This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of Dr. Wellum’s exposition of Samuel 16-23 given on Sunday, October 27, 2008.

Hannah’s song from the beginning of I Samuel has set the tone of the book – the mighty and arrogant will be brought down, but the Lord will exalt the poor and his chosen anointed. In chapters 24-31 of I Samuel, we observe God’s judgment of Saul and the continued ascension of David as the true representative and anointed of God. The contrast between David and Saul is highlighted, for David refuses to take matters into his own hands, refusing to take revenge on Saul and Nabal, but Saul plummets further into spiritual darkness as he pursues David’s life and completely rebels against God by consulting with the witch of En-dor.

Chapters 24-26 present David in a positive light generally, for he commits himself to the ways and timing of the Lord by not killing Saul even though he is granted ample opportunities. David rejects the counsel of his men to kill Saul in the cave, resisting the temptation to treat Saul as Saul has treated David, and so David spares the Lord’s anointed (I Sam 24:10). In this episode, even Saul confesses that David is more righteous than he and that the kingdom of Israel will be established through David (24:17-21). In chapter 25, the writer inserts another episode where David’s patience and refusal to take matters into his own hands is displayed. In his dealings with wicked Nabal, David would have destroyed Nabal and his household, but Abigail intercedes and David receives her discernment and is persuaded to not take revenge on Nabal. After God strikes down Nabal, we do see that David is not completely obedient to God, for he takes Abigail and Ahinoam as wives and thereby multiplies wives even though forbidden (see Deuteronomy 17:17). In chapter 26, we see again that David refuses to strike down the Lord’s anointed as he entrusts himself to the Lord and his timing in removing Saul.

The contrasts between David and Saul are brought into greater focus in chapters 27-31. David is going about doing the Lord’s work, killing off the Amalekites and other foreign inhabitants from the land (I Sam 27), but Saul, when faced with the Philistines, does not trust in the Lord as he consults a medium to conjure up the spirit of Samuel. First Samuel comes to a close with David winning victory and plunder over his enemies, abiding in the Lord even though his men consider stoning following the captivity of their families (I Sam 30:3-20), but Saul and his sons are defeated in battle with Saul coming to a dishonorable end – he commits suicide.

From I Samuel 24-31 we learn that we must emulate David and by extension, Jesus. Jesus always entrusted himself to God, devoting himself to doing everything according to the will of God. David, like Jesus, refuses to take revenge on his enemies in these accounts, for he is confident that the Lord will accomplish his purposes. We too must not seek revenge but leave such matters to the Lord. Finally, the exchange between David and Abigail suggests that we heed the righteous counsel of others, even when it comes from an unlikely source.

~Brent Parker

~ds