The Second Spear

The Second Spear
Words of Faith 10-30-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 18:9-14
[9] And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. [10] The next day, an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand [11] and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice. [12] Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. [13] So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. [14] In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him.

The bitter jealousy that Saul allowed to take root and grow in himself toward David opened the door to evil. We are quick to ask how an evil spirit can come from God. Of course, the evil spirit was not actually from the heart of God. There is no evil in God. But God is sovereign. He allowed this attack against Saul because it served His sovereign purpose. In this sense, it was from God.
Saul opened the door to this evil spirit, allowing his jealousy to burn. He did not repent. He did not turn back toward the Lord. He stewed in a growing rage to the point that one day, he hurled a spear at David, not once but twice! Violence had entered in. A line had been crossed.
The jealousy gave way to an irrational fear. Saul was afraid of David even though David had never uttered a word against Saul, never even carried an angry or grievous thought against the King. He continued to serve in humility. But Saul was afraid and sent David away to war, probably hoping that he would die there.
In these passages, we see the slow unraveling of Saul's mind. Saul had never been a man whose heart pursued God. He had gone through religious motions as an exterior façade. But Saul had never had a heart that pursued anything but glory for himself. Saul had allowed himself to be seduced by the fame and attention given to him when he became King.
Now, Saul was spiraling downward in an emotional and relational tailspin. There was no one that he could trust. He had driven away the one person he might have trusted and depended upon. Even his son was estranged from Saul. Saul's life was in turmoil.
This is an excellent place to stop and ask a few questions. Could such a thing ever happen to me? Could I find myself in such a place of estrangement from God and people? How could that happen? How could it be prevented? Could I ever come back from that place?
We must realize that Saul had all the tools available to turn toward God. He had the Spirit of the Lord with him when he started. He had Samuel, the great priest and judge, as a mentor and guide. But Saul had focused on himself and his fame. When Saul saw David's success and favor, he responded with jealousy rather than encouragement. In our own lives, we need to keep a watchful eye on jealousy-- it is an open door for evil.
There was a warning sign-- a moment when it should have become apparent to Saul that something was going terribly wrong inside him. When Saul threw a spear at David, it was an opportunity to stop and realize how badly fractured he was inside. But rather than stop and cry for help or forgiveness, Saul took another shot and missed a second time.
There are times in our lives when, if we are listening and watching, we get a wake-up call. It may be when we raise a hand to someone we love, throw something across a room in anger, drive erratically and nearly have an accident, or shout words we never thought would come from our mouths.
These are the times to slam on the brakes, stop, look, and listen. These are the times when we need to realize we are on the tracks and a train is coming. Evil has entered through an open door, and we are becoming someone that we absolutely do not want to be. The disaster is close.
At that moment, there is a choice to be made. We can stop and get help-- surrender to the Lord and seek the firm guidance of another-- or we can take another shot. Throw another spear. It may be that the Lord allowed this evil to visit Saul so that this moment of truth would occur and give Saul one last chance to get straight with the Lord.
We don't know when Saul reached his "point of no return" in the descent toward emotional, relational, and physical disaster... but this may have been it. When Saul picked up the spear and saw it in his hand for a second time, he surely had one last chance to say-- David, I have been wrong. I am so sorry. Will you forgive me and help me get on a path toward God? Instead, Saul threw another spear and made his heart even more hardened against the Lord.
Have you had any warning signs in your own life? A part of your life that seems to be out of control? An emotion that seems to overcome you? An action you took or words you said that shocked you? Perhaps it is a warning to stop and take stock of things with the help of the Holy Spirit. It may be time to reach out and get some help.

Father God, search my heart. Help me see the warning signs that I am getting far from You. Help me identify the evil that can enter. Help me head off the dangerous emotions that are easy to nurture, like jealousy and fear. Help me turn back toward You. Help me help others who are in that same situation. 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.