Incidentally, on the subject of loyalty and duty, what good are the two if they don't work under pressure? What good is being loyal to someone if you're going to not be loyal as soon as things get tough, when they need you to be there? It makes me turn the searchlight on myself too. Have I been disloyal? Have I been quick to abandon my station?
when I should have stayed there. and done more. I think we all should from time to time. Consider that. Uh This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
Now, here's Pastor Rick in 1 Samuel chapter 19 with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. 1 Samuel chapter 19, the maniac monarch who is still. considering Saul can't get away from him. And It's what God wants us to really consider. That's why there's so much information about Him, and let's just be grateful.
He doesn't do this with all the villains. That would be really tough.
Well Saul's demonic obsession with murdering David, and that's what it is: cold-blooded murder. That's what he wants. It's now expanding. We read about him planning to kill David or attempting to kill him four times in the 18th chapter. In this chapter alone, and eight times, it comes up at least.
Depend again how you count. There's some hints of it you might want to. count that as an attempt. But he's under the influence. of evil.
And he's bloodthirsty because of it. And his son Jonathan, the heroic peacemaker. He's going to try to reason with his father. It will appear to succeed, but it will fail. Saul hunts David.
Because God has Bless David. And And Saul despises it. and he cannot get away from the words of the prophet Samuel. That We find in 1 Samuel 15: Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you. Today.
and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. I've repeated this verse through our study in Saul's life, well, David's life, and with Saul. Because they answer why, at least they get us close to why this man was such a fool. How the flesh just consumed him, even. On the eve of his death, Samuel will bring that up.
To Saul, you'll be with me because God's taken the kingdom from you. 'Cause you're a knucklehead. God's given you every opportunity, and you spit in His face now, you're going to die. You get that in chapter 28, where he again repeats what I just read from chapter 15. From the grave he's preaching that message.
And we listen and say, this must be big news. It must be something for us to pay attention to. Because the emphasis is so strong. He would never willfully give up the throne. He couldn't care who was dethroning him.
In this case, it was God. We would say it this way: no matter what the Bible says, that person's going to continue to sin like that. Without shame, without any. Resistance. Saul's not even resisting the sin at this point.
And he will spend the rest of his life clinging to what he cannot hold. what has already been removed from him, You would think a sane spiritual person would say, If God doesn't want me to have it, I'm better off without it. I better just let it go, especially with all of the circumstances surrounding this story. The same is true of the world. Satan, the God of this world.
and how he influences Those individuals who have the ability Two influence society, And change customs and times and events and The entertainment industry is very strong voice. A very powerful I mean, you can't watch a movie where they don't slip one profane word in. At least gotta have one.
Okay, the movie's good now.
Now I can enjoy it. I was so hoping you'd put that word in it, but it has an impact. They get away with it.
So they push more. The world. They are resisting The cross of Christ. Since the cross of Christ, Satan's thrown, has been deposed, has been stripped from him. The world is no longer rightfully his in that sense.
John's gospel before the cross on his way to the cross, Jesus said, Now is the judgment of this world, and the ruler of this world will be cast out. He said, once I die on the cross, I take the deed. The title deed of the earth. I take possession. the power of Satan to damn souls will be no more.
Well, he still can damn souls. But Because of the blood of Christ.
Souls who would otherwise be damned will be delivered. That sense. keeping this tight to the Story that we're considering here of a king. Who God has deposed, and Satan is very similar in that. He's lost, but he's still going to fight.
That's what I want to say. And Saul, being evil now, uses Satan, using it through Saul, the force of darkness. to make the life of this innocent man, David, Miserable. And the shame is passing away at a faster rate. When the Holy Spirit is not welcomed any longer in the life, then He leaves that life.
He abandons that person, And As a result, the void is filled with other things that aren't from God. We're told with Saul that a depressing spirit from the Lord came upon him. The Lord allowed it. Metaphorically, Saul, because of this, is a time bomb. ticking away.
He explodes from time to time also. David is shielded from the explosions, but others others are not. He's embittered. never forgetting those words of Samuel, which were God's words. Saul's life is A necessary course on the flesh.
