DAVID AND SAUL: THE OLD MAN AND THE NEW
As we rapidly approach another election cycle, and people in America are considering their options for the next President to lead the nation, my thoughts go to the Old Testament story of Samuel and Israel’s desire for a king.
For
centuries the Israelites were under the oversight of judges who offered
guidance to the nation in matters of military engagement. They also resolved disputes between the
people and upheld the civil laws of Israel.
These were men (and women, in the case of Deborah) who were chosen by
God and anointed to resist the oppression of their neighbor kingdoms and lead
their people in the right ways of the LORD.
Samuel
the Prophet was the transition between the time of the judges and the time of
the prophets. He was the last judge of
Israel and the first of a string of prophets of the Lord who gave spiritual
guidance to Israel. He also was trained
in the temple and raised by Eli the priest.
Consider how significant an individual this man Samuel was in light of
the following verses of scripture: “And
Samuel grew, and the LORD was with
him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” (1 Samuel
3:19). “And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the
LORD.” (1 Samuel 3:21). “And
the word of Samuel came to all Israel.” (1 Samuel 3:1). In many ways Samuel represented the judges,
the priesthood, and the prophets. In this
respect he foreshadowed the Lord Himself for Jesus fulfilled all of these roles
besides being the King of Israel.
Spirituality
isn’t a legacy that is passed down from one generation to another. Every soul must learn to seek for, and
obtain, a personal relationship with God for himself/herself. Just as Eli’s sons did not follow after the
right ways of the Lord, neither did Samuel’s children walk after
righteousness. Scripture records that
they “…turned aside after lucre [riches], and took bribes, and perverted judgment.” (1
Samuel 8:3). This was a problem. Samuel had installed his two sons as judges
over Israel, and the people resented them for their greedy ways. This led Israel to the desire to have a king
rule over them so that they could be like every other nation. Pay attention to the motivation behind their
actions: “…that we also may be like all the nations.” (1 Samuel
8:5; 1 Samuel 8:20).
Samuel
was displeased by the people’s request.
He could see the evil behind their desire for a king. He understood that it would require an
unusually meek and compassionate person to be able to bear such power and
authority and still remain humble and righteous before God. A king would exert control over the people
and be tempted to do things his way instead of God’s. God’s response to all of this was
unexpected. He told Samuel, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all
that they say unto thee: for they
have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Samuel 8:7). Again, God made their motivation clear: they
preferred to have man rule over them rather than have God rule them.
This
sets the stage for the story of David and Saul. It also reveals the motivation of the fleshly
nature in man (our old carnal nature outside of Christ). Mankind’s basic desire is to be completely in
control. At the same time, we want to be
like everybody else in the world and make our own decisions and plot our own
course. Isn’t this what the whole
temptation in the Garden of Eden boiled down to? God, however, called Israel (just as He has
called us) to be a separate and peculiar people, a holy nation, and a royal
priesthood. As the Apostle Paul writes
in 2 Corinthians, 17, “…come out from
among them [the unbelievers], and be
ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17, 18). It was God’s intention for His chosen to be UNLIKE
the nations of the world and to be an example of a people solely directed and
cared for by the Almighty. “And be not conformed to this world…”
(Romans 12:2).
Before
we were saved, we all walked in the lusts and desires of the flesh and pretty
much did what we pleased. This is our
old nature, our carnal man. Upon
conversion, we received the Holy Spirit, and a new nature was awakened within
us. This new nature, the spiritual man,
desires truth, righteousness, and holiness.
It is grieved by sin and uncleanness.
When our new man was born within us, the old man didn’t just shrivel up
and die, however. He is still there
craving control, but we have assigned Lordship of our lives to Jesus
Christ. He is now the One we have
trusted to take full control of our lives.
This is why the Lord in all of the Gospels is quoted as saying that we
must die to self (our old nature). “He that findeth his life [his old
nature] shall lose it: and he that loseth
his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39). “He
that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal.” (John 12:25).
The
Apostle Paul sums up the warfare that exists between our old nature and our new
nature when he wrote, “For they that are
after the flesh [those who walk according to the old nature] do mind [obey, follow] the things of the flesh; but they that are
after the Spirit [those who walk according to their new nature in Christ] the things of the Spirit. For
to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against [an adversary of] God:
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot
please God.” (Romans
8:5-8). This warfare that we find
ourselves in between the flesh and the Spirit, our old man and our new, is
really all about who we will surrender the control of our lives to. “Know
ye not, that to whom ye yield [surrender] yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).
No
wonder that Messiah was such a surprise to Israel when He appeared. They thought that He would come, be their
King and subdue all their enemies around them.
Their desire to be “like all the
nations” was still very active; but what they needed to learn from Christ
was true humility, submission to the will of God, and total trust in His
leadership. The majority’s eyes were blinded
and they did not recognize what God wanted from them. So, they rebelled once more, rejected the Son
of God, and had Him crucified.
As
a result of Israel’s desire for a king, God directed Samuel to anoint a man by
the name of Saul to be their first king.
Scripture describes Saul as “…a
choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel
a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any
of the people.” This description
seems to lean heavily on his outward
qualifications rather than his inner ones. God was later forced to send Samuel to anoint
a new king because He had rejected
Saul for his willfulness. Samuel was
sent to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his eight sons to be Saul’s
replacement. When Samuel looked on
Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, he thought that he was kingly material based on his
appearance; but God told Samuel, “Look
not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused
him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for
man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7). Right then and there
God re-established his only standards for leadership: inward integrity and true
humility.
