The Life of David Series: A Concerto for Harp and Hard Heart*

Shaul, king over the twelve tribes of Israel, was in a royal funk. He sat…or rather slouched…on his throne, head on his chest, mumbling incoherently. His attendants and officials had long-since learned that, when he got into one of his moods, it was best not to bother him. For if there was anything worse than his incoherent mumbling, it was his sudden outbursts of violent rage.

Standing to the right of the growling monarch stood Abner, the commander of the army, and Shaul’s right-hand man. He glanced nervously at the woman seated to the king’s left, Ahinoam, the queen. Her eyes answered his, both of them thinking the same thing: Would this attempt to calm the king work, or would they all deeply regret trying?

Shaul’s mental state had been in a deep decline ever since that fateful battle with the Amalekites, and the subsequent conversation with the prophet Sh’muel. Though not privy to what was said between them, both Abner and Ahinoam could read between the lines well enough. Shaul had displeased God, and now was slowly descending into madness.

But he was still the king, and Abner was duty-bound to serve him in any way possible. Physicians had been unable to help. Busyness with the affairs of state, amusing distractions…it seemed nothing could pull the king as he spiraled further and further into the darkness.

There was a stirring at the entrance to the throne room. Normally a visitor would have been given an official announcement. But given the volatility of the situation, the servant at the door made eye contact with Abner and mouthed “It’s him…” and made a motion of strumming a harp with his fingers. Then he quickly ducked out of sight. A second later a teenage boy appeared in the space vacated by the servant, as if he had been pushed there – and he probably had been. Quickly the boy regained his balance, and Abner got a good look at him.

He was a strikingly good-looking young lad. He stood straight and, despite the newness of his surroundings, he had an air of confidence about him. Later on Abner would reflect that at that first meeting he saw something in David that he had seen in Shaul back in the early days…something of a supernatural presence that made him stand out from the others.

But for now he was focused on the task at hand. He motioned for the boy to have a seat on a pillow close to the throne. Then, when he was situated, he made the same finger motions the servant had made earlier, indicating that the boy was to begin playing.

Then he held his breath.

A few notes emitted from the instrument as the boy tightened a couple of the strings on his instrument. The king gave start and a little snarl. Abner cringed. Shaul settled back to his incomprehensible muttering, and everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief, except for the boy, whose eyes were closed and head tilted back, as if seeking some inspiration.

Then, his fingers began to move across the strings. Slowly at first, producing a melody at once lovely and hauntingly melancholy. Abner found himself thinking of his boyhood home. He could here his brothers and sisters playing outside…his mother calling him in for dinner…

With a shake of his head he came out of his trance. He glanced quickly over at the king. Shaul’s great bearded head had lifted, and his eyes were staring at the boy, and…was that a tear streaming down his cheek?

The young musician was oblivious to his surroundings. It seemed to Abner that music from the heavenly realms was flowing through the lad out to the rest of the room. The tempo picked up now, the tune was happy, almost rollicking. It made Abner want to move, to dance, to jump up and down for joy. He glanced at the king again, and saw his finger tapping on the arm of the throne. Then he noticed the king’s foot keeping time with the rhythm.

And then there was another subtle shift in the music. The strident rhythm was still there, but now it was different, more…more what? Joyous? Triumphant. Yes, that was it…as if it were the song of a victorious army coming home from battle.

And it was at that moment that Abner..and everybody else in the room, felt something lift. A darkness, and oppressiveness that nobody had really known was there, and even now only know was there because it was…well…gone. It was replaced by an incredible lightness and joy. To his right Abner heard a man laugh out loud, a long, raucous belly laugh that filled the room. It took him a couple seconds to realize that the sound was coming out of the mouth of King Shaul himself! Astonished, Abner watched as the king stood to his feet and clapped along with the harp, which continued to fill the room with its sound. Soon everyone was clapping and laughing.

Finally the music came to its natural conclusion, the boy’s fingers stopped, and he looked up at Shaul with a smile.

The king looked down at him, his face relaxed, a twinkle in his eye. Abner could not remember when he had last seen his liege like this.

“What is your name, boy, and where are you from?” the king’s voice boomed jovially. “I must know the family and the city that have produced so marvelous a musician!”

“My name is David,” replied the boy. “I am the son of Iesseh, of the city of Beit Lechem.”