And I think. That if you have a chance to speak to unbelievers, These are the type of characters you want to bring up to them. You want to ask them questions if they let you get that far. Have you ever heard the story of King Saul? There's so much information you can ration it out.
I would tell these stories over weeks. I said, well, that's enough for now. Let that sit, and we'll get back to it next chance we get, next coffee break or whatever. Just a tremendous resource for witnessing To lost people, because everybody can see right and wrong in the life. Of King Saul as he chases David.
And of course, David, Saul's original plan is to have David killed. It backfired. David was successful against the enemy, increased and remained alive, increased in fame and remained alive. And so we look at. 1 Samuel 18, verse 30.
It's the last verse in chapter 18, right before we start chapter 19, obviously. Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war, and so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely. Then all the servants of Saul So that his name became highly esteemed.
Well, that's not what Saul wanted. He was sending him to fight the Philistines, hoping they'd kill him. That backfire.
Now, verse 1, which goes with it.
Now, Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants. that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in David.
So Saul says, it didn't work. The Philistines blew it. If you want to get something done right, you got to do it yourself.
So he Just said, okay, look, they failed. Can you guys just kill David? at a staff meeting. Yeah. The darkness that is in this empty heart.
Full of darkness, but empty of God. David didn't deserve this. What did he do to bring this on himself? We don't have to do anything. for the enemy to come after us.
You don't have to do anything for Spam to come your way and telemarketers to come after you. Psalm thirty five, a Psalm of David. Let not them that are my enemies without a cause rejoice against me, who hate me for nothing and wink with their eyes. See, he lived that way with Saul hounding him, and I'm sure there were others in his life that just hated him. because he was good.
And we'll see in this 19th chapter quite a few types fulfilled in Christ. These things that David went through would be very much parallel with what the Lord. faced himself being hated without a cause, being hated for doing good. The first one we come to from John's Gospel, chapter fifteen, Jesus said, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. Thing is, in that word hated, is destruction.
They don't just hate us, and it's becoming more and more clear. that they have a desire to destroy That which they hate, the object of their hate. Other religions can blow up buildings and kill people, but Christians better not do it. Kind of a attitude going around. John chapter fifteen Jesus said, But this happened that the word might be fulfilled, which is written in the law.
They hated me without a cause. He's quoting David. And so Christ was also hated for doing good, as David was.
Now, as I mentioned, how you count the attacks, this one here in. Verse 1 is the fifth attempt to kill David. that we come across by Saul. And there are going to be eight of them. Initially, trying to persuade Jonathan to murder David, knowing that Jonathan loves David.
He's so messed up in his head, he doesn't care that his son loves David. Can you kill him anyway? That's irrational. That's what the devil is very good at, making human beings. Irrational.
Sin will make a fool out of all of us given the chance. He's so bloated with self She's not even bothered by what other people think about such a request. A normal person would say, How am I going to ask these guys? I want to kill this guy for me without, you know. Looking bad.
Now, he just comes out and says, Hey, I'm the king and I have a good idea. Let's kill David. You do it for me. And so, only his opinion matters. That's how he got to this place.
He doesn't care about what other people think or the friendships that they have. Kill him. says the maniac monarch, And likely saying to Jonathan, you know, David's going to take the throne that is meant for you to have.
Well, excuse me, Dad. Meant by whom? You or God? Jonathan, he knew David was going to come to the throne and he was willing to be subject to David. Saul would have none of that.
Says all of his servants. What a wasted staff meeting. Instead of saying, how can we build up defenses against the Philistines? And then we have got, you know, this country over here and this group of people over here, how are we? No.
Let's just take the whole kingdom. And center it on one man's life. to assassinate him. And He wanted others to hate David with him. And David had to live.
With people thinking that he deserved to be assassinated. This was character and physical assassination that Saul put on the table. He wanted people to hate this man so much that they just went out and finished him off. He chased him because David's heart chased God, so Saul chased David. That's what Satan wants to do.
