Security vs. Insecurity – Part 2

Today, we continue our three-part mini-series inside of our big series called Contrast, which drills down on the contrast between a secure man (David) and an utterly insecure man (Saul) in hopes that we can see the difference a life in Christ makes in our life!  What we are doing in this mini-series really could be done in almost every chapter of 1 Samuel.  However, so that we could explore the other themes brought out in these incredible stories, I decided just to zero in on the contrast between a secure person in Christ and an insecure person as we studied chapters 18-20.  In each of these sermons, I’m going to end with one key the Gospel of Jesus Christ clearly teaches us on how we can live a life that is truly described as secure in Christ rather than an insecure life we have all likely found ourselves living at one point and possibly even to some degree right now.

So, without further ado, let’s pick up where we left off last week and start in 1 Samuel chapter 19.

 1 Samuel 19 highlights four characteristics of insecure people.

 The first characteristic of insecure people is seen when you contrast the first six verses of chapter 19 with the rest of the book of 1 Samuel.

Insecure people are untrustworthy. – Saul promised his son not to kill David, a promise Saul clearly had no real intention of keeping.

Chapter 19 opens with a statement that ties us back to what went down in chapter 18.

 1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.

 First, on a positive note, right out of the gate in chapter 18, we find out that Jonathan and David loved one another as brothers. This is the kind of love that we should have for one another in the Body of Christ. When each of us, as a thread of our individual talents, personalities, and perspectives, is woven together by Christ into one fabric with others, it becomes a beautiful tapestry that glorifies the one who made it possible—Jesus!Last week, we read,

 1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (1 Samuel 18:1)

 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. (1 Samuel 18:3)

 However, most of chapter 18 points us to the foolishness of Saul, who can’t even do selfishness right! David presents Saul an opportunity to get close to the anointing of God that Saul no longer has and, in so doing, expand his own Kingdom, bless Israel with increased prosperity, and, most importantly, glorify God.  However, Saul’s extreme insecurity completely degraded his ability to make wise decisions for himself, much less for anybody else. As such, he seeks to kill David rather than form a covenant with him! For instance,

Note:  6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. 7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, "Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands." 8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?" 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on. (1 Samuel 18:6-9)

 Not only did Saul hurl his spear at him twice, but Saul also continued sending David off to battle to try and get him killed. To make matters worse, to help increase the odds that David would be killed, Saul attempted to overinflate his confidence with incentives and, as such, increase the likelihood David would be overzealous in battle and get himself killed.  To do this, Saul first offered his oldest daughter, Merab, to David.  But even though David held up his end of the bargain, Saul, in all his untrustworthiness, gave her away to somebody who likely provided Saul with a valuable business opportunity.  However, later, when Saul found out his daughter Michal genuinely loved David, he decided to take advantage of her and offer her to David for a bride price of 100 Philistine foreskins.  Saul believed this would surely lead David down an overzealous path in battle that would get him killed, but, to Saul’s shock, David showed back up not with 100 Philistine foreskins, but with the foreskins of the 200 Philistines he went and killed!

So, when the cowardly attempts to try and take advantage of David’s youthful vigor and loyalty don’t work, Saul starts trying to coerce his “staff” and even Jonathan into believing David should be executed. The text doesn’t appear to suggest Saul had ordered it at this point because if that had been the case, somebody like Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, would have mobilized some soldiers and got it done. However, because David is so famous, Saul knows he needs first to take the time to get the leaders around him on board with the idea of executing David.  We don’t know what kind of lies Saul was spreading, but there’s also no doubt he was spreading all sorts of false information throughout his leadership team to try and manipulate them to be the ones who would insist on David’s execution, and thus, in Saul’s mind, exonerate him as the one who killed Israel’s champion!

However, while Saul actively tried to manipulate people into wanting to kill David, Jonathan’s brotherhood with David continued to grow. As a result, Jonathan essentially betrayed his father and went straight to David.

 2 And Jonathan told David, "Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you." 4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5 For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?" 

