King Saul – chris cribari blog

Updated: 11/11/2024

Sermon Prep

September of 2024 was our last month as just spouses and not parents. It was a fun month where we got to see our friends, Taylor and Emma, get married and go to their wedding in the mountains. Starting the journey we started back a few years ago of falling in love. That’s actually where this great photo of us comes from when one of their photographers snapped a picture of us during the ceremony prayer.

Given my time at church in leadership and work was coming to a close before my paternity leave, I began prepping these messages way ahead of time. In fact, this message I started working on in early August of this year. For one, early onset “baby brain” was taking effect where I just had a harder time thinking and staying motivated. As we were approaching the 36 week point, the reality of our daughter being born was fast approaching too so in the event she was born early I was prepared sermon-wise.

Since there was a big gap between the last 3 messages of 2024 and my sermon in June on David and Goliath, I treated it as an unofficial trilogy covering the first years of King David’s reign. Of the 3, I had the most personal interest in this one because for me it’s David at his absolute best. His most messianic if you will of what a foreshadow of Jesus looks like in a kingly figure.

I think that unbridled enthusiasm just enhanced all the extensive prep I did here. I also began adjusting my sermon format by introducing highlights to certain parts of my sermon notes. Blue is for quotes of other people, green is for Scripture sections, red is for Scripture citations, and yellow is for recurring themes.

For the sake of blogpost space, I left out the Scripture sections but the citations of what was read are still here. I’ve only just started that again, but that’s where the color shows up here. Below are the notes for this message and linked here is the sermon too.

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

We all know someone that brings nothing to the table, yet we invite them anyway.

Intro

Explain Silence (2016) and how Kichijiro represents our relationship to Jesus.

Main Point

Jesus is merciful and kind, therefore he invites you to dine and reign with him.
David also invited someone to the table, but first here’s the historical context.

Historical Context

During the civil war, King Eshbaal was Israel’s 2nd king reigning for 2 years, while King David was Judah’s 1st king reigning for 7.5 years (2 Samuel 2:8-11).
- Eshbaal (Baal exists) → Ish-bosheth (man of shame) “is an intentional scribal alteration” as noted by John Bright (i.e. Hosea 2:16).
- Merib-Baal (Baal is advocate) → Mephibosheth (he scatters shame).
Abner was King Saul’s cousin, Ish-bosheth’s uncle, and their army commander.
- Abner was assassinated by Joab as revenge for Abner killing Joab’s brother, but David didn’t know this plan. Abner was with David (2 Samuel 2:12-32, 3:8, 26-30).

Mephibosheth’s Suffering

Read 2 Samuel 4 aloud.
Baanah and Rechab as Gibeonites saw a way to impress David (2 Samuel 4:1-3).
Mephibosheth was crippled because of moral suffering as his nurse was fleeing from the Philistines fearing they would kill him (1 Samuel 31:1-6, 2 Samuel 4:4).
- Types of suffering:
  - Moral suffering is humans hurting humans.
  - Natural suffering is creation hurting humans.
  - Universal suffering is the death of the body and soul.
They were secret, selfish, and swift to sin (2 Samuel 4:6-8). We act that way too.
David’s furious that they would defy God’s covenant with Saul (2 Samuel 4:9-12).

David’s Kindness

Read 2 Samuel 9 aloud.
David became king over all of Israel when Ish-bosheth died (2 Samuel 5:1-5).
Lo-debar means no thing, so a town in the middle of nowhere (2 Samuel 9:4-5).
- Mephibosheth was hiding from King David because it was common for a new ruler to clean house and kill all survivors of the previous monarchy.
In complete humility, Mephibosheth falls on his face like a dog might “lay down” and entrusts himself to the service of King David as a slave (2 Samuel 9:6-8).
- Saul had a tenth of Israel’s assets, so David gave back to Mephibosheth and his family what they lost from Israel’s civil war (1 Samuel 8:10-18).
Honoring his covenant to Jonathan, David invites Mephibosheth to his table.
- This incredible gesture was culturally taboo and was a sign to everyone that Mephibosheth was grafted in with David’s reign (2 Samuel 9:11b-13).
David continued to care for Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 16:1-4, 19:24-30, 21:1-9).

Why This Matters

Mephibosheth goes from hiding far away in the outskirts of nowhere to now being dignified and esteemed as a regular member seated at the King’s table.
- “We might say we find David at his best… What’s being expressed here is the covenant love of God.” – Alistair Begg

Power Text

Read Revelation 3:20-21 aloud.
Because Jesus loves you, he wants you to dine and reign with him forever.
- “The most important thing that happens between God and the human soul is to love and to be loved.” – Kallistos Katafygiotis, The Philokalia

Outro

Read Luke 22:26b-30 aloud.
Life is about proximity with Jesus, whether you’re close to him or far away on your own.
Jesus invites you to a kingdom life, even when you bring nothing to the table and don’t deserve it.
It’s your choice: live in the middle of nowhere or take a seat at the table.

Final Thoughts

This is one of my personal favorite sermons to teach. There’s just so much I love here that speaks volumes both to the people involved and thematically as it points to what the messiah will be like when he arrives. How can you not get excited about God’s grace and his lovingkindness towards us. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 1-20-2021

There are a lot of parallels made about Trump. Even more so within the American Christian community. From Cyrus the Great (2) to Nebuchadnezzar (3), some Christians associated with the current conservative political movement or the Republican party have made such comparisons. I’ve even read of a few people making the bold statement that Trump is just like King David because they’re both flawed leaders that God is using for divine means to an end (4).

