Just over a week and a half ago our nation was rocked by the assignation of Charlie Kirk as he was speaking at a university in Utah. Today, September 21st, his memorial is being held here in Arizona.
I will admit that not only is the assignation shocking, but I am personally angry about it. Kirk was only thirty-one years old and he engaged in a lot of what our society says are controversial topics. However, the topics, prior to the 1960s were not controversial. The stances he took were commonly held stances of Christians going back 2,000 years. The topic of abortion, the Church has been consistent that it is wrong since its founding. The topic of sex reserved for one man and one woman, has been a consistent stance of the Church since the first century. The other topics he covered such as transgenderism, economics, civil debate all stem from biblical principles. And though he did not always argue his points from the Bible, his points were rooted in his biblical worldview.
You might have heard that he has said some things like he doesn’t like empathy, or that gays should be stoned, but the quotes that are being spread are either cut up and misrepresenting what he said, or flat out made up. If I’m not careful, my anger over the situation will overwhelm the need to address not only his assignation, but our response as Christians. So it is fitting that our passage in First Samuel is what it is today.
I want to return to Charlie Kirk’s assignation at the end, but for now let us turn to our passage, in the book of First Samuel, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 23, starting in verse 15. As we open up to First Samuel 23:15, let’s refresh our memories about where we are in the series.
By way of David’s introduction we learned several things about him and how God wants us to walk in faith. We learned through David that God desires his people to eagerly follow him. God also desire that we be carriers of his peace to the world around us. David also shows us that God wants us to walk in confident faith of what God can do. And God wants us to love people even when they’re out to get us.
From David, we switched to Saul and we saw how he continued to descend into sin. From Saul we talked about how we need to be on our guard in recognizing our own descent into sin and to surround ourselves with people that will direct us back to God.
Then we saw the first cracks in David’s faith as he ran from Saul. However, we also saw how David took responsibility for his actions. From him, we talked about how we are to judge out situations rightly, seeing our fault and acting in humility.
Finally, two weeks ago, we got an insight into how God sees not only what will happen but the possibilities of what could happen if we are given different situations to work in. This led us to understand that no matter what the pressures around us are, God knows all the outcomes and so we need to trust him as he guides us. This will be important for the next part of our reading as we jump into First Samuel 23:15-24:22. Let’s start reading together.
23:15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” 18 And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
v. 23:15-18
Let’s stop here for a moment. In these four verses we see a couple of important realities. First, Jonathan recognizes that because of all that God has done through David, the defeat of Goliath, the military victories, evading Saul, helping out cities even though he’s not the king, David will be the king of Israel some day.
Jonathan recognizes this and in an example of someone choosing to follow the will of God rather than what would bring them more earthly glory, Jonathan submits himself to David’s rule. Jonathan, not David is the rightful ruler in the line of a dynastic family, however, Jonathan sees God’s plan and would rather embrace it than seek after his own inheritance. In Jonathan, Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:33 ring out, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
We also get an insight into Saul from Jonathan. Not only does Jonathan recognize the God has chosen David to be king, but Saul also recognizes this. However, whereas Jonathan has accepted the will of God, Saul is blinded by his own sin which causes him to not submit to God’s plan. This is why Saul fights against David, because he is fighting for himself.
v.19-29 (summarize but not read)
The passage then moves from this encounter to a people group called the Ziphites. Summarizing their story, we just need to know that they contacted Saul to tell him where David was. This is meant to help us see the contrast between Jonathan and others. There are people who desire to follow God in Israel, and there are those that do not. And we see that reality play out time and time again throughout the Scriptures and human history.
The passage let’s us know that Saul does come down after David, but then has to call off his pursuit because the Philistines are attacking. Due to Saul’s inaction against the Philistines at the beginning of the chapter, which led David to stepping into the kingly role to help a city, Saul does leave his purist of David for now.
This shows God’s protection of David in which he uses the greater circumstances of the world to accomplish his saving work.
It’s here that we pick the passage back up in chapter 24:1, where we’ll read through the whole chapter.
24:1 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats' Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5 And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15 May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
v.24:1-22
David is handed the perfect opportunity to end this whole situation with Saul. However, David chooses not to kill Saul for the reason that God had anointed Saul to be king. David, though he too was anointed as king and would have the right to kill Saul, choose not to in a show of grace. This is a monumental moment and calls back to the what we learned earlier about David, where he was a carrier of peace and sought to love those around him.
When confronting Saul, David shows his love for the king when he refers to him as his father (v.11). This reveals that even after all that Saul had put David through, David still cared for him. Recognizing that David doesn’t just see Saul as a king, but as a part of his family.
