Floyd & Sally McClung

Responding to the Sauls in Your Life

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Introduction. Sadly, Saul embodies all that is bad about spiritual leadership. He was abusive, angry, jealous, insecure, manipulative and controlling. What is most profound about David and Saul’s relationship is that David stayed under Saul’s authority until he was forced to run for his life.

The heart of the matter is that David stayed under Saul’s authority. Would you have endured the lies, control, abuse and manipulation that David endured? I have asked myself that question many times as I have reflected on my responses to other leaders, both those I reported to and those I led.

Remember, Saul went to great extremes to control and manipulate people’s lives. His leadership was heinous. He promised David his daughter in marriage if he killed 100 Philistines. David did what Saul asked, and more, but Saul switched and gave him another daughter instead. Saul used people, used his own daughters, like they were pawns in his palace games.

Today, we know our rights. We have a heightened awareness of abuse and it’s horrendous effects on people. We are very conscious of dysfunctional patterns in relationships. We know what a co-dependent relationship is and how it damages a relationship. We understand the importance of setting boundaries in relationships.

And rightly so. There are limits to the kinds of abuse we should put up with. No one should allow another person to physically or sexually mistreat them. Submission to authority does not include abuse.

But have we gone so far in exercising our right to set boundaries and protect ourselves, that we have lost sight of learning powerful lessons about submission, servanthood, and trust in God when we are under a controlling leader? That is the question we must wrestle with.

Excerpts From 1 Samuel 24:

“Saul took three companies—the best he could find in all Israel—and set out in search of David and his men in the region of Wild Goat Rocks. He came to some sheep pens along the road. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were huddled far back in the same cave. David’s men whispered to him, “Can you believe it? This is the day GOD was talking about when he said, ‘I’ll put your enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.’” Quiet as a cat, David crept up and cut off a piece of Saul’s royal robe. Immediately, he felt guilty. He said to his men, “GOD forbid that I should have done this to my master, GOD’S anointed, that I should so much as raise a finger against him. He’s GOD’S anointed!” The Message

Lessons For Personal Application:

Learn what true leadership is by submitting to and serving imperfect leaders. Spiritual authority is servant authority. There are many leaders who don’t understand this truth, but even if we do, it does not excuse hurling spears at such leaders if they throw them at us first. Saul repeatedly tried to assassinate David. And repeatedly, David did not retaliate in the same spirit. We learn to serve others by being forced into roles that are not of our choosing. Can we embrace those roles as God’s provision for us to learn to be a servant? To teach us patience and humility? Psalm 141:5 records a prayer of David in response to a difficult relationship:

“Let the godly strike me!
It will be a kindness!
If they reprove me, it is soothing medicine.
Don’t let me refuse it
But I am in constant prayer
against the wicked and their deeds.” New Living Translation

Psalm seven is instructive as David pleas for God’s rescue in another difficult relationship:

“My accusers have packed
the courtroom; it’s judgment time.
Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,
throw out the false charges against me.
I’m ready, confident in your verdict:
“Innocent.” Psalm 7:7-8, The Message

Trust God to choose when and how you are free from a Saul-type leader. Certainly, David longed to be free from Saul! Listen to the plea of his heart in this regard:

“God is our judge. He’ll decide who is right. Oh, that he would look down right now, decide right now—and set me free of you!” I Samuel 24:15 The Message.

God has not abandoned you when you are under such a leader. He is actively and intimately involved in training you for his will for your life. David waited fourteen long years before he was finally free from Saul and made ruler over the united kingdom of Israel. Wait for God! It is far better to allow God to judge the times and seasons of your life than to appoint yourself as judge – and jury!

Never claim the right of being the “anointed” leader. The nature of spiritual authority is to serve. The only time you should forcefully assert your self as a leader is to protect others from clearly divisive people, deceived false teachers, immoral people, and blatant heretics. Don’t play “I’m the leader” card to get your way as a leader. If you do, you are falling into the Saul syndrome, not exercising Godly authority.

This passage is in the Bible to teach us about our responsibilities toward fallen leaders, not so we will claim the right to be one of those leaders! Old Testament style leadership was done away with in the New Testament. We are all priests in the body of Christ. Yes, there is a place for leadership and spiritual authority. But exercise that authority lovingly and as a servant, not a boss.

One leader I know of said recently, when challenged repeatedly about being authoritarian, “I can’t receive from people unless I know the fruit of their lives.” I can’t receive from someone unless they are mature, perfect, Godly? Ridiculous! We can receive from anyone if we are humble enough to acknowledge our need. We are part of the body of Christ. Everyone has access to God’s spirit and counsel, even the youngest believer. Besides, it is just like the Lord to use someone I look down on to be the channel of his correction in my life!

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a need for order, authority, respect, etc. Godly leadership functions like a loving mum and dad at mealtime. They don’t mind a little loving chaos around the meal table because it is a sign of life. It’s far better to enjoy the chatter and excitement of our children with us, than to drive them away from us with over-control and rigid rules. Mature leaders strive to give the church back to the people, not to control what happens in the church.

Personal Illustration. I observed the spiritual growth of a pastor of a large and growing congregation for many years. Today, the church he leads is multiplying rapidly all over the world. But that was not how it was in the beginning. He was under insecure, controlling leaders. He refused to remove himself from under their authority. Like David, he believed in waiting for God. It’s not that he wanted to be delivered from the situation he was in. He truly wanted and believed God was going to change their hearts and teach him lessons. In the end, the Lord led others to intercede on his behalf, and he was released. But it was in God’s timing, and it was done God’s way, and it was after God’s work in his heart. Today, the fruit of waiting and trusting and submitting is bearing tremendous fruit in this leaders life, and in the life of those he leads.

Prayer of Response.  Teach me to trust you, Father. Teach me to trust you to work in my heart. Teach me not insist on my own way. Teach me not to provide my own solutions. Teach me to trust you, even if means being out of control of my life and my future.

Your word says the hearts of kings are like rivers in the hands of God. Teach me to trust you to guide the hearts of those who are over me. Teach me to wait on your timing. Teach me to be a true servant to others. In Jesus name, Amen.