Are You a “Saul” or a “David”?

Are you a “Saul” or a “David”? This is a question the Holy Spirit asked me recently.

I think most of us are familiar with these two biblical kings of Israel. You can read this history in I and II Samuel, but here’s a brief summary.

Saul was the first king of Israel. David was the second. After Israel’s repeated cries for a king to rule over them like the kings of the surrounding nations, God instructed Samuel to anoint Saul, a Benjamite, as the first king of Israel. You see, although God wanted to continue to rule and guide His people directly, Israel wanted to pattern themselves after the heathen nations around them whom served earthly kings. (I Samuel 8:5 – 9:2)

And God gave Israel what they asked for; all the while knowing that it would end badly for Saul.  But also knowing He had another man waiting in the wings, a man after His own heart. (I Samuel 8:10-17, 13:14)

Saul

Saul looked the part. If you were going to pick a king based on outward appearances, Saul would be your man. The bible records that he was head and shoulders taller than everyone else. But Saul had shortcomings that you couldn’t see from the outside. He had heart problems. One of Saul’s main issues was that he feared the people more than he feared the Lord. He lived for the approval of man. I can relate. I’ve lived most of my 30 something years seeking the approval of others. I’ve come to learn that you can only serve one master.   (I Samuel 9:2, Matthew 6:24)

But back to the story…

Saul’s shortcomings cost him dearly. Through Samuel, God instructed King Saul to go and attack the Amakelites, a nation that had abused the children of Israel on their journey from Egypt to Canaan. God’s instruction was to utterly destroy the Amakelites and to spare none. No one and no thing. Not even the sheep and oxen. (I Samuel 15:1-3)

But Saul, by his own admission, feared the people and gave into their pleas to spare the choice oxen, sheep, and lambs as well as Agag, king of the Amalekites. Saul disobeyed the Lord’s explicit command. (I Samuel 15:7-9)

As He always did, the Lord sent His prophet to rebuke Saul. But before Samuel uttered a word, King Saul touted how he had performed the commandment of the Lord. (I Samuel 15:10-13)

How could Saul say that? He clearly heard what Samuel told him to do. Surely Saul could have deduced that what he was told to do and what he actually did were not in line. 

But sin is blinding. Sin dulls the spiritual senses to the point that we can say one thing and do another, without giving a thought to the contradiction.

When Samuel called him on his lie, Saul admitted the people wanted to spare the choice animals, but with the intent of making sacrifices to God. (I Samuel 15:14-21)

You see what Saul did? He didn’t take responsibility for what he allowed the people to do.  And to make matters worse, he tried to explain away his blatant disobedience by claiming the choice animals would be used to make religious sacrifices to the Lord.

There’s no excuse for sin, no matter how much we try to justify it with refrains like, “Well, God knows my heart,” or “At least, I am not as bad as so and so.”  Or “I still go to church and read my bible, so I’m good.”

When we make these internal excuses, we are lying to ourselves just like Saul was lying to himself. But Saul’s sin was serious to the Lord and had dire consequences. Saul’s disobedience cost him the kingdom of Israel.

Samuel the prophet made it clear to Saul that he did not obey the Lord’s commandment and that the Lord desires obedience rather than sacrifice. (I Samuel 15:22)

God wants our obedience, not our religions habits and double speak.

Then after this teaching moment, Samuel laid on the heavy news that because Saul continued to reject the word of the Lord, the Lord had rejected Saul from being king. (I Samuel 15:23) And this was not the first time Saul had been warned. See I Samuel 13:8-14.

So Saul’s “after the fact” pleas for forgiveness and final confessions did not change God’s mind. The kingdom was taken from Saul and would be given to another. (I Samuel 15:24-28)

David

Enter David:

Most of us are very familiar with King David. The youngest son of Jesse, the shepherd boy turned slayer of Goliath, the musician and psalmist and warrior and the greatest King of Israel, the one whose line would bring forth the King of kings and Lord of lords.  That David.

