@ Tamworth Community Presbyterian Church 14/2/16
What’s the most encouraging thing someone has ever said to you? Were they reflecting something of your character, your generosity, your service, your sacrificial spirit, your perseverance, your humility, your resolve? Here's the more challenging question, ready for it? What was the last encouraging thing you’ve said recently to someone else? Today we step again in the story of David freshly anointed by Samuel, he 8th son of Jesse, the one who was forgotten when Samuel came to Bethlehem with the important task of anointing Israel’s God chosen replacement for King Saul.
David was left where you place the baby brother of the family;that is out somewhere else, where he can do the least harm. Here we find God speaking on something we so often struggle with that we find ourselves so often struggling with trying to push ourselves up on the ladders of success. A better promotion a better set of circumstances, a better car, a better house, a better figure. All the things we compare with someone else. God sees the heart and what God gives is: “No Ordinary Crown”. As we step into the relationship of newly anointed David as he goes to work with King Saul. As we read in 1 Samuel 16:13-14 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. 14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Israel’s kings were not crowned with a crown they were anointed with oil. The King was the anointed one or the Hebrew word for that is messiah; the Greek word for this is Christos. When David is anointed look again at what takes place in verse 13 the spirit of the Lord came upon David just as we read in the next verse the sprit of God departs from Saul. In the Old Testament we read of how the Spirit of God would come upon people to equip them for a specific task: to rule, to prophesy or to build. We see that in judges with Samson for example. With the anointing of a king the Spirit of God provided them with both the authority and the ability to rule. Saul remained God’s king, yet without the Spirit Saul’s authority and wisdom in the decisions he makes begins to fade, so we’re not to miss what goes on in the life of David. From this day on the Spirit of God came upon him and remained with him, as Saul unravels plummeting into misery and self torment. It might seem a little thing but it points us the way of a bigger thing how God restores us.
David will later on pray when he is aware of his sinfulness in Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” Here he’s not asking God to restore salvation, David already has that, it is the gift of God, what he prays about is a renewal in the joy of his salvation, don’t take your spirit away from me O Lord. Just as Jesus promised us he will be with us always until the very end of the age, his spirit in us, is all about God’s grace and mercy
Now we are brought in to see how Saul unravels, look at verses 14-17
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.” 17 So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.” Not only does God withdraw his spirit we begin to see Saul descend into misery, his mind and emotions were in chaos, the answer to Saul’s misery comes from a servants suggesting a form of music therapy. This is about bringing rhythm, tunefulness and harmony, establishing order in the chaos. See how in 1 Samuel we get the insiders look at the way King Saul went about being King, in that we get a sense of things that starting out so well. Saul starts as a good general in the fight for Israel’s survival against the Philistines or the Amalekites and yet for all of his charisma and charm wasn’t all that much interested in God[1]. We come to see that Saul was more interested in being popular than obedient, was someone who was more happy to let people worship God on their own terms than on God’s terms. So that what rules us comes out, and what comes out reveals what rules us. From this point on Saul becomes emotionally volatile as he also becomes increasingly paranoid. It this suggestion of finding a musician that leads us right back to David coming to be part of Saul’s household. As we read in verse 18-19
18 One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.” 19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
When David is anointed by Samuel, he went right on back to work on Jesse’s farm. Even here we see how quickly David is developing a reputation for being someone in whom the Lord is present incDavid’s story. It looks like we get back into this narrative right in the middle as David won’t be the recognized King for another 20 years or so. It seems we’re meant to get the irony here; of how the rejected king is about to reach out to the newly anointed king to receive relief. The qualities David is known for are his skill at music, he speaks with wisdom with a warriors heart. David’s music brings relief from Saul’s terror and derangement as God uses the replacement anointed king by keeping the rejected king from falling apart. The sadness here is that while Saul gets the therapy he needs he hasn't got the spirit of God, verse 22-23 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” 23 Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. We soon know it won’t be long before Saul hates David and seeks his life, just as David’s anointing will be tested and he will stand as the high water mark of kingship. David’s kingship will see the line point forward to Jesus’ kingship, as we read in Luke 4:18-19 Jesus fulfills a very ancient prophecy from Isaiah 61:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus is God’s anointed one, our King who God has over us. In one sense how we go at life with God’s spirit in us is where God goes to work receptively in us. We spend more time in our workplaces than we do in our home. As David stepped into his new work, having a good job doesn’t mean we will do it well; just like having the right role doesn’t guarantee righteousness. Here's the thing with work, what’s one of the first questions you ask someone you’ve just met? What do you do? What is it about work that we find so defining? So often work does 2 things: Our work reveals something of who we are, something essential about us; the other thing work can be is that we use it to conceal our real identity. We can also use work to hide ourselves in it, use work even as a front to advertise what we want people to think of us, or believe about us. The question is, is the work we do an honest expression of who you are? As Paul puts it in Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. With work what we start seeing God point us the way of is of working as if we are working for God. David got the job of trying to establish order in the middle of the chaos of Saul’s reign. God is pointing us forwards as the promise will be that one of a new David, a new messiah would come to rescue God’s people
Who will wear no ordinary crown for us
Let’s pray…
LLL