The Spear Pt 2

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good morning everyone. It is Thursday, December fifth, twenty twenty four. It is currently nine thirty one am Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas, and right. Now at this very moment. If I'm being fully transparent, I'm a little ticked off right now. Right If I could get my hands on someone right now, yeah, I probably wouldn't be very Christian.

0:47 You see, there's a window right here behind me, right, And if I was to look out this window about half a block away from my house, about a half a block away from this studio, that's where the mail box is plural are located for everyone on this half of the housing development of the neighborhood. Okay, I don't know how many boxes there are there. I don't know one. I don't know, probably maybe nine, there may be nine there. And so what you do? You have a key, right, and so when you know the mail has been delivered, you leave your house, you walk about half a block down, You put the key in the little box, you take your mail out you lock the box. If there's a package, whether they'll put a key in your box. Right, They'll put a key in your box, and then you open up the big box and then you take out the package.

1:37 Right. So that's where our mail is about half a block away. Probably many of you who live in a neighborhood or a housing development of some sort, you probably have something similar. You probably have seen this, right, So instead of having a mailbox right there on your at your house, it's just the mailman can just pull up there, open up all the boxes, put the mail right there. It doesn't have to go from house to house to house to house. I'm assuming it makes it easier on them. There you go. It's a nice system, I guess, right, well, it was a nice system. We don't know exactly which day. What happened is I went to check the mail yesterday. I opened up the box and I'm like, there is no mail in my box zero. Something's weird, something's wrong. That makes no sense, right, I know I haven't. I haven't checked it in.

2:25 A couple of days. I know that there should be at least a new episode, a new episode, a new issue of the sort of the Lord newspaper because I subscribe to that. I think I'm a month behind. So where is that? There were some packages that we know we're supposed to have arrived, in fact said that it had been delivered. So there's nothing in our mailbox. What is going on? Right? So we call the post office. And they're like, well, until further notice, we're holding all mail at the post office because are you ready for this? Someone broke in and stole all the mail, all the mail, everything, Our packages are gone.

3:05 Anything that we have, it's all been stolen. All of it's gone. Everything there has been stolen. So we have packages that are gone. I hope there's nothing else. I hope there's no like, you know, checks or anything that has bank account or any kind of information that someone could do something with. It's been completely stolen. And that is irritating. That is frustrating. Who knows what the long term consequences could be. We're gonna have to make sure we check our bank account and check this, and check this, make sure nobody got any information still, our identity, any. Of those kinds of things. Someone broke in and stole all the mail, ladies and gentlemen, all the ma and what makes it crazy. My next door neighbor is a county sheriff. His bronco is right there, is SUV right there, says you know, sheriff is right there, he's literally next door. Someone did that did and even they didn't even make someone go, well, wait a minute, there's a police officer. There's there's a law enforcement officer who lives right there. There's his vehicle. They didn't care.

4:08 They broke in, stole everything. So all of our mail is gone. So now we have to try to figure out what to do. Do we get we had? I mean, yeah, it's going to be a man. So you talk about irritating, yes, talk about frustrating, yes. Now I bring all of that up because one, it's real. I just found out maybe fifteen minutes before going live on the air, So I just found it out. So I mean, I'm gonna be fully transparent. That's right now. I'm very angry, I'm. Very frustrated, but I'm gonna use it as a bigger illustration. I just want you to. See that situation is something that is irritating, something that is frustrating, something that could have financial consequences depending on what people can do with what information that they stole like it could have very negative consequences. But in your life and in my life, we've situation sometimes that are irritating, that are frustrating. Sometimes it goes beyond irritating and frustrating to painful, difficult, tragic, horrible, horrifying. Sometimes we experience very very very negative consequences in our life.

5:19 And what if? What if to that you could bring an end to the pain, to the frustration, to the difficulty. You could bring an end to it in a specific situation, and all you have to do is. Commit one sin. You commit one sin, and you could end the pain, in the frustration, in the irritation, in the horrific situation. You can make it all go away. What would you do? Would you commit the sin to make the problem go away? Or would you say, no, I'm a Christian, I will not commit that sin. Now, that's the hypothetical situation we have been presented, and we were presented this hypothetical situation in a sermon last night that is based on First Samuel, chapter twenty six. The hypothetical situation is, hey, this thing is causing you pain and suffering.

6:20 All you have to do is. Do this it's a sin, but if you do it, it ends your pain and suffering. Would you do it? Now? It's a thought provoking question. I will give them that. It is an interesting question philologically, I'm struggling with it, and as I explained last night, my struggle, I mean, I hope it makes sense to you. The weird part to me is, wait a minute, I'm not going to commit this sin to end my pain and suffering. Okay, great, that sounds good in a hypothetical situation, but think about it logically, whether I commit that sin or don't commit that sin, and I'm in a perpetual state of sin.

7:02 Because as a Christian, we are all in a perpetual state of sin. The Bible tells us to be holy as God is holy. We are never that, So we're in. A perpetual state of sin. Love God with all of our heartlind, body, and soul. We never do that. So we're in a perpetual state of sin. So whether I commit this sin or don't commit this sin, I'm still sinning. I'm gonna be sinning today, I'm gonna be sending this afternoon. I'm gonna be sinning tonight. I'm gonna be sinning tomorrow. Now. I know when I bring this up, people get nervous, as I stated yesterday, because it sounds like I'm excusing sin. I'm not trying to excuse sin. I'm trying to look at this scenario from a realistic perspective. Hey, if you commit this sin, you can stop all your suffering. Okay, well I'm not going to commit that sin. Okay, great, but I'm still committing fifteen thousand other sins. Okay, maybe fifteen thousands a little hyperbole, but I'm committing sin.

7:49 I'm in a perpetual state of sin. So, because sin is more than just an action. And just think, even if I don't commit the sin physically, whatever that's is, I could stop to suffering. Even if I don't commit the sin physically, I could still walk away and be guilty of it in my mind and my heart and my desire. So then would that make the problem go, Well, no, you've got to physically do this. You see, it becomes I just don't know if it even works logically, I don't I don't even know if it works. But this was the hypothetical that we were presented. Now, the situation is this first Samuel chapter twenty six.

