Luke Whitehouse - In the Shadow of the Messiah - Class 3 - Saul

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Right, well, we have seen, haven't we, David anointed. He's defeated the giant, and we've watched him bear witness now before Israel. And as the psalmist says in Psalm 89, a mighty one was chosen, exalted, anointed. And the destiny of David, as we might now know, is going to foreshadow that greater Messiah to come, a man called Yahweh saves, Jesus.

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   Now, with Saul, we might remember that the authenticity of whom David claimed to be, that he was the son of the ancient man in his days, the son of the one who exists, drove malice in the king. Malice and hatred towards the Messiah known as the Beloved. He hated this young shepherd, did the king of Israel.

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   There's an incident in the Gospel of John, chapter 7, and verse 20, sorry, verse 40 to verse 42. And there's a little episode that's happening in this particular chapter where there is a debate happening between the elders, the Jews, on the authority and the origin of Jesus' claim. There is a debate happening.

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   And in verse 41 of John, chapter 7, some asked and said, shall the Messiah, shall the Christ come from Galilee? And there are other Jews who said, well, the scriptures say that the Messiah, the Christ, is the seed of David and he must come from the town of Bethlehem. That was the debate happening in the Gospel of John, chapter 7.

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   And what we know is that in that little congregation on that day, there was one elder who stood in the midst of them, a Pharisee, who goes by the name of Nicodemus. And they turned these Jews to Nicodemus and they say to him in verse 52, they say, art thou a Galilean? Because Nicodemus was a Galilean.

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   And they said to him, search. Look for whether or not out of Galilee riseth a prophet. And I'm going to make this suggestion to you that Nicodemus did his search. I'm going to put it to you that Nicodemus inquired. And I believe that Pharisee went and checked the records of the birthplace, the ancestry and the lineage of Jesus Christ.

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   And as we know, those records were displayed. They were accessible by the public and certainly by a Pharisee. And what was displayed in Matthew, chapter 1, would have been displayed in the archives of ancient times. And Nicodemus, the Pharisee, would have confirmed within himself that from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, and all those records that Jesus was, in fact, not just the son of Mary, but was the seed of David.

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   And as Augustus Caesar brought everyone back to their hometowns for the census, he would have known that this man called Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He proved it. But there was one thing he had to figure out. And the question proposed to Nicodemus was, did the Christ come from Galilee? And I have no doubt that Nicodemus would have checked the scrolls of Isaiah, because we're told in Matthew, chapter 2, and verse 23, that Jesus was to come from Nazareth.

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   He was to be called a Nazarene, so it might be fulfilled by who? The prophets. Does anybody know what the name Nazarene is or Nazareth? They're the same name. Go for it. The branch. Or the root. The branch. And I believe that Nicodemus would have fallen upon the passage of Isaiah 11 and verse 1.

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    And you'll know these words. It says there that there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a Nazarene. A branch is the word where we get the name Nazareth. It's a Hebrew word. It's a Hebrew word. It's a Hebrew word. Natza is the word where we get the word Nazarene.

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    A Nazarene shall grow out of its roots. Isaiah 11 and verse 1 tells us that the Messiah would be a Nazarene, and he would be the root of David. And I believe Nicodemus found the riddle. He found the puzzle. He found the conundrum. He worked it out. How might we think he worked it out?

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    Well, the next time we see the Pharisee called Nicodemus is in the chapter of John, in its chapter 19. The 19th chapter of John, Nicodemus is there. Where is Nicodemus in the 19th chapter of John? Well, he appears at the burial.

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    And what is Nicodemus holding in his hand at the burial of his Messiah? He's holding what? Myrrh. Myrrh was used to anoint the dead. So my question is, who might you think Nicodemus acquired the myrrh from? Let me ask a better question. Who was given myrrh at his birth?

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    Well, I believe it was his mother. Mary gave Nicodemus the myrrh to bury him at his death. He went and spoke to Mary. And he found out that he was the son of David, born in Bethlehem. He checked the scrolls. He checked the prophets. And he believed, brothers and sisters and friends. Why do you think Nicodemus was so keen to embalm the Christ?

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    Because he believed in the resurrection of the son of David. He found it out. The Pharisee found out that the Davidic promises were to be true in the one called Jesus of Nazareth. And yet the elite, the Jewish elite, just like Saul before them, found the identity of Jesus Christ as their greatest threat.

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    And the motive of the Jewish elite was to plot and kill him. So what might we anticipate the motive of King Saul if he's a shadow of the group yet to come? We're going to witness that very same spirit in the man called the grave, Sheol. So let's have a look at chapter 18 of 1 Samuel in verse 2.

