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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
1 Sam. 28-31
When Saul sought Samuel from the dead, Samuel reminded him, “You did not obey the LORD and did not carry out his burning anger against Amalek” (1 Sam. 28:13a). That was the battle where Saul neglected to completely destroy everything, as God had commanded. In a later battle against the Philistines, Saul failed in his faithfulness to God again by letting his fear and impatience drive him to offer the sacrifices that were not his to offer. I see some interesting correlations in those two battles with what takes place in these final chapters of 1 Samuel.
I don’t know when those two battles happened in Saul’s reign, but this battle against the Philistines turns out to be his last. So twice now a battle against the Philistines becomes something of a gateway to David’s kingship. Interestingly, God set things up so that, while Saul fought his losing battle against the Philistines, David fought the Amalekites. The same two enemies; different battles. In his prior battle with the Philistines, Saul faced a difficult situation because his men were deserting him left and right while Samuel delayed in coming. Hence, his surrender to fear and impatience. We see a similar scenario for David with the Amalekites at this time. “David was in an extremely difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him” (1 Sam. 30:6a). Instead of losing faith, however, “David found strength in the LORD his God.” (1 Sam. 30:6c).
To some degree, it seems like God put both Saul and David through similar tests. One of the two kings remained faithful through it, while the other did not. Thus, the house of the faithless one was utterly destroyed. The house of the other, however, endures forever. So it comes back to the same two choices that have existed since the beginning of time. We can remain faithful to God and rest in His sure promise of abundant life. Or we can turn our own way to our own detriment.
Ps. 18
David and Saul – good versus evil. The one who loves God and the one who opposes Him. This is the Psalm that David wrote when God conquered evil, saving David from his enemy. It is a prophetic Psalm, very appropriately filled with imagery of the moment God conquered evil through Jesus’ death on the cross. “I called to the LORD in my distress …Then the earth shook and quaked” (Ps. 18:6a, 7a). We read in Matthew 27 of the moment of Jesus’ death. He cried out to God, yielded up His spirit, and then the earth shook. I have been aware of the prophetic nature of this Psalm for quite some time. However I am only now seeing that it is not merely the content that is prophetic. The timing and circumstances that prompted David to pen the Psalm are equally prophetic.