8:30 All right, we have David. If you look at first Samuel twenty six five, I'm not going to read the entire chapter. You can go back to part one where the entire chapter was read for you, and you should read for Samuel twenty six. But let me just try to just summarize this first Samuel twenty six, Verse five. David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. So here's David and King Saul has he found a place to camp out for the evening, for the night, for the day, for the week, however long he his encampment. Now, remember, Saul has been hunting down David, trying to kill him. Saul has been a source of great pain, suffering, persecution, all kinds of negative things for David. Right, So David is you know, he's got to be tired of it, he's got to be exhausted from it, and you know, living in fear that at any point Saul is going to catch up with him and kill him. Well, David arose, he came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay and Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Say, let me read this again. Now, So David arose and came to the place where Sau had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of his army. So there's Saul and there's the commander of his army. They're laying right there.

9:55 Oh wow, that's it. Looks like a from a military perspective. From a strategic perspective, there's the king, there's the commander, one place, one moment. You see how the problem could be resolved. Now, Saul lay within the camp with the people and camped all around him. Then David answered and said Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zarui, brother of Joe, ab saying, who shall go down with me to Saul in the camp. And Abishai said, I will go down with you. So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and there saw Lay sleeping within the camp with his spear stuck in the ground by his head.

10:47 Now here's everyone there. They're all asleep. Saul is there, even the commander is there. They're all laying right there. And Dave been in abish, I were able to walk all the way up to Saul. And there's the spear. So obviously all David needs to do is pick up the spear stab Saul. He could, he could if if he had the opportunity get to the commander stay, he could. He could end at all. In fact, David could have. Just brought in all of his troops everyone is asleep. Just wipe them all out, just get rid of all of them. He could end all. All he has to do is take a spear, stab it through Saul.

11:30 The end. All of his problems go away, the end. Everything is resolved, at least practically speaking. Now in the sermon we reviewed, the pastor then creates the scenario. Well, what would you do? What is the spear that you could pick up? And you could use that spear, even though it may be sinful, you could use. That spear and solve all of your problems. Would you do it? Well? What happens here? Well, there the. Spear, it's in the ground, it's right by his head, and Abner and the people lay all around him. Remember Abner, who's Abner? Well we go right back. Remember we'll see here and Abner the son of a nerd the commander of his army. So Saul's laying there, Abner's right there, there's the commander, and there's the king.

12:20 He can get rid of both of them. What the same spear. Then, Abishai said to David, God has delivered your enemy into your hand to stay now. Therefore, please let me strike him at once with the spear right to the earth, and I will not have to strike him a second time. Now, Abishi is like, hey, you don't even need to do anything. I'll take care of. It for you. But but David said to Abishai, do not destroy him. For who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David said, furthermore, as the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his days shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.

13:06 The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But please take now the spear and the jug of water that our bias head, and let us go. So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul's head, and they got away, and no man saw or knew it or awoke for they were all asleep because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. This passage you just raises so many questions. So Saul has been pursuing David. People have died. What Saul had eighty five priests killed, and then a particular city. Saul has everyone killed in it, man, woman, boy, girl, infant, and even the animals. He had everyone killed because he was upset thinking that they helped David. So people have died in this ongoing dispute between Saul and David. Right, So then you could argue, okay, so where is God in all of this? Well, here, God puts everyone asleep.

14:05 They're all asleep, there's David in his army. It could all end. I mean, God put them to sleep. David could come in, kill them all and be the end of it. But David's like, no, no, no, I can't do this. So God put them. All to sleep. So that David could come in be faced with this opportunity to take a spear and end all of this. But then David's like, no, why would God put them to sleep just so David could be confronted with this situation? Why wouldn't God then put them all to sleep where they could have been defeated long ago before anybody else.

14:45 Had to die or anybody else had. To suffer that this story presents so many philosophical problems that I don't even know how to unravel them, right, I mean, I mean, isn't that not I mean it should disturb you as a reader. Wait a minute, Wait a minute. So God put them to sleep, But where was God when Saul was slaughtering all the priests and killing everyone in the city. God couldn't bother to, hey, guys, go to sleep and stop it from happening. He put them all to sleep here just so that David could come in and be confronted with a situation where there is a spear. If I say sword, I apologize, there is a spear, and you could get rid of get rid of him. But no, no, no, no, no, no, David, Devd's not going to do it.

15:26 Now. We could have a long discussion about David not doing this right. Because this seems to go with. The teaching that all earthly authority is appointed by God, and so it's not up to us to remove that earthly authority, no matter how ungodly it may be, or no matter how much it may persecute us. We're not to We're not to do that, all right. Now, that raises all kinds of questions throughout history about lots of issues, all right, So we could get into a whole discussion about that, but the pastor didn't really want to get into that, and the pastor didn't want to mention. Wait, so God steps in to put him to sleep here, But why wouldn't God?

16:11 God could have ended this entire situation. Fifty tos Okay, all right, there's just so many issues, but he wanted to create this hypothetical in your life. You're gonna find yourself in painful, difficult circumstances, and sometimes you're gonna see the spear there and all you have to do is pick up the spear. And use it and you can make it all go away. But it would be sinful to do so will you commit the sin to fix all of those problems, to end your pain? Now, that question then doesn't deal with the reality that even if even if I don't commit that sin, I'm gonna walk away still a sinner, still in sin, and so that so that just I don't.

16:58 Even know how we work this out. So what we're gonna do is we're just gonna jump in kind of in the middle of this sermon. I backed it up a little bit. I didn't find a. Perfect place really to start it, so, but I've kind of given you the story basically in the sermon. Right now, the pastor is just kind of retelling the story. They're sneaking in, okay, Well, the reason they don't really have to sneak in because everyone's been put to sleep by God, so they're not waking up until God wakes them up. Literally, David could have walked around and killed everyone. He could have killed the commander, he could have killed the entire army, could. Have just destroyed them all. They're all asleep and they're not waking up until God wakes them up because God is the one who put them to sleep.

