Once you start to learn to lie, becomes so easy. Pressure puts on you, lie, get your way, just escape, save thyself. And The encouragement is to not lie, of course, and if you do lie very quickly, begin to learn to not do that and start taking the hits. It's not honorable.
Some people need to learn how to stop lying because they've learned to do it so quickly and so easily it's almost automatic whenever pressure is put on them.
Sometimes they even lie when there is no pressure. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in 1 Samuel 18 as he begins his message: The Devil-in-Law. 1 Samuel chapter 18. This consideration is entitled The devil-in-law. Had Saul served God, he never would have been. such a violent, unloving, vicious character, He had a great opportunity to be the father-in-law of David And Instead he threw himself into becoming a devil-in-law.
And that is exactly The story with this man that we're considering it starts here. In-laws are not automatically opponents. They can be a wonderful blessing. And many of us have such experiences, some of you may not. In the scripture We consider Lot's sons-in-laws.
They were silly, and they are unnamed. And they perished. with those in Sodom and Gomorrah. Moses and Jethro, they had a wonderful, beneficial relationship. Ruth and Naomi, an amazing Relationship And then there is Saul and David.
And As we look at the story, we may pause for a moment and say to ourselves, How am I? Where would I be in this picture? If I were given the opportunity that Saul had, what would I do with it?
Well, hopefully, I wouldn't do anything. Near what this man did with it, What filled him with so much hatred for the innocent?
Well, jealousy was a big part of it. And that jealousy was built on excessive self-love and the absence of God-love. Saul just did not really care for God. Unless God was doing something for him. That's his behavior, tells this story.
He doesn't have to write it down and record it for us. We just look at what. We know what we have. And so here is the point. No one should ever want to behave as this fool Saul, and that is a great part of our lesson as we go through this first book of Samuel.
No one should want to be what he was to others. And what he was not to God. I do not want to be what he was not to God. I put it that way because he had such great opportunity and he did not avail himself.
Well, we look now at the first verse. Then Saul said to David, Here is my older daughter I will give her to you as a wife. only be valiant for me and fight Yahweh's battles. For solid thought, Let my hand not be against him. but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.
And so the historian gets right to the point and lets us know what we're dealing with. Saul would use his own children for his own purposes. He used them as pawns, as chess pieces. He's worse than Labran in this regard. He tried to even have Jonathan, his eldest son, killed because Saul saw opportunity to make himself look as though he were fair as king.
And he's my son still, but he broke the law, and I can't give him a pass. No, the people had to give him one. and now using his daughters. Saul will change the rules because that's what he Like to do. To suit himself, we get that in verse 19, where he will not give David Mirab, but he will give him Michelle.
or my call, as some would like to pronounce it. Only be valiant for me. And fight Yahweh's battles. See that for me. Coming from another person with another history, we wouldn't be so ready to pull over for a moment and look at that.
But coming from Saul, we know just what it means. For me, always about him, Devious Saul uses Yahweh's name to veil his intentions. His murderous plans are camouflaged by Bible language. There have been a lot of people like that down through the ages, and there still are some here today. I don't mean here in the building, I mean in.
in life.
So we're not surprised by Bible quoting devils. Satan, of course, there in the wilderness trying to tempt the Lord into. disobeying his father? It's one of the reasons why God gave pastors to churches. Ephesians chapter 4.
Where this is on the heels of Paul saying he himself has given some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor teachers. For the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edification of the body of Christ. And then he goes on that we should no longer be. tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. Used to be mostly Christians would veer off the path and go get a bestseller and get their theology from that, never mind their pastors.
Now they just go to the internet. People they don't know, people who aren't proven, they listen to what they have to say, and oftentimes it's trouble. It sounds like I'm promoting the system God has put in place, because I am. And so he talks about fighting Yahweh's battles while plotting David's death. How does that work out, Saul?
Well, he could care less about how it worked out. He just wanted the man dead. Is that too much to ask? Psalm 55, when David wrote this, was he thinking about Saul? He had an opportunity to think about a lot of characters like this.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, They were drawn swords.
Well a drawn sword is like somebody taking a pistol out of their holster. They're intending to use this thing on you. And so, David, of course, experienced these kinds of people in life, and so do we. They have such smooth words. Fight for me in the battle of the Lord.
