Saul and David

This morning as I continued my read through 1 Samuel, I was struck by the strong contrast between Saul and David.

In chapters 17 and 18 the story arc of their relationship begins at the battle lines opposite Goliath and the Philistines, progresses through Saul’s grateful patronage of David, and descends into mistrust and animosity. It’s a soap opera told in just a couple of pages.

But look at the differences between these two men. In  1 Samuel 17 starting at verse 33 there’s this exchange: “Saul replied, ‘You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’
“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’
“Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you.’”

The key difference: Saul fears Goliath, so he can’t trust God. David trusts God, so he doesn’t fear Goliath. It’s a matter of what they look at, the bellowing giant or the king of the universe.

Once David wins, though, this is what happens, in 1 Samuel 18:2-5: “From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. . . . Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.” Now, it seems, Saul has put his trust in David, where he couldn’t trust God.

And then, just a few verses later, in 1 Samuel 18:8-9: “Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. ‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’ he thought, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.” Just that quick, David is the threat, and Saul’s trust evaporates.

David’s steady service compares well to Saul’s fickle paranoia, and it all seems to grow from David’s constant trust in God. One man trusts, one man can’t. One man is loved by God, the other God regrets. It’s a pointed lesson in where I should put my faith, and who or what can reward it.