Immanuel Lutheran Church Study Forum

Saul is so excited about being king, he doesn't follow God's instructions to the detail. We have read how God is a stickler for details. Saul quickly falls out of favor with God but Israel gets the exact king the asked for.

Saul had already made an unauthorized offering, (and was deposed by Samuel) made a rash oath (like Jepthah: What is it with these people?) And now wants to kill his own son. Strike 3 (and his screwups have just begun)
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6:31 AM (4 hours ago)

to me
Saul answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die. - 1 Samuel 14:44-45

Here is the context for "obedience is better than sacrifice." It means give God what He WANTS, not what YOU want to give Him! (To say this means that salvation by works is better than atonement is to take it out of context)

So Samuel said: “Has 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 heed than the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22

Like so many,
Saul was given great responsibility and authority and he came to believe it was about him. This contrasts sharply with the servant-leadership of Christ.

So Saul is hunting and closing in on David, when suddenly he has to poop. He ducks into a cave to have some privacy, but it is the very cave David is hiding in. David is so close to Saul that he can cut a corner off his cloak with a knife (that usually takes some pulling), but Saul doesn't notice. This temporarily buys David some good graces from Saul.

Look at the motivation of the 2 men. David won't attack the man hunting him, arguably self defense, because Saul was selected by God and anointed to be king over Israel. David is choosing to respect God above his personal safety. Its a Christ-like move and appropriate for this Easter weekend.

Saul is now in a narcissistic mindset that we see too often in man's history, that of defending his personal power, wealth, and legacy at all costs. Saul has lost all touch with the God who has put him into his position. He has the legal authority to kill David, but not the moral authority. Its a stretch, but for Easter I will say this is analogous to the actions of the Sanhedrin.

The prophecy of the Visitation Luke 1:39-56



And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household. - 2 Samuel 6:2,9-11