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1 Samuel 20-21: When Anger Reveals the Heart
May 26, 2026 · 13 min
An exhortation on Saul’s hardened heart, Jonathan’s faithfulness, and why anger exposes the need for true heart-change through God’s Word.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand May 26, 2026 · 13 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
An exhortation on Saul’s hardened heart, Jonathan’s faithfulness, and why anger exposes the need for true heart-change through God’s Word. ...more Show the full description Show less An exhortation on Saul’s hardened heart, Jonathan’s faithfulness, and why anger exposes the need for true heart-change through God’s Word.
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Testing Saul's Heart 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me on this Monday morning. I hope you're having a blessed extended weekend. First Samuel chapters 20 and 21 today. Verse 15 of chapter0:21 21. Have I need of a madman that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house? From here until the end of the book of Samuel, what we're gonna read is that0:33 Saul's heart is being hardened to his own ruin. David's heart is being tested and shaped through adversity to prepare him for leadership.0:45 Verse 1, chapter 20. Then David fled to Nihoth in Ramah and went and said to Jonathan, what have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my0:56 sin before your father that he seeks my life? So Jonathan said to him, by no means. You shall not die. Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should1:08 my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. Then David took an oath again and said, your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes. And he has said, do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be1:20 grieved. But truly, as the lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. So Jonathan said to David, whatever you1:31 yourself desire, I will do it for you. And David said to Jonathan, indeed, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat, but let me go that I may hide in the field until the1:43 third day at evening. So beginning of the, the the month, the new moon was always celebrated with sacrificial, with special sacrifices followed by, feasting. And all family members were expected to1:55 be present for these occasions were which were both spiritual and civil celebrations. So verse 6, If your father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly2:07 ask permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem his city for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he says thus, it is well, Your servant will be safe.2:19 But if he is very angry, be sure the evil is determined by him. So they they basically set a test to see what's is in Saul's heart. They discuss where2:30 David will be waiting for the answer and how it will be communicated. So David does not show up that first night for the meal. Nothing is said. The second2:42 night, he doesn't show up, and Saul asked why David was not present. Look at verse 28. So Jonathan answered Saul. David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem, and he said, please let me go for our2:54 family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers. Therefore, he has not come to the king's table.3:05 Then verse 30. Then Saul's anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, you son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of3:19 shame of your mother's nakedness? Wow. He really unloads on Jonathan. For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established nor your3:31 kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me for he shall surely die. Okay. Jonathan and David have their answer. Saul's not too good at, concealing the intent of his3:43 heart. You know, Jesus in Matthew chapter, 12 verse 34, he says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. You know, what people say and okay. SoAnger Reveals the Heart 3:55 what we say, especially in those moments of anger, and I know we all kind of have them, that reveals what's in our hearts. Now that's a really good time to stop and take inventory4:07 when anger erupts. And I will say part of this process of being sanctified, which is what Jesus prayed for us, that we would be sanctified by the word of4:18 God, the word is truth, as we're sanctified, these things are are sometimes exposed. And, you know, it's that's a time when we have when if we get angry and and we4:30 say things and, you know, our anger erupts like a volcano spewing out incendiary and destructive words, we need to stop and take inventory because it's not enough to feel remorse4:42 later for the words we've spoken. Alright? Because we're gonna see that Saul actually does that. We need to address the heart issue. The heart issue that brought those words forth.4:54 That's the real issue. Alright. So David flees to Nob, the place where the priests were located. Evidently, according to scholars, after the capture of the ark that we read about in first Samuel chapterDavid's Failures and God's Shaping 5:06 4 by the Philistines, destruction came to Shiloh, which is where the tabernacle and the ark had been for about 369 years. So the center of of worship and the priests5:18 moved to Nob, Verse 1 chapter 21. Now David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech was afraid when he met David and said, why are you alone and no 1 is with5:30 you? Something didn't look right. Alright? But look what David says in verse 2. So David said to Ahimelech, the king is excuse me. The king has ordered me on some business,5:42 alright, kind of a secret mission, and said to me, do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you or what I have commanded you, and I have directed my young men