Hey,
Leah and I were reading in 1st Samuel and in chapter 16 it mentions David playing a harp for Saul to get rid of evil spirits.
In chapter 17 at the end of it Saul ask his lead captain to find out who this young kid was who killed the Giant. Also half way through chapter 17 the writer reintroduced David.
My question is would not Saul of known who David was seen as he played a Harp in his present before? being that close to the king you would think that he would of recognized David.
Steven
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a
mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was
refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
…………55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth?
And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine
in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite
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Hi Steven.
Under normal circumstances, yes, Saul would have recognized David. But Saul was in the process of going in insane. Notice Saul’s increasingly erratic behavior throughout the rest of his tragic story.
The story of Saul is real to me because I have seen people resist God’s will so strongly that they go insane. In one extreme instance, decades ago, I warned one sister that we cannot manipulate God and that if she continued trying to force God to do things her way, as she was doing, she was going to drive herself insane. It was not long at all before I got a call from that sister’s distraught daughter very late in the night. I could hear her mother raging in the background, cursing one minute, speaking in tongues the next, etc.
My father said that every demon is insane, and I believe it. I also believe that those who listen to demons and follow them, and resist God’s merciful call to turn from that evil way, will at some point reach a place that, from God’s viewpoint, is spiritual madness, even if mentally, they stay somewhat balanced.
Pastor John