Over opinionated with Josh Scott
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Over opinionated with Josh Scott
The Perils of Jealousy: (The life of David PT.3) #88
David and Jonathan's godly friendship demonstrates how two men can share deep love without romantic implications, while King Saul's destructive jealousy highlights the dangers of comparison and hardening one's heart against God's will.
• David becomes friends with Jonathan after defeating Goliath in battle
• King Saul grows intensely jealous when people praise David more than him
• An "evil spirit from God" torments Saul, possibly through judicial hardening
• Saul attempts to kill David multiple times with a spear while David plays music
• Saul tries to have David killed in battle by offering his daughter in marriage
• David completes Saul's challenge by bringing double the requested Philistine foreskins
• Jonathan warns David of his father's murderous intentions through a secret arrow signal
• David and Jonathan make a covenant friendship that transcends political interests
• Saul's jealousy becomes so extreme he tries to kill his own son Jonathan
• David flees from Saul's court while maintaining his integrity and friendship with Jonathan
Remember that God has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and goodness.
Welcome back everyone to Overopinionated. We took last week off. We're a tri-monthly podcast. We try to do free podcasts a month right now. Last time we were here we were talking about the situation in Gaza, and after that we're going to go into the Life of David series. It'll be the third part in the Life of David, where we will discuss 1 Samuel, chapter 18, after the battle with Goliath.
Speaker 1:So let's jump into our daily reading, the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom, come thy will be done as it is in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil, for divine is the kingdom, the power, power and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Speaker 1:Now let's go to the apostles creed. The apostles creed I believe in god, the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate. He was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell and on the third day he rose again, he ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand of the Father. He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of the saints and forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life. Everlasting. Amen Once again, oh, descendant to the dead. Many people believe that that means just as burial. When it talks about the Holy Catholic Church, it means the universal church which all Christians are a part of, not the Roman Catholic Church.
Speaker 1:So now we're going to move into the scripture and talk about King David and King Saul. After well, he wasn't king yet David after his defeat, after he defeated, forgive me, after he beat Goliath the giant. 1 Samuel 18, verse 1 in the New International Version. After David had finished talking with Saul, jonathan became one in spirit with David and he loved him as his self. From that day, saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
Speaker 1:I want to talk about Jonathan and David for a little bit. It's a very clear example of having a good, godly friendship, and there is a friendship between two men that are very strong, that can be very strong and it's very good to have these friendships in the holiness of God. They love each other. Now many people will say that King David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship. This comes from the LGBT movement, where they are grasping at straws, desperately trying to fit in their sinful ideology into the Bible. That's all it is. It's sad because David and Jonathan do love each other. Two men can love each other in friendship without it being gay. The left likes to make everything gay and we know this. That's not what this is. Jonathan has a wife and we know from later on that david likes women, sometimes a little too much. So, um, this is not that. This is not sexual. It is a friendship, it is a. It is almost a uh, a brotherhood, for lack of a better term. It's what some people would say today. He's a brother from another mother, and that might sound cringe coming from me, but that's what this is. That's what this is.
Speaker 1:Let's go to verse 5. Whatever message Saul sent to him, david was so successful that, saul. Let's go to verse 5. The Philistines, the women, came out from all of the town of Israel to meet King Saul, with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and the trombles and lyres. As they danced and sang, saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.
Speaker 1:So this is where we see King Saul's jealousy growing in his heart, because it wasn't enough for him to kill thousands of his enemies, because King David killed his tens of thousands. I'm the king. Gosh, darn it. How dare you praise someone else more than me? Jealousy man, a jealousy in the human heart can kill. He's still getting praised. So jealousy in the human heart can extinguish what you are called to do, looking upon others to say how are they so much better off than me, instead of just focusing on what you're called to do, on your mission. God's still using you. And listen, the person that you believe is having more success for you. God is still using them, but what they're offering is nothing compared to what God already has. So what you need to say is whatever I can do for God, may it be for the glory of God and not myself. That's Saul's problem here. That's Saul's problem here, verse 8.
Speaker 1:Saul was very angry and refrained discipline in him greatly. They have credited David with tens of thousands. He fought, but with me only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom? He's afraid that David's going to come from his kingdom. He's afraid that David this is a paranoia that David's going to commit a mutiny or something, or the people are going to demand that David become king. That's what King Saul is afraid of.
Speaker 1:But we see later on, when King David had the opportunity to take King Saul's life, even after Saul had tried to kill him multiple times, king David didn't do it. He just cut a piece off of his robe to show him that he would never do it. So that's not what David wants. That's not what David's trying to do accomplish, verse 9. And from that time Saul kept a close eye on David.
