898 - Don't Mess With........The King

Lord - Wow, I am a bit in shock over the scripture this morning. 2 Samuel 1 tells of a soldier that came to David to verify that King Saul and his sons were dead. He went on to say he knew King Saul was dead because he was the one that finished him off because the enemy was about to make a major sport of him. So this guy escape from where he was to tell David and I am sure in hopes of being rewarded. I know he is thinking he has done a great thing. Well David freaks and has the man killed. This is a hard scripture to understand.

This man thought he was doing the right thing and then was glad to tell about it. Maybe his motive was impure in seeking reward or hoping to be the hero for the day, but when telling David of it, I feel like he thought he was bringing David relief and peace. I think he was thinking - I am going to tell David that the man that has been chasing him for years and causing such havoc on his life, is now dead and here is the proof. He might have been thinking - David is going to be so proud to know that he can now rule freely without any hiding or opposition from the same team. He is going to make me a position in his kingdom. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!

David stuck to his guns about not doing away with the anointed. He had opportunity to kill Saul himself, but never went for it. Until his last breath, Saul was King and David would have honored that. I am just unsure how to apply this to my life. Was David grieving so badly that he did something that he might have regretted? Did David do wrong in taking another's life because he put Saul out of his misery? Was this guy really looking to be honored or was just telling it like it was?

Lord, I know there have been times in my life that I have sought recognition or glory. Maybe in that i have tried to bring another down through words, maybe i have hoped things would turn out differently, maybe i have looked for the honor. Bottom line - even when someone is at fault, we never go to any length to seek recognition. We never take things into our own hands and hope it is right. We always seek - we always ask - we always search out the heart of God before we do anything. Who knows - maybe this guy would have just left Saul there and told David his whereabouts and the situation he left Saul in. Then would David have been mad that he left Saul to die? Would David accused this guy for doing the actual killing? This may have been a no win situation for this poor guy - after all everyone does strange things in times of mourning and grief. David wanted no one to mess with King Saul except the Lord Almighty. Don't mess with God's anointed!