul. AND, I’m not saying that if you struggle with a sin God will strike you with schizophrenia. There are some things we see in Saul that could pop up in us without being diagnosed with a mental illness. Jealousy is probably the biggest.  

Jonathan
Saul’s son and assumed heir to the throne sees this kid David kill Goliath and is so full of respect and admiration that they become best friends. The thing about Jonathan that I want to focus on is his humble recognition of David’s greatness and his loyalty to the future king. Think about that, Jonathan is actually the next in line to be king when he meets David. However, one of the first things he does is give David his royal robe. That was not just sign of friendship. That was a recognition of authority. The royal robe was to be worn only by royalty.

The story of David and Jonathan is one of the most famous stories, not just in the Bible but also in all of antiquity, of devoted brotherly friendship. How can we develop this level of friendship with the people around us? Well, we aren’t going to be at that level with every person we know. We just aren’t. There are people you naturally closer to than others. But we can develop every friendship we have to be a little better than it is now. The key to their friendship is that Jonathan valued David above himself and vice versa. They were both had a claim to the throne (one by blood and the other by prophecy) but there is not a hint of bitterness, resentment, jealousy, competition or striving for power between them. The only dynamic that is clearly present is an ongoing concern for the other person’s well being. If you want to have this kind of friendship you have to be this kind of friend. You have to put competitiveness and jealousy aside and genuinely want good fortune for the other person.

 Also, and kind of related to that last idea, you have to see greatness in others. If all of my relationships function to make me feel good and confirm to me how great I am, I’ll never have the kind of friendships David and Jonathan had. Lastly, you have to stay committed to friendships when it gets difficult. Think of how much easier it would have been for Jonathan to bail out of this friendship.

 David
Of course, the main character in this part of the story is David. The great thing about David’s story is that it shows the great disparity between how people assess things and how God assesses things. Nobody around David saw anything great in David. His brothers belittle him and yell at him for leaving the sheep long enough to check on his brothers, but God said he cared for the sheep selflessly and faithfully. Goliath calls him a twig, but God calls him the Branch of Jesse, from whom a root would grow that would be the Messiah. Even his own father didn’t bother calling for him when Samuel said, “one of your sons will be king”, but God said “that’s the next king.”
What did God see in David that impressed him so much?
 1. He was faithful when nobody was looking. When he is convincing Saul to let him fight Goliath he recounts how he fought off ferocious beasts to save his sheep. When David was about 16 he was wandering the wilderness for days at a time, figuring out where water and vegetation were and fighting off bears and lions with a stick! Acting with courage and integrity when nobody is around to pat you on the back is the foundation of greatness.
2. He was a faithful friend to Jonathan. I’ve already talked about Jonathan’s side of this, but the friendship was mutual.
3. He respected authority. In the Marine Corps you can always tell which Marines will be the worst Sergeants because they are the Lance Corporals and Corporals who are constantly trash talking and pushing limits with Sergeants. Those who made the best NCO’s were the most respectful when they had no rank. In order to be a respected authority you must respect authority.
4. He was a man after God’s heart. What does that mean? It means what David wanted most in life was whatever God wanted. He didn’t try to bend God to his will but tried to bend himself to God’s will. So in David, God saw a loyal, humble and courageous person who wanted to please God at all costs and respected his leader even though his leader really sucked. (Obviously, this is way before the whole Bathsheba debacle, but at this point David’s integrity and loyal heart are what got God’s attention).

 So, which of these people do you associate with most? It’s probably some sort of mix. The reality is all of us have some very messed up stuff that we need to learn how to keep in check. Like Saul, we must learn to let God lead our lives or we can lose what God has given us. Like David we all have the potential to do amazing things way beyond what we think we are capable of. Like Jonathan we can all be that kind of friend who is loyal, sees the best in others, and is instrumental in getting others to the place God wants them.