As we continue with our study of David and Saul, we continue to see more and more of the flesh in action in Saul’s life. We want to remember that Saul is a picture to us of man in the flesh. At every test Saul has failed just as the flesh fails at every test. But we now begin to see David (a wonderful type of Christ as well as a type of the new man that constitutes a believer’s life) come on the scene. The more we see of David and his ways, the more we think of our blessed Lord Jesus.
We also want to see that David is a very good example of the way in which the new man reacts to the situations that he faces. Every real believer is a new creation in Christ. He has the Spirit dwelling within him and he possesses the very life of Christ. The eternal life acts in a very different way than the flesh.
We will see more examples of Saul’s reaction against David. There is fear, guile and enmity to good. All are the result of the flesh’s enmity with the new life.
1. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David after he (Saul) had tried to kill him, Saul became afraid of David, the one who had saved his life from the Philistines. What was the reaction of the Gadarenes after the Lord Jesus had healed the man possessed by the demons? Mark 5:___
2. What was the reaction of the soldiers at the tomb of the Lord Jesus when He arose from the dead? Matt. 28:___
3. Saul offered to allow David to marry his daughter Michal. But he really intended to use her as the means by which David would be killed. (See 1 Sam. 18:20-27.) What did the Jews pretend to do to the Lord Jesus when in fact they were really trying to find something with which to accuse Him? Luke 11:___
4. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David, the Word of God tells us that he “became David’s enemy continually.” When the Jews saw the miracles that the Lord Jesus did, they had very strong reactions against Him. Find one of these. Mark 3:___
5. Finally, when all else had failed, Saul openly commanded his servants to kill David. What did the Jews finally resort to when they could not stamp out the testimony of the Lord Jesus among the people? Mark 3:___