Speaker 1:The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house while David was playing the liar as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to him I'll pin David to the wall, but David eluded him twice. So let's look at this. The evil spirit from God has always made me think what exactly this was. I think it's probably depression, anxiety, and there's a concept that I believe believe in. It's called judicial hardening, where god will harden your heart. God will actively harden your heart because you have hardened it, because first and god, as a punishment, will make it harder on you for you to repent he will harden your heart, he will make you more, he will make you Shoot, more susceptible to the evil of this world Because you refuse to do what he asks. He's letting you to become more and more evil, which is already inside of you, and he is not giving you grace In restraining that evil that you want to commit. I think about um pharaoh, where pharaoh hardens his heart and then god hardens his heart and they go back and forth, which one says what god hardens heart, pharaoh hardens heart. And um, I think about Genesis, when Abraham lied and said that his wife was his sister and the man was going to sleep with Abraham's wife, but God stopped him because he didn't know it was Abraham's wife. I mean, god stopped him and that is an act of God, stopping us from being as sinful as we can be. So that's what God's doing. God is stopping. God is no longer stopping Saul from the wickedness of his heart and he is hardening it on top of it. And then so Saul tries to kill David. He throws two spears at David Verse 10. The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in the house while David was playing the liar as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and hurdled at it and said to himself I'll pan David to the wall. But David eluded him twice Verse 12,. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men. And David led the troops in their campaigns and everything he did. He had great success because the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him because all Israel and Judea loved David, because he led them in their campaign.
Speaker 1:Saul said to David here is my older daughter, merab. Forgive me for mispronouncing her name, it's M-E-R-A-B. I will give her to you in marriage. Only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord. Only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord. For Saul said to himself I will not raise you a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that.
Speaker 1:But David said to Saul who am I and what is my family or my clan in Israel? That I should become the king's son-in-law? So he's saying who am I? I'm just a shepherd boy. How, uh, the king's son-in-law? So he's saying who? Who am I? I'm just a shepherd boy. How can I be your son-in-law after Saul tried to kill him twice? David is still humble, it's amazing.
Speaker 1:So when the time came for Amareb, saul's daughter, to be given oh man, I'm so sorry I hadn't went over all these words, but it's A-D-R-I-E-L of Marala, m-e-h-o-l-a-h, verse 20. Now Saul's daughter I'm just going to skip her name was in love with David and they told Saul about it. He was pleased. I will give her to him. He thought, so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. And so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. So Saul said to David Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law. Then Saul ordered his attendants speak to David privately and say Look, the king likes you and his attendants all love you and now become his son-in-law. They repeated these words to David. But David said do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor and little known. When Saul's servant told him what David had said, saul replied saying to David the king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins to take revenge on his enemies.
Speaker 1:Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines. Let's just stop there. So Saul wants David to die and he's sending him out in battle of hopes of him dying um, so he doesn't no longer have the problem and David's job is to give him um, to give him a hundred Philistine foreskins. I? Um just to go back. I think maybe this is a marital ritual, um, except the murder part. Maybe we should bring that back. If, if you want to marry my daughter, you have to give me 104 skins of my enemies, um, maybe that's how I should have went to my father-in-law when I? Um told him I was gonna ask my wife to marry me. I should should have just been like I'm going to ask so and so, well, I'm going to ask Rachel to marry me. I think it's fine if it's their name. So here's a bag of 104 skins. Do with them what you will. Maybe that's a practice we need to bring back. Well, I just my wife says no, I'm joking, by the way, please do not give your father-in-law a foreskin. Okay, let's continue.
Speaker 1:Verse 26 when the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allowed time elapsed, david took his men with him and went out to kill 200 Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They continued out the numbers to the king so that David might become the king's son-in-law might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Em in marriage. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and his daughter Em loved David, saul became still more afraid of him and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. That's sad. He saw that the Lord was with him and Saul was afraid of him and made him his enemy for the rest of his days. That's sad. And David went above and beyond and doubled the amount of Philistine foreskins. So he did more than what he was expected. Um verse 30,.
Speaker 1:The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle and as often as they did, david met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers and his name became well known. Just reflect on that chapter Um, well known. Just reflect on that chapter. That's where jealousy can get you. Jealousy can get you looking the wrong way. Guys, you don't want to do that. Let's go to chapter. I thought we would only be able to do one chapter, but I think we can probably do two. So we're going to go to chapter 19, verse 1.
Speaker 1:Saul told his son, jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great likeness to David and he warned him my father, saul, is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard moving, go into the hiding and stay in there. So their friendship was so strong. He told them about his father's plot.