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    Where Saul here, you'll notice, has refused to let David. He refuses to let David return home. So he's not going to take David. He's not going to allow him to go back home. In other words, he's taking David to use as an asset. He wants David for himself. And the same ethos was there with those Jews with Jesus Christ.

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    Can we remember after his anointing, after his baptism, what was the immediate response of the Jews? They were eager, weren't they, to bind him to their own definitions of the law. You'll see this all the way through. The spirit of the Jews, eager to entangle him in words and get him to define himself with their ideology.

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    The questions, the demanding of the signs, the accusations, the asserting of their authority, forcing him to their allegiance. All the way through, that was the spirit of the Jews. And what does it say of Jesus? Jesus, it says, grew in Luke chapter 2 verse 52. Jesus grew in wisdom and favour. Wisdom and favour with God and man.

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    So what might we anticipate and predict the behaviour of David was? Saul tried to bind him as an asset for his own agenda. How do you think David is going to respond? Well, you'll look at verse 5. David behaved wisely and was pleasing in the sight of all Israel. That is exactly the same description as we see of Jesus.

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    In Luke chapter 2 verse 52, Jesus grew in wisdom and favour and David behaved wisely and pleasing. So much so, if you look at verse 6, as we've already discussed, all the women come out of their cities singing. No wonder Saul was jealous. With all the women coming out of their cities to bind themselves to the man of Jesse.

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    And what we know about Jesus Christ, listen to this, as the fame of Christ grew from Nazareth. It started in Mark 1 verse 28. It says, Jesus' fame spread throughout all the Galilee region. Then we come to verse 45 of that same chapter. It then poured into every city. Luke chapter 4 verse 14, it spilled throughout the country.

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    And then in Matthew chapter 4 verse 24, it then inundated Syria. The healing, the miracles, the teachings, the wonders, the spectacle of the Lord Jesus Christ brought myriads of people towards him. This was hope in a time of oppression. The Jewish hope, the hope of Israel, the Hebrew hope was alive with the Messiah.

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    And the people knew it and they loved him for it and the Jews hated him because of it. And there is the conflict. The conflict between the people and the Jewish elite. Notice in verse 9 of 1 Samuel 18, that Saul eyed him from that day forward. It's fascinating the Hebrew word, Saul eyed him.

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    Because some translations tell us that he watched with a jealous and envious eye. You see, David's favor was going to be a threat to the established order, wasn't it? It really was. Notice in verse 12 to verse 15, it says that Saul, the king of Israel, was afraid of David. He feared the fame of this man.

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    Fear and envy and terror is going to swallow the soul of Saul, whose name is the grave. And what was the motive? Can anyone remember what the motive of the Jewish elders was in Matthew chapter 27 verse 18? What was that visceral emotion that crucified Jesus? One word, beginning with E.

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    In envy. Envy. They delivered him. And Saul is suffering with that same spirit. That same visceral emotion. Serves Saul. Envy reigns in the heart of Saul. For it says in verse 8 that Saul was very wroth. You see that in 1 Samuel 18 verse 8. He was very wroth. The king of Israel resented his ability and his spirit.

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    And look what he says. This is all about Saul. This is the question. And I'll try and say it like Saul said it. Shakespearean acting coming up. What can he have more than the kingdom?

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    It's good, isn't it? That was the issue with Saul. The problem that he had. The problem that was devouring him and consuming him. Was the kingdom. He wants the kingdom. And what was it that the Jews resented of Jesus? With his miracles. His supremacy. His ability. His sermons. His wonders. His speeches. His hope.

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    What did the Jews say? In Luke 23 verse 2. This man subverts the nation. He says he is Christ the king. That was the Jews. In John chapter 11 and verse 48. If we leave him they cry out. All the men will believe him. You see the Jews. And the rulers. They cared nothing for virtue.

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    They cared only for status. Status quo isn't it? And the saviour. The beloved. Was going to be the cost of their loss. Verse 10. An evil spirit came upon Saul. When David played the harp. His songs was going to stir fury. Now can anyone remember what the harp represents in Psalm 49 verse 4?

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    Parabolic teaching. When David taught in parables. When he played the harp. He stirred up fury within Saul. And when Jesus Christ played the harp of his mouth. As he articulated those wonderful parables. It stirred up. And stoked up a fire of hatred in the minds of those Jews. Notice here in verse 10.

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    There is an evil spirit within Saul. I think you'll understand this. That when we come to the gospels. Saul's condition here with this evil spirit. It really does represent Israel in the times of Jesus Christ. What was the condition of Israel? What were Israel plagued with? It's laid out for us in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 43 to 45.