One
by one, Jesse presented seven of his sons before Samuel, and God refused each
one of them. David, the youngest son,
hadn’t even been invited to the event!
They had to send someone to get him!
When David appeared before them, the LORD said to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” (1
Samuel 16:12). God saw past the external
features of this young man and recognized one who was after His own heart.
David had shown integrity and faithfulness in watching over his father’s
flocks. He had demonstrated that he was
willing to lay down his life for the sheep if necessary. This was a man who God knew would also lay
down his life for the flock of God.
Early
on, King Saul’s character came into question.
The Philistines had gathered a large army and set up their base in a
place called Michmash which was Israelite territory just north of
Jerusalem. Saul had been told to wait
for Samuel to meet him in Gilgal where the Prophet would offer a burnt offering
for the people. On the day that Samuel
was to appear, Saul grew impatient and anxious because Samuel tarried. So he decided to take matters in his own
hands. It was unlawful for Saul to offer
a burnt offering himself, but he proceeded to do so anyway. That’s when Samuel showed up and rebuked him
for his impatience, and for breaking the commandment of the LORD. It was then that Samuel prophesied that God
would choose someone else to be King of Israel, and that he would be “…a man after His own heart.” (1 Samuel
13:14).
This
was only the beginning of Saul’s willfulness.
Later on in his reign, God commanded Saul to smite the Amalekites and
utterly destroy them and their possessions.
Saul, instead of obeying God’s command, chose to do things his own
way. He spared the life of Agag, king of
the Amalekites, and saved all the best
of the cattle and belongings. When once
again he was confronted by Samuel, Saul first insisted that he had followed the
commandment of the LORD. He then said it
was so they could offer those things to the LORD. Finally he said it was the people’s fault and
not his. Samuel’s words were dire and
stern. “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and
to hearken than the fat of rams. For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and
idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the
word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee from being king.” (1 Samuel
13:22, 23).
The
trajectory of Saul’s life was a downward spiral after this point. He grew to despise David and sought to
destroy him every opportunity that he had.
He was tormented by evil spirits and resorted to witchcraft for
direction in the end because the LORD would no longer speak to him. He finally died an ugly death in defeat and
dishonor. In contrast, David’s star
began to rise as he trusted God to lead him, and as he obeyed God’s direction.
Saul
is a type and shadow of the old man. His
selfish, willful nature is a picture of our own carnal nature that seeks to
exert full control over our lives and do things its own way. David, on the other hand, is a type and
shadow of the new man. He has been “…created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians
2:10). David’s life was not perfect by
any means, but he consistently sought the will of God in his life, applying
faith to overcome his enemies. He was
also quick to repent when he saw he was wrong.
There is a perpetual warfare between the old man and the new in our
lives just like there was war between Saul and David. Our old nature would love to destroy the new
if he could, but we have received power through the Holy Spirit that now lives
inside of us to resist the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, and to choose a
life of holiness and righteousness.
The
Apostle Paul gives us further admonishment along these lines in Ephesians. He writes, “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of
God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of
their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” (Ephesians
4:17-19). In other words, now that we
have accepted Christ, we should no longer live our lives in the same way that
unbelievers do who don’t know Christ.
They are completely cut off from the life of God and walk instead in
their own uncleanness and greed. The
light of the Good News of life in Christ Jesus has not yet penetrated their
hearts and are, therefore, blind and without understanding.
Paul
continues, “But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have
heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and
be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
(Ephesians 4:20-24). This, then, is the
crux of the matter: the Lord expects us to engage in this warfare and be
willing combatants, to resist the enemy and the lusts of the flesh. He desires that we become more like our
Master. Many of those who confess to be
Christians are ignorant of the Lord’s will for them in this matter. They are “…tossed
to and fro, and carried by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness…” and have not understood that the grace of God is not
only meant to forgive our sins and missteps, but to teach us that we can overcome
the world and its attractions and lusts.
“…denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”
(Titus 2:12). God’s very purpose in sacrificing
Himself for us, and then calling us, was “…that
He might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto Himself a peculiar [unique; chosen by God as His
possession] people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14).
The
rest of Ephesians chapter four, starting with verse 25, gives examples of
things that are part of our old nature and that we should avoid. Lying, anger, theft, unclean and corrupt
language, bitterness, and malice are all examples of the sort of things we must
“put off” of our old life. Imagine coming in from a hard day of work.
You’re dirty, you’re sweaty, and your clothes are filthy and smell bad. The first thing that you want to do is get
clean. So you put off your dirty
garments, bathe, and put on clean, fresh garments. This is what we must do with the old man and
the new. We must put off the old,
unclean nature and put on the new, clean one.
It wouldn’t be sensible to get all cleaned up and then put on the same
smelly clothes that you had on before.
The clothes represent our works, the things that we do and choices that
we make. If we continue to live as we
did as unbelievers we will just make ourselves dirty again and give off an
unpleasant odor to those around us. The
Lord, however, has laid out brand new clothes for us, clean and pressed; and
all we have to do is put them on. Paul provides
us with some practical instructions at the end of Ephesians 4 so that we can
focus our efforts in the right direction.
Read also Colossians 3:1-17 for more on the warfare between the old and
new natures. Paul tells us in verse five to, “Mortify [put to death] therefore your members [your bodies;
your self-life] which are upon the
earth.” We should give heed to the
words of the Apostle so that we may follow the Lord in the faith of David
rather than in the disobedience of Saul.
May God give us grace and mercy to walk as Jesus did.
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