Speaker 1:That man, just a heartbreaking situation. Your dad wants to kill someone that you love, one of your best friends that has done no wrong. You're trying to talk him out of it and he's just crazy. It's like having a family member Now, this is the example in the Bible is a much worse case to be in, but it's like having a family member that is a complete conspiracy theorist on any topic or just a certain topic. That will not let it go. That drives him crazy. So he drives the entire family crazy and you're begging him. Please read verified news sources. Please look at this, please look at this. But he's just scrolling on tiktok and looking at stuff he agrees with on uh, that and facebook, youtube, and he's totally convinced. That's basically what jonathan's going through, except his dad wants to kill david his his dad is so paranoid. It's's a very similar situation.
Speaker 1:Verse 3,. I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and will let and will tell you what I found out. Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul, his father, and said to him let not the king do wrong to his servant, david. He has not wronged you and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He says Then would you do wrong to an innocent man, david, by killing him for no reason? Saul listened to Jonathan and took his oath. Surely, as the Lord lives, david will not put you to death. So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul and David was with Saul and, as before, once more war broke out and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such a force that they fled before him.
Speaker 1:But an evil spirit from the Lord came on, saul, and as he was in the house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre by the way, I'm not calling David a lyre, that is the instrument he's playing, it's L-Y-R-E. Okay, just because sometimes I think it might sound like I'm calling him a lyre. I'm not Verse 10. Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him. As Saul drove the spear into the wall that night, david made his escape. Saul sent men to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning, but M David's wife warned him If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. So we have two of Saul's children looking out for David because their father has went crazy, trying to kill David. Crazy and in jealousy and paranoia and hardening his heart and the judicial hardening of God's.
Speaker 1:This is. This is someplace you don't want to be now. This is something that Solomon, king Solomon, wrote. Uh, I'm sorry, this is. Uh, forgive me, this is something that King's oh, darn it. This is something that Solomon, king Solomon, wrote. I'm sorry, this is. Forgive me, this is something that King. Oh, darn it. This is something that the prophet Samuel once I get it out. The prophet Samuel warned Israel things would happen like this, but Israel did not listen. They said we want to be like the rest of the world. Give us a king. Samuel tried to warn them. This was their consequence Verse 12,.
Speaker 1:But Em let David down through a window and he fled and escaped. Then Em took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goat's hair on the head. When Saul sent to the men to capture David, em said he is ill. Then Saul sent to the men to capture David. M said he is ill. Then Saul sent to the men back to see David and told him Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him. But when the men entered there was an idol in the bed and he heard was some goat hair? Heard was some goat hair. Saul said to him why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped? And told him he said to me, let me get away. Why should I kill you?
Speaker 1:David had fled and his message he sent to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Noth and stayed there. Word came to Saul. David is in Noth and Ramah, so he sent the men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing as their leader, the Spirit of the Lord came on Saul's men and they also prophesied. Saul was talked about and he sent more men and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time and they prophesied. Finally, he himself left Ramah and went to the great schism at Sceath.
Speaker 1:I'm so sorry, guys, I am having a hard time with these words, these biblical names, places and names of people I definitely struggle with. So please forgive me, thank you for bearing with me and thank you for hopefully you're following me in your Bible. And he asked where are Samuel and David? Over at Raph and Ramah. They said so. Saul went to Raph and Ramah, but the Spirit of God came even on him and he walked along prophesying. And he came to Raph, he stripped off his garments and he prophesied in Samuel's presence and he laid naked all that next day and all that night. This is why people say is Saul among the prophets? So God stopped Saul from trying to kill David using his spirit to make these men prophesy. He sent three different groups of men all start prophesying and stopped him from killing David. And then that happens to him. I think we can go one more chapter, and this is a Hopefully. There's a lot, guys, the words I can't say, of places and people. I'm just going to say the first initial. Please follow me and please forgive me for that. It will make the reading more smooth.
Speaker 1:Verse Chapter 20. First, samuel, chapter 20, verse 1. Then David fled from Amadar and went to Jonathan and asked what have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged you, your father, that he is trying to kill me? Never, jonathan replied. You are not going to die. Look, my father doesn't do anything great or small without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn't so. But David took an oath and said your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes. And he said to himself Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved. Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a strength between me and death.
Speaker 1:Jonathan said to David Whenever you want me to do, I'll do it for you. So David said Look, tomorrow is new morning feast and I am supposed to dine with the king, but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. If your father misses me at all, tell him. David earnestly asked my permission but hurried to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for the whole clan. If he says very well, then your servant is safe, but if he loses his temper, you can assure that he is determined to harm you. As for you, show kindness to your servant. You have brought them into a covenant with you before the lord. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself. Why hand me over to your father?
Speaker 1:So we've seen david playing with jonathan and jonathan keeps reassuring david. I won't let this happen, never. Jonathan said. If I had leased the winkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you. David asked who will tell me if your father answers harshly Come? Jonathan said let's go out into the field. So they went there together.