“Well David, son of Iesseh,” Shaul replied, “You may be from Beit Lechem, but you’ll be spending a lot of time here from now on.”

____________________

The above is a dramatization of the events of I Samuel 16:14-23. Before we jump into the text, we need to deal with the elephant in the room that is the apparent discrepancy between chapters 16 and 17. In both accounts (that of David playing the harp, and that of David’s encounter with Goliath) it appears that Saul is meeting David for the first time. Skeptics pounce on this oddity as somehow diminishing the genuineness of the narrative. So let’s take a moment to examine this.

So what does the text say, exactly? Verses 19-23 are key:

Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

First off, the phrase “Saul sent messengers…” doesn’t necessarily mean that it was Saul who did this, personally himself. Saul had servants and administrators who took care of things like correspondence and contracting. Even today, when we here of “the President” doing something, chances are good that someone in his administration actually did it, and it’s more than possible that the President didn’t even know about it.

Second, these two sentences are doing some heavy lifting: “So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.” It’s important to understand, I believe, that this did not happen all at once. Saul’s admiration for David and his induction as the king’s armor-bearer was a long-process…a process that was most likely still in progress during the events of the following chapter. First Saul only knows David as the kid who plays the harp when he’s upset. When he sees David standing up to Goliath, he doesn’t necessarily make the connection. In fact, chapter 17 confirms that at the point of the Goliath conflict, David was still not a permanent fixture at court. So the “armor bearer” job mentioned in chapter 16 most likely came after the events of chapter 17.

Finally, some commentators have set for the theory that one of the side effects of the mental distress Saul was under as a result of his rebellion was forgetfulness. I think this is entirely within the realm of the possible. If the weighty responsibilities of everyday life cause normal people to forget names and faces, imagine a king with many times those responsibilities, who is also suffering a continuous and progressive mental breakdown.

So now that we’ve dealt with that textual detail, let’s get into the meat of our story. What are we supposed to learn from this account? The position of this narrative, immediately following that of David’s anointing, provides us with our first contrast between Saul and David – between a hard-hearted man, and a “man after God’s own heart.” The Holy Spirit wants us to see the chasm of difference between the true believer and the rebellious unbeliever. And this text shows us this difference, I believe, in two ways:

1. The difference between the Spirit filled man and the spiritually dead man.

This contrast is made clear when we go back and look at the previous text, specifically verse 13:

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

Then, in the very next verse, the first of today’s section, we read the following:

But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.

We are meant to see the contrast. David has been chosen by God, and His Spirit dwells upon him. Meanwhile, not only hs God’s Spirit left Saul, but he is actively under God’s judgement. The result is a visible difference in the two men.

And here is where this passage is brought home to us. In these New Testament times, when the Spirit that once dwelt among God’s people now dwells within every believer, there should be a clear and visible line of demarcation between the behavior of the believer and the non-believer. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our interior should be evident on our exterior.

In Galatians 5:22-23 the Apostle Paul tells us exactly what this should look like:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

So as we read this narrative, we need to ask ourselves: who do we most resemble? The man on whom the Spirit of God rested, or the man whom the Spirit of God abandoned?

2. The difference between the man in whose favor God is working and the man against whom God is working.

This becomes evident when we ask the question “What is God doing in David’s life here?”

We know God’s divine purpose is for David to be king. We have seen that David has several kingly qualities. But the fact remains, David is in no way ready to be king. He needs training in the arts of war, politics, administration, diplomacy…things you really can’t learn while tending sheep. So what does God do? He sets him up with a place in the king’s court.

And get this: Saul is actually training his own replacement, and he doesn’t even know it! Of course later on he begins to suspect that something is afoot, and this brings a whole new set of challenges for David. But that’s getting ahead of things. Right now, God has brought David into the court of the man who he will be replacing. He is at the same time effecting His grace and His judgement.

As believers, we can take great comfort from this. God’s sovereignty works in the favor of His children, and at the same time against his enemies.

Perhaps it was thinking of these events in his life that inspired David, years later, to pen the following words:

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

*For those of you (probably the vast majority) who don’t understand the PDQ Bach reference in the title, here you go.

____________________

Did you enjoy this post? Consider making a donation to our ministry in Brazil.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that clicking on these Amazon links and making purchases is one way you can help our work.

And be sure to read the action-packed adventures of Missionary Max: Missionary Max and the Jungle Princess and Missionary Max and the Lost City.