 Even though Jonathan told David what his father was plotting, Jonathan was still optimistic about his father and wanted to rescue him from what he was doing to David and before the Lord. Therefore, Jonathan first appeals to his dad’s conscience to obey the Law of Moses.  The Law stated,

 10 lest innocent blood be shed in your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you. (Deuteronomy 19:10)

 24 "'Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' 25 "'Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' (Deuteronomy 19:24-25)

Next, he points out that David has been nothing but loyal to Saul. In addition, everything David has done has benefited Saul! David’s relationship with Saul is not even one of uncertainty or neutrality.  Jonathan reminds Saul that David has done nothing but energetically and genuinely serve and bless Saul!  Jonathan even reminds his dad that he publicly rejoiced in what David accomplished in killing Goliath and, as such, announced to all of Israel that David was completely trustworthy.

 This is one of the rare occasions in the second half of the book of Samuel when it appears there is still a glimmer of hope for Saul because he seems to have actually LISTENED to his son and committed to doing the right thing!

 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death."

 Saul gives Jonathan the most significant assurance possible of David’s safety.Saul swears that as long as GOD is alive, David will not be executed.  It's not as long as I’m alive or you're alive, but as long as God is alive, and God can’t die. Thus, Saul issued an order that made it impossible to execute David!  Sadly, however, the story doesn’t end there.  What seems to be Saul turning over a new leaf is, in fact, nothing more than an event that highlights just how insecure Saul really is.  This was a promise Saul had no honest intention of ever keeping and illustrates just how untrustworthy and insecure people are.  Their word is meaningless because it stands on nothing.

 The second characteristic of insecure people is that,

 Insecure people are irrational. - Saul tried to kill David while David ministered to him! 

7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. 8 And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. 9 Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

This is the THIRD time Saul has tried to kill David with his spear, and he does so as David humbly serves him! When David got back from killing a bunch of Philistines in battle with such effectiveness that they fled from David, Saul didn’t acknowledge it by giving him a seat at the table as the champion of Israel or even treat him as a son-in-law and just let him exist in the court as a family; instead, he treated him as a slave and relegated him to once again serve as a musician in the background.  David was background music!

Now listen, there is nothing dishonorable about what David is doing, but this isn’t what you do with the most prominent and skilled warrior in Israel! Imagine if Slash, the lead guitarist from Guns and Roses, gave his life to Christ and got plugged in with Venture to grow in his faith and bear much fruit (John 15).  That would be really cool, wouldn’t it?  However, imagine if we asked him to help set up the band's equipment on Sunday mornings but never asked him to play. Would that make any sense at all?   It's not that helping set up the equipment isn’t an admirable and needed way to serve the body; it just wouldn’t make any sense, given his talent!

Saul is so foolishly insecure that he’s actually angered by David's humble, sincere service—irrational!!As we’ve stated numerous times now, he can’t even do selfish right!  David’s first job in Saul’s court was playing music for him, which used to work (1 Samuel 16:23) when nobody knew who David was.  But now that David is highly respected and loved as a soldier and leader, Saul can’t even enjoy the rare, anointed talent of David’s musical ability that has proven to ease his soul.  Saul’s insecurity as a man provided the perfect petri dish for the bacteria of jealousy, selfishness, envy, and paranoia to grow with explosive grotesqueness, to the point Saul irrationally lashed out to try and once again kill David!

 The third characteristic of insecure people is that,

 Insecure people are bullies. - Saul scared his daughter (David’s wife) into betraying David! 

11 Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning.

 Note: Presumably, this happened relatively late at night, sometime after Saul had unsuccessfully tried to kill David with his spear.  As he sat there stewing in the anger that spewed from his insecurity, he decided to finish things once and for all in the morning.  Interestingly, as angry as he is, he ironically doesn’t want to go kill David at that moment; maybe it was because he was too tired, or possibly he had drank too much that night, or perhaps it was because he wanted as many people as possible to witness him kill the champion who had killed Goliath, and as such, prove to everybody he was the true champion—in the words of Rick Flair, “if you want to be the man you got to beat the man!”  But for whatever reason, Saul chose to delay things until morning, so he sent spies to watch David’s house.

 But Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed." 12 So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes.

Note: This is another potential picture of Israel's sad spiritual condition. Many scholars believe the word translated “image” indicates that it was a life-size idol. It could also have been some sort of life-size image used in the worship of Yahweh. I also found it interesting that some scholars quickly assign this image to Michal.  The text doesn’t tell us whose image it was, but it does tell us it was David’s house, so no matter who owned it, David, as the head of the household, allowed it to be there!  The point in bringing this up is to remind us that although the Bible uses David and his throne to point us to Jesus, it never attempts to put him on a pedestal as Jesus.  The greatest King of Israel was still like us, the greatest of sinners who desperately needed a savior.