But really, he wants him dead, vile hypocrisy dressed in god language. How many Christians need to hear this? Will never allow themselves to come into an environment where the Bible is preached verse by verse instead of cherry-picking favorite sections. I don't mean to sound Well, I mean to sound this way. I believe that we are to expound on the word.
I don't believe we have this large Bible to use it as a doorstop or something else. I believe it is to be used. And when Jesus opened the scriptures from all the Old Testament on the road to Emmaus. He expounded on the word, leaving us a pattern. and is much benefit to this.
The onlookers hear it this day when Saul is saying these things to David, they're impressed with Saul the fraud. They don't see him as a fraud. He said king The day would come when David himself would sink into cunning, Against Uriah, but The great difference is David did not invoke the name of Yahweh to do it. I don't think David's conscience would have allowed him to do such a thing. Saul had no problem with this.
They say David was sinning, for sure. to cover his sin. But he did not do it in Yahweh's name. For Saul, it says here in verse 6. 17 thought, let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.
Saul says, It's not good policy that I should just come out and kill him. The Philistines can do my dirty work. This is the very way in which Saul's own life ended at the hands. of the Philistines. Because Saul was so into hounding David, he did not build up his military, he did not train his troops.
He did not guard his borders. He was not ready for this large-scale invasion of the Philistines. And very quickly, early into the battle, He and his army was defeated. Slain by the Philistines, not by the hand of David. David had no less than two chances to kill him.
If he put his mind to it, he probably could have had other chances. Saul hoped that the Philistines, as I mentioned, would do his dirty work. Always with the godless motives, this man, in God's name, Jealousy became hate. As David became more famous, and more the acclaimed hero of Israel. This jealousy produced this fear.
And this fear, this type of fear, produced hatred. and that hatred begot the cunning. It's what we're watching right now, and we're going to follow it through the chapters that come. Under the disguise of flattery. Saul is sending David to war, hoping David will be killed on the battlefield.
He won't mind burying him as a hero as long as he's gone. Just to think that there are people like this and worse.
Now, remember, Saul is not the worst man in the Bible. We just have more information about him. than many of the others. But he's pretty bad. That doesn't make, well, okay, he's not so bad then.
No, he's rotten. And the lore that he is using. To get David to the battlefield, is his eldest daughter Mirab, who David will not marry.
Well now David won't get the chance to marry her. She appears to die early because Michelle ends up raising some of her children. That comes later in. We get to that in 2 Samuel.
Now, verse 18.
So David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my life? Or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king. Real humility never knows it's humble. Mock humility is quite proud of its Humility. It's like, why they must think I'm really humble after I said that.
Or after I did that. But genuine humility is not even conscious. The left hand doesn't let the right hand know what it's doing. David says, Who am I? I come from, you know, I'm the son of Jesse.
We get by, we do well, but we're not rolling in the dough. Why would a king want me and his family? And why doesn't David say, Yeah, I killed the giant in a duel. I should get the king's daughter. That's what he promised.
So, the contrast again in the character, and so we sit and we watch and we say, David's behavior is the right behavior. In case I don't know how to behave as a human being, I can look at the characters in the Bible who God applauds and learn from them. David could have very quickly said, I'm entitled to the best. And no one would doubt it than good. But He would have had a basis to say such a thing.
Could have notched it up. Said, yeah, I should marry your daughter. After all, you didn't go face the giant. We would not like to have seen David say that. Verse 19, but it happened that.
The time when Mirab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to. Adrielle. The Maholothite. as a wife. Yeah, they gotta slip those names in there.
They do it on purpose. Saul was many things. Honorable was not one of them. And here it is the historian has disdain as he writes the words. When it came time to give him the wife, He doesn't.
He doesn't do it. is such a liar. And it didn't take anything for Saul to lie, he just lied. He lied and he manipulated for selfish advantage all the time. He did not keep his word to God, he did not keep his word to men.
And this dishonesty, he felt, was a necessary ingredient. To rule as he ruled, to get what he wanted to prevail in life, he justified his lies with no problem. The thing where I'm going is here: is once you start to learn to lie. It comes so easy. Pressure puts on you, lie, get your way, just escape, save thyself.
