Saul/David: A Tale of Two Kings, part 2/3

Power reveals what we worship, and nothing exposes that faster than how a leader treats the weak. We start with a deceptively simple idea from Scripture: a pastor is a shepherd. From there, we walk through the contrast between Saul and David, where Saul’s halfhearted search for lost donkeys shows a heart bent toward self, while David’s daily life among the sheep shows what stewardship looks like when no one is applauding. 

We connect David’s shepherding to Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd, the One who lives among His people and assumes full responsibility for their preservation. That theme runs through the whole conversation: Christ does not abandon His sheep, does not shrug when they stray, and does not outsource their rescue. We also talk about why God so often prepares His servants through “small” and hidden duties, and how David’s courage against the lion and the bear becomes training for far greater battles and far greater responsibility. 

The discussion turns practical as we ask what godly leadership should look like in real life: guidance instead of dominance, service instead of image, integrity of heart alongside skillfulness of hands. We don’t ignore David’s failures either, because his repentance and renewed concern for “these sheep” points to the need for a perfect Shepherd King, not merely a better human ruler. If you’ve ever felt tempted to trust visible power more than the invisible faithfulness of God, this will reset your perspective. 

Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about biblical leadership, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: where do you see the Shepherd’s care most clearly right now?

Transcript

Pastor Means Shepherd

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Pastor meaning shepherd. He was a king before he was anointed a king. And so before David was entrusted with Israel, he was entrusted with creatures. Sheep that require feeding, that require his leadership, that require his protection, that require his ability to recover them out of trouble and to defend them. Is this not the kind of a shepherd that we look to? Being sheep of his pasture, our Lord and Savior. Is this not what he does on our behalf? When

Saul’s Indifference Reveals His Heart

SPEAKER_05 1:04

Saul lost the donkeys, they were found and he knew nothing about it. He didn't care. He didn't come home to his father to say, I thought you'd be worried sick, so I came back. Can we send other people out there to go find the sheep or the donkeys? That's not what he does. He doesn't care about the donkeys.

SPEAKER_03 1:26

He never did. He didn't care about his father.

SPEAKER_05 1:34

Otherwise, he would have recognized the value that these donkeys were to his father. But this is not David. Unlike Saul's temporary search for wandering animals, David's relationship to the sheep is continual and custodial. He's always serving them. He's always protecting them. He's always bearing watch over them, safeguarding them. He

David’s Constant Care Mirrors Christ

SPEAKER_05 2:06

never stops. He lives among them and he assumes responsibility for their preservation. Notice David lives among them.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

They never go outside his watchful eye. He stayed living among the sheep.

SPEAKER_05 2:34

And we need to think of these things when we contemplate and meditate on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Did he ever leave his sheep? Does he ever not retrieve them when they go astray? Does he ever not protect his sheep? Does he ever say, well, I'm not going to go after them because my father might be worried about me?

SPEAKER_03 3:09

Christ doesn't do any of these things.

SPEAKER_05 3:13

And his sheep, Christ's sheep, listen, they were always his sheep. He lived among them. He he David lived among them. He was one of them.

SPEAKER_03 3:30

Christ was called the Lamb of God. Because he was a keeper of sheep. He was one of us. He took upon our nature. In essence, the Lamb of God became a sheep. And the shepherd. But he took on our nature. And so we see these things in Christ that we don't often see when we look at a person like Saul.

SPEAKER_05 4:14

Men today are always looking to other men to be their helpers. In our society, we've become too obsessed with political leaders. Christians. We should not be frustrated by all this stuff that is going on in the world. Because our shepherd is always with us. He is always with us. He lives among us. And he assumes all responsibility for our preservation. All of it.

Lions Bears And Training For Rule

SPEAKER_05 4:59

In 1 Samuel 17, when a lion and a bear seize animals from David's flock, David pursues the predators and rescues the sheep. He kills that lion. He kills that bear. And so he was trained for the future throne. Not by ruling military command or having military command first, not by having established himself in some political administration, but in faithful care for the weak. This is what qualified him. The principle here is deeply consonant with those what we see in the Word of God and how and how David as a king, how his vocation resonates, and how we see it in connection with Christ. God commonly prepares his servants for much greater responsibilities through faithfulness in apparently small and hidden duties. So usually when people are prepared for a job or are determined to be qualified for a job, it very often is based on what they were doing before they got the job. There's an aspect about them having done the job before they got there. This is why we require resumes. We want to know what you did before. Meg, go ahead, you want to say something.