 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick." 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him." 16 And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair at its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go. Why should I kill you?'"

 When Saul sends messengers to summon David the next morning, everything hits the fan. Instead of killing David in David’s house, he apparently plans to kill David in his court, making it a clear display of his sovereignty as King; that he, as King of Israel, was mightier than the mightiest warrior of Israel.

 We also see that Saul's rage is still in full swing. The first report that came back to Saul was that David was in bed sick and presumably too ill to walk. So, Saul responded by ordering his men to pick him up in his bed and bring him to his court so he could kill David in bed.Saul was likely ecstatic at this point about how easy this was going to be for him, and in his narcissism, he may have even thought God arranged it to exonerate him somehow!

 However, when the messengers went to get him, they found the image instead of David, and as such, it appears they brought Michal back instead and told Saul what they saw.Some come down hard on Michal at this point, and there is no doubt that her response is a total betrayal of her husband, whom we know she loves.  Michal had, on her initiative, let her husband know his life was in danger and helped him escape.  So, I don’t for a second believe Michal didn’t love David.  She clearly feared for her life, and therefore, we need to be very careful about how hard we judge her response. However, the fact still remains that she betrayed her husband and, in so doing, gave her dad something he could now use with genuine honesty to justify executing David.  This justified Saul’s paranoia about David and gave him something he could use to prove it to others!

 The fourth characteristic of insecure people is that,

 Insecure people are ignorantly arrogant. - In the out-of-control narcissism caused by Saul’s insecurity, he foolishly thought he could exercise authority over the Holy Spirit. 

 Now, this is going to be one of the oddest passages in the Bible some of you have ever read; however, it begins with a really cool reunion.

 18 Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.

 Ramah was only two miles from Saul’s town of Gibeah, so it didn’t take David long to get there.6oodhouse, J. (2008). 1 Samuel: Looking for a leader (p. 378). Crossway Books. However, what’s cool about this is that, although we don’t know how many years have passed since Samuel anointed David to be the next King, and we can’t say for sure they hadn’t seen each other, it’s nonetheless really cool that when David runs for his life the first place he goes is Samuel.  It says a ton about who Samuel was and who David believed the God of Samuel, his God, to be.

Now, when it comes to “Naioth,” which in the following verses is worded as “Naioth in Ramah,” scholars are not entirely sure what it means.Some believe it could be a particular type of dwelling, but I side with those who think it implies pasture lands and could even be a part of what David was reflecting on when he wrote Psalm 23:2 – “2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”

The point is that the first place David, who appears to have no family of his own blood in Gibeah, fled to was the one man he knew was secure in his identity as a child of God! We don’t know how long before word got back to Saul that this is where David was hiding out; the text doesn’t tell us, but it eventually got back to Saul, and here’s what happened. This is where it gets weird!

 19 And it was told Saul, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" And one said, "Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah." 23 And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

First, the word for messengers is a little too soft of a translation. In our context, we see that as nothing more than somebody coming to tell me something. Hoffner calls the messengers “henchmen.” 7Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (1 Sa 19:19–24). Lexham Press. These guys are the police, and they are coming to take David to Saul.

These “henchmen,” however, end up stripping down naked, lying on the ground, and prophesying all night long. How do we know they ended up like Saul?  Well, because the text says, “he too …” indicating that Saul ended up like the men he had sent before.

What in the world is going on with the men under Samuel, and what happened to Saul and his men? Does this mean Samuel’s group of prophets were all lying around naked? It's possible. Let me share some observations from a couple of people on this.

First, H. A. Hoffner wrote, “Group prophesying is known from the Bible as early as the age of Moses. Joshua once suggested to Moses that he prohibit people other than himself—such as Eldad and Medad (Num 11:27–29)—from prophesying in public, lest they detract from his authority. Moses rebuked Joshua for this suggestion since he, a humble man, was delighted that God’s Spirit was manifesting Himself in others. If the prophets were dancing or throwing themselves on the ground in ecstasy, then Samuel’s erect and stationary posture indicated that he was observing and supervising, not himself possessed by the Spirit. As the messengers observe this group ecstasy the Spirit of God takes control of them also, and “they too ‘prophesied’ [i.e., were overcome by a prophetic trance]”. This was intended to disable the messengers and thus prevent them from fulfilling their mission from Saul.”8Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (1 Sa 19:19–24). Lexham Press.

