What Saul Never Did…

A good leader recognizes that they still need God to guide them.   ~~~   Last week ended with Saul having a tormenting spirit upon him. Unfortunately, this will not be the last time we read of Saul and a harmful spirit. It will be a recurring theme throughout the remainder of his kingship. But instead of humility and repentance, Saul grows more paranoid and spiteful. But here is the wild thing. David himself will face his fair share of hardships. He will face plenty of nights of depression and torment himself. But he does something Saul never did. He examines his heart. God is the one, the only one who can provide what we need. The world cannot. And what we need is a King obedient to, captured by, the Spirit of God. And that is what the LORD provided to Israel in David. And we will see in the coming weeks that David really is a man of war, a man of valor, and that the LORD really was with Him in a mighty way. But David himself knew that he was not Israel’s ultimate answer. He knew a greater king was to come. This is why he said in Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” David recognized that he himself needed a king, a Lord to reign over him, one mightier, more powerful, a greater warrior, of greater valor. And oh how that original audience must have longed for another King like David, a leader, a champion of whom it could be said, “The Lord is with him!”