This is a brief follow-up to last Sunday’s sermon. I’d like to develop my thoughts on 1 Samuel 24 more fully later when I have more time, but here are a few notes.
The meaning of 1 Samuel 24:
David was Israel against for the sake of Israel because he loved Israel. (Alternatively: David was against Saul for the sake of Saul because he loved Saul.)
The application of 1 Samuel 24:
We are against America for the sake of America because we love America. Being Christian makes us better Americans, but those who have a different understanding of America’s history and a different vision for American’s future will see us an unAmerican or anti-American.
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1 Samuel 24 ia a parable for our times. Consider the characters as archetypes of our present political moment:
Saul = the progressive establishment
Alt right/dissident right = the men in cave
David = the voice of mature godliness, as he deals with both wisely.
Here is the paradigm in more detail:
Saul represents the progressive establishment. He’s still in power but rapidly losing respect and legitimacy. He will do just about anything to keep his power. He is suffering from demonic blindness to basic reality.
The mob of revolutionary men in the cave represent the alt right/dissident right, siding with David but also angry with him because he seems “soft” and “compromised” and not “based” enough. They are reckless and immature, but they should not be written off. Many of these men are young hotheads who will grow in wisdom over time.
David is the voice of mature godliness and wisdom. David engages with both but agrees with neither.
All David really has to do with Saul is expose how he has lost all credibility. Saul still holds formal power but no one respects him. Think of institutions like universities and the mainstream media. It’s only of matter of time before Saul loses the kingdom altogether. Saul is not going to repent, so we know how his story will end. It’s same with progressives in our day. They are deceived by demons, rapidly losing their grip on power, and are all but doomed at this point.
David rebukes the mob for their recklessness but they are still on the same side against Saul. The mob wants blood, and figure they can clean things up afterwards. They don’t care about collateral damage. Just burn everything to the ground. David has to speak firmly to them to get them back in line. He has to restrain them, even speaking very harshly to them. They are full of passion for good things (and some not so good things) but need David’s wisdom to temper and guide and channel them to a more mature understanding. They need to repent of their hotheaded foolishness. They need to submit to David. They could wreck what David is building if they don’t listen to him — and that will make things even worse.
I think it’s uncanny how well the story fits our current cultural situation.
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