The Drive to Protect the Self

Synopsis     1Sam 22:15-23:5     10/17/2018

Saul called Ahimelech, the High Priest, for questioning. Doeg the Edomite had testified against Ahimelech. Doeg reported that he saw David receive food and Goliath’s sword from Ahimelech at Nob.

Ahimelech didn’t know that David was a fugitive when he gave him provisions. Still, Saul condemned him and all of his family to death. So, Saul gave the order to the guards to kill the high priest and his family.

However, the guards refused. They felt conflicted. For them, the prospect of killing the Lord’s anointed priests was unfathomable. So Saul sought the foreigner Doeg to murder the priests. And so, Doeg killed eighty-five priests that day.

Then Saul turned his wrath on the entire priestly community at Nob. In a stunning irony, he put the entire community under the ban. So his forces allowed nothing to live. Every woman, child and animal was destroyed.

Tragically, only a single priest survived the attack. His name was Abiathar. He was forced to flee. And so, he went to David and his community. And there, he received protection from Saul.

Saul’s Drive to Protect His Throne

The destruction of Nob punctuates the deep irony of Saul’s life. In the past, Samuel castigated Saul for failing to utterly destroy the Amalekites. At that time, King Saul received a command from God through the prophet Samuel. He obeyed the command to attack. But he disobeyed by allowing his army to keep some of the spoils from the battle. He was afraid his men might revolt.

But years later, when Saul was feeling afraid of a conspiracy against him, he was no longer afraid of his soldiers. He commanded them to utterly destroy an entire city of priests. And the soldiers obeyed.

His decision proved that his fear of the loss of his kingship was greater than his fear of God.

So it clear that Saul could not escape the fear of losing his throne. It was an obsession. And he constantly thought about David.

But what if he had faced this fear. What if Saul had gone to Samuel and acknowledged that David was God’s choice for king? What if he had chosen to retire his kingship and allow David to become king in his place – while he was still alive? Would it have been so terrible to live out his elder days as the “King Emeritus” of Israel?

If he could have understood how his life would end, it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t have chosen a pleasant retirement instead.

The Drive to Protect the Self

Think about the fears that keep you awake at night. What if they all came to pass in a single day? What if you lost your money? And what if you lost your job? And what if every bad thing you ever imagined came upon you? What then?

Here’s what: You would meet the challenge. You would deal with it. And you would cope. What’s more, you would overcome.

God made you powerful to meet challenges. God made you powerful to cope with whatever comes your way. And God made you powerful to be an overcomer.

So come back to the present. Stop worrying about your life. By God’s grace, you will be sufficient in every hour of trial you ever encounter – if you simply commit to remaining in the present.

“I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” Phil 4:13