SPEAKER_08 6:50

Yeah, when you were talking about David and how he he was he was the keeper of the sheep, right? Well, what also is interesting about the Lord Jesus Christ being the Good Shepherd is that the will of the Father is that he lose not know not one that the Father has given him. And so while David was, I mean, while David was out tending his sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ being the Good Shepherd, is that the will of the Father is that he lose no not one.

SPEAKER_04 7:26

That's right.

SPEAKER_08 7:27

That the Father has given him.

SPEAKER_04 7:28

That's right. Absolutely. Absolutely. Brother Jeffrey, what do you think?

SPEAKER_05 7:36

What do I think? Oh, sorry, Jeff. I forgot that Jeffrey, and I'll get back to you. A minute, I'm sorry. I realize I got two Jeffs again.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Well, good morning, Jonathan. I posted in here a little while ago. Jonathan, a good shepherd would have laid down his life to protect his sheep. That's how much he took responsibility. That's how much responsibility shepherds were to take for their sheep. That was their job. Right. Our good shepherd, the Lord Jesus, he did just that. And David would have done it too if it had been required of him. Of course, we know his story, but nevertheless, he was in that same place. If it would have been necessary for him to die to protect his sheep, he would have done it. Praise God. Yeah, Benigat, what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 8:28

You know, I I don't have any I don't have any disagreement. It's true. I mean, the thing is, you know, I mean, we we have a classic example. I mean, I think the Lord gave soul to the people for asking for a king. It's like, you want a king? Yeah, let me show you what a king can be. Which is selfish and not serving me. And then he decided he would get one that would. And, you know, David is the exemplar of everything we think about the Lord Jesus. I mean, it's it's like the Lord said, I'm gonna make David the way he is, because he's gonna be like a living parable of me. Right. You know, and so you're right. Everything about him, I mean, you know, when he tore the bear of the lion, you know, and all that kind of thing to protect the sheep, and he would give his life for the sheep, and he was out there protecting them and everything, and they knew his name, and etc. So, yeah, I'm in total agreement there.

SPEAKER_05 9:25

Yeah, it's interesting because we see truly here with Saul and David that God never left his sheep. David, David's calling was proof of that. He would make sure that his sheep were going to be tended to, and he knew that Saul wasn't gonna do that, but he didn't let it get so out of hand that he would let his sheep go astray, so he bring he raises up David. And so, and in this, in this, and it goes to what Meg was saying about how God never lets his sheep, his sheep go astray, never.

SPEAKER_04 10:01

Amen. Angie, what do you think?

SPEAKER_09 10:06

Well, I absolutely agree. There's nothing to disagree about. I I just, you know, you see that self, you know, that Saul that saw had in the way that he was just towards David, but I also love this the part of this is where God prepares David and He prepares him for what he's his purpose is for what God's using him for. And he definitely had his own, you know, God's own heart because he would he would definitely be the good shepherd because he trained him for it. Right. Because if we look at the things that that we go through as as you know, followers of Christ, we also get trained for the things we do. Well, howdy, we also get trained for the things that God has us do for him, for his, you know. So I see it too, and I can go back to Genesis where Adam was cultivating. So if you see the things that David was cultivating in the process of being a shepherd, being being things, that is just that's where I see it as. And from my perspective, it's just beautiful to me. This is how it all lines up from the beginning to the end. But I really love the contrast between self and David's surrender to God.

SPEAKER_05 11:19

Yep.

SPEAKER_09 11:19

That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_05 11:21

I love this comment that Cooper Boom, Copper Boom put in. And uh, she says, God doesn't call the prepared, he prepared the call, the call. I love that. That's that's what this is. That's what this is. Sister Vanessa, your thoughts.

SPEAKER_06 11:39

I'm just sitting here thinking, you know, Saul didn't even obey his earthly father.

SPEAKER_04 11:44

No, he didn't.

SPEAKER_06 11:45

So why would anybody think that he would obey the heavenly father? Right. And David obeyed the heavenly father always, and he was always a keeper of the sheep, just like our Lord and Savior.

SPEAKER_05 11:57

Right.

SPEAKER_06 11:58

You know, so he he obeyed everything that he was supposed to obey, and that's why he was the true king.

