I would like to say to many of those who have come and heard the word of God here, especially those for a long time, the youth, I hope in 10 years' time they go back and they listen to some of these messages to find out just how much their pastor loved them and was looking out spiritually for them by not withholding the truth but giving it to them, believing that they were sane enough, smart enough, loved enough to receive it, rather than tell them what they want to hear and fluff them up with lies. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 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. The Devil-in-Law is the title of Pastor Rick's message, and today he'll be teaching in 1 Samuel chapter 18. 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, Orpah, they never Those Mo Bite 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 Saul 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 prince. 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, he 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. That'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 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 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, 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.
Well, anyway, verse 23. Test tomorrow and summarize history.
So Saul's servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man? Again, another tribute to David's father, Jesse. David is just saying, I'm out of my class. And it's not a little thing for me.
And so he's, you know, probably emotional about that because we know David was an emotional man.
Sometimes you read the Psalms and you say, David, stop sobbing. I mean, you know, somebody's always after you. What are you doing? Are you bothering people? Anyway, he's sensitive in a righteous way.
When David was anointed by Samuel, Nobody really understood what was going on. They probably dismissed it to some religious ritual, anointing on David, that God would be with him, but they did not connect it to him becoming king. That secret stayed suppressed for a long time. And we don't hear it publicly referred to until Saul makes mention of it, and we'll get that at the end of chapter twenty. Again, Saul does it in chapter twenty four.
Jonathan brings it up in chapter twenty three, and of course, Abigail. How can ye not love Abigail? She will bring it up. When she says, when David, when you become the ruler, she just comes right out and says it. And this is when David is still being hunted by Saul.
So the word eventually got out, but not yet. Imagine if Saul knew now that David was anointed and going to be king. He just went out and killed him, and that's it. And so David says, I can't afford the dowry. I cannot pay the price for a bride on such a level.
Verse 24. And the servants of Saul told him, saying, In this manner, David spoke. Then Saul said, Thus you shall say to David, verse 25, The king does not desire a dowry, but 100 foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. And so fortunately for us, the writer is staying focused on what's actually happening.
And he's just letting us sail his creep. And here is the fourth attempt. On David's life. in this chapter 18 alone. And of course, he's saying to David, I want, instead of bringing me money to marry Michelle, I want 104 skins from the Philistines.
And verse 26.
So when his servants told David these things, it pleased David well to become the king's son-in-law.
Now, the days had not expired, and we have to pause there.
So, David says, I could do that. I don't like them anyway. Remember, the animosity between these two people were intense. And The Jews wanting to do them in was valid because the Philistines were vicious. In verse 18, where he says, Now the days had not expired, evidently.
Saul put a time limit on this.
Well, I want the hundred foreskins in, you know, two weeks. Why would he do such a thing? Because he's putting pressure on David. He's taking away the ability for him to think it through. He wants him to be rushed and do something hastily and be killed.
And so Putting David's Into jeopardy on the battlefield. That's how Saul saw it. But David saw it as an opportunity to be a champion in Israel. Verse 27, Therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed 200 men of the Philistines, and David brought back their foreskins. They gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law.
Then Saul gave Michel his daughter. As a white Phew. Therefore David arose and went, He provides double the price. I mean, Saul, you just would have loved to look at his face. When David comes back, first of all, And he pays him double.
Psalm 76:10, Surely the wrath of man shall praise you. Yeah, but sometimes it takes a while.
Now this is the high side. David is, you know, everything he touches is a victory. It's going to ramp up. Satan is not going to say, okay, I can't touch this guy. Satan is just going to try harder through Saul.
And this victory here, bringing back double the price, evidencing God is still with him. the priceless look on Saul's face. Job chapter five, speaking of God, he frustrates the devices of the crafty.
So that their hands cannot carry out their plans. He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.
Now add to that.
sometimes. Because that's the fact. Other times it takes A long time, but right now this applies. It's sort of like the book of Proverbs. Not every Proverb applies to every moment all the time.
And Proverbs is even clear about that. It's the wisdom that is built into it. And the individual has to say to themselves: okay, what side do I want to be on? decide with God or not? And Saul made his choice.
But there's another thing that stands out from this twenty-seventh verse. It says he and his men This is the beginning of people following David anywhere he'd go. This is for his bride. We've got your back, David. We're going to go with you.
God brought these people into his life. And God will keep people in David's life. Even as Saul is chasing him across the desert, there are still those that are with David, and they don't leave him. He's such an attractive character. Every Christian should be very familiar with the life of David.
