Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Friendship, Jealousy, and Marriage
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David,
- 0:04Speaker 1: and that Michael, Saul's daughter, loved him. 1 Samuel 18.28
- 0:08Speaker 1: I thank you, God, for divine protection against my haters.
- 0:16Speaker 1: Thank you that, even when people plot and devise schemes
- 0:19Speaker 1: to betray me and hinder your call for my life,
- 0:23Speaker 1: I will be able to dodge their attacks like David
- 0:25Speaker 1: dodged the spears of Saul. if the marker for promotion
- 0:29Speaker 1: gets unfairly pushed farther back for me because of the
- 0:32Speaker 1: favor you've placed on my life, I will praise you
- 0:36Speaker 1: for allowing me to exceed the expectations of my haters,
- 0:40Speaker 1: proving that you are with me indeed. When broken promises
- 0:45Speaker 1: and deceitful measures seem to be before me, I know
- 0:48Speaker 1: you'll surround me with people of valor who will help
- 0:52Speaker 1: accomplish the impossible task devised against me to slow down
- 0:57Speaker 1: block my blessings. I decree and declare that haters make
- 1:03Speaker 1: room for the greater. And like David, my life is
- 1:08Speaker 1: living proof. In Jesus' name.
- 1:12Speaker 2: Amen.
- 1:15Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
- 1:19Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
- 1:23Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
- 1:35Speaker 2: Friendship, jealousy, and marriage. In our last story, we witnessed
- 1:41Speaker 2: David's triumph over Goliath. The Lord was mightily upon David
- 1:46Speaker 2: and gave him strength to topple the Philistine giant. The
- 1:50Speaker 2: Israelites raced into battle behind David and defeated the Philistines.
- 1:55Speaker 2: In this story, we learn about David gaining a new
- 1:58Speaker 2: family in the house of Saul. His heart is knitted
- 2:01Speaker 2: closely to Jonathan and Michal. Yet the darkness in Saul's
- 2:05Speaker 2: heart continues to seep into his actions, as inspired by
- 2:09Speaker 2: the book of 1 Samuel.
- 2:13Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
- 2:15Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
- 2:20Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
- 2:22Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional, that will give you
- 2:26Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
- 2:30Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
- 2:33Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
- 2:38Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
- 2:40Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
- 2:43Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
- 2:46Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing Word,
- 2:52Speaker 3: by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
- 2:57Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
- 3:03Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org. JackGraham.org. In yesterday's episode, we heard the very
- 3:11Speaker 3: familiar story of David and Goliath. How God delivered the
- 3:15Speaker 3: giant into David's hand and freed Israel from the fear
- 3:18Speaker 3: of the Philistine army. David became a household name in
- 3:22Speaker 3: Israel after that day, and he was welcomed into Saul's household.
- 3:27Speaker 3: Today we'll learn how David's bond of friendship, even brotherhood,
- 3:30Speaker 3: began to strengthen with Saul's family, especially his son Jonathan.
- 3:35Speaker 3: But we will also see how Saul's pride and rebellious
- 3:39Speaker 3: heart continues to grow. It will turn him against David,
- 3:43Speaker 3: so now envy and jealousy clouds his vision. So let's
- 3:48Speaker 3: listen now to today's reading.
- 3:51Speaker 2: David's victory brought him a new family. David served in
- 3:55Speaker 2: the house of Saul, being sent out as a man
- 3:58Speaker 2: of war against all of Israel's enemies. Saul kept David close,
- 4:03Speaker 2: and as a result David and Jonathan became close friends.
- 4:07Speaker 2: Their brotherhood became a source of strength for David, for
- 4:11Speaker 2: Jonathan was the first of many to truly treat David
- 4:14Speaker 2: like a king. Jonathan recognized the favor of God over
- 4:18Speaker 2: David and gave him his armor, sword, and bow. Unlike
- 4:23Speaker 2: Saul's armor, Jonathan's fit perfectly on David. Together, the two
- 4:27Speaker 2: braved many battles. The two worked in perfect tandem, defeating
- 4:32Speaker 2: their enemies swiftly and with might. The people began to
- 4:36Speaker 2: love David, as well as Saul's servants and armies. They
- 4:39Speaker 2: followed him in a way they never followed Saul. They
- 4:43Speaker 2: trusted his skills, but more importantly, they trusted his heart.