But if Saul looked the part of king, David did not, not even to Samuel whom the Lord instructed to anoint David as Israel’s next king. It was always tradition that the oldest son took preeminence over the younger ones, and David was number eight of eight sons. When Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse’s first born, he assumed Eliab was God’s anointed one. But God used this moment to teach Samuel (and the whole world) an important lesson. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. (I Samuel 16:6-7)

And it was David’s heart that set him apart from all his older brothers and from Saul. That’s why he was God’s chosen one.

David was a man after God’s own heart. (I Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22)

Many of us have heard that line before, but perhaps we’ve never thought about what it really means. David’s heart, meaning his will, his thoughts, his desires, were aligned with God’s.  If it was true and good to God, it was true and good to David. God had the final say in David’s life. And even as a young man looking after his father’s sheep, David had followed God’s leading long enough to know God, to trust in His word, to obey Him, to love Him.

David’s first hand experience with God’s goodness, mercy, faithfulness and power is what enabled him to stand before a nine foot giant with a sling and stones when the whole army of Israel cowered in fear. (I Samuel 17)

Defeating this giant would be David’s first public victory. Unfortunately, David’s greatest failure would be public as well.

You see, although David was a man after God’s own heart, he was not perfect. He made mistakes, big ones in fact. Like Saul, David had heart issues, which came to light one day in Jerusalem.

Israel’s army had just won yet another victory under David’s kingship. This time, it was the Syrians who bit the proverbial dust. Having racked up victory after victory, David had grown complacent. The bible tells us that at the end of the year, during the time when kings go out with the army to battle, David decided to stay back in Jerusalem. He sent his head general Joab on to keep fighting with the army. (II Samuel 10:17 – 11:2)

This sets the stage for the first sinful domino to fall.

One evening, David got off his bed (see, he had fallen asleep…that will preach to someone), went to the roof of his house and saw a beautiful woman bathing across the way. The scriptures tell us that David then asked about her. One of his servants told him that this beautiful woman was Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. WIFE. (II Samuel 11:1-3)

And the rest, they say, is history. The messy details that follow could have been a storyline for a modern day soap opera. (II Samuel 11:4-27)

To sum it, David sent for Bathsheba, slept with her and got her pregnant. (I said it was messy). And then to cover up the pregnancy, David ordered his general to send Uriah home, all in a scheme to get Uriah intoxicated enough to sleep with Bathsheba, his wife. The scheme failed because unlike David in this story, Uriah had integrity and wouldn’t indulge in the comforts of home while his fellow soldiers were on the battlefield.  So David sent Uriah back to battle with a letter for Joab. The letter instructed Joab to place Uriah in the heat of the battle. (That’s low: having a man unknowingly deliver a letter that would cause his own demise).

This time, David’s plan worked. Uriah was killed in battle. It’s get worst. When Joab sent messengers to tell David news of the heated battle and of Uriah’s death, David’s reply to Joab essentially was, “Don’t let his death bother you. People die in battle. That’s the way it is.” (I Samuel 11:25)

Now David knew full well that he ordered Uriah to be placed in the heavy battle where he would almost certainly be killed.

How could David say that? Surely David could have deduced that what he said was pretty calloused in light of his interference.

But again, as it did with Saul, David’s sin blinded him.

If sin is a blinder, then the word if God is an enlightener. And during this time, the word of God came through His prophets. (Hebrews 1:1)

So as with Saul, the Lord sent His word of rebuke through his prophet. This time, God sent Nathan.

God had Nathan tell David a parable about a rich man with many flocks and a poor man who had only one lamb. The poor man cared for his lamb as if it was his daughter. When a hungry traveler came to the rich man for help, the rich man didn’t give the traveller anything to eat out of his abundance of flocks. Instead, the rich man took the poor man’s one lamb, killed it, and gave it to the traveller to eat. (II Samuel 12:1-4)

That’s pretty cruel, right? David thought so too, but David did not get that he was the rich man in the story until Nathan made it clear, “Thou art the man.” (II Samuel 12:7)

And just as with Saul, David’s disobedience cost him dearly. Nathan explained that because David disobeyed the commandment of the Lord by taking another man’s wife and life, the sword would never leave David’s house, meaning David would always be at war. He would never have peace in his kingdom or even in his own house. David thought he committed these sins secretly, but God saw everything. (II Samuel 12:9-10-12) And all of Israel would see the consequences of David’s sins. You can read about the horrible plight of David’s children if you keep reading in II Samuel. Look up Amnon and Absalom.