17:41 Oh, this story is so confusing, But. Let's let's at least listen a little bit and then we'll just deal with some of the I just. Man, I don't really know what to do with it. I've been I've been thinking about it all well a good of the morning, and I don't know if I've resolved anything here. I'm hoping this is one of those This is one of those episodes where you upload thinking this should spark like hours of discussion, and sometimes these are the messages you won't hear anything about. But there's I just I've got so many issues with this. I don't even know where to begin.

18:22 So we're just gonna let the pastor pick up the message again and again. His whole concept is, Hey, the sword or the sword the spear? Why do I keep saying sword the spear? The spear represents and his allegory, his metaphorical use of this, that opportunity that you may have to commit usin to fix all the things causing you pain and suffering, Will you use the spear? And the argument is we should not use the spear, even if it means making all of our problems go away. But my thing is, so I could use the spear, commit a sin and make all my problems go away.

19:05 Or I could walk away still a sinner, still in sin, but I still then have all my problems. And you could argue all of your problems and all the suffering sometimes serves as a temptation for you to grumble and complain and get bitter. And doubt God. So by committing one sin, I could end the source of all of the temptation to commit all these other sins. You see, because David. If you look at some of the things David had done in his ongoing issues with Saul, we could argue, did David commit any sin leading up to first Samuel twenty six and his dealings with Saul? Maybe maybe we'll look into that, because if he's been committing other sin leading up to this point, but now he's not going to commit this sin, all this gets really complicated.

20:02 But let's we're just. Gonna jump back into this sermon and then we'll just we'll just we're gonna just kind of use this a little bit to get into these other discussions. Here we go. But the major question in this narrative is this, what is David going to do with the spear? What is he gonna do with the spear? The spears mentioned six times in this narrative account. It's really the center of what's going on. An Abashi. He knows what David should do, doesn't he? I love this now, please, And what's crazy to me about this is they're like whispering it probably and they're having this conversation. Now, please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear.

20:46 Don't worry Saul may have missed. I'm not gonna miss I won't have to strike him twice. This will all be done. And notice what he's holding out to David. In this he's saying, David, use the spear to solve your problems. Saul is your enemy. He keeps making your life miserable. Look, David, God has given him into your hand. Let's end this thing. And David, think about how poetic this is. Think about the justice of this. This is the same spear that Saul has used to throw at you and try and kill you, and to throw at Jonathan to try and kill him. But now that spear is right here. And he knows, probably from the incident that took place in the cave, that David doesn't want to be the one to kill Saul. And maybe Abashi thinks that David has a sensitive conscience or something. I don't know what he really thinks about it. But notice what he says, David, you don't even have to be the one to kill him.

22:02 You don't have to lift up your hand against Saul. The Lord brought us here so I could do it for you, and I'm a really good shot, and so it's all gonna work out. And so what we see in. This narrative is that there's a way to look at the situation where the spear is there as the solution to David's problems, and before we move on to think about David's response and what he amazingly does. Okay, so there's this the spear keep wanting calling it a sword all day, So I'm just if I call it a sword fifty times, just say, man, that guy's an idiot. Okay, all right, But there is the spear I remember, and his telling of this story, the spear represents something David could do to fix all of his problems, but it would be sinful, it would be wrong, it would be ungodly. So then he then creates the quotquestion for you and me, if we were facing a situation where we could use a metaphorical spirit to fix all of our problems, but it would be a sinful would we commit that sin now?

23:09 To me? Like, as I've already discussed an outline on a number of issues, but what's even more just frustrating about this and trying to understand this is just consider this question, how many sins had David committed in his ongoing issues. With Saul Before you even get to First Samuel. Twenty six, He's like, Okay, I'm not going to commit that sin. But has he not committed sin leading up to First Samuel twenty six? See? I think if we look at the biblical narrative to try to assess David's actions and intentions, to say, from First Samuel eighteen through First Samuel twenty five, the Bible provides very detailed accounts of David's interactions with Saul.

23:55 Nobody can deny that. Now, David's conduct is often portrayed as righteous and contrast to Saul's actions. It is also clear if you go. From First Samuel eighteen to First Samuel twenty five, that David, like all humans, were not sin less. So now this is where it gets kind of like, this is where the story is. I think this is the problem with historical narratives and the Bible. Historical narratives are just describing what happened. I know, as preachers, we want to grab onto it and turn it into some morality, tell. Some moral lesson. Hey, Hey, hey, David, there was the spear and he could end all of his problems by committing a sin. Hey, what would you do if you could endure problems by committing a sin?

24:43 Would you do it? And the implication is don't do it, don't do it, be godly. But the issue is David already committed multiple sins. Let's just look at some of his actions, all right, now, One, we can see some positive David consistently refrains from retaliating, retaliating against Saul even when Saul unjustly pursues him and even throwing spears in First Samuel chapter eighteen and chasing David in First Samuel twenty four. He seems to respect Saul as the Lord's anointed and refuses to kill him even when given the opportunities, such as end the cave in First Samuel twenty four, so on Samuel twenty four.

25:27 For Samuel twenty six, David is presented an opportunity where he could just kill Saul and end it, but he does not do so, based on the idea, Hey, that's God's anointed God putting him in power. I'm not to then do anything to remove him from power. All right, that's a good thing. But we know in first Samuel twenty one, I think it's verses ten through fifteen. To escape from the Philistine The Philistine King David pretends to be insane. Now, well, this is a survival strategy. You could argue, Well, that involved deceit and lying. Now is deceit and lying?

26:12 Okay? During times of war? See this is where the biblical. Morality can become very difficult because what we will say, Well, in a time of war, you may have to lie, you may have to deceive. Well, also in a time of war, can't you kill the one you're fighting a war against? See David's like, hey, I can't kill him. But in these other situations And first Samuel twenty one, to escape the Philistine King, David uses deceit. Is deceit and lying always wrong. You see, now this can be these things can get a little crazy. But guess what he also does. And first Samuel twenty one, verses one through two, David lies to a hemeleg claiming he is on a secret mission from Saul. This lie indirectly leads to the massacre of the priest of.

27:01 Knob by Saul. And one Samuel twenty two, eighteen through nineteen. David lies again again using deceit, and guess what happens eighty five? I think it's eighty five. Priests are slaughtered and the entire city is everyone's killed, man, woman, boy, girl, even babies and animals are killed because of David's lie. Oh but now he gets the first Samuel twenty six. Ah, I can't, I can't do this now the way the sermon is presented. Oh see, David's not going to commit this sin, but he's already been committing sin. He lied, then he lied again, and his lie is the indirect cause of all these people being slaughtered.