And his hatred is legendary. Again, we're grateful that we don't have this much information about Cain or one of the other many villains in the scripture. And when we get to the kings, we're going to get a lot of this. But Why was Saul's hatred brushed over by the people, by the staff? Why didn't someone say this is a violation of God's Word?
Jonathan will hint at that. But the question is: why do they brush over this? It is because they were saying Saul. has a sickness. It's really not sin.
And he just needs time to work through this and encouragement. And we just need to keep the peace with him, and it'd be okay. This largely explains why Jonathan Remained by his demonically influenced father, even though Jonathan was a man of God. Jonathan hoped that Saul would one day come out of it. Samuel had hopes for Saul and they failed and Samuel moved on.
But Jonathan's not there and he's not going to get there either. Jonathan is very loyal. It says, But Jonathan, Saul's son, verse 1, delighted greatly in David.
Soon, Saul will also drag in Jonathan's sister. into this convoluted Drama that he is creating, but true friends bring out the best in each other. Whether it's in a marriage or just a friendship, comrades. You can't say that without feeling s rather Soviet about the whole thing. But true friends, they do.
They bring out the best in each other and they delight in each other. Jonathan would never harm David. And David wouldn't harm Jonathan. And it's sad that they never lived in a free environment where they could just enjoy each other's friendship and produce things for the kingdom of God. In verse 2, so Jonathan told David, saying, My father seeks to kill you, therefore please be on your guard until morning and stay in a secret place and hide.
Well, that's good advice, but of course the historian is just compacting everything into these verses that we have. But he's saying it he wants to kill you. But remember, David, he's not well. That's again how they're thinking. David's even bought into some of this.
He's playing the music to kind of soothe the beast. But what needed to happen is someone needed to stand up. This man is a murderer. He's intending to kill his brother without a cause. He needs to come under the law of God, king or no king.
But nobody could do that. And you could say it. It's nice on paper. But when it comes to working with real human beings, it's different. And so it pained Jonathan.
To have to face this fact, and he's going to struggle with it a little bit more. but he can sidestep it no longer. And here is Jonathan the warrior. The warrior that turned the possession of his own armor, his personal armor, over to David. The gallant man from the battlefield, he's naive here, dealing with his father.
And well, they didn't have 1 Samuel To read about a character like this to know better. We have it. Which takes excuses from us sometimes. When we see somebody that is sinning, It's a sin. We're not going to sugarcoat it.
Doesn't mean we're going to stone the person. But it doesn't mean we're going to pretend it's something other than what it is, which is what everybody seems to be doing with Saul, and it gets out of control. It just goes off the charts. If they'd nipped this thing in the bud, it might have had a different outcome.
So again, Why would Jonathan? I think it's very important for us to ask this question. Jonathan, The man you are. Why are you loyal to the man That Saul is.
Well Is it because blood is thicker than water? I mean, he's your dad, so you're going to always just be loyal to him?
Well, of course, there's some of that there, but that's not all of it. Was it because the culture would shame you to no end if you abandoned your dad and you would be an outcast from your people? That's part of it too. These are the things that Jonathan had to face. Was it because you felt that you could influence your father and help him.
and the day would come when he'd no longer be that way. I think that's the big part of it. I think that he is the eternal optimist. Their hope springs eternal. And if we can get him right, it's just going to take time.
And so Jonathan was loyal to Saul as a son, but he was also loyal to David as a friend. And so he pulled it off. He managed to do both. He had this passion for David. But he had this loyalty and duty to his father, and he would not kill David as his father wanted.
And he would not kill Saul his dad, as would have benefited David. Nothing more. Nothing less and nothing else. That's the story. The man was a man of honor.
And he was strong. They say, or at least I'm saying. Stronger are the bonds of human love. than many things. But sometimes duty is stronger.
a sense of duty.
Sometimes a sense of this is right. And it has to overrule my passions, my love. And that's where he remained loyal to his father, that was his duty, and he remained loyal to love, that was his duty to David. It's hard to find people that will stick with you no matter what. When I say no matter what, it doesn't mean you could just go and start slaughtering people.