What Godly Leadership Looks Like

SPEAKER_05 12:05

David's shepherding, it also revealed the character that ought to distinguish a ruler of God's people. It revealed that. A true shepherd does not just regard the flock as an instrument for their own personal gain and advancement. And a godly king regards himself as one who is responsible for the flock, responsible for the people. This is what a godly king is supposed to be about. Using his power and authority to serve God and to serve man with equity and justice and love and care. But you know, today we don't look at that. We look at power and authority and dominance and self-will. But the idea of choosing a man based on how he watches over the flock would be unheard of in today's society. Would be unheard of. And so David was a different, he was a different kind of a king. And I don't know outside of Christ if we've ever seen another one like him. Not that I know of in history. And maybe there have been. But David, he's the kind of person that he risks himself for the sheep that belong to his father. And later, he's called to protect a people who belong to God, his greater father, the ultimate father. And he and his care for them is because is heightened. His his his his the way he protects them is heightened because he knows that these sheep they belong to his father. It added an extra layer of servitude to his father and to his sheep. And so this this connection is always made explicit in scripture. So that we don't have to speculate about things that we can use in scripture to be to convey things, truths, uh by way of allegory. We don't need to do that. Remember, it says that he chose David as his serpent, serpent, servant, sorry, and took him from the sheepfolds, from following the lambs, and brought him to feed Jacob his people. To feed the people, Israel, his inheritance. So in Psalm 78, 70 through 72, it says this. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. The sheepfold is the school for David's kingship. This is where he was being prepared, like Copper said. He was being prepared. And David's courage against the lion and the bear, it prepared him for his battle with Goliath. And so his vigilance over the flock prepared him for Israel, to be a ruler over Israel. And dependence upon God in solitude prepares him to lead God's covenant people. And what we see here is that the shepherd's staff is that which preceded him receiving the royal scepter. It was the shepherd's staff. It is carrying that shepherd's staff faithfully and honorably, which is what made him suitable to take hold of that royal scepter. Angie, go ahead.

SPEAKER_09 16:18

Yeah, brother. I, you know, you said something, and you said he guided his people. Now, if you're seeing a leader is a good guide. They don't have dominance, they don't need to have power or control over someone. They guide them.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

Right.

SPEAKER_09 16:33

So I like when you said that because that's reminded me of that because I've been going into leadership because I really was into a in a group that really had that going on. And so therefore I was like, okay, what is leadership? And I just started doing it. It's guidance. It's never a dominant power control. So I did that, but David didn't. He guided his GP and his staff. It's what he guides. That's it's a guidance. And I just guidance. That's all I'm gonna say. That word came to me, and I just like had to point that out.

SPEAKER_05 17:06

Excellent, sister. Excellent.

David’s Sin And The Return Of Mercy

SPEAKER_05 17:08

And you know, and David, you know, he had extraordinary qualities. I mean, think about it. Because even as a shepherd, he sees, you know, we we see how he deals with things when he gets up, when he's he when he himself gets into trouble, when he himself sins. And and and so when David takes Bathsheba, for example, when he takes Bathsheba, and then he causes Uriah's death, he has her husband put on the front line so that he can get caught in the heat of battle, and so that he can be killed, so that he can then take his wife. And then Nathan comes to David and confronts him through the parable of a poor man's little ew lamb. And we see that in 2 Samuel 12. And so the former shepherd, David, has temporarily behaved not like the protector of the sheep, but like the rich man who seizes another man's lamb. David, who used to be the shepherd of the sheep, this is what he has come to end up doing, something that is unmentionable. But later, after David's sinful senses, when you remember when he counted the number of the people? So when he did this, he ends up bringing judgment upon the people of Israel, and then his his shepherd consciousness returns to him. He comes back with extraordinary force. Remember, he counts the people, and he wasn't supposed to do this, he wasn't supposed to number the people, and then when it comes to his attention, he realizes he was wrong, and then that shepherd mentality comes back. And we see in 2 Samuel 24, 17, where it says this David says, Lo, I have sinned and I have done wickedly. And notice what he says here. But these sheep, what have they done? See, he knows he has to deal with judgment from God because of his sin. And what is the first thing he does? He acknowledges his sin. And he acknowledges that his sin would possibly have an effect on the people, on the sheep. So look at what the mentality is of this shepherd king. He goes to God, he says, Listen, I have sinned. He says, I have sinned, I have done wickedly. But these sheep, the sheep, Lord, what have they done? What have they done? And so David places himself. Listen what he does. He places himself between judgment, the judgment of God, and the people, and he asks that punishment fall upon himself and his father's house. He says, Lord, put it on me. This is my doing. This is my doing. These helpless sheep, what have they done? And here the distinction from Saul, David, between David and Saul becomes very stark and very sharp. Saul repeatedly attempts to preserve himself. And not only did Saul seek to preserve himself, he sought to preserve his own dynasty. Even when God's judgment had been pronounced against him, he still tried to preserve himself and to preserve his own personal dynasty and personal legacy. And even though David was grossly in sin, ultimately he acknowledges his guilt and would rather bear judgment himself than to see his flock destroyed. This was not the character of Saul. David was not a perfect shepherd. But one thing he was he was definitely a repentant. Shepherd. He was a repentant shepherd, and he was still looking out for his sheep, for the sheep, when he came to his senses. And so he would subject himself to judgment.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Why you worship the creation when you can worship the creator, Allah? Meg, you know what to do. Allah is our creator.