27:50 Now. In one Samuel twenty five, right before twenty six, nay Ball insults David. David initially plans to kill Nayball and all the males in his household. This intention is sinful, and it demonstrates uncontrolled anger and a lack of trust in God. Abigail's intervention prevents him from carrying out his act. So he had violent intentions and was going to slaughter all of these people. Now that that's murder in the heart. So he's already murdered in the heart. He's already lied. His lie has already led to people being slaughtered, but he gets the first Samuel twenty six, and we're like, see, David would not commit the sin, but he's already been committing sin. And we know later on he's going to have a man killed. I think we've got to be I know, as preachers, we love to jump into these historical narratives and try to like create a morality tell And I don't.

28:53 Know if it's always that easy. These stories are layered and complicated and complex, and and you know what we find out and all of these stories, the so called heroes of the story are really sinful human beings. I don't care if it's David. I don't care if it's don't you name the person in the old Abraham, Moses, It doesn't matter. They are all sinners. But we like to create from these stories these idea. Oh look, so what would you there's the spear? Are you going to use it? Be like David and don't commit the sin. Don't make all of your problems go away. But just think, by now this is even more complicated. Saul has killed other people in his pursuit of David. If David doesn't kill Saul, isn't he then leaving the door open for Saul to kill more people in his pursuit of him. So, then, is David putting other people's lives at risk by not I mean, why wouldn't he just then surrender himself and say, look, stop killing other people.

30:04 Here I am. But no, he keeps running, Saul keeps chasing other people get caught in the crossfire. They die. And when I say crossfire, not obviously like there were was guns. They get caught in the crossfire of the conflict. They die. But then David is like, I'm not going to commit this sin, even though he's committed other sins. So David used deceit as a strategy on multiple occasions. While some of these actions could be seen as an act of survival, they also reflect a lack of trust in God's provision and protection. David's intent to kill Neball shows his possibility at times of having great anger and evengeful spirit. Fleeing to the Philistines and feigning madness might indicate moments where David's fear.

30:55 Outweighed his faith. So before we get to twenty six, David has committed sins. Now the way this pastor is framing it all, he has to do here is commit one more sin and stop all of this. But David doesn't. And now that becomes a hypothetical situation for us. All right, let's see what the pastor goes on to. Now, now he's going to really turn this into all about us. He's getting ready to flip this all about us. I think it's good to pause and consider the temptation that he faced and how we ourselves might face that as well.

31:42 Do you ever feel this way. That you're back to the same old story. The situation hasn't changed. The same people are making your life miserable. Again. It's not Saul in the Zephytes. But maybe it's that coworker who's always stepping on you and trying to get ahead. Maybe it's the other kid who's always teasing you, who never includes you. Maybe it's that person who, no matter what good you seek to do to them, just seems to delight in making your life miserable. And maybe it's not about the people in your situation. Maybe it's the same exhausting situation that's tiring you out. You know, you've tried everything, but no matter what you do, you can't get ahead financially. You just can't make ends meet. Maybe you've fought against a certain sin for years, but now it feels like it's just more intense than ever. No matter what you do, it feels like the trials just keep coming, and not only just keep coming, they're getting worse.

32:52 And like David in the cave, you've. Tried the right way, You've tried doing the good things, but what good did that really do? I mean, David's sitting here and he's saying so, I even cried about everything for goodness sakes, and yet here we are again. I just can't keep going on like this. Something has to change. And then in our lives, the Lord brings this amazing providence. There it is that spear that could change everything. You find a weakness in your coworker that you could exploit or you could hold against them. You find out something super embarrassing about that kid who's always picking on you. There's that opportunity in a conflict to just say that truth that you've held back for so long.

33:46 There's that detail that you could leave out of the tax form or that situation that you could just not report and see what happens. And when you find yourself in that providence. So often there's an abashi right there, they reminding you you don't even have to do the thing that you think is wrong. Someone else can send the text, someone else can spread. All that information. You don't have to grab the spear and go do the big sin, but you could just give into this smaller one that everyone else does. You don't have to lie. You just don't have to say all the truth. Just throw it out there with a little spin on it.

34:29 See what happens. You don't have to hurt the other person. You could just not do the loving thing that would help them. You See, we, like David, so often find ourselves in these tempting situations where our hearts long to do the thing that would make the situation change, especially when we find ourselves in this ongoing wilderness running. Like David was facing. What do you do when the spear is right there and it seems like it will make all your troubles disappear?

35:10 What are we supposed to think? How are we supposed to respond? Well, David gives us an amazing example of what we can do. Okay, so there's this whole setup again. This is the hypothetical scenario that he develops from all of this. Hey, there's the spear. Okay, it's right there by Saul's head. Take it, kill Saul. All your problems go away. But it would be sinful. So now, metaphorically speaking, allegorically speaking, okay, what is that spear that you could pick up and you could commit this one sent and all your problems go away? Obviously, the message of this sermon is be like David, don't use the spear and there and deal with all of your problems, because that's the right thing to do. Again, there's still lots of issues with this, so I sort of thinking and kind of analyzing and critiquing this hypothetical scenario and just trying to work through some of this all right now. The pastor's interpretation of First Samuel twenty six basically introduces this hypothetical scenario, what if you could commit a single sin to and all your pain problems I'm suffering now. Obviously, this scenario, as you've just listened to the pastor and me already explained this earlier, draws parallels between David's temptation to kill Saul and the moral dilemmas Christians face today. The comparison is thought provoking, but it raises theological and logical concerns regarding the proper application

36:42 of the text. At least I think so, Right, So I'm going to try to offer somewhat of a critique. I still think it's thought provoking. I still love the fact. That this is brought up, because I mean, I'm still struggling with it. But as I've already indicated, when we take these narratives and we try to create kind of a moral story from it, we find ourselves with a lot of issues. Just remember, David had already committed all kinds of sins prior to First Samuel twenty six. He's going to commit sin after First Samuel twenty six. So it really comes down to he's committed sin prior, he's going to commit sin after Bud. Hey, he's not going to commit this sin, Like, how do you even measure that? It becomes very difficult.

