DAVID AND SAUL (part 1)

I recently read an article by George Warnock by this title, and was impressed by the truth he brings out. As you probably know Saul was the first king of the nation of Israel, and David was the man who followed him in this position. It was never God's intention to have His people ruled by a king, but because they wanted to be ruled like the nations around them, God let them have their way. (1 Sam 8:1-9) Saul was the man who met the people's expectations of a king at first, but later he had to be removed by God because of his disobedience. (1 Sam 15:10-23).

David was the man God had prepared to follow Saul as king, and probably would have replaced Samuel as the "prophet leader" of His people if they hadn't demanded a king. David was a man after God's own heart, and although he committed some terrible sins, he was always quick to repent when he was confronted with the truth. (2 Sam 12:1-13). When we study the life of David, we see why he is called a man after God's own heart. Even though he was anointed by Samuel to be the next king, he always respected Saul's position as king, and refused to touch "God's anointed one". Saul was jealous of David and often tried to kill him, but still David was loyal to him until his tragic death. Saul's son Jonathan became David's covenant friend, even though he knew David had been anointed by God to be the next king after his father; the position he would be in line for!

In (2 Sam 7:8-16) we read about the covenant God made with David, that a descendant of his would establish the throne of his kingdom forever. This prophecy delivered by Nathan is what we call a "near/far" prophecy, in other words it was to apply to the near future (Solomon), and to the far away future (Jesus), who both fulfilled it. We know that Jesus will occupy the throne of David in the yet future when He comes back to planet earth to set up His earthly reign for eternity! (Rev 21:3-7) In the meantime, He has established the Church, which is His body on earth, which He has been in the process of building for over 2000 years. This true Church will one day rule and reign with Him

The change from Saul's regime to David's righteous rule is somewhat similar to the change God wants to bring in the church; from the man centered government that came into the church when it joined the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine in the forth century, and the true church structure we see in the book of Acts. Jesus said He would build His Church (Matt 16:18), and we see this "True Church" in the book of Acts, and from early church history until the time of Constantine. Since then we have always had what I refer to as the true Church, and the "false church". Those of us who have become part of the True Church through a spiritual rebirth (2 Cor 5:17), must be careful that our actions, and reactions toward the false church are like David's were toward Saul.

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp