What a suspenseful chapter! Can’t you just imagine these scenes being played out on the big screen? I wish someone would make an epic series based on these chapters of the Bible. If it’s ever been done, I’ve never seen it or even heard about it. The things that must have happened in between the lines! We may never know all the conversations and journeys that went on while David was on the run from King Saul, but we do have the basic story of how and why it happened. What I noticed in this chapter also is that many of these pages couldn’t have been written if not for the messengers of the day. The first line of the chapter is (NLT): One day news came to David. I underlined several other passages where messengers were responsible for the proceeding proceedings, and I found it fascinating that both sides had people delivering messages that would determine next steps. Verse 7 says “Saul soon learned that … “. In verse 9, “But David learned … “.
“Word soon reached Saul” in verse 13, and verse 15 follows with “David received the news.”
Finally, in verses 25 and 27, “David heard” and “an urgent message reached Saul.”
While we may not know who the messengers of the day were, we know through these lines that David and Saul both had helpers. Messengers are important people. I suspect 99.9 percent of the time that messengers, whether “good” or “bad,” don’t even know they are playing an important role in the Kingdom. Likewise, the people receiving the messages can’t always tell if the messages they are receiving can be trusted. Discernment is precious when it comes to receiving and delivering messages. We can see in this chapter how messengers are key to getting things done and also building trust.
Writing prompt: messenger
Have you ever had to deliver a message? It’s easy to deliver a message to a trusted friend or colleague, but have you ever had to deliver a “weird-ish” message to someone who really didn’t know you? Write about an awkward moment when you had to build trust in order to deliver a message.
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