D. Phillips wrote, “prophesying” seems to refer to an ecstatic state in which these men would speak with messages from God. … We are reminded here of God’s seizing the lips of Balaam, the prophet hired to curse Israel in the days of the exodus, from whose mouth God would allow only blessings to fall on his people, and only curses on his enemies (Num. 24:1–9). We are not told what prophecies were made by Saul’s agents, but we can easily imagine that under the Spirit’s control they, like Balaam, spoke great truths concerning God’s protection of the righteous and his promises for the success of his Messiah and the gospel.”9Phillips, R. D. (2012). 1 Samuel (P. G. Ryken & R. D. Phillips, Duguid Iain M., Eds.; 1st ed., pp. 344–349). P&R Publishing.

Woodhouse wrote, “… It is called “prophesying,” but “prophesying” could apparently take various forms. When the harmful spirit from God overcame Saul so that he “raved” in his house, the word used is, literally, “prophesied” (1 Samuel 18:10). On the other hand, when Samuel was established as a “prophet,” he became the one who brought the word of the Lord to Israel (1 Samuel 3:20, 21). In other words, “to prophesy” means different things in different contexts. What seems to be common to the various contexts is speech under the influence of a power beyond the speaker. The activity of the company of prophets seems to be neither mad raving nor calm delivery of the word of the Lord. It appears to have been some kind of speaking activity, perhaps songs of praise, under the influence of the Spirit of God.” The surprise for everyone was that as the messengers from Saul approached Samuel’s band of prophets, the Spirit of God overpowered them, and they began to “prophesy.” Whatever this was precisely, it seems to have meant that they were no longer capable of carrying out the king’s command to “take” David. Saul heard what had happened … [and when] it had happened to him …The powerful king was utterly powerless before the power of the Spirit of God. In this respect he was no different from his messengers, except that the Spirit of God overpowered the king before he had even reached Naioth.”10Woodhouse, J. (2008). 1 Samuel: Looking for a leader (pp. 378–383). Crossway Books.

Therefore, the main point is that God protected his anointed one, David, but he did so by showing Saul, who arrogantly acted as if he had authority over the Holy Spirit, that he had no authority at all! Saul’s insecurity had led him to live his life as a completely out-of-control narcissist who foolishly thought he could walk right into what God was doing with the prophet of Israel (Samuel) and take command of it!   Saul knew precisely what was taking place in Ramah, but he went there anyway, thinking the Holy Spirit would stop working in and through Samuel and his school of prophets and instead serve him!  That is entirely irrational, but it’s exactly the kind of illogical thinking that comes from our insecurities.

Insecurity leads us to do, feel, and think the opposite thing we should, which for Saul comes out as him thinking completely incorrectly about who he is and who the Holy Spirit is! The Holy Spirit is not a force floating haphazardly through the universe that you and I can learn some secret code to command it, but rather the third person of the eternal GODHEAD who is almighty, all-powerful, and totally sovereign!  The Holy Spirit is the ONE Jesus sent that HE said would be better for us (John 16:7) than even HE WAS because although Jesus was with His followers, the Holy Spirit would be IN Christ’s followers (John 14:17)!

So, what do we do to keep ourselves from living an insecure life?  As followers of Jesus, how do we live securely in who God has made us to be in Him?

Well, last week, I told you I would wrap up the next three weeks of our study of 1st Samuel with a “Security Key” made available to us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here’s what we looked at last week.

 Security Key #1:  Define your value by God’s appraisal (the blood of Jesus), not man’s!

 We said if you don’t know what something is worth, you can’t make wise decisions.  Therefore, for us to experience a secure life in Christ, we need to stop selling ourselves to a world that only considers us worthy enough to rent. Instead, we need to live in complete glad submission to the one who already declared our worth not with a conceptual appraisal but with his own blood.  We are worth the life of CHRIST!  If you want to live a secure life, you have to start there!

 Security Key #2: Believe your future in Christ is guaranteed and better than anything this world offers.

 “Midlife crisis” happens when you realize you likely have less time on this earth than you have already lived, which causes you to start thinking about the dreams, visions, and goals you are likely running out of time to ever experience or achieve.  For the first time in your life, you realize how fast life goes by and how little control you have over it.  For some, it can create a huge insecurity that leads them to start making irrational, foolish decisions to try and make something of themselves and their “future” before it's “too late.”

