1 SAMUEL 19 - THE PATIENCE OF GOD
1 Samuel 19
The sad tale of Saul is a powerful lesson in sin. James tells us that:
…”no one [should] say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Saul who once hid himself from God’s calling and considered himself unworthy of the throne, is now full of the desire to make the nation of Israel his own, rather than a nation of God’s own people. Threatened by the clear anointing he sees in David’s life, Saul comes to the only conclusion to which sin will lead us, David needs to die.
When the bible tells us that the wages of sin is death, God does not only mean our physical death, He does not only mean our spiritual death (which leads to hell), God means that sin in our lives will leave the stench of death upon everything we touch. The bible tells us that as a result of Adam’s sin, all of nature felt the sting and groaned in anticipation of the coming savior, Jesus Christ.
Chapter 19 shows the result of sin and effects of death upon the life of Saul. Saul is becoming estranged from his eldest son Jonathan, who loves David and sees his father’s unjustified ill intent. Saul threatens his own daughter, whom he has given in marriage to David. And, of course, Saul is seeking to kill David; with implications not just for David, or for Saul, but for the entire nation of Israel, as David is their greatest general and champion. Truly Saul’s desires have given birth to sin, which will surely lead to death.
And yet we find God in the midst of all of this patiently seeking to turn to the heart of Saul. While God has turned his back on Saul the King, God has not forsaken Saul the man and even now would seek to lead him to repentance and reconciliation with the God who loves him. The bible tells us that God is patient, not wanting that any should perish.
We read that Saul sent messengers three times to find and kill David. But God interfered until Saul himself went in pursuit. And as Saul closes in on David, we read in 1 Samuel 19:23:
“And he [that is Saul] went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.”
While Saul is running in pursuit of his desires which will surely lead to death, God sends His Spirit to bring Saul life. The same is true for us.
God is seeking after you just as he was pursuing Saul. It doesn’t matter what you have done, and it does not matter what you are running after (whatever pursuit you believe will give you the life you want or deserve). Pursuing anything other than Jesus, can only lead to death. But God’s Spirit is calling after you also, to give you life. David, who was the object of Saul’s deadly desires, sums this up for us well in Psalm 139:
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
There is no place you can run from God. And why would you want to. His only desire for you is good.