SPEAKER_04 22:23

Thank you, sister. Appreciate that.

SPEAKER_05 22:27

So David would not allow himself to see the flock to be destroyed. And so even though he's this imperfect servant, this imperfect shepherd, he does repent. And his very failures point beyond him toward the necessity of a better king. And we have that better king. That better king is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is not flawed in any way whatsoever. And so taken together, you have these two narratives, and they establish a remarkable contrast.

Self Preservation Versus Stewardship

SPEAKER_05 23:09

A contrast that is easy to observe. Saul goes after lost donkeys, which should not have been lost at all. But he goes off looking after lost donkeys. David keeps the sheep. Saul begins his career seeking animals belonging to his earthly father. David is discovered faithfully guarding animals that belong to his father. Saul receives the kingdom and increasingly treats it as something to be retained while David is prepared to receive the kingdom by learning to guard what belongs to another, his king, his God, just like our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. Saul's characteristic temptation becomes possession, self-preservation, self-will. David's calling is stewardship, protection, dependence. Very different. Let me uh do something here really quick so I can get rid of this guy who's worshiping this false idol.

SPEAKER_09 24:31

Thank you, brother. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 24:34

Yeah, we need to see you see what happens when you start talking about the Lord. See, here's my thing. If the Lord is not the Lord, if the Lord is not God, who are you arguing for? Who are you arguing against? But anyway, I'll go on. I'll move on from that. So anyway, Saul is about self-will and preservation. Saul also, he repeatedly fears the people and seeks to maintain a standing before them. See, he likes the people to like him so that he can keep fleecing the people, so that he can keep feeding himself, building his empire. This is what he was about. And so David, at his very best, he fears God and identifies himself with the people that are entrusted to him. See, David was a man of the people. Saul was drunk on being king, drunk on being a ruler, drunk on power and wealth and dynasty building. That was Saul. And it goes so far that Saul himself finally begins to start hunting David as though David were a threat to his own possessions. And that's what he was to Saul, a threat to what he wanted to have. But David, even when Saul lies helplessly before him at his feet, David refused to seize the kingdom by killing the Lord's anointed. David even treated Saul as though he were one of God's sheep. Something Saul could not do. It was never in him to do it. And think about it. Saul left off from pursuing the defying his father's donkeys. But when it comes to losing his stuff and losing his power and authority, he suddenly musters up the courage to go and hunt of all people David. That's the last person King Saul should have been hunting. Even by his own witness, he should have known that's a man you should stay away from. He took down Goliath while you, Saul, coward cowardice, behaved cowardly. And you cause all the people of Israel also to behave that way. David wasn't like this. He took down Goliath and took off his head. And took off his head, showing everyone that he knew how to get ahead. And so he hunts David down like he's some kind of animal. But David preserves his life as well. David saved Saul from himself, meaning from David. And so the shepherd waits for God to give what God has promised. And that's what David was showing. God has promised me a king. I'm not going to get in the way of taking on that role. I will wait until he gives me that throne. I have been assured that I will be in dominion. I have been assured I'm going to have this king, this kingdom. I don't need to go and take it. And Christians, this should be a lesson to us. Not to be overly hasty and anxious. We know what God has promised. Wait for it. Don't try to usurp providential circumstances for your own good, for your own favor, for your own will. Wait on what the Lord has promised. It is coming to you. We know that we're going to be joint heirs with Christ, heirs with his Father. That promise has been made sure and certain. Just wait. Know that it's yours. And know that what he has promised, he will deliver. You can't gather for yourself that which God is trying to take away. And it is a fool's errand to go and try to try to take what God has not promised you, what he's not going to give you. In fact, what he's trying to remove. And so the deepest significance of this contrast lies far beyond either of these two men. Saul represents the inadequacy of kingship centered upon the king. But David introduces the biblical pattern of kingship, which is centered upon the flock. It's not about the king, it's about the flock. The king is always about the flock. Jesus Christ came here to seek and save that which was lost. The donkeys saw lost, and he had no interest in going to find them. But Christ would not rest until all of the sheep are brought into the fold. Because, as Peter says, he is unwilling that any of us should perish. That's what 2 Peter means. Because he does not destroy the world before the time, because he is unwilling that any of us should be caught up in the destruction before we have been brought to faith. Christ is a shepherd that is unwilling that any of his sheep should perish. And this is why this earth still spins to this very day. Because he wants to bring all of his sheep to their final resting place in communion with him for eternity.