Speaker 1:Then Jonathan said to David intends to harm you. May the lord deal with jonathan. Be it ever so greatly surveiller if I do not let you know and I send you away in peace. So jonathan saying may god basically judge me harshly if I don't tell you what is going to happen and jonathan stays true to his word. May the lord be with you, as he has been with my father, but show me unfailing kindness, like the Lord's kindness, as long as I live, so that I may not be killed. And do not ever cut off your kindness from my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies for the face of the earth.
Speaker 1:This is a godly friendship love. Just like I said earlier, this is not a homosexual love. Both of these men are straight and have lives. Um, but I know the left tries to make everything gay. Jonathan and David are not gay. Um, there are other passages in the Bible of gay characters and, um, if you'd like to read about them, you can. Um, I think you can find one in Genesis, chapter 11. I'm pretty sure it's Genesis 11 of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you would like to refer to your gay pride, that would be a part of it, if you'd like to go to that as a reference. But other than that, you don't get Jonathan and David. Okay, verse 18.
Speaker 1:Then Jonathan said to David tomorrow is the new moon feast. You will be missed because your seat will be empty. The day after tomorrow toward evening. Go to the place where you hide when his troubles begin and wait by the stone of E and I will shoot three arrows to the side of it as though I were shooting at a target. Then I will send the boy and say Go, find the arrow. If it is to him, look, the arrows are on the side of you, bringing them here. Then comes because surely as the Lord lives, you are safe, there is no danger. But if I say to the boy, look, the arrows are beyond you, then you must go because the Lord has sent you away and about the master you and I discuss, remember the Lord is witness between you and me forever.
Speaker 1:So David hid in the field and when the new morning feast came to day, the king sat down to eat. He sat in his customary place by the wall opposite of Jonathan, and Abed sat next to Saul. But David's place was empty. Saul said nothing that day, for he thought something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean. Surely he is unclean. But by the next day, the second of the month, david's place was empty again. Then Saul said to him.
Speaker 1:Jonathan said to his son, jonathan, why hasn't the son of Jesse came to the mill either yesterday or today? Jonathan answered David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. He said let me go, because our father is observing this sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers. That is why he has not come to the king's table. Saul's angle.
Speaker 1:Saul's anger flowered up at jonathan and he said to him you are a son of a perverse and rebellious woman. Well, isn't that the person you? You made the kid with saul, but anyway, you're a son of a perverse and rebellious woman, don Don't? I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse, to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you. As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die. Why should he be put to death? What has he done? Jonathan asked his father, but Saul hurled a spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father's intentions were to kill David. So Saul got so mad he tried to kill his own son. He is a madman. That man is heartbreaking. That is heartbreaking, son, he is a mad man. I mean it's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking.
Speaker 1:Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger on the second day of the feast. He did not eat because he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of david. In the morning jonathan sent out to the field for the messenger of david. He had a small boy with him. He said to the boy Run and find the arrows I shot. As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, jonathan called after him Isn't the arrow beyond you? Then he shouted Go, hurry quickly, do not stop. The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. The boy knew nothing about all this, only Jonathan and David. Then Jonathan gave his weapon to the boy and said go, carry them back to you.
Speaker 1:After a boy had gone, david got up from the south side of the stone and bowed buried down before Jonathan three times with his face to the ground and kissed each other and wept together, but David wept the most. So you have these two men that love each other that are so heartbroken by Jonathan's father, saul. Even Saul tried to kill him in mass anger. Verse 42 Jonathan said to David go in peace, for you have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord. The Lord is our witness between you and me and between your descendants and my descendants forever. David fell and Jonathan went back to his own town.
Speaker 1:And we're talking about some heartbreaking verses, heartbreaking, heartbreaking verses. And just think about that. Think about being in that situation of David and Jonathan, close friends, jonathan's father Jealous Trying to kill him, and the lessons we can learn there of friendship. And I'm going to give you, guys, the verse of the day. I'm actually just pulling up the verse of the day from the YouVersion. I think it's good.
Speaker 1:His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him, who has called us by His own glory and goodness.
Speaker 1:So God's given us the power to live a holy life, even in hard situations. Let's say a prayer and then I'll let you on your merry way. Dear God, let jealousy never hurt us, calling, comparing us to other people. Let us never harden our hearts so much that we become cold, that you will harden our heart as well, that we become cold, that you will harden our heart as well. Let us see more friendships in the world, like Jonathan and David and in the church. Allow us to be in these friendships. Thank you for your holiness and your goodness and your mercy. Please be with us In your holy name, lord Jesus. Amen. Thank you everybody for this episode of Our Opinion opinion. We covered more chapters than I thought we would, but if we only cover one chapter every time, we might be in the life of david for a while, and we're still probably going to be in the life of david for a while. But thank you guys. I hope you all have a great day and god bless you.
