The Bigger Plan

The Bigger Plan
Words of Faith 10-31-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 18:15-30
[15] When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. [16] But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns. [17] Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the LORD." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!" [18] But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?" [19] So when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah. [20] Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. [21] "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law." [22] Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.'" [23] They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to become the King's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known." [24] When Saul's servants told him what David had said, [25] Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.'" Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines. [26] When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the King's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, [27] David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the King so that he might become the King's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. [28] When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, [29] Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. [30] The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers, and his name became well known.

Saul's fear was consuming him, and David's successes were piling up. When Saul saw that he could not destroy David personally, he determined to let the Philistines kill him. As a further means of assuring David's death at the hands of the Philistines, Saul offered him the distraction of his older daughter Merab in marriage.
Saul had already reneged on one marital promise to David. David protested that he was a commoner and had no sufficient bridal price. Before anything further could develop, Merab was given to another man. Again, Saul offered his second daughter, Michal, who loved David at that time. This was an unusual circumstance in biblical description. It can be noted that this is the only instance in all the biblical narrative in which we are explicitly told that a woman loves a man.
Again, David argued that he was unsuitable as a son-in-law of the King because of his low status. In an act of apparent generosity Saul waived the usual bridal payment and demanded only that David kill 100 Philistines. David doubled that requirement by slaying 200. Saul had been hoping, of course, that the exploit would cost David his life. As a result, Saul was again afraid of David. But David became Saul's son-in-law by marrying Michal, and his military success and popularity increased.
At first glance, this is quite a saga and something of a soap opera, but there is a clear movement of the Lord at work in these passages. The result was simply more clarity regarding David's success and his destiny to be King. He soon proved he was more than a match for the Philistine commanders. Later, when they joined in a common cause against Saul, they would justifiably remain wary of David.
Perhaps the lesson here is that nothing and no one can stand in the way of God's plan and choosing. No one could see it at this point, but all this was about matters much larger than David. This was about the coming of Christ and the redemption of all humanity-- no small order. This was about Jesus's lineage that goes all the way back to Abraham.
There are times when we don't need to see all of God's work. He has plans that will take centuries, and there are other situations that only take a moment to complete.

Lord God, I confess my failure to see You firmly and clearly at work. Lift my eyes from the shadows of earth that I might see that which is eternal. Help me to pursue the things that are bigger than here and now. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.