37:24 But let's look at an exegetical analysis, right, is this application correct? Is this a correct application? Now? The narrative of First Samuel twenty six revolves around David's opportunity to kill Saul and end to suffering. David refuses, citing respect for God's anointed and trust in God's sovereignty. The text highlights David's moral integrity and faith in God's timing. Right now, again, when we say it reflects David's morality, you see how confusing that is. He's committed leading up to it, He's going to commit sin after it. He's already in a perpetual status in because he doesn't love God with all of his heart, mind, body, because no one ever does. The Old Testament says be holy as God is holy. David is not as holy as God as holy, So David's already in a perpetual state of sin. Now, the hypothetical, the hypothetical scenario kind of general, kind of in a general way. It takes David's specific historical temptation and tries to make it a universal principle about sin.

38:32 So you take this, this situation of David's life, it's a historical it's a historical temptation, it's a historical narrative, and then we try to turn that into a kind of a principle about sin that applies to everyone at all times. Now, David's situation does involve a clear moral dilemma whether to kill Saul. The hypothetical introduces a broader temptation committing any sin to end suffering. This shifts the focus from David's particular respect for Saul as God's anointed to a generalized ethical struggle. So, to just make sure we already realize what's happening for David, the situation is, Saul is not just a problem that can be resolved by committing a sin. Saul is God's anointed that would have to be killed in order to end his suffering.

39:27 Can you take that very specific and then generalize it to, hey, here's your problem. You could commit the sin and fix it. Well, that's going to be very different than killing God's anointed, right, isn't there a different Can we generalize that and make this scenario work? I just don't know. Now, the scenario does reflect the broader theme of trusting God rather than taking matters into one's hands. However, risk oversimplifying the text by equating David's refusal to harm Saul with contemporary ethical dilemmas that may lack the same philological grounding.

40:10 I think there is some I don't know if this is a clear. Well this is. What happens, So can I can connect it to this. There's lots of differences here, and well, David may show trust in God in this situation, he's shown a lack of trust in God in other situations where he lied and got a lot. Of people killed, where he deceived and pretended to be mad when he wasn't. That's using deceit. That's not trusting God. And could you not argue, hey, well, David, sauls pursuing you and other people getting caught in the midst of this and dying, Well, trust God and just surrender yourself.

40:54 You could make an argument, well, if he really trusted God, he would have just woken up Saul and say, you know what, this has got to come to an end. People are suffering here. I am you could make an argument there right now. So I just don't know if the text clearly transfers over to a good application for us. I don't know if it works perfectly, But maybe there's some philological problems that could arise from this. See the scenario assumes moral absolutes, applying any sin to end suffering is unjustifiable. While this aligns with Biblical teachings on righteousness, it simplifies complex ethical dilemmas where intentions and outcomes may conflict lying to save a life in Exodus Chapter one, verses fifteen through twenty one, is it ever okay to lie to save a life?

41:50 Or is it always wrong to lie? See? This is almost creates the moral absolution, kind of a moral absolutes versus contextual ethics. David and other parts of the. Text he lies. Some people say, well it makes sense, and war Well, wouldn't it make sense then to kill Saul? See this is about moral absolutes versus maybe contextual ethics. Is it always so simple? Is it always black and white? Well, there's a part of us that wants to say that it is. But the Old Testament narratives can get very difficult sometimes in how to navigate the hypothetical suggestion or the hypothetical scenario. Seems to suggest that suffering should always be endured without shortcuts.

42:48 Reflecting the sermon's emphasis. In this entire sermon, it reflects the emphasis on trusting God's deliverance. However, this view can oversimplify Christian response to suffering neglect situations where proactive measures, though morally ambiguous, may be justified. Do we simply say, hey, you're suffering. Guess what, don't do anything wrong to stop the suffering. Just endure the suffering. Trust God in it. Well, okay, again David, he's like, I'm not going to do this and I'm just going to endure the suffering. But he's done other things, which again demonstrates we're never clearly always right.

43:29 I mean, we. Always are a mixture of good and right. That's why it's never I mean, we're always just wherever good is, sin is right there next to it because we are sinners. Drawing parallels between David's actions and contemporary believers, risk may be overextending the typology. David's refusal to harm Saul reflects his unique role in Israel's history, particularly as a foreshadowing of Christ. Lying this narrative universally may obscure the crystological focus. Okay, maybe I just don't know if it works. I don't know if it's that if it's that.

44:11 Easy to transfer it over. Are there any logical concerns with this hypothetical scenario that he has created. Well, the scenario seems to frame the choice as binary, commit sin or endore suffering. This is an over This may be an oversimplification of a real life situation where alternatives often exist and moral reasoning involves nuanced decision making. I don't know if things. Are always that binary, it's always so this or that. Sometimes things are complicated and layered. But I think another issue is it kind of so not only is maybe a kind of an unrealistic as an oversimplification, Maybe it's just like it's either it's this or that.

45:03 It may not be that simple, but could it not? Also kind of basically as a reduction of sin's complexity, maybe see by pop By putting this forth as a single sin as a solution, the hypothetical scenario falls to account for the cascading effects of sin, both spiritually and relationally. Sin rarely functions as an isolated act with contained consequences. Sin never works that way. You David could have committed that sin and fixed all the problems? Would it have fixed all the problems? Sin is never Sin is complex.

45:46 Well if you do this, well what if you do that? Well, if you do this, it's a sin. But if you don't do this, I mean, it's so complicated. There's the external, there's the internal, there's this could cause this, and this it seems to just reduce it to David was forced, was was faced with just one situation, And then you could argue, well, we'll, we'll we'll talk about that in a minute. We'll talk about what happens in twenty seven. We may mention twenty seven in a minute. We may mention twenty seven in a minute. All right, But if you if you're asking believers to consider this hypothetical, it may unintentionally induce guilt or anxiety, especially if they struggle to distinguish between resisting sin and addressing suffering through legitimate means.