They convince themselves to change jobs, buy a different car, go into debt to chase a hobby, sell their profitable business, and purchase a “worm farm” where they will make a fortune but never have to do any work!  Some even walk away from their spouse and family to try and relive the “glory days” with their now much more significant financial resources and supposed wisdom (FYI – if you walk away from your family to find freedom, you are fundamentally NOT walking in wisdom).  Ultimately, most make a complete mess of life when they start believing they control their future because common sense says you can’t do anything that guarantees a particular outcome.  We can do things that increase the likelihood, but we cannot guarantee anything.  It’s basic common sense.  However, you can’t live with that truth when you struggle with insecurity.  You have to find a way to fix it, or you are miserable.  The problem is that everything you do eventually proves incapable of guaranteeing anything in your future!

So far, this sounds depressing, right?  But notice the emphasis on us creating a guaranteed future, not God!

The Gospel is that Jesus has guaranteed us a future that will be more glorious than anything we can achieve, and we can stand secure knowing it will happen!

21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Discussion Guide

In these three weeks of comparing security and insecurity in the story of Saul and David we are learning keys on how to become a spiritually secure person. The second key is to becoming secure is believe that our future in Christ is BETTER than anything the world offers today.

In taking a group through the Pilgrim’s Progress over the last several weeks, there is a scene in the section of the book in Interpreter’s House where Christian has this point illustrated to him.

“I saw moreover in my dream, that the Interpreter took him by the hand, and had him into a little room, where sat two little children, each one in his chair. The name of the eldest was Passion, and the name of the other Patience. Passion seemed to be much discontented, but Patience was very quiet. Then Christian asked, “What is the reason of the discontent of Passion?” The Interpreter answered, “The governor of them would have him stay for his best things till the beginning of the next year, but he will have all now; but Patience is willing to wait.”

Then I saw that one came to Passion, and brought him a bag of treasure, and poured it down at his feet: the which he took up, and rejoiced therein, and withal laughed Patience to scorn. But I beheld but a while, and he had lavished all away, and had nothing left him but rags.

Christian: Then said Christian to the Interpreter, Expound this matter more fully to me.

Interpreter: So he said, These two lads are figures; Passion of the men of this world, and Patience of the men of that which is to come; for, as here thou seest, passion will have all now, this year, that is to say, in this world; so are the men of this world: They must have all their good things now; they cannot stay till the next year, that is, until the next world, for their portion of good. That proverb, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” is of more authority with them than are all the divine testimonies of the good of the world to come. But as thou sawest that he had quickly lavished all away, and had presently left him nothing but rags, so will it be with all such men at the end of this world.

Christian: Then said Christian, Now I see that Patience has the best wisdom, and that upon many accounts. 1. Because he stays for the best things. 2. And also because he will have the glory of his, when the other has nothing but rags.

Interpreter: Nay, you may add another, to wit, the glory of the next world will never wear out; but these are suddenly gone. Therefore Passion had not so much reason to laugh at Patience because he had his good things first, as Patience will have to laugh at Passion because he had his best things last; for first must give place to last, because last must have his time to come: but last gives place to nothing, for there is not another to succeed. He, therefore, that hath his portion first, must needs have a time to spend it; but he that hath his portion last, must have it lastingly: therefore it is said of Dives, “In thy lifetime thou receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” Luke 16:25.

Christian: Then I perceive it is not best to covet things that are now, but to wait for things to come.

Interpreter: You say truth: for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18. But though this be so, yet since things present and our fleshly appetite are such near neighbors one to another; and again, because things to come and carnal sense are such strangers one to another; therefore it is, that the first of these so suddenly fall into amity, and that distance is so continued between the second.”

In order to receive the security that God intends for his children to experience, our walk of faith must lead us to become characterized by patience. Patience is driven by being able to see that what God is offering to us in the future is the best thing that we could ever imagine. This is the essence of what it means to live as a Christian.

Discussion Questions

  • How does Saul’s insecurity manifest in him not being dependable?
  • How did insecurity turn Saul into a violent person?
  • How did the people around Saul suffer from his insecurity?
  • Where did David find his security?
  • How do we know David was secure, but not perfect?
  • What was the level of David’s confidence in God?
  • How do you struggle to be patient for what comes later?
  • How can we gain patience in order to live more securely?