Redefined by Arden Bevere

Author:Arden Bevere
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living;Identity (Psychology)—Religious aspects—Christianity;REL012070;REL012120;YAN048040
ISBN: 9781493423293
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2020-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

SAUL AND DAVID: BLESSING IN SUBMISSION

It is especially difficult (but especially important) to know how to correctly process negative emotions stirred up by offensive behavior when the person we need to forgive is someone we expected more from in the first place.

We all have leaders we look up to in our lives such as parents, teachers, bosses, pastors, government officials. It’s hard enough to navigate the forgiveness process with peers. But how do we forgive when someone in authority does us wrong?

David looked up to King Saul as a father figure, and Saul welcomed David into his army after his epic victory over Goliath. Saul’s son, Jonathan, quickly became David’s best friend. Things seemed to be looking pretty good for David. Eventually, the king even offered David his daughter’s hand in marriage, and David became his son-in-law.

In 1 Samuel 18, however, we read that Saul noticed the people admired David more than him. He went nearly insane with envy, and he began plotting ways to get David killed. In an instant, David went from a son and friend of the family to an enemy to be hunted and killed.

Think about this from David’s perspective. You look up to Saul because he was anointed by God to rule the kingdom. You’ve served him faithfully. You’ve fought his battles and won his wars. And not only is he your king, he’s also your father-in-law. And after all that, he wants you dead!

I’ve seen some rough relationships between in-laws, but nothing quite like this!

David had every right to be offended. Saul was jealous of David’s popularity and wanted to take his life because of it. It didn’t seem to matter that David had never wronged him and had, instead, always served him. To complicate things even more, David knew that God had anointed him to become the next king of Israel (1 Sam. 16:12–13). So Saul was not only trying to take his life but he was also trying to rob God’s chosen people of their next anointed king. David should have been able to hold at least a little bit of a grudge, wouldn’t you think? Maybe he could give in to self-righteous anger and take a shot at the king? It would just be self-defense, right?

But that’s not how David thought, and that’s not how he lived.

Instead of fighting back, David and his men ran for their lives into the wilderness. Saul and his men chased after them. A few chapters later, in a scene laced with drama, Saul entered a cave where David and his men were hiding. Saul didn’t have a clue that David was there. In the darkness of the cave, David sneaked up to Saul and cut off a small piece of his clothing. As Saul and his men were about to ride off, David held up the fabric from Saul’s cloak and yelled out, “See what I have! I could have killed you, but I didn’t!” With this realization, Saul gave up the chase and told his men to go home.

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