Larry D. Alexander Weekly Sunday School Lesson

WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

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For Sunday October 4, 2020

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LOVE THAT INTERCEDES

(GOD’s mercy can overcome HIS judgment against us)

(1 Samuel 19:1-7, 23:1-18 and 2 Samuel 9)

Over in the New Testament Scriptures, in the letter written by James, the half-brother of JESUS, he tells us that, “For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then GOD’s mercy toward you will “win out” over HIS judgment against you” (James 2:13) (NLT).

In the biblical Greek “katakauchatai” (kat-ak-ow-chat-ahee) is the spirit in which that statement is made. It describes the attitude that GOD has toward mankind, and the attitude that GOD expects mankind to reflect from HIM toward our fellowman. And so, even when we speak, and in whatever we do, we must remember that we will be “judged” (krino) by “the law of love”, the law that sets us free.

In first Samuel 19, after becoming jealous of David, because of his many military successes, King Saul, Israel’s current king, makes the first of several attempts to assassinate David, who would become Israel’s next king, by decree from GOD. Here Saul urges his servants and his son, Jonathan, to kill David, who had now become the most popular man in all of Israel. However, Jonathan, who was now very close friends with David, instead, told David of his father’s plot against him (Vs.1-3).

The next morning Jonathan met with his father to try and sway him away from his assassination plot, by reminding him of the many good things that David had done for him, and his kingdom. After much persuasion from Jonathan, Saul falsely vowed before the LORD that he would not kill David (v.6). Jonathan told David of his seemingly successful defense of him before his father, and then he brought David to see Saul and everything seemed peaceful, as it was before (v.7).

However, over in first Samuel 23, we see King Saul’s jealousy and envy toward David still kindling, and in his heart, he never had any intentions of letting David live. And so, we see here in this chapter, that, after another attempt at taking David’s life by Saul, David has fled into the wilderness of Judah and hid from the king.

We also see here in this passage that, David was still concerned about the welfare of Israel. In verses 1-6, David, after first inquiring of the LORD, went after the Philistines who were raiding and stealing the temple grain at Keilah, a small fortress town in lowlands of Judah, about 8 ½ north of Hebron.

Here David bravely comes out of hiding and goes to Keilah and slays the Philistines and rescued the people. When word got back to Saul, his envy toward David burned at an even higher degree. Saul quickly mobilized his army and went after David, somehow believing that the LORD had now handed David over to him by trapping David in the “walled city” of Keilah.

However, David learned of Saul’s plan ahead of time, and he called for, and inquired of the priest, Abiathar, the son of the priest, Ahimelech, who had fled to David after Saul had exterminated the entire priestly community in Jerusalem. Abiathar also went with David to Keilah and he carried the “sacred ephod” (the breastplate of judgment – Exodus 28:12, 29) with him, which contained the sacred lots, “Urim” and “Thummim”, that were used by the priests to receive answers from GOD.

David prayed to the LORD and asked HIM “if Saul would come to take siege of the city of Keilah”, and, “would the people of Keilah betray him to Saul” (Vs.11-12). The LORD’s reply to David, to both questions, was “yes”. And so, to show mercy to the city that he had rescued from the oppression of the Philistines, David and his 600-man army left Keilah and began roaming the countryside (v.13). When word reached Saul, that David had left Keilah, he decided not to go there, and the people were spared of incurring his wrath against David.

Eventually, David ended up in the strongholds of the wilderness of the hill country outside the city Ziph in southern Judah, just to the southeast of Hebron. Saul continued to hunt for David, but the LORD would not let him find him (v.14).

One day while David was near Horesh, he received news that Saul was coming to search for him in Ziph. However, Jonathan went and found David and encouraged him to “not be afraid” and to “stay strong in the LORD”. He also reminded David that the LORD had already anointed him to be Israel’s next king. That day David and Jonathan renewed their “covenant of friendship” before the LORD, and Jonathan then returned home, leaving David at Horesh (v.18) in the hill country of southern Judah.

In Second Samuel 9, long after the death of Saul and Jonathan, David begins to reflect, and he wonders if there were any relatives of Saul that were still alive. Second Samuel 9 is the beginning of what is sometimes called by scholars, “the succession narratives”. It is that stretch of biblical passages that encompasses chapters 9-20 of this book. The purpose of these chapters is to show the steps that David took to succeed Saul and establish the permanence of his own dynasty.

These passages chronicle events surrounding David’s solicitation of the northern kingdom of Israel for support, by showing kindness to the descendants of Saul, their once beloved king. Then too, David had also made a covenant with Jonathan, Saul’s son, and promised to always show faithful love to his family, even after his death (1 Samuel 20:14-17).

And so, David summons a man named “Ziba” (Zie-bah), who had been one of Saul’s servants, and asked him if there was anyone in Saul’s family that was still alive. Ziba informed David that one of Jonathan’s sons named “Mephibosheth” (Meh-FIB-oh-shehth) was still alive. He was a cripple who resided in the home of a man named Makir, in the town of Lo-debar (also called Debir), east of the Jordan River, on the border of Gad, near Mahanaim (May-huh-NAY-im).

Mephibosheth was only 5 years old when his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather, Saul, died on Mount Gilboa in the battle of Jezreel (2 Samuel 4:4). When his nurse heard the outcome of the battle, she feared for Mephibosheth’s life. When she grabbed the young lad however, to flee for his protection, she fell and dropped him, causing his permanent cripple condition.

After hearing this from Ziba, King David sent for the, now lamed, prince of northern Israel, and restored to him, his grandfather Saul’s entire estate. He also gave Mephibosheth a place at his royal table, and he allowed him to live in his palace, and he treated him as if he were his own son (2 Samuel 9:7-13).

And so, we see, just as GOD, through Jonathan, had faithfully interceded for David down through the years, with HIS love and protection, so David faithfully interceded for Saul and his family, with his love and protection. In fact, he showed mercy toward Saul and his family, even in the years when Saul was actively seeking to kill him.

A Sunday school lesson by,

Larry D. Alexander