1 Samuel 26
Today's Passage: 1 Samuel 26
This chapter reminds me of something I heard from RC Sproul one time. During a panel, someone asked the question, “Why was the punishment on Adam so severe?” Sproul answered (in my paraphrase), “Are you kidding me… the punishment of Adam was not severe. Actually, Adam got less than he deserved. God told him if he ate the fruit he would surely die, so for Adam to not be stuck down was an act of God’s grace.”
I’m reminded of that quote because in this passage, Saul deserved to die. He had tried to kill David so many times, rebelled against the Lord, and acted selfishly. Then, when Saul was in his most vulnerable state, David extends grace to him and does not kill him.
Here is the realization we must come to: in life, before Christ, we are Saul. We might not have tried to kill someone, but we have hated people – which Jesus equates to murder. We have rebelled against God. We have put our desires above God’s. We deserved to die (Romans 6:23). But Jesus, out of the abundance of His grace, took on flesh, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose three days later so that we might have life. David is but a small shadow of Jesus in this story.
Do you ever feel like God is unfairly “punishing” you? How does the Gospel combat this thinking?
Written By: Brice Stockton
This chapter reminds me of something I heard from RC Sproul one time. During a panel, someone asked the question, “Why was the punishment on Adam so severe?” Sproul answered (in my paraphrase), “Are you kidding me… the punishment of Adam was not severe. Actually, Adam got less than he deserved. God told him if he ate the fruit he would surely die, so for Adam to not be stuck down was an act of God’s grace.”
I’m reminded of that quote because in this passage, Saul deserved to die. He had tried to kill David so many times, rebelled against the Lord, and acted selfishly. Then, when Saul was in his most vulnerable state, David extends grace to him and does not kill him.
Here is the realization we must come to: in life, before Christ, we are Saul. We might not have tried to kill someone, but we have hated people – which Jesus equates to murder. We have rebelled against God. We have put our desires above God’s. We deserved to die (Romans 6:23). But Jesus, out of the abundance of His grace, took on flesh, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose three days later so that we might have life. David is but a small shadow of Jesus in this story.
Do you ever feel like God is unfairly “punishing” you? How does the Gospel combat this thinking?
Written By: Brice Stockton
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