And how did David first respond to all of this hard news?

David agreed with Nathan. He willingly admitted, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Unlike Saul, David issued no excuses or denials. When the light of truth shined on David’s dark deeds, he didn’t try to reason them away with empty justifications. He let the light in. And as a result, Nathan assured David that although the consequences would be severe, the Lord would put away David’s sin, and David would not die. (II Samuel 12:13)

That bears repeating: David sins would be put away, and David would not die. The kingdom would remain in the line of David.

David and Bathsheba’s child died, but in His mercy, God permitted Bathsheba to conceive again, and she gave birth to Solomon: third king of Israel, wisest man to ever live and the great builder of the holy temple of God. (II Samuel 12:14-24)

Conclusion

There is a monumental difference in the way Saul and David responded to God’s word. This monumental difference had to do with the hearts of these two kings.

As we discovered, one had a heart after God. So even when David committed unspeakable sins against the God he claimed to know and love, he repented sincerely.

David didn’t run into further darkness by hiding or blaming. He let the word of God cut deep. When his error was finally made plain, He cried out to God in all sincerity. He didn’t say, “Well, at least I’m not like Saul. He had the kingdom taken from him.” He didn’t say, “But I’m the anointed one, the one of who slayed Goliath. Surely God can overlook this infraction.”

Instead, he cried out to God for forgiveness and for help. He asked for mercy. He understood God was not looking for empty religious sacrifices or practices, but for a broken and contrite heart, a heart that is soft and pliable, a heart that is willing to admit that it’s wrong and desires to do what’s right in God’s sight, a heart that can be cleaned up and created new. 

Psalm 51 is David’s prayer to God after Nathan confronted him. This is the prayer of every true believer who is confronted with the shock and stain of his own sin.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightiest by justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou has broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy generous spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thou praise.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it; thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Sin is blinding and deceptive. Sin makes us prisoners. All sin, the sins we’ve committed and the sins committed against us, creates a wall of separation between God and us. And except for One, there is not a person on earth that has not been infected by it. (Ephesians 4:17-19, Romans 6:16-23, Isaiah 59:2-3, Romans 3:23)

But the word of God is light. It’s clear. The word of God is revealing. It’s like a sword that cuts through our intentions and reveals our actions. (Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 4:12)

It’s a mirror, reflecting our true nature in relation to Christ’s holy nature. (James 1:22-25)

And it’s true. It’s freeing. It’s sweeter than honey. It’s the bread of life.

It’s a healing balm to the wounds we’ve all suffered. (John 17:17, John 8:32, Psalm 19, Deuteronomy. 8:3, Psalm 107:20)

But yet, if it’s not applied to a receptive heart, it becomes withered and wastes away. (Matthew 13:1-18)

Like Saul and David, when the word of God reveals that our choices do not line up with God’s design, we must make a choice.  When God’s word shows us that something in our life, whether it be our eating habits, TV viewing, occasional foul language, bitterness, unforgiveness, social media addiction, source of income or, yes, even our sexual attractions, doesn’t line up with God’s word, we have to decide. Will we harden our hearts like Saul and make excuses? Will we blame others? Will we initially reject the word and only admit the truth once we’ve felt the consequences? Will we justify our actions by relying on our church attendance?

Or will we let the light in? Will we let the word of God cut out sin’s infection? Will we let it heal us? Clean us? Teach us so we can teach others?

May we understand that God’s word is immovable and unchanging. It doesn’t bend its knee to the 21^st century culture or postmodern mindset. And it’s written by our Creator, who not only knows what’s best for us, but desires to show us why and to help us live according to His design.

When we finally see our sin for what it is, it should break our hearts. And even then, God has promised to be near to us, for He is near to the brokenhearted. (Psalm 34:18)

And God has promised to give us a new heart, a heart like David’s; a heart that is receptive to His word. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Like David, we need only to cry out for it.

Let us each ask ourselves, “Who I am: a ‘Saul’ or ‘David’?”