46:35 It may it may. Lead this whole story could lead to hey, hey, hey, hey, don't do anything to stop the pain and suffering, just endure it. Well, I understand this is an idea about sinning. I don't know. It just seems to. Become becomes more complicated. So I was struggling with this. So I did then approach Ai. And this is what I said to Ai. From a philological perspective, doesn't Christianity make this approach almost nonsensical? If I commit or don't commit one sin, the reality is I'm in a perpetual state and cycle of sin because we can never keep the basic laws like be holy as God is holy, loved God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body.

47:22 So I went to AI and was like, hey, I got a problem with this entire sermon. I got a problem with this. So I wanted to know how AI would critique my approach. So AI said, you raise a critical philological concern that challenges the practicality of the sermon's hypothetical scenario from. A biblical and philological perspective. Christianity indeed acknowledges the perpetual nature of human sinfulness, which complicates the notion of a single act of obedience or disobedience resolving, suffering, or fulfilling God's standard of holiness. So then it says, let's well. AI then says, I'm going to critique this entire situation, and then it gives some observations. First, AI gives me the Christian doctrine of sin perpetual state of sinfulness. Christianity teaches that all humans are inherently sinful.

48:13 Even after salvation, believers remain in a constant struggle against sin due to their fallen nature. Thus, the idea of refraining from a single sin as a decisive moral victory fills incongruent with the broader reality of ongoing sin. Hey, well, David didn't commit. This sin, but as we've already seen, he committed sin leading up to it. He's going to commit sin after it. So how does that even work? The Biblical commands to be holy as I am holy, and to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength, body are absolute standards no one can fully achieve. These laws serve not as achievable goals, but as a reminder of our need for grace. Sin is not limited to an isolated action, but includes thoughts at a.

49:00 Dudes and motives. This holistic understanding of sin means that even avoiding a single sinful act does not make one righteous, as a heart remains inclined towards sin. So AI is like, hey, you're right, people are sinful. So reducing this to. Committing an act or not committing an act just seems to over just seems to ignore the reality. The hypotheticals, well we I'll just read some different things here that AI goes on to say, I won't read everything. The hypothetical emphasizes moral decision making, as though avoiding one sin could secure righteousness or solve suffering. This approach risk veering into legalism, ignoring the core Christian doctrine that salvation and sanctification comes through grace. Not works, since Christians continually fall short of God's standard. Focusing on whether to commit or avoid a single sin misses the point of grace. Gospel message is that Christ's righteousness, not our own, is the basis for our standing before God. So again, it just seems to reduce sin to one act, and sin is much more. It's more than that. There's some logical problems here.

50:18 Perpetual sin neutralizes the hypothetical impact. If believers are in a constant cycle of sin, avoiding one sin does not fundamentally alter that state before God. The focus on a single moment of sin fails to address the deeper, ongoing reality of human sinfulness. The hypothetical suggests that avoiding sin will somehow lead to a better outcome, or at least a clear conscience. However, suffering often persists regardless of moral choices, as seen in Job's story or Paul's Thorn in the Flesh. Christianity teaches that humanity's problem is a corporate and system and systemic, not just individual. This broader understanding undermines the hypothetical narrow focus on personal decision making. All right, so AI offers a lot of ongoing issues. I've got pages here of things. AI gives me, like, you know, an entire novel, an entire book on all of the issues here.

51:18 But I am going to ask Ai something. I'm going to ask AI something. Does David commit sin? And First Samuel twenty seven right after the events of First Samuel twenty six? I see here, I see so here we go.

51:59 See this is where he gets I told you he commits sin right before and then this is what AI says. Yes. David's actions and First Samuel twenty seven immediately following the events of First Samuel twenty six can be viewed as sinful or at least morally questionable from a thiological perspective, while the text does not explicitly label his actions as sinful. David engages and. Deceit violence and a lack of trust in God's protection. And First Samuel twenty seven one through four what he flees to the Philistines after sparing Saul's life. David expresses to Spare saying, now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than I should escape to the land of the Philistines.

52:43 So it's like, what this seems to demonstrate. David's like, Okay, I'm not going to use the spear. I'm not going to do this. I'm gonna be Godly because he's the anointed. And then immediately after he's like, but I'm now gonna be killed by Saul. So you can see that internal his external may not match what was going on in Internally, He's like, man, I just messed up. Now I'm going to die, and so I've got to run to the Philistines. Well wait a minute, I thought David was showing his trust in God. It didn't last very long, did it. This statement reflects a lack of trust in God's promise to make David king. Despite God's repeated deliverance from Saul, David seems overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty certainty, leading him to take refuge among Israel's enemies.

53:33 He runs to Israel's enemies like, see, you can't just. Reduce this story to there's the spear, David doesn't use it, and now we create this hypothetical situation The story is much more complex, just like life is that is much more complex. He makes an alliance with Akish. All right, David seeks asylum from Akish, King of God, and as given the town of Ziklag. While this move provides temporary safety of allignes David with the Philistines, where the enemies of Israel. This compromises his position as the future king of God's people.

54:14 Deception and raids. For Samuel twenty seven eight through twelve, David leads raids against neighboring peoples and destroying entire populations. David would leave neither man nor woman alive for Samuel twenty seven to nine, so he won't kill Saul, but he goes and kills other people. However, he deceives Akish by claiming that he is attacking Judah and other Israel territories. This convinces Akish that David has turned against Israel, making him a trusted ally. David's actions involves deceit, excessive violence, plundering including livestock, clothing, and other goods. So he lies, he kills, he stials, but hey, David didn't use the spear, so.

55:08 You could say it this way. See, he turns this story in David didn't use the spear right, but he could have solved all of his problems by using the spear well, by not using the spear. David then finds himself. Now killing, lying, deceiving, and stealing. Like this story is no, I don't know how we. Just turned this into this, Morald. The whole thing is confusing to me. Let's see how he treats how David's actions here. So we noticed, first of all, David's temptation. But now we come to our second point, which is to look at David's response. And as we look at David's response, two things really stand out, and I want us to look at both of those in turn. The first is David was committed to doing right and not wrong. David was committed to doing.