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    Can anyone remember? What did the son of David cast out of men and women? Particularly Mary of Magdalene. Demons. Evil spirits. Saul represents the state of Israel. Now Saul at one point in chapter 16. When David played the harp. The evil spirit came out of him. And he was chilled out and relaxed.

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    Because the teaching of the harp. Soothed him and calmed him. But the more David gained popularity. Well those parabolic teachings. Well they added fuel. To the menacing hatred. Torrid fire in his belly. They really did. And when Jesus Christ came upon the scene. Who walked in the footsteps of his forefather David. Jesus cast out those demons.

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    Now there's one particular phrase. Or one particular word. And there's a clue. In which Jesus cast out those demons. Do you know what it was? He did it by the. By the word it says. By the words of Jesus. He cast out demons. And the more Jesus proclaimed and healed. The more people loved him.

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    And the more people loved him. Those hostile spirits and hardened hearts. Rosed up against him. Consumed in fury. And Saul in verse 11. Well he had no choice. As far as he was concerned. But to cast the javelin at David. How many times might we expect the word javelin to appear in the story of one Samuel?

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    How many would you like it to be? It's six. Six times. Because the spirit of Israel is nothing but flesh. Saul's name is the grave. Where flesh leads. Javelin was thrown at him. Now we're going to have to look at the spirit of Christ in the Psalms. We're going to go to Psalm 57.

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    And if you notice in Psalm 57. This is the Psalm of 1 Samuel 18 and 19. The Psalm of David in his persecution against Saul. You'll see in the title. So we're going to look at the symbolic term for spear. What is the spear in the spirit of Christ? Because it says there in verse 4.

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    The sons of men. This is David is talking about those of Saul's elite. The sons of men whose teeth are spears. That's the same word used in 1 Samuel 18 verse 11. Whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword. What do you think then the spear is symbolic of in the Psalms?

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    It's a metaphor for what? Evil messaging. Rhetoric speech. Words. Rhetoric words that opposes David. And David here. He's writing this Psalm through the spirit. And it's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. So where did the spear appear with Christ? Where were the words of the spear in the life of Jesus Christ? Well I think it's in Mark 12 verse 13.

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    And many others where the Jewish elite tried to entangle Jesus with words. They threw the spear and thrust it out their mouths. As spears they tried to entangle him with their words. And what's remarkable about the Psalms is that this prophetic Psalm is going to then steal across the page. And it's going to turn up in the life of Jesus Christ.

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    I find it absolutely fascinating that Jesus shared a kindred spirit with his forefather that was separated by a thousand years. Separated a thousand years. And they shared both of them a kindred spirit with each other. And look at verse 13. I know we're in Psalm 57. If you look at 1 Samuel 18 again.

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    1 Samuel 18. And you look at verse 13. To make matters worse for the king. David now has been made captain. You could write there in your margin. Hebrews 2 verse 10. He is the captain of their salvation. He's the captain of their salvation. Thank you for the lone voice on the right.

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    The captain of their salvation. If you look at verse 13. Notice there that he went out. This is David. He's now the captain of their salvation. He went out and came in before Israel. And that's actually repeated in verse 16. Now if you've got one of those margins. You'll notice. Where it says in verse 13.

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    He went out and came in before Israel. What does your margin reference tell you to go to? You might have a reference. Say it again. I heard someone say it. Numbers 27 and verse 17. So this is a quotation from Numbers chapter 27 and verse 17. And well, Numbers 27 is fascinating. You know what it's all about?

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    Numbers 27 and verse 17 is all about the successor of Moses. Moses. And it's going to give the description of the captain who is going to be capable of being the successor of Moses himself. And the successor of Moses is one, it says, who goes out before Israel and goes in before them.

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    It's the same words as you see there in 1 Samuel 18 and verse 13. In other words, David has been proclaimed here as the successor of Moses.

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    And which Messiah in the Bible was going to be the true successor of Moses? Who was it going to be in John chapter 1 verse 17 where it says the law came from Moses, but grace and truth came from Jesus Christ. David is in type being the successor of the one who was to be the true commander of grace and truth.

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    It's a shadow. But it goes on in Numbers chapter 27. Not only is the one who goes in and out before Israel the successor of Moses, but it also says that this particular man, the successor of Moses, is going to be the shepherd. You see it in Numbers 27. He's going to be the shepherd to the flock.

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    And so David now, as he goes in and out before Israel, not only is he the one who's going to take the mantle of the Mosaic order, but he's now going to be celebrated as John 10 verse 11, the good shepherd that giveth his life for his sheep. Now, how might we know that David now is going to be the shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep?

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    The next part of the story is going to tell us for us. It's going to tell us. Can you see chapter 18? Where are we in our Bibles, by the way? Are we in Numbers 27? I don't know where we are, to be honest with you. We should be in 1 Samuel 18.