And there's much written about him, too. And it continues into the Psalms. It continues after he's dead, you know, the dedication of the temple. David's mentioned because David did it all. As far as the temple goes, he planned it, he paid for it, and he gave his son instructions, and he told him, Be a man and get this done.
Solomon gets it done and then blows much of it. But anyway, let's just go back a minute to 1 Samuel 15, verse 28, and consider this godly man is better than Saul.
Now, that didn't benefit David much in his thinking when he was running from Saul. If I'm the better man, why can't I just sleep in my own bed? Why can't I just not be chased like a dog? If I'm the king, if I'm anointed, why do I gotta put up with this? Why doesn't God kill that guy?
Well, David didn't think that way. I would have been thinking that way. David just wanted relief any way God would give it. except through his own hand. And so 1 Samuel 15, verse 28.
So Samuel said. To him, Yahweh has torn the kingdom, speaking to Saul of Israel from you today and has given it to. A neighbor of yours who is better than you, Now who wants to hear that? Just in your profession, do you want to hear? Maybe you're a carpenter and somebody comes up and says, I'm going to give my work to somebody who's better than you.
Because you're not listening to God. That's why. And that is the story.
So, Saul. Let's consider some of this being better. He was defenseless against Goliath. There's nothing he could do but shake and cause his men to be just as nervous as him because fear is contagious. But David quickly slew the giant without hesitation.
The duel only lasted a few seconds. The long the length of a time a rock. From a sling to a head, A sword from a sheath to a head. That was the fight. Saul killed thousands.
David slew ten thousands.
Now that's not literal. It's poetic. But the point is, David, he was just better. Incidentally, We now have another word. being abused.
Awesome, you know, they killed that word. Awesome now means. Silly. Literally. They literally say literally, literally too much.
I literally stood there. Why don't you just stand there? That's enough. I don't need to know you literally did it.
Okay, so if you're literally saying literally too much, you're literally overdoing literally. Yeah. What would Dr. Seuss say? Who incidentally dresses better than a lot of men, but we'll go into that.
All right. considering the better things about Saul, He tried to kill David with a spear twice. David spared Saul's life twice. It's just these similarities, they're not eerie, they're spiritual. There's proof, there's evidence here that God is with David.
It's not just, well, that's your opinion. No, that's the record. And I want it to be that way. With my life, I want the record to be right, to be appealing to God. Saul tried to murder David.
by a hundred Philistines. David slew two hundred Philistines. David outdid Saul all the way. That's the point. And Saul, of course, defiled himself and stunted his own growth First reason why unbelief.
He just didn't believe it.
So when you read the scripture and you believe. You believe that Jesus died and rose again. When those who don't are stunting themselves, they're harming themselves. Blatant sin. Saul moved into blatant sin.
After a while, he won't even care. He'll amass an army to chase David without, you know. any reason. Self-preoccupation was the cause, blatant sin, unbelief, self-preoccupation, and because he really didn't like God. There's a line for some unbeliever.
You know why you don't give your life to God? Because you really don't like Him. There are many people who don't want to come to church because they are afraid they're going to be convicted to give up some things that they love. Instead of trusting God with it and struggling through those things with God, they rather just ignore him. Verse 28, then Saul saw and knew that Yahweh was with David and that Michelle, Saul's daughter, loved him.
Yeah, but you think he would say, you know, God is with this guy. I better get with this guy. What spiritually sane human being would draw such a conclusion And continue to side against God like Judas Iscariot. How do you do that? He walked on water.
Don't you think he could beat you up pretty easily? Why would you trade on him? Don't you think he could hear things you're doing? And maybe he was telling the future about things in front of your face. The madness of sin.
So The will of God, it can be approached. One or two ways. With your consent or without it. And having watched all his sinister plans fail, we would think that he would. Change his mind, but he kept chasing the carrot.
Then there are other evil people. They see their plans happen and they succeed and they just keep gaining momentum. I mean, think of Perod the Great. I know the guy's not great. Oh, Herod the Great.
who thinks it was great. I mean, he just got away with so much evil. The killing of the innocents at Bethlehem. I don't want to wait for him to die to get it. I want him to get it on national television.
So, the ways of God, we don't know what's going on. And when we find out, we're not even just going to be, look, He's God, He's right.