David then shares a proverb “Out of the wicked comes wickedness (v.13)” which is similar to Jesus’ words in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” David is pitting his righteous care for Saul against the wickedness of those who were influencing Saul and Saul himself. From within David, he desires God and the best for Saul. From within Saul, his desire is for himself. David desires God’s righteousness and so acts in righteousness, but Saul is out for himself and so acts in the wickedness which that desire produces.
It’s in this moment that Saul has the realization that David could have killed him. Saul’s response is telling. First, Saul calls David his son and weeps (v.16). David has treated Saul as a family member and not as an enemy on multiple occasions. Next, Saul calls David righteous and admits his own wickedness (v.17). In a moment of clarity, Saul sees the truth: David has done good, while he has done evil. Following this, Saul recognizes that God had given Saul’s life to David, yet David did not take the opportunity (v.18-19). Most people might say that David should have just ended it there, but David isn’t seeking the throne of Israel, he’s seeking God. David’s conviction to love Saul pushes him to reject the idea that it is his place to take Saul’s life. It’s because of this that we get this monumental moment in verse 20. The passage ends with Saul declaring that David will be king, and so Saul asked that David would continue to act mercifully with Saul’s family, to which David agreed.
We might think, that’s the end. Saul and David have come to an agreement, that’s the end of that. But, like most situations where sin is running rampant in peoples’ lives, this isn’t the end. We have eight more chapters to see how sin continues to effect the lives of both Saul and David going forward.
As we walk away from the passage we can put the assignation of Charlie Kirk into a biblical perceptive. I’m angry that his life was taken. Though many people disagreed with his stances, I am not one of them. He held to a biblical worldview, and more often than not, cordially engaged in debate with people that were extremely hostile.
I am angry because his life was taken because of his beliefs, which are accused of being extreme, but have been relatively standard throughout the last two thousand years. And because some did not like those beliefs, they thought it justified to take a husband and father away from his children.
I am angry because his life was taken and the responses from some have been horrific. The vast majority of people of have rightly responded with grief, yet there are those that fain empathy but then add to their rejection of the act with justification for it. These try to mask their agreement that Kirk deserved to die, by trying to first acting as if it was bad then adding a “but” to their comments. Then there are others that are flat out celebrating his death. These people are rightfully being rejected by society, with people like Jimmy Kimmel losing their platforms for making light of the situation.
I am angry because the love of many towards each other is growing colder and colder and will eventually lead us into a place that few want to go, but we'll inevitably have to see. There will be many more Charlie Kirks, both in stepping up to stand for biblical beliefs, but also those who will be killed for those beliefs. There will be many more fathers and mothers who will leave children behind because biblical words and ideas that have been held for thousands of years are being rejected by those who would rather delve deeper into debauchery than hear truth.
Sin will continue to multiple, tensions will rise, and violence will be the end result. And honestly, there’s a part of me that wants to step into the violence. To take the gloves off and bring all of my anger down on those that would justify this or any assassination over ideas.
Then I read David’s dealing with Saul, and I am again reminded of God’s words in Deuteronomy 32:35, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’”
I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:38-48, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
I am also reminded of Paul’s words in Romans 12:17-19, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
These words do not quell the anger I feel, but they put into perspective my duty as a Christ follower. They point me back to the Lord and off the circumstance. Yes there should be justice, but there is a greater need here. There is a need to more boldly proclaim, with word and deed, the salvation of Jesus. Those who act in celebration and justify this assignation are lost now, and will be lost for eternity if they do not repent and turn to Jesus.
These are those whom Christ died on the cross for. These are like those who Christ said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)” We who call ourselves Christians, who say we follow the Risen Jesus who took away the sin of the world, and now accepts anyone who places their trust into him and him alone, we are called by the Lord to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable, and to lay down our lives that others may know him.
This is the hard part of the Christian faith, to respond to hatred with love, and wrath with grace. For each one that does not repent of their sins will find that in the end, their sin has drawn them into a pit of eternal anguish. So let us be those who repay evil with good, that we might honor the God who saved us from our sin.
This week I want to challenge you with a challenge that I was reminded of by a question that Charlie Kirk was asked just a few months ago, “How do you want to be remembered … If everything goes away, if you could be associated with one thing, how would you want to be remembered?
Kirk’s answer was, “I want to be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing.”
Is your faith how people will remember you? That you stood for biblical truth, pointing others back to Jesus for salvation, and being gracious while doing it? I believe Charlie Kirk achieved what he wanted to be remembered for, and it’s a challenge for any of us who trust in Jesus as Savior.
So let us be a people who stand strong in the Lord, never backing down from the faith that was secured for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and through him showing his grace to the world around us. Amen.