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    1 Samuel 18, verse 20 to verse 27. Now, look at this for the shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Saul is going to be crafty.

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    And in verse 20 to 27, at the heart of their conflict, there's going to be a marriage plot. Now, I'm going to summarize these few verses for you. Now, when I describe what's taking place in verses 20 to verse 27, who do you think of? Because what we're going to find is Saul is going to plot against David so he can be handed over to the Gentiles, so he can be sent into the Gentiles to slay the Philistines, and he's going to do so so he can purchase a bride through a blood victory.

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    So where else might we think? I'm really thinking about this long. Where else in the Bible might we find the Jews delivering a man called the Messiah over to the Gentiles to slay flesh to claim a bride? Who do you think of? This is Jesus. The purchase price of a bride by slaying flesh delivered to the Gentiles by the Jewish elite.

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    This is the spirit in its prophetic typology of one who was to come. No wonder Jesus Christ took inspiration from his forefather. He'd lived the life before he even came. David lived the life of Jesus. Has he lived the spirit of Jesus within himself a thousand years before Jesus even arrived? Or so Christ could be inspired by the king of Israel?

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    There we are. Chapter 19, verse 2. Saul now is going to... I mean, he really tried Saul, didn't he? Right? He really is trying. You've got to give him that. Okay? At least he's consistent. Saul, in verse 2, he seeks to kill David. Now, if you count the amount of times that Saul tries to kill David, in fact, the words we want to look at is Saul sought to kill David.

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    We would find in the record of Samuel, it appears 14 times. 14 times we are told that Saul sought to kill David. So my question is, how many times might you think in the Gospel of John, it tells us that the Jews sought to kill Jesus? How many times would you like it to be?

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    It's 14 times. And then in 1 Samuel 18 and verse 11, and in 1 Samuel 19 verse 10, you will see that David avoided the javelin of Saul how many times? Three. Three times. Nearly there. Three times. So my question is this. How many times in the Gospel of John might you think Jesus divinely escaped execution at the hands of the Jews?

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    What would you like it to be? Three times. For it tells us in John chapter 7 and verse 30 that the hour of Christ had not yet come. Jesus divinely evaded the Jews, as did his forefather. Thrice. 14 times they sought to slay him. Right. Chapter 19 and verse 4.

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    Jonathan. Jonathan says to Saul, don't sin against David. His works have been to thee very good. You might have a reference to that phrase there. He's been towards thee very good. Because the defense of Jonathan here is going to be quoted by Peter. Peter in Acts chapter 10 and verse 38. These are the words of Peter in his testimony of his defense of Jesus Christ.

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    Peter says, God anointed Jesus who went about doing good for God was with him. I can't believe that. Can you believe that Jonathan is quoting Peter? And Peter appeared a thousand years later because the spirit of Peter was in Jonathan. Amazing. He's done to thee very good. Oh, what about Saul? Look at the words it says.

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    Saul and Israel are blind to greatness, aren't they? Saul is driven to madness and we're going to show that. Note the language again of Christ with Jonathan. Look at verse 5. Jonathan says to Saul, wherefore wilt thou sin against innocent blood to slay David without cause? Why are you going to slay innocent blood?

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    Who said those exact words in Matthew 27 verse 4 and verse 24? Who said, I will not slay innocent blood? These are the words of Pilate. In the words of Jonathan. A thousand years before the crucifixion. Notice what it says here. Jonathan doesn't just say, wherefore art thou to slay innocent blood? He says, don't slay David without a cause.

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    And who was going to quote those words in John 15 verse 25? Who said the phrase, they hated me without cause? Those are the words of Christ in the speech of Jonathan. Who might you think was inspiring Jesus? He heard those words and he said those words. When Pilate said, I will not shed innocent blood.

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    Who do you think echoed in the mind of Christ on that day? It would have been the story of 1 Samuel chapter 9. Chapter 19 rather. They've hated me without cause. Now what we know now is that soon, soon David could no longer remain in Saul's presence. We know this because if you look at verse 4 of, sorry, verse 10 of chapter 19.

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    David has to flee and he escapes that night. Notice the phrase. Notice the phrase. He flees and escapes that night. Now from now on, until David is proclaimed king, David now is the fugitive. He's a fugitive now in Israel. From this point forward. Was it the same with Jesus?

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    Did Jesus become a fugitive? How about these words in John 11 verse 54? Jesus therefore walks no more openly among the Jews for they sought to kill him. How about this for a phrase in Matthew chapter 8 verse 20? He had nowhere to lay his head. Jesus was the fugitive. Jesus was the fugitive of Israel.

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    And the episode