In God's Hands...Peace!

Though I do so enjoy today's chapter of 1 Samuel 18, I will be compelled to make a short entry today on it, since I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight before heading to Austin this weekend.

I cherish the friendship between David and Jonathan.

We know Jonathan to be a hero in his own right who had great confidence in God (chapter 14), so it only seems suitable that he should be knit to the soul of David after seeing him take vengeance on the Philistine who defied God!

• They were both bold.
  
• They both had great trust in God.
  
• They both were men of action.
  
• They were from the same generation.
  

Because these two young men were of one mind spiritually, they could share the same armor. Saul's was too weighty, but Jonathan and David were on the same page, with the same pure motive to serve God.

Jonathan chose David for a friend after he heard him reveal his heart to Saul. Perhaps David's longing for God's glory rang true to Jonathan as well. And at that point, Jonathan probably knew that David would be the next king of Israel.

All the tokens given to David by Jonathan is more than just tokens of love. It was a handing over, a surrendering of the kingdom to David. 

Jonathan being the son of the king, was everyone's expectation to be king of Israel. But Jonathan must have discerned, that David was God's man.

I love that they made a covenant of friendship that would prove stronger than jealousy, stronger than envy, stronger than ambition or parental disapproval. 

They loved each other more than the throne of Israel, because they loved the Lord more than the throne of Israel!

So Jonathan knew that the heir to the throne to the King of Israel was in God's hands, and he had peace with that!

Saul on the other hand, knew the same thing about the throne going to someone other than his son, yet he responded so differently...fueled by envy. 

He attempted to skewer David once, and shishkabob him another time. He then schemed to have David thrust into a deadly battle, but God was his shield and protected him in all he did.

Did you notice that? 

David escaped his presence twice:

Perhaps the most remarkable word in this chapter is twice. 

This means that Saul threw the spear twice. 

This means that Saul missed twice. 

This means that after the first miss, David came back and played again!

This is where many of us will draw the line. “Look, I’ll sit with the bulls-eye on my chest once, and I’ll dodge the spear. I’ll even leave the spear on floor and resist the temptation to throw it back. But one spear whizzing by my head is enough. One miss and I’ve paid my dues. Once is submission to the Lord. Twice is stupidity!”

Gene Edwards, in his wonderful book Tale of Three Kings, says that David understood something that few of even the wisest men in David’s day understood, and even fewer today. 

David understood that “God did not have, but wanted very much to have, men who would live in pain. God wanted a broken vessel.”

“In doing this small feat of returning thrown spears, you will prove many things. 

You are courageous. 

You stand for the right. 

You boldly stand against the wrong. 

You are tough and can’t be pushed around. 

You will not stand for injustice or unfair treatment. 

You are the defender of the faith, 

the keeper of the flame, 

detector of all heresy. 

You will not be wronged. 

All of these attributes then combine to prove that you are also obviously a candidate for kingship. 

Yes, perhaps you are the Lord’s anointed.... 

After the order of King Saul.”

David was never a victim. He looked like a victim, because he was attacked. When there are spears stuck in the wall behind you, and laying about on the floor, you sure look like a victim!

But David behaved wisely in all his ways, so he did not give into the victim’s state of mind, thinking that his fate was in the hands of the one attacking him. David knew his fate was in God’s hands, and could have peace in that.

Lord Jesus, thank You for wonderful, life-giving friends and a wonderful church family. I pray You will assist me to know what it is to have the circumstances of my fate in Your hands...and to have peace with it!