to such and such a place. Now,5:54 therefore, what have you on hand? Give me 5 loaves of bread in my hand or whatever can be found. Now this is 1 of, of a few recorded accounts of David in which he6:06 acts out of character with someone who is described as a man after God's own heart. David lies. Right? He's lying, And his lie, as we will see in chapter 22, the next6:17 chapter, cost the lives of many innocent people. We're gonna talk about that next time. So then he asked about a sword. He said, I don't have a sword. Look at verse 8. And David said to him, like, is6:29 there not here a on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's business required haste. Now I'm really gonna tell you. If, a warrior, a6:41 guy who was leading the troops, showed up and said, look. I I don't have a I don't have a sword. I don't have a weapon. I would be a little suspect, frankly. So the priest said, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom6:52 you killed in the valley of Elah, There it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is no other except that 1 there. David said, there is none like it.7:04 Give it to me. Now what David does here is he reclaims the sword of Goliath, which had been placed with the priest apparently in the tabernacle or what was7:16 serving as a tabernacle at the time. Now what David does next kind of explains his deceptive actions here at Nob. Verse 10. Then David arose and fled that7:28 day from before Saul and went to Achish, the king of Gath. Now, does that sound familiar? Gath, does that sound familiar? Well, that7:40 was the home of, guess who, Goliath, the giant. So David is going to the home of the giant that he killed carrying the giant's sword. It7:51 would appear that David was not trusting in the Lord, but he was fearful, and he was shaken by the unjustified and unfair circumstances that he was facing. He he was acting in his own wisdom, and this is a part of8:03 the testing and the shaping that was taking place in David. Now it is possible that Achish was someone with whom David had found favor as8:15 we'll read later. It could be that Goliath was a problem for Achish, and David actually did him a favor. You never know about politics. So David goes to Gath assuming8:27 Achish would protect him because he was now an enemy of Achish's enemy, I e, Saul. But the people of Gath began to ask questions. Look at verse8:39 11. And the servants of Achish said to him, is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to to 1 another in dances saying, Saul has slain his thousands and David his8:50 10 thousands? Alright. So now look at verse 12. Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish, the king of Gath. So maybe David was9:02 now starting to come to his senses and thinking his plan was not all that good to try to escape to Gath. Verse 13. So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands,9:14 scratched on the doors of the gates, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. So David realized that beard. So David realized that Achish now had a political problem of his own and that Gath would not be a safe haven9:26 for him, so he acts as if he's crazy. Alright. So David trusted in himself and others, which literally left him acting like a crazy9:37 man. As we read in Psalm 1 18, I think David, learned his lesson from this. Verse 8 of chapter 1 18, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put9:49 confidence in man. It's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. You know, there's so much that can be learned here from David as he's being prepared and equipped to take on the10:01 role of leadership, and he doesn't always get it right. You know? And that's what's so instructive about the scripture. It doesn't gloss over the weaknesses of of of some of the greatest men that we read10:13 about in scripture. And and so it is in our lives. We should not gloss over those things, but bring them before the lord, allowing him to shape us, sanctify us, and equip10:24 us for service to him. Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for lord, as we go through this journey and we read of these, greatPrayer and Memorial Tribute 10:36 men and women of faith, but, lord, we see that they had weaknesses, lord, as we do. We can relate to that, lord, but we also know that you're gracious and you're merciful merciful. And as if we just turn back to you and10:47 we repent and deal with the underlying issues, allowing your word to sanctify us, lord, we know that we can we can continue on the journey. And and,10:59 lord, we can overcome, and our lives will be filled with meaning and purpose, lord, reaching into eternity. And, father, today, I do as we close, I do wanna pray for the families11:11 of those who have lost through sacrifice, those who have laid down their lives for this country. Lord, as we observe11:23 this Memorial Day, a time in which we reflect upon those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms in our country, we pray, Lord, for their legacy, but we pray for the families left behind that you11:34 administer to them and strengthen them and know that their their loss, lord, was, was not for was not futile. Lord, as Jesus said, greater love hath11:46 no 1 no man than to lay down his life or his friends. We thank you for them, lord. Lord. And, we thank you again for your word and for this journey, and thank you for the Holy Spirit that leads us. For we pray this in11:58 the name of Jesus. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing on the word.12:08 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you12:20 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Testing Saul's Heart3:49 Anger Reveals the Heart5:00 David's Failures and God's Shaping10:28 Prayer and Memorial Tribute
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