56:06 Right and not wrong. In verse nine, his words are so telling, who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed. And be guiltless? He understands that it would be a sin for him to do wrong to Saul, and so David has resolved not to do wrong to Saul. His hand would not be the hand of harm, and in fact, he wouldn't even allow other people to do that under his command, and he even chastises Abner and all the other soldiers on the other side of the hill because they haven't done their job protecting Saul. He says, what you have done is not good and you deserve to die for the way you have failed to protect.

56:50 This man's life. And so David is committed to not doing what's wrong. But notice he's also committed to doing what's right. I mean, the absurdity here is hard for me. Or maybe I don't know the contrasting David is committed to not doing wrong, and then in First Samuel twenty seven, immediately after he won't use the spear. Look at Fort Samuel twenty seven nine. Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel and returned and came to akish. He's slaughtering people.

57:32 He is using to see he teams up with Israel's enemies and slaughters people. But hey, David is committed to not doing wrong. In twenty six see David won't kill Saul, but then as a result, now he's scared for his life flees teams up with the bad guys and kills people. And what did those people are being slaughtered? Do Innocent women, innocent men died had their property stolen by good guy David because David would not kill Saul. Oh, I won't kill Saul, but I'll go kill that woman over there. I won't kill Saul, but i'll go kill that man over there. I won't kill Saul, but I'll steal all of their property. Hey, hey, I'll.

58:20 Go team up with the but but I won't kill Saul. If David would have killed Saul, then all these other people would have been spared. So we're gonna turn this story into be like David. Okay, I'll be like David. I won't use I keep saying the sword. I won't use the spear. I won't use the spear. I won't I won't kill Saul. I won't do this bad thing. But you know what, I'm not gonna do this bad thing here to end all of my problems and suffering, I'm just gonna go, I don't know, still kill slaughter people. But hey, I didn't do that one sin. Oh, David's such a good guy. What a great guy, David. If you would have killed Saul, then these other people wouldn't have had to die. But David doesn't kill Saul with the spear, not the sword. How many times am I going to mess that up? And yet what does he do?

59:16 Like, I don't even know how you what in the world? Okay? I love it. At the end this conversation that he has with Saul, which is actually the last time they speak together in this entire narrative account, and as they're talking about what just happened, and as Saul is pleading for David to come back to him, they describe David's actions that day as seeing Saul's life as precious. In verse twenty one, even Saul, in all his unbelief and in all his hatred of David, could say, my life was precious in.

1:00:06 Your eyes this day. You see, David was focused not only on not doing what's wrong, but David was also focused on doing what was right. And what was right is to see Saul's life as precious, to honor his life with the dignity that it deserves. Hey, Hey, David was committed to do what's right because he saw Saul's life is something that is to be respected. And in other words, the dignity of life. I guess the men and women's slaughtering over in chapter twenty seven they don't matter. I guess the men, women and children got slaughtered earlier on because of David's lie.

1:00:51 The whole thing seems to First Samuel twenty seven. On Samuel twenty seven undermines the premise of the entire sermon. The sermon builds its argument around David's moral restraint at for Samuel twenty six, using it to create a hypothetical scenario, what if you could commit a sin and make all your suffering go away. David's refusal to harm Saul is presented as an idealized response of trust in God and faithfulness under pressure. However, in First Samuel twenty seven immediately shows David's succumbing to fear, despair, and morally ambiguous actions, which disrupts the clean moral narrative the sermon tries to construct.

1:01:34 The sermon betrays David as a model of moral restraint who refuses to use the spear, commits sin to solve a suffering, a man fully trusting in God's deliverance despite the ongoing threat of Saul, A foreshadowing of Christ's perfect obedience under temptation. The hypothetical scenario rest on the assumption that David's refusal to kill to sin and not killing Saul exemplifies the believer's ideal response when faced with tim tae to alleviate suffering through sin. But in First Samuel twenty seven we have a completely contrasting picture, and First Samuel twenty seven David despairs and doubts God's promises. David explicitly doubts God's ability to protect him from Saul. Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul, one Samuel twenty seven to one. This contradicts the trust emphasized in On Samuel twenty six. He takes matters into his own hands. Instead of waiting for God's deliverance. David flees to the Philistines, allying himself with Israel's enemies. He engages in deception and violence. David deceives akish the Philistine king by about the targets of his raids, and engages in morally questionable violence by annihilating entire populations, including non combatants.

1:02:48 He's killing innocence, he's killing civilians. These actions revealed that David, like all humans, is not consistently righteous. His actions in First Samuel twenty seven are riven by fear, self preservation, and pragmatism rather than the faith and restraint seen in First Samuel twenty six. First Samuel twenty seven undermines the entire sermon hypothetical situation moral consistency is unrealistic. The sermon assumes that David's restrain in First Samuel twenty six is a sustainable model of faithfulness. However, First Samuel twenty seven demonstrated that even David, a man after God's own heart, struggles with ongoing sin and fails to struggle to trust God consistently. Sin cannot be avoided and practice or thought.

1:03:38 The sermon frames the moral dilemma as a binary choice to commit one sin to end suffering or to endure faithfully. But for Samuel twenty seven shows that even when avoiding one sin killing Saul, other sins, deception, doubt, violence, and often arise in response to ongoing suffering. The sermon emphasizes unwavering trust in God, but First Samuel twenty seven highlights the reality that even faithful believers can waiver under pressure. David's fear of Saul overrides his confidence in God's promise, leading to flaw decisions. The sermon links David's response to Saul with Christ's perfect obedience. However, On Samuel twenty seven reveals David's fallibility, highlighting the contrast between David a flaw human being and Christ's the perfect savior to align with the reality of First Samuel twenty seven.

1:04:34 A more philologically. Balanced approach to First Samuel twenty six would be acknowledge David's humanity, emphasize that David's restraint and sparing Saul is a moment of faithfulness, but not an indication of moral perfection or sustainable righteousness. This should show that even David's best moments are followed by failure, demonstrating humanity's ongoing need for God's. Mercy and Christ's righteousness. Instead of equating David's action with Christ's perfection, use David's failure. To point to Jesus. First Samuel twenty seven indeed destroys the entire premise of this sermon. Oh Man, alive, ladies and gentlemen, this is why see you go to church. Someone takes for Samuel twenty six preaches an entire sermon where the very next chapter destroys the entire meaning the entire sermon. And guess what if you remember part one. For this church that's preaching for Samuel twenty six, they're preaching for Samuel twenty six.

