April 14 - 1 Samuel 17:32-19:17 | Psalm 59 | 1 Samuel 19:18-24

Good morning everyone,

We begin our reading this morning with David presenting his resume to Saul in an effort to convince him that though he may not be as big as Goliath he is confident he will have no trouble taking him down, after all rescuing sheep from the mouths of lion or bear was routine for this kid. Right? Finally Saul says, “Alright then, go, and the Lord be with you.” So go David does, stopping at the stream on his way to pick up five smooth stones and it is with only those and his sling that David goes before the giant Philistine. He listens to a bit of taunting and then lets one of the stones fly, nailing Goliath in the head, killing him. He then takes Goliath’s own sword to cut off his head, which seems pretty gross to me, but nonetheless that’s what he did and took it with him when Saul asked to see him. Seriously? Can you imagine carrying the head of anyone much less a giant of a man around with you? It couldn’t have been too bad though as Saul initially was most pleased with David and made him a high ranking officer in his army.

Everywhere David went to fight the Lord was with him and he was quite victorious. The people loved David and so it happened one afternoon when David and company were returning from a battle women in the town came out with musical instruments singing and dancing to the words, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This did not bode well with Saul, he was very angry they had given David more credit than him and then started trying to “off” David. Jonathan, the king’s son had become a very close friend to David and tried to appease the king but that only lasted a shot time and soon Saul sent men to David’s house to kill him. Michal, David’s wife would help him escape his home but before he left David sat down and wrote out a beautiful prayer, Psalm 59, to God. There is not enough room to write all that could be said about seeking God’s protection and guidance. Soon we’ll see that God answers his prayer and protects him from Saul’s men and Saul himself.

When David made his escape, because Samuel had always given him assurance, he fled to see him and tell him all of what was going on. Saul got wind of where David was and sent a group of men to capture him however when they got there and saw a group of prophets prophesying the Spirit of God came on them and they prophesied too. Saul sent men three times with the same result before he finally, in his anger.  decided to go and see what was going on ever there. When he got there we’re told the Spirit of the Lord came even on him, and he too prophesied, this time though it was no longer a confirmation of his ministry as before when he prophesied, no, this time God was running a block for David and though Saul was receptive to the Holly Spirit, his heart and his mind were still not changed, he was still far from loving God and thinking godly thoughts.

Our heart and it’s desires, dictates to a great extent how we live, for we do what we enjoy and we seek to destroy what we do not. In Proverbs 4:23 Solomon cautions us to guard our heart above everything. Make sure your affections push you in the right direction. Put boundaries on your affections and don't get sidetracked on detours that lead to sin. Keep your eyes on the the prize. Amen?

God bless you all, to God be the glory.

Have a great day …