- 4:47Speaker 2: David and Jonathan had been out to war against the Philistines.
- 4:51Speaker 2: David flew over the battlefield, waving his sword through the
- 4:55Speaker 2: ranks of the enemy. David was masterful in battle, like
- 4:58Speaker 2: an artist possessed by God. David painted the battlefield red
- 5:03Speaker 2: with the blood of evil warlords. The enemy feared David,
- 5:07Speaker 2: and the people loved him. As they were coming home
- 5:10Speaker 2: from battle, David returned to a parade of people shouting
- 5:13Speaker 2: his name. The streets were filled with women singing and
- 5:17Speaker 2: dancing with their tambourines. Men shouted for joy and played
- 5:21Speaker 2: their instruments. All the women of the capital sang as one, singing,
- 5:25Speaker 2: Saul has struck down thousands, and David his ten thousands.
- 5:30Speaker 2: David's smile reached his eyes. Saul watched the parade from
- 5:35Speaker 2: his home above the city. In his dimly lit room,
- 5:38Speaker 2: Saul sneered at the sight of David's celebration from his window.
- 5:42Speaker 2: His room filled with the echoing sounds of the women's song,
- 5:46Speaker 2: Saul has killed thousands and David his ten thousands. Saul
- 5:51Speaker 2: paced his room, stirring in his own paranoia. What more
- 5:54Speaker 2: can they give him but my kingdom? Saul thought to himself.
- 5:58Speaker 2: From that day forward, the people's song would not escape
- 6:01Speaker 2: Saul's mind. It tormented him and demented his view of David.
- 6:06Speaker 2: One day, David was playing his harp for Saul. The
- 6:09Speaker 2: beautiful music filled the room like the scent of fresh roses.
- 6:13Speaker 2: Yet all Saul could hear was that one song, David
- 6:17Speaker 2: has killed his ten thousands. The words festered in his subconscious,
- 6:22Speaker 2: sitting on his throne with a spear clenched in his fist.
- 6:25Speaker 2: He watched David play. He hated him. He hated who
- 6:30Speaker 2: he would become. But more than that, Saul hated himself
- 6:34Speaker 2: for losing the favor of God. A strange spirit of
- 6:37Speaker 2: contempt came over Saul. His eyes became blurry with rage
- 6:41Speaker 2: and beads of sweat began to drip from his forehead.
- 6:45Speaker 2: I will pin that boy to the wall, Saul whispered
- 6:48Speaker 2: to himself. In that instant, Saul yelled and hurled the
- 6:52Speaker 2: spear towards David. David's eyes lifted from the harp to
- 6:56Speaker 2: the spear just in time and he ducked away as
- 6:59Speaker 2: it flew over his head. Saul took another spear near
- 7:02Speaker 2: his throne and flung it at David. This time, David
- 7:05Speaker 2: leapt to the right, barely getting scratched by the flying spear.
- 7:09Speaker 2: David ran out from the presence of Saul, and Saul
- 7:12Speaker 2: collapsed to his knees and wept. Though he was still
- 7:16Speaker 2: a young man, Saul was afraid of who David would become.
- 7:20Speaker 2: He knew the Lord's Spirit had come upon David just
- 7:23Speaker 2: as quickly as it left him. Saul could not stand
- 7:26Speaker 2: the sight of David, so he promoted him to commander
- 7:29Speaker 2: of a thousand men. In hopes that David would die
- 7:32Speaker 2: in battle, Saul sent him and his men out frequently.
