West Chester, Pennsylvania
tải về 6.33 Mb. Chế độ xem pdf
|
| Saul’s Envy and David’s Patience
David’s victory draws two very different reactions from Saul and his son, Jonathan. For Saul, David’s popular acclaim after Goliath’s defeat strikes at the heart of Saul’s insecurities and kindles in him the fire of envy, which will soon spread out of control. For Jonathan, however, it marks the beginning of a profound and lifelong friendship between the two men, who swear a covenant of brotherhood (1 Sam 18:3) that will later save David’s life and his future as king. Although Jonathan is the heir to Saul’s throne, he gives his robe, armor, and weapons as a sign of his allegiance to David and his willingness to relinquish the throne to God’s chosen one. Several times, Jonathan provides the only refuge David has against Saul. Not only does he help David escape his father, he also encourages David to persevere in a long and dangerous wait for the Lord’s timing. Moreover, although Saul’s disobedience deprives Jonathan of the kingdom, Jonathan not only accepts the prophetic word of Samuel but also risks his life for the sake of the new heir to the kingdom. Jonathan’s virtue serves to outline even more clearly the colossal failures of his father. While Jonathan protects David, Saul makes two failed attempts to kill David with a spear and then expels him from the royal court, demoting him to a lower military rank. But David’s continued military success fans Saul’s envy and fear to a raging flame. Saul finally snaps and issues orders to his son and his men to kill David. Although Jonathan can temporarily alleviate his father’s rage and persuade him to restore David to royal service, Saul’s paranoia eventually compels him into an all-out hunt for Israel’s hero and deliverer. Indeed, Saul’s hatred for David extends even to those who assist David in any way, manifested when he slaughters the priests at Nob for harboring David. Besides illustrating the friendship between David and Jonathan—and Jonathan’s virtue—the account of David’s flight from Saul, which makes up most of the remainder of 1 Samuel, develops two significant themes. Most importantly, we witness David’s tremendous patience and trust in God’s plans for him. Instead p 148 of asserting any sort of privileged claim for the throne, David waits for God to fulfill his promise, though this waiting almost costs David his life and forces him into refugee status. Even when David is twice given the opportunity to kill Saul and end both his exile and his wait for the throne, he refuses to do so out of respect for the Lord and his anointed one. We cannot miss the cutting irony here, as Saul has no scruples about such matters. No less important is the depiction of David as a man who lives not by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the L ORD (see Dt 8:3). Samuel had already told Saul that God would place on the throne of Israel “a man after his own heart” (1 Sam 13:14). In his confrontation with Goliath, and throughout his flight from Saul, David proves himself to be that man. While seeking refuge in Moab, he is obedient to the word of the Lord spoken through the prophet Gad; in Keilah, the divine word given to him through Abiathar the priest saves his life. David also heeds Abigail, who counsels him against bloodguilt and vengeance and utters a prophetic word concerning future victory over his enemies. Again, at Ziklag, he seeks God through Abiathar, and the counsel he receives yields victory over the Amalekites. In contrast, Saul, pressed by the threat of defeat, turns to a medium at Endor to obtain Samuel’s counsel from beyond the grave. He receives from the prophet only a word of doom. This final encounter with Samuel highlights Saul’s disobedience to God’s word given through the prophet on two previous occasions—when Saul offered sacrifice without Samuel at Gilgal, and when Saul spared Agag, king of the Amalekites. Saul’s life ends in crushing defeat at Mount Gilboa, in which all three of his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, are slain. Fearing torture from the Philistines, the wounded Saul falls on his own sword, and the legacy of Saul is extinguished completely (1 Sam 31). tải về 6.33 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
|