1:05:45 Guess when they're gonna preach for Samuel twenty seven. Sometime in twenty twenty five. They're taking the entire rest of December off from preaching for Samuel. So by the time you get to twenty seven, it's going to be completely disjointed and disconnected from twenty six. How can you preach twenty six in this standalone way without saying, wait a minute, Wait a minute, guys, I can't say some of these things because twenty seven is going to be a complete contradiction of everything in twenty six. Let's at least wrap this up. Now. It's important to realize too, that in David's commitment to not doing what's wrong and in his commitment to doing what's right, he's also not a fool about this. David shows us amazing wisdom, especially in the face of an unrepentant person, which is what Saul ultimately is. You know, in the narrative, Saul lays it on thick, doesn't he he's moved, He says more than he ever has. He says he's sinned, he says he's been a fool. He says he's made a great mistake. He invites David to return.

1:06:59 He promises he's never gonna hurt him. And I think Saul, in his self deception, believes all those things when he's saying them. But will it actually change what he does? It won't. And what's so encouraging here. Is that David is wise and he sees Saul's empty words for what they truly are. And I love it how one commentator says this, and I was like, Oh, that just makes sense of so much that we face in life. He says, just because Saul has been a fool, which is what Saul says of himself, I've been. Like a nay ball, is basically what he's saying here. Just because Saul has been a fool, it doesn't mean that David has to be a fool. And so you notice David doesn't go along with him. And so in this section we see David is committed to doing what is right to not doing what is wrong. And in reality.

1:07:58 He doesn't know how it's all going to turn out. But the first thing that. We see is he's wisely guided. Walking through this trial by what is wrong and what is right. But the second thing that we see is not only was David committed to doing right and not wrong, but David trusted the Lord's deliverance. David trusted the Lord's deliverance. I mean, he just lays it on. David does all these wonderful things. And the very next chapter, the very next chap, I mean it starts off immediately David's like, oh no, Saul's going to kill me.

1:08:40 Let me go join the Philistines. And the next thing, you know, whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the ox, and the donkeys, the camels and the apparel, and returned and came to akish. He's out there slaughtering people. But David is such a good guy. So hey, hey, so just think about this. Logically, there lies the spear, not the sword. There lies the spear right next to Saul's head. All David needs to do is take that spear, kill Saul, end it all. But he won't do that. So, hey, whenever you're facing a situation that could end all of your problems and all of your suffering, don't use the spear. Just trust God and do what is right. Okay, sounds good, sounds great. So what is the end result of David not using the spear? Oh, he just slaughters multiple people. Hey, instead of killing one man, he kills innocent people, non com He doesn't kill the combatant, the man who's trying to kill him, the man's who's attacking him, the man who has slaughtered other people. David's like, no, no, no, no, can't kill him, but I can go kill them. So the end result of David not using the spear is that other people die at the hand of David.

1:10:06 Oh man. See, I don't think the Bible was ever meant for the way church is structured. I don't think the. Bible was ever meant for the church, because the church is all about basically, the church is the hallmark channel of theology. The church doesn't want to deal with the ugliness, the reality of it, the complexities of it, sometimes the apparent contradictions. We just want to turn everything into a moral lesson. Oh, look at David he didn't use the spear to be like, David, don't use the spear now. Oh yeah, now you didn't use the spear. Now it's okay. If you go and still kill and slaughter people, that's okay. Oh we're not gonna worry about that, because we just need a moral tale.

1:10:49 We need a little we need a little a moral lesson. Here. We got to give everyone a little moral lesson. It's you know, it's time for veggie tails. We gotta we gotta sing a little song, have a little moral lesson, and everybody leaves church going. Oh that was great. Now it is a thought provoking question. I'm glad he asked the thought provoking question. But the very next chapter destroys the entire sermon. Now, I wouldn't destroy the sermon if you said, look at we're gonna compare twenty six and twenty seven. Now, maybe when they preach twenty seven they will then come back. But at that point it's gonna be so late. It's gonna be like the people who were there on that day, they may not even hear the sermon on twenty seven.

1:11:38 Oh man, that is crazy. I don't even know what to do. I don't even know what to say. I'm just gonna leave it there with you. I don't even know what to say. I'm utterly completely blown away by what just transpired. Like I look again, when we go into these reviews, I go in blind, right, I go in blind. I don't know where things are going. Right. So in this particular case, I mean, obviously, now, because we did the review last night, I had a pretty good idea, but I still try to go in unprepared. So then a lot of times it's in the midst of listening that I'm over here, typing, researching, looking things up, coming up with things, and I had no idea, Like it didn't even cross my mind to look to twenty seven until we got later in there, because I was thinking the way he's describing this, what did David do in twenty seven?

1:12:29 Because my I just knew. That David is not going to be acting like the way David is being demonstrated here, Like I just knew. I just I just had I had a strong suspicion. And then I look at twenty seven. Now you say, well, you should have already I know, I should have already known it, But I mean, you know, I don't always remember every chapter at any given moment, when, especially when you're listening live, I don't immediately go okay, wait, I remember everything, So I had to look things up. Okay, I mean, give me a little bit of a break. Okay. When you're reviewing things in real time, your brain is like, you know, you're listening, to be listening, and I gotta be thinking of what I'm going to say, and I'm researching right, so like I'm doing it all at one time. So maybe in a normal situation to be like, well, wait a minute, what.

1:13:10 Is this sermon? Even saying first Samuel twenty seven is going to destroy this I should have caught it on immediately. I did not, because I was so caught up on the hypothetical question and how that applies to us that I just forgot about the text. Many times. What you have to do I hate to do this. I hate to say this many times. What you have to do is you can't listen to the sermon. You got to stop the sermon and go look at the text. Wow, what a crazy that took a wild turn. That took a crazy turn. All right, I'll stop there. Everyone, have a great day. Hey, I just gave you a lot of things to discuss. First, Samuel twenty six and twenty seven.

1:13:54 Have some good conversations today over lunch. All right, God bless