- 7:36Speaker 2: David led them well and had great success in all
- 7:39Speaker 2: his missions, for God was with him. Just as Joseph
- 7:42Speaker 2: in Egypt, David was excellent in all he put his
- 7:45Speaker 2: hands to. Saul stood in awe of David, and his
- 7:48Speaker 2: jealousy turned into complete fear. As Saul's fear grew, Israel's
- 7:53Speaker 2: love grew. He was their champion. Since David had defeated Goliath,
- 7:58Speaker 2: he was meant to marry Merab, Saul's oldest daughter. The
- 8:02Speaker 2: two were betrothed, and David was overwhelmed with honor that
- 8:06Speaker 2: Saul would allow him to be his son-in-law. Although Saul
- 8:10Speaker 2: once tried to kill David, David still held Saul with
- 8:13Speaker 2: great love and honor. David looked at Saul with the
- 8:16Speaker 2: admiration a son had for his father. The time had
- 8:19Speaker 2: drawn close for David and Mirab to get married, but
- 8:23Speaker 2: in a moment of jealousy, Saul gave Mirab to be
- 8:25Speaker 2: married to another man, Adriel. Although confused by Saul's actions,
- 8:31Speaker 2: David did not worry too much, for he and Michal,
- 8:34Speaker 2: Saul's younger daughter, had fallen in love shortly after. The
- 8:38Speaker 2: two cared for each other deeply, and Saul was pleased.
- 8:41Speaker 2: Saul thought a wife would be a perfect trap for
- 8:44Speaker 2: David to lose his edge in battle, so he proposed
- 8:47Speaker 2: that the two be married. In those days, only royalty
- 8:50Speaker 2: married royalty. David was the son of a shepherd and
- 8:54Speaker 2: very poor. I cannot afford to marry Saul's daughter, David said.
- 8:59Speaker 2: So Saul came up with his own plan and said,
- 9:01Speaker 2: The price for my daughter is a hundred foreskins from
- 9:05Speaker 2: the Philistine menace. Saul said this, almost certain David would
- 9:09Speaker 2: fall in battle. There would be no way he could
- 9:11Speaker 2: defeat one hundred Philistines on his own. Luckily, David was
- 9:15Speaker 2: not alone. Mighty men of valor bonded themselves to David.
- 9:19Speaker 2: They loved him like Jonathan loved him, and followed him
- 9:22Speaker 2: wherever he went. Together, they slew 100 Philistines. Pleased, David
- 9:28Speaker 2: brought them before the king. Michal and David were married
- 9:32Speaker 2: later that month, and the two of them loved each
- 9:35Speaker 2: other deeply. Yet Saul would continue to plot David's murder.
- 9:39Speaker 2: The Philistines would continue to rise up against Israel. With
- 9:43Speaker 2: David at the helm of the army, no battle was lost.
- 9:46Speaker 2: The affection of the people for David mirrored David's affection
- 9:50Speaker 2: for God. David drew closer to the Lord day by day,
- 9:54Speaker 2: leaning on Him for strength. All the while, Saul drew
- 9:57Speaker 2: further and further away from God. He was lost in
- 10:01Speaker 2: a well of self-pity and paranoia, a well that would
- 10:04Speaker 2: eventually spill over and seek to drown David.
- 10:11Speaker 3: David's great victory over the giant established him as a
- 10:14Speaker 3: great warrior. His days of tending sheep were now over
- 10:18Speaker 3: and he was welcomed into the household of the king,
- 10:20Speaker 3: King Saul, not as a harp player, but now as
- 10:24Speaker 3: one of the family. David and Jonathan become close friends.
- 10:29Speaker 3: Their hearts were very much alike, humble and sensitive to
- 10:33Speaker 3: God's leading. Jonathan gave David his armor and unlike Saul's,
- 10:37Speaker 3: which hung heavy and ill-fitting, Jonathan's armor fit perfectly. Together
- 10:41Speaker 3: they fought numerous battles, winning victory after victory for God's people.