I’m not here to talk about those obviously wrong parallels. I think of all the comparisons that could be made, Trump is most like King Saul. Let’s see why that’s more likely the case from a character perspective.

But before I do that, let’s clarify something. Comparing anyone to any figure in the Bible is just an exercise in identifying who someone is like, not who they are in reality. For instance, I could make the case that I’m a parallel to Joseph in Genesis. We are known for our analytical intellect, God speaks to us in dreams, and we both have autism (5).

With that said, it’s just a comparison to aid in our understanding and not a pinpoint accurate psychological look into who someone truly is in real life. This is a common and normal exercise, so now I’m simply applying it to President Trump. With all of that said, who was King Saul?

Who Was King Saul?

*Saul under the Influence of the Evil Spirit* by William Wetmore Story | 1865

For the sake of time, I’ll paraphrase Saul’s story. In other words, this is the highlight reel and doesn’t cover everything we know about the guy. Here’s the gist of what happened.

At this point in history, Israel was ruled by way of a kritarchy which is a nation run by judges. After years of mixed results and finally with the failure of the prophet Samuel’s own two sons, the people of Israel demanded a new form of leadership like the neighboring nations. They wanted to be ruled by a king.

So Samuel went to God in prayer and asked what to do for the Israelites. Here in 1 Samuel 8:7, we have God’s response: “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”

Like God had instructed, Samuel informs the people of Israel on how things are going to change under this new leadership style. He will take their children and use them for his own means to fulfill economic, political, and even war purposes. He will take the best of everything in the land for those most loyal to him and enslave the people under his rule. Lastly, when the people realize they have made a mistake God will not save them from the collateral consequences of their collective choice.

As time went on, Saul quickly went from a promising first king to a tyrant that threw out all of the traditions of his own people for personal gain. He made promises before God and others, but broke them with little remorse. He cast out anyone that questioned or threatened his power. He even hunted the man God chose to replace him which was David and his own son Jonathan who chose to obey God, rather than his unruly father.

History now knows that Saul was the king of compromise. Saul was a people-pleaser, but God was never pleased with him. David did become king of Israel and gave God the glory, yet Saul was always wondering who would give glory to him.

In the end, Saul had no faith in God and his lies only led to loss. Our response to conflict reveals our character and Saul will forever be known as a coward. The promising king was now just a man whose promises meant nothing.

Who Is President Trump?

Now look at the Trump presidency and how it ended. The parallels speak for themselves. It began with a lot of promise for some people. He claimed to end abortion, build a wall, and fix the economy so that everyone would benefit. Whatever you think of those issues for yourself or any other issues for that matter, there are people who saw this outcome as extremely positive in 2016.

Actually, even a few as life-changing on par with the reactions that the Black American community had for Obama during the election of 2008. Like usual, both figures failed to deliver and live up to the hype. Although, for Trump his term ended with the shameful storming of the US capitol by his most ardent fans in a sad attempt to overturn the election. They took the bait of a lie that led to the death of 5 imagers of God, which is horrific for all involved.

Like an incel on OnlyFans, some Christians have crawled in lust to worship Trump and it’s shameful. Your ignorance doesn’t prove his innocence. In fact, it’s the opposite. It’s the blind eye of the Church that has built up the ego of a man who craves the adoration of all. Several of those who voted for him were so focused on winning for once that they never considered what would honestly happen if he had won the presidency. Well, now we know.

Now can I criticize a public figure like Trump and be consistent as a Christian? Absolutely. Do I need to remove the plank in my eye before telling someone else to remove the speck in their eye? Of course. As I like to tell people, I’m a shit-show of a human being and need God to save me on-the-daily because I’m the worst. In humility, I admit I’m a failure and sin more often than anyone will ever know.

God gives grace to the humble and I’m glad he does because that’s all we can give him. We must approach God in humility and faith, if we want to be in his good graces. The problem is that Trump lacks the spine to be humble before God and his faith is a farce.

His actions have spoken for him in that regard. He doesn’t fear God because he’s too afraid of the god that is his own graven image. That’s disgusting and it’s even more so when we consider that some of us supported such crass behavior in our leadership that claimed to follow Jesus.

We as Christians should be the first to publicly oppose a political leader in sin and the last to publicly support anyone in politics. Our gaze should be fixed on the Kingdom of God, not our own kingdom that was never a nation under God. Participate in the present and that includes politics, but remember to remain focused on the future for that is where we will find rest under the sovereignty of Jesus as king. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

www.pbs.org
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/3/5/16796892/trump-cyrus-christian-right-bible-cbn-evangelical-propaganda
https://communalnews.com/king-nebuchadnezzar-and-president-donald-trump/
http://www.sfltimes.com/opinion/looking-to-the-bible-to-justify-allegiance-to-a-flawed-leader
For more on this theory see Samuel J. Levine’s book, Was Yosef on the Spectrum?

Tag: King Saul

2 Samuel: David and Mephibosheth | 9-8-2024

Trump Is King Saul