Psalm 41, 52; 1 Samuel 24:1-22; Acts 13:44-52; Mark 4:1-20
Has David ever made a play to take away the kingdom from Saul? David has done nothing in this regard, he has simply served Saul and yet Saul’s jealousy has overcome reality and he spends enormous time and resources chasing this man who poses no actual threat to his kingship. David has a chance to kill Saul in this somewhat humorous episode with Saul using the cave where David is hiding as a bathroom and David taking the opportunity to cut off a piece of Saul’s robe while he is in the process of relieving himself. David acknowledges that as long as Saul lives he is the Lord’s anointed as king of the people and yet when Saul dies that belongs to David. David will not take matters into his own hands to bring about that eventuality unlike Jacob and his mother in stealing birthright and blessing from Esau. David in fact bows and pays homage here to Saul and Saul, for his part, recognizes David is innocent and that David will indeed be the next king. In spite of his animosity towards David, he acknowledges David is more righteous than he, and then asks for a covenant promise from David which David gives. Sadly, this is not the end of this pathetic saga.
Can soil be improved? That seems to me to be a pertinent question concerning this parable. The ground of my heart has and is at times in all sorts of states of receptivity. Sometimes it is receptive to words from the Lord and other times it seems stony. It isn’t biorhythms that determine such things, but the work of the Lord. Sometimes He has to let me fail enough to listen to Him, I have to get beaten up by life a bit to be ready to hear Him. Sometimes I have to go through an extended period of heavenly silence when I want to hear to prepare my heart to receive what He wants me to hear. It is in this process that the spiritual disciplines can make such a difference. If we work with Him to prepare our hearts to receive we are more likely to hear from Him more often. If we are lazy or indifferent concerning our spiritual development or if we are tolerating sin in our lives like Saul, we become incapable of receiving the seed which bears fruit.
The Jews stirred up opposition to the Gospel. The basis of their opposition was their unwillingness to recognize true righteousness in Jesus and to accept that He was indeed an innocent man who was also the Messiah. There were many other factors in their opposition including that Paul’s ministry included the Gentiles without including circumcision. Covenant participation in the old covenant required circumcision and when Paul did not require this for Gentile converts, they were getting a pass that the Jews had not gotten. The Lord had promised through the prophets that the new covenant would be a circumcision of the heart and that was being done by God alone. Paul says in Romans that God was using the conversions of the Gentiles to rouse the Jews, working on their hearts in this way. When you think that works and other things you do are the basis of relationship you resent grace and the sovereignty of God in another.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
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