Journey Thru The Bible! (1 Samuel 22 - 24)

Click on the above Scripture to read today's text!

Today, we read the story of a madman! If fact, we can ascribe a title to Chapter 22 as "The Diary Of A Madman!' It's become obvious in this chapter that King Saul has gone over the edge - mentally! He's not thinking straight! His pride and jealousy are now ruling his life! He's in the state of paranoia!

1) Pride and jealousy can lead to paranoia! As we read chapter 22, we get a great glimpse of just how arrogant and jealous King Saul has become! As he hears of David's whereabouts, he goes into a tirade and starts accusing people of things they didn't do. Look at what he does...

- First, he has to remind his closest associates (his officers) of just how great he is! In verse 7, the Bible says, "Saul shouted to his officers when he heard the news. 'Has that son of Jesse promised every one of you fields and vineyards? Has he promised to make you all generals and captains in his army?' " They're probably rolling their eyes and thinking, "Wow, he's really lost it!"

- Next, he falsely accuses his officers of a conspiracy! 22:8 - "Is that why you have conspired against me? For not one of you told me when my own son made a solemn pact with the son of Jesse." They had no clue Jonathan and David had made a pact! This was something only Jonathan and David knew about. Jonathan must have told his dad, but Saul somehow assumes his officers knew about this too! He accused them before he ever questioned them!

- Then, he asks for self-pity! He says in verse 8, "You're not even sorry for me." What a baby! He has gotten used to praise and status, and now it's all gone to his head. He can't understand why his officers don't feel the pain he feels. He feels cheated and deceived, and he blames them for showing him no pity.

- Next, he actually thinks his son is out to kill him! The fact is, Jonathan loves his father, and has served his father faithfully for many years sacrificing his own life for his father's glory. Saul falsely assumes that this pact between his son and David is an attempt to overthrow his rule as King. How absurd his manner of thinking has become! He's become totally paranoid about this whole thing with David!

2) Pride and jealousy leads to the unthinkable! The remaining verses in chapter 22 is the horrible result of pride and jealousy getting out of control and taking over the mind and heart of King Saul! Arrogance has manipulated his mind to create things that just aren't there! Now, Saul will go down in the history of Israel as being Israel's "madman!" He does the unthinkable when he falsely accuses Ahimilech, the priest, of conspiracy. As a result, he kills all of the priests, their families, and their livestock - except for one (Abiathar)! The priests were God's servants! And, he kills them for an alleged conspiracy with an alleged enemy. Saul is living and carrying out cruel judgment based on lies within his own mind! This is exactly what happens when pride, power, position, and praise goes to your head!

3) The Ephod is still used to direct God's people! Somehow the high priest's ephod containing the Urim and Thummin has survived down through the years. If you remember, the Urim and Thummin were precious stones that God used to tell Israel His will. Abiathar was able to reestablish connection with the ephod and he urgently brought it to David. As David prayed to God, the Urim and Thummin offered God's answer for what David needed to do.

Wouldn't it be nice if finding God's will was a simple as that today?

4) Respect God's anointed! I love how David, when faced with the opportunity to kill King Saul in a cave, respected the fact that God had originally chose Saul to be the King of Israel. David has respect for God's decision, not Saul's attitude or acts of cruelty. Even though Saul had gone over to the dark side (so to speak), David respected King Saul as God's anointed servant.

David acted in a way that all of us today should act when it comes to our Christian friends, and especially our pastors! We should respect them as God's anointed servants! Even though Saul committed murder and did the unthinkable, still David wouldn't accuse Saul or even manipulate him in any way! He left things in God's hands!

That's exactly how we ought to act today! Unfortunately, most Christians don't have the integrity or faith to be like David. They take matters into their own hands and forget that God sees everything, knows everything, and can handle the situation at hand! Many Christians talk about their pastors behind their backs or even manipulate things to get them out of their office as pastor. They excuse their actions by saying, "Well, you wouldn't believe what our pastor is doing." Even though he (or she) may be doing things in a way that you don't approve of, you still need to show them respect, discuss it calmly with them, and take the matter to God. God can change ANYTHING! But, He does it through prayer! Even if you win the matter, God may end up punishing you for showing a lack of respect for His anointed. Be careful!

May the Lord give you a productive day!