- 10:47Speaker 3: David became more and more respected among the Israelites and
- 10:50Speaker 3: among Saul's servants. But unlike Saul, who enjoyed his fame
- 10:54Speaker 3: way too much and let it go to his head
- 10:57Speaker 3: with pride, David continually focused on doing God's will and
- 11:01Speaker 3: fighting the battles to which he was commanded. The people
- 11:05Speaker 3: began to sing the praises of David. Their songs were
- 11:09Speaker 3: rising in the streets, pitting Saul's victories as small as
- 11:13Speaker 3: compared to this new hero. Saul the king by now
- 11:16Speaker 3: figures that he is a deposed king. He heard the
- 11:20Speaker 3: praise and his heart filled with jealousy and contempt towards David.
- 11:24Speaker 3: He could see the handwriting on the wall. David would
- 11:26Speaker 3: one day overtake him. And his hatred for David began
- 11:31Speaker 3: to steadily grow until one day as David played the
- 11:35Speaker 3: harp in the throne room, Saul took a spear and
- 11:37Speaker 3: hurled it towards David. He missed and then tried again.
- 11:41Speaker 3: David ran away unscathed and Saul wept. But Saul knew
- 11:47Speaker 3: there was more than one way to get what he wanted.
- 11:50Speaker 3: So he started to send David on more and more missions,
- 11:52Speaker 3: hoping he would die in battle. Saul failed to grasp
- 11:56Speaker 3: the truth that God's purposes could not, would not be deterred.
- 11:59Speaker 3: 1 Samuel 18 and verse 14 says, And David had
- 12:04Speaker 3: success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.
- 12:09Speaker 3: Only a fool thinks that he can defeat the plans
- 12:12Speaker 3: of God. And Saul was acting like a fool. Of course,
- 12:17Speaker 3: his plans backfired, and God gave David victory after victory,
- 12:20Speaker 3: strengthening his position and his power in the hearts of
- 12:23Speaker 3: the people. Then Saul had promised a reward for the
- 12:28Speaker 3: person who would defeat the giant. And the reward would
- 12:31Speaker 3: be the hand of his daughter in marriage. Rather than
- 12:34Speaker 3: giving David his oldest daughter in marriage, though, he gave
- 12:38Speaker 3: her hand to another. But this didn't bother David. He
- 12:41Speaker 3: was taken up with Saul's youngest daughter, Michael. Saul was
- 12:45Speaker 3: happy to hear this as he saw an opportunity to
- 12:48Speaker 3: once more put David in harm's way, because David could
- 12:51Speaker 3: not afford a dowry for Michael. Saul proposed the payment
- 12:55Speaker 3: of 100 Philistine foreskins. That would surely lead to David's death. David, however,
- 13:00Speaker 3: wasn't alone in the fight. Brave men joined him, and
- 13:03Speaker 3: he was able to defeat 100 Philistines. David married Saul's daughter,
- 13:08Speaker 3: but Saul continued to plot against David. Yet in all
- 13:12Speaker 3: of this, David continued to show great love and respect
- 13:16Speaker 3: for Saul. He knew of Saul's evil, envious intentions, but
- 13:21Speaker 3: he exemplified loyalty and love even to someone who hated him.
- 13:27Speaker 3: As God continued to give David's victory, the people grew
- 13:30Speaker 3: more and more in love with David. David, however, did
- 13:35Speaker 3: not grow prideful. His heart remained focused on God, and
- 13:39Speaker 3: God blessed him at every turn. Saul grew further and
- 13:43Speaker 3: further away from God in disobedience and darkness. And the
- 13:47Speaker 3: next time we will hear how Saul one more time
- 13:50Speaker 3: tries to take David's life and how the Lord protects
- 13:54Speaker 3: the future king. Lord God, give us the heart of
- 13:57Speaker 3: a man like David, a heart for you. May we
- 14:00Speaker 3: always remain faithful and true. May our humility and our
- 14:05Speaker 3: integrity always be present in our lives. God, help us
- 14:09Speaker 3: always to give you the glory for every victory in
- 14:12Speaker 3: our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening
- 14:17Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham
- 14:20Speaker 3: from Dallas, Texas. And before we go, I want you
- 14:23Speaker 3: to know that I would love to send you my
- 14:25Speaker 3: daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every single day.
- 14:30Speaker 3: So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
- 14:35Speaker 3: That's jackgraham.org.