And the encouragement is to not lie, of course. And if you do lie very quickly, begin to learn to not do that and start taking the hits. It's not honorable.
Some people need to learn how to stop lying because they've learned to do it so quickly and so easily it's almost automatic whenever pressure is put on them.
Sometimes they even lie when there is no pressure. And once you start, it's very easy.
Well, David will later execute five of Mirab's sons. Because of It's a long story, and we'll get to it in 2 Samuel 21. It's a tragedy, is what it is. They were involved in persecuting the Gibeonites, not those of Gibeea, but Gibeon, about four miles Away And again, we'll get that in 2 Samuel.
Now, verse 20.
Now, Michelle, and that's how I'm going to pronounce it. Saul's daughter loved David, And they told Saul, And the thing pleased him.
So it's not a surprise that she loved David. He was a national hero. What was not to love about him? Samuel was impressed. He was a ruddy guy.
You know, he comes out running from the field and hair blowing in the wind. And everything we have read about him has been attractive. This marriage is not going to do well. And the main reason why it will not do well. is because David loved God as much as he could.
And Michele did not. And so when he dances before the ark. With all of his might bringing it into Jerusalem, having that history of Uzzah being struck dead, getting past that. He's finally bringing the ark into Jerusalem, something no one else was able to do. He's dancing before the Lord with all of his might, whirling around.
And she despised him. And when it was all over and time to go home, she comes running out. Boy, weren't you impressive in front of all the women today? And oh, what a mess she made. She just couldn't shut up.
And David said, it's not going to go well with us. And it did not. Verse 21: So Saul said, I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him, and that. The hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore, Saul said to David a second time, You shall be my son-in-law today.
I will be your devil-in-law today. Do you see how he's thinking, okay, I found a better deal for Mirab for me?
Now there's another deal I have to settle for me, and I'll use Michelle to do it. I will give her to you. that she can be a snare. What is that? I mean, does he love his own daughter?
Of course not. He ready to have his own son, his gallant son killed. He could care nothing about this child. She probably felt that she was daddy's favorite. Dead beat dad exploiting his own daughter To snare a foe who happens to be the champion of God.
How does that work? What is wrong with human beings? Sin And the born again try to take it seriously. And we're outgunned many times, but we tried to take it seriously. Did he suppose that his daughter would act as a double agent?
In some way in his favor? After all, who would not love Saul more than David and anybody else? Or did he have in view that Michelle had idols. And maybe having a wife that had idols and tolerating that would somehow interfere with David's relationship with God on the battlefield, and David would be killed.
Well, we're not told exactly how, but what we are told. Is that he wanted his daughter? To be a snare, a trap. and that the Philistines could finish him off. This will be David's father-in-law.
Saul said this to Elimus, a Jewish sorcerer. Who really? was irritated by the gospel being preached. Acts 13, Saul said, Oh, full of deceit and all fraud. You son of the devil.
You enemy of all righteousness. Will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
Now I'm gonna take you outside and beat you down like you need. No, he didn't go that far. That was me. But he stopped that. Will you stop perverting the ways of the Lord?
But he wanted to say that, I think. That's my commentary. That's what I would have liked to have said to Saul. What a sickle.
Well, what a sinno. I mean, he's not sick, he's a sinner. I mean, the evil spirit came into him. God departed and left that door open for the devil to influence this man. Again, I stand by.
If I see Saul in heaven, I will not object. If I don't see him in heaven, I won't be surprised. We go by what we have. This is the record we have. We can't spin it.
Because it's uncomfortable. We must face the facts. And few people in life have the ability to be such a pain in the heart. His family. And they're closer to us.
We're vulnerable because we're exposed. Many members feel entitled to things that they should not feel entitled to. Because in the Old Testament, they played the dominant role. The sons of Jacob, the sons of Esau, even, the sons of David. But by the time we come to the New Testament, there are two ships.
That sail from the harbor of the Lord's work. Discipleship and friendship. And this is what the church is built on, and this is what has been carrying the gospel around the world. in spite of ethnic barriers and and other Obstacles. It is discipleship and it is friendship.