Don't worry, I'm still your friend. But it does mean that there are those people in life that will stick with you. And they are loyal. They are noble. and they look for solutions, and they don't rush off and abandon someone whom they've drawn close to.
And that is the story of Jonathan and David, and it is also the story of Saul and Jonathan his son. And from this duty he never flinched. He will die atop of a mountain next to his father. Because he remained loyal to him. And yet he never lifted a finger against David or an evil word against David.
He never contributed to anything that would have harmed David, not directly, indirectly. It's okay, David. You can go back and play now. And I don't think Dad's going to throw any more spears at you.
Well, he was wrong. And so It says at the bottom of verse 2: Therefore, please be on your guard until morning and stay in a secret place and hide. And so, having done nothing, David has to hide. He has to run for his life. He has nowhere to go yet, but it's not over.
Verse 3: And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. then what I observe I will tell you. And so there's the hope springing eternal. Let me talk to Dad. I think I can get through to him and point out you're actually a hero of Israel.
not an enemy to the throne. and you know hope It combines expectations and desire, things that you want. and things that you think will happen. And this is where Jonathan was at this time. He says, Then I will observe and I will tell you.
So he's doing his best. To make things work right. to again come up with a solution. Saul will bring out the worst in everyone around him. He's just going to manipulate the situation and it won't work.
Verse 4. Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father. and said to him, Let not The king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you. and because his works have been very good toward you. Incidentally, on the subject of loyalty and duty, what good are the two if they don't work under pressure?
What good is being loyal to someone if you're going to not be loyal as soon as things get tough, when they need you to be there? It makes me turn the searchlight on myself too. Have I been disloyal? Have I been quick to abandon my station? when I should have stayed there.
and done more I think we all should from time to time. Consider that. Well, here Jonathan spoke well of David. You can just see the face of Saul. He could not object.
He's hating it, but it's like nothing I can say to that. And so Jonathan is applying himself. He's one of those people that is just, I'm going to try to work this through. To lessen the hostilities between these two men that I love, and he loved his father. There's no indication he did not love his father.
He just was stuck with them. It would have been nice if he was David's older brother. That's not how it turned out. These are wonderful words, but they're wasted on a man like Saul. And Jonathan is going in.
Here's the naivete here that he thinks that dad is going to register.
Well, John's gospel. Chapter 18. Jesus answered him: If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why do you strike me? And so there's an example of Christ reasoning with those who are opposed to Him, but they don't want to hear it either.
They're going to kill Him. They've made up their mind, there's nothing He could do. It could have levitated all of them. They still would have, oh, after the levitation, tomorrow we're going to kill you. Because sin was that deeply set in them.
And it wasn't because. They were victims of sin. We're all victims of sin. They signed off on it. They turn their back.
To when God says, Come, let us reason, though your sins are red as scarlet, I will make them white as snow, they turn their back on that. And so reasoning is not Saul's problem. Sin is Saul's problem. This is internal. is stiff necked.
And this will be temporarily effective, but it will backfire and Balloon. It will get worse, verse 5. For He took his life, he's talking about David to Saul, for he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine. And Yahweh brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced.
Why then will you sin against innocent blood? to kill David without a cause.
So, I got to cause things in a few verses earlier because there's just so much to keep on, you got to kind of spread it out.
So he says, basically, he's saying it's one thing. For David to kill Goliath in defense of the nation, it's another thing for you to kill David. That's murder. And you know it. But he's saying it.
He's diplomatic about how he's presenting this. He's saying, Dad, you were there. He killed the Philistine. Nobody else wanted to do that. Why would you want to hurt the hero of Israel?
You saw it and you rejoice, he says. Why hound the innocent? But then he adds: Why then will you sin against innocent blood?
Well, this goes back to Deuteronomy 19. You know, this is murder. and it's going to bring guilt. That's what he's trying to say, to kill David without a cause. It's going to bring guilt on you.
And us. Thanks for joining us for today's edition of Cross Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Rick is in the book of 1 Samuel. If you'd like to listen again to this or other messages or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreferenceradio.com.
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Okay.
