“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7 NIV)
Saul had been anointed king of Israel by the prophet Samuel, so he
should have been secure in his calling. But when young David killed the
giant Goliath, David moved into the royal court; and because of his
courage and his exploits on behalf of the king, he became everyone’s
hero. Soon the people began chanting: “Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.”
This sent Saul into a fit of
jealousy. He drove David out of his kingdom and David became a
fugitive, always staying just a few steps ahead of Saul’s posse.
Isn’t
that amazing? David was the most loyal subject () King Saul had, yet Saul
became jealous of him and began to detest him and to try to kill him.
That was unfortunate, because David was probably the truest person in
Saul’s life.
We can get like that in our own lives. Sometimes [the person //who is the
most right for us and speaks truth to us] gets neglected by us. Even
worse, like Saul, we can end up turning against the very person who is
our most loyal friend. The Bible says, “Faithful are the wounds of a
friend.” Flatterers, and those who are around /when everything is going
well in our lives, are a dime a dozen. But a faithful friend, who can
find?
Do you have someone like that in your own life? If so, consider
yourself blessed. If someone doesn’t fit that bill /at the moment, don’t
worry. The Bible says that there is a friend //that sticks closer than a
brother (Proverbs 18:24). Those who know the Lord know that,
ultimately, that friend is Jesus. He is the one who has promised never
to leave us nor forsake us. Let’s put our trust in him today.
Read 1 Samuel 18:6-16.