And we have a word, the koinonia. having everything in common as friends do. Verse 22, and Saul commanded his servants. Let me pause there. That is not a slight against the family, that's an expansion of it.
I mean, there are people that do not come from nice families. When I worked steel, I met many men who did not come from nice families, and I had to take the time when I talked about our Father in heaven, their image of a father was someone coming home drunk and beating up everybody. And so, when I spoke of the Father in heaven, the Lord put it on my heart, kind of lay it out a little bit for them. that I am holy and pure. And loving, and explain what love is because they want it, many of them wanted it.
And as we talked about Ruth and Naomi, Orpa, they never Those Moabite women never met a virtuous woman like Naomi. And they were, you know, even Orpa was reluctant to leave her. And Ruth said, I'm not going anywhere. I am not going back to that life I came out of. I am staying with you.
What a witness for Naomi Verse twenty two And Saul commanded his servants communicate with David secretly, and say, Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you.
Now, therefore, become the king's son-in-law.
Well, David is feeling again humble. It's like, I don't deserve it. I mean, I don't fit in. This is upper class from a different Cast. But sinister soul is at work.
And so now we come back to Niccolo Machiavelli. who employed practices that we find in Saul. and Laban, and politicians the world over. And if you don't know who Machiavelli is, then it would take just a few minutes to look up a few of his quotes, and you got enough of him. There's one thing Machiavelli wrote in his book, The Prince.
We think of a prince oftentimes, we think of a royal descendant, but a prince Can include any high-level government official. It doesn't have to be a bloodline to the king. The crown prince is, but the royal princes are, but there are other princes in a kingdom. And Machiavelli was one of them. And so our equivalent would be the politician.
And I'm not being humorous, that's what it translates to.
So he says, and I'll use that word instead of print. This task requires the politician to be Publicly above reproach, but privately may require him. to do immoral things in order to achieve his goals.
So, what Machiavelli is doing is saying, This is how you become a politician. This is how you work in politics in various offices. If you are an assistant or an aide or the actual figure himself, then understand that publicly you have to be seen as a person who is moral and decent and likable. But privately, you can be a monster. It's okay, don't worry about this.
Here are some quotes for other quotes. A politician never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise. Then why promise? I promise I'll do it if I don't want to change my mind later. It's not a promise.
A wise ruler ought never to keep faith. when by doing so it would be against his interests.
So he's just telling them to, you know, lie, be liars. Just whatever you do, get what you want, no matter what it costs to everyone else. It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved. I'd rather people be terrorized by me than love me. A loveless environment That sounds like hell If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be done so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
You beat down your opponent to the point where you never have to worry about them again. And Here's a commentary. Machiavelli does not dispense. entirely with morality, nor advocate wholesale selfishness or degeneracy. Instead, he outlines his definition of, for example, the criteria For acceptable Cruel actions, it must be swift, effective, and short-lived.
Machiavelli does not miss the irony in the fact that That good can come. From evil. I know as you might say, hearing someone read that, you might not be getting it all, but Fortunately, we record the messages. you can slow it down to that pace.
So, in other words, you know, the end justifies the means, which is, again, right out of hell. That is not what the scriptures teach, or else we'd never have to turn the other cheek when someone offends us. The turning of the other cheek does not apply to every situation. For example, civil law. I do not want the police to turn the other cheek.
I want them to shoot back with accuracy. You know, serving with the shield is not the same thing as living by the sword. Anyway, verse 23.
So, Saul's servants, now that we know we're dealing with a Machiavellian type of person, incidentally, many people in politics read Machiavelli. And study him. and apply whatever they can apply.
So this is not old reading. He's not like Miyamoto Mishashi in the book of Five Rings, you know, although businessmen try to get something out of that, but they really can't get too much. One of my favorites, he was a great swordsman in feudal Japan. One of my favorite of his sayings is: when your enemy is about to hit you, hit him.
Well, Miyamoto was very fast and he could do such things, maybe, but history records that he has had many to the death duels and won them all.
Okay. Thanks for joining us for today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Rick is in the book of 1 Samuel. If you'd like to listen again to this or other messages or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreference radio.com.
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