Well, anyway, to remain unmoved when convicted by truth. And Saul was convicted by the truth in David's life. He saw these things, didn't bother him. You bring people to church, they hear a message, they hear the truth, and they're not bothered by it. They put their wagons in a circle, and they're going to fight against what's being said from the pulpit.
You know what? The pastor, it's him, he's the problem. That's why I don't like that church. Because I don't like the pastor. Why?
Because he's mean. What did he do that's so mean?
Well, I don't want to say he talked about the sin that I love so much, so I'll find something else. He's too handsome to be up there. No man should be that handsome. Anyway. Yeah.
Here's a funny thing not funny, but about David and Michelle going back to them. being exposed to this righteousness. God wasn't attractive to her. And therefore, she lost any attraction David might have had for her was lost. When David realized how far removed she was from God, he didn't want anything else to do with her.
His love for God made him unattractive to her and vice versa.
So You know, I would hope, I would like to say to many of those who have come and heard the Word of God here, especially those for a long time, the youth, I hope in 10 years' time they go back and they listen to some of these messages to find out just how much their pastor loved them and was looking out spiritually for them by not withholding the truth but giving it to them, believing that they were sane enough, smart enough, loved enough to receive it, rather than tell them what they want to hear and fluff them up with lies. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and you cannot hear the Word of God if you wrap it in a lie. or you suppress the truth. And this should be our boldness in life. It's an honor to preach God's word, whether from a pulpit or from wherever you're standing.
And what the other side does with it, that's on them. But hopefully, in time, they'll look back and recognize it. Verse 29, and Saul was still more afraid of David, so Saul became David's enemy continually. What is that? I'm afraid of this guy.
God is with him. I hate him even more. Self-inflicted terror is what verse 29 is telling us. By fear of God blessing someone else. There's always more space.
in a hateful heart. to hate even more. It's an abyss. There's no, okay, I've maxed out. I can't hate the guy anymore.
It just keeps going. And Saul became David's enemy continually, it tells us. to hate him with the hope that He would finally kill him. Real hate. hopes that another person doesn't get right with God.
That's real hate. It is natural to hate one's enemies. But it is spiritual to love them. And the love does not mean, you know, I see you shooting at me, so here's some more ammunition. That's not what's meant.
What's meant is that we still want to see them saved and would be any part of that process given the chance. The most expensive something in the world is hate. And that is the life of Saul. He personifies for us hatred. And we're going to get to it as we move through.
1 John. Chapter 2 verse 11. He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness. and does not know where he is going. because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Not only was Saul that way, but there are again people that come to churches and they are this way. They're blind, they have hatred for the truth. Predators, they come to destroy. Mark chapter 9, the father speaking about what the devil, the demon, was doing to his child. Often he throws him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.
If he can't burn him, he'll drown him. Anything he can do to destroy, this is the devil. And this is Saul. The devil gets his work done through people like Saul. Verse 18.
Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was. whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul.
so that his name became highly esteemed. Everybody knew David was good. Everybody knew God was with this man. Saul has this chance again to be this great father-in-law. Instead, he opts to be a devil-in-law.
David is being developed as a man of war because he's going to be the king on the throne. And so here is the reminder. For Saul. Saul had decided David was the real enemy, and so was God. This is a tragedy is what this is.
Shakespeare couldn't write this well.
So that his name became highly esteemed, it tells us, intensifying the duel between the two men, Saul. talked himself into hating David. He loved the way it felt. And he did not care to talk about God's love for him, and we find this still in the world. We find the world talks itself into hating Christians, the world talks itself into hating Christ.
The best thing that has ever happened to humanity, the world talks itself into hating. Hatred is a real thing. And if you are dealing with someone in life that has a hate issue going on, if you can get to them, Then maybe you can share portions of the story of Saul and David. If you cannot get to them, Then it's out of your hands, and God has to deal with it. And that was the case with David, because there was no way David was going to convince Saul.
In fact, Jonathan makes a little headway with him, with Saul, his father, takes him on the field. Dad, look, David, he's a good guy. He's not trying to hurt you or anything. And Saul says, okay, I'm fine. I'm sorry.
And then, after a while, you know what? I want to kill him. He just hated him. And because he loved himself so much, let's pray. Our Father, but there are the stories in your word.
They're real life stories. No one can dispute that these things take place. There are people that behave this way. May our responses to the iniquity around us be led by your Holy Spirit, because there we are in safe hands. May you get us all home safely, we ask you in Jesus' name.
Amen. Mm. 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.
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Okay.