The Good Shepherd And A Different Kingdom

SPEAKER_05 31:12

And so David sins demonstrated that Israel requires not just another Davidic ruler, but the perfect shepherd king. And when Christ came, we find that Israel, they did want a king. They did want a king. But now they wanted a king that was made fashioned after their own design. This time they wanted an earthy ruler like David. But that's not the kind of a king he came to be. He came to be a king that would have his dominion in the hearts of his people. And that's how he would rule them. They didn't like that. Because like Saul, they were focused on the visible and not the invisible. And this is the mentality that a lot of people have who call themselves Christians. And this is why we get trapped and caught up in this health and wealth and prosperity type teaching. Because we want to we want the visible things, the stuff. And so the trajectory, therefore, runs from David's sheepfold to a greater son of David, a Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And this is what the Lord Jesus says I am the good shepherd. And the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. There is no greater political statement than any real king has ever said than this. In the kingdom of God, there is no greater statement than that. You can believe this is a political statement. Christ is saying that my sheep belong to me, belong to my father, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure the safety, the preservation of every single one of them, even if it cost me my life, and it did. And it did. Meg, you want to say something?

SPEAKER_08 34:09

Yeah, you know, Saul was Saul was also like looking after earthly things. And when you were talking about that just now, it's when the Lord Jesus Christ came, the Jews thought that he was going, their Messiah was going to be somebody who was going to vindicate them physically.

SPEAKER_04 34:32

Right, right.

SPEAKER_08 34:33

And so when he came, he revealed not the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law. And that what he was going to do was in a spiritual sense. And that was the very thing why they unalived our Savior. That was it. They had no, excuse me, they had no idea that that was their Messiah standing right before them. That's right. And they unalived him. So in in the Old Testament, they took him away as judge, they took him away as priest, they took him away as king. And finally, when he came himself, they unalived him. Yes. And while while Saul was looking for earthly things, he also lost his soul in the process of doing this.

SPEAKER_04 35:27

He did. Terry, what do you think?

Awe At The Love Of Christ

SPEAKER_07 35:34

I'm sorry, I was typing. I just uh was thinking about what love our God is. There is no love that can be expressed as the love that Jesus has shown for for his sheep. There's just no love like that. And I find it comforting and motivating and and awe, I'm awestruck by it. I'm awestruck by the by the love. There's you don't when you talk about other things, other Allah, you don't, people aren't standing in awe and reverence for his love. But we do with our with our God.

SPEAKER_04 36:28

Right. Exactly right, sister. I know.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

You know, I mean the thing is it's it's me.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

It's uh my I'm sorry, my my fiances over here talking and I get a focus here. You know, the thing is, I mean, to me, it's I'm like here. It just it just aws me. I'm watching the chosen right now. And I don't know if you like it or not, but I'm just trying to watch it. I'm actually getting a lot from it. But because of the scripture and because of the drama, actually, I think a lot of it's very personal. And uh even though we can't prove it. But anyway, let's see if it's there. But my point is, whenever I counter that, like it might be the passion of the Christ or something like that, it just overwhelms me that the God whom we revere, the second person of the Trinity, would come to earth in the flesh and live as one of us. I mean, which is such a down thing for him. And put up with what he put up with love and patience and kindness and mercy, that it just overwhelms me. I just want to weep. I just want to get on my face and kiss his feet and say, Lord, just thank you so much. And and the thing is, David is the first indication in the scripture we see of the coming of the Lord. I mean, nowhere near it, but but of who he is. And it it's it's it's it's awesome. That's all I gotta say about that. All right. Vanessa, what do you think?

SPEAKER_06 38:07

I agree with them. I I'm always in awe of God. Always, forever, every single day of my life. He excuses me so much, you know, and I the way Saul was, you know, he didn't love anybody but himself. He was in the self, period. And David loved everybody, you know, he loved the Lord, and he loved his sheep, you know, so he was walking with the Lord and walking with his people. I'm sorry, I'm just I'm a little overwhelmed today with this. So that's that's what I have to say.

SPEAKER_05 38:48

That's okay. Angie, your thoughts at this point.

SPEAKER_09 38:53

At this point, you know, I I absolutely agree with everybody. I am always in, you know, I'm with everybody else. I'm in awe of the Lord. And I just it's a humbling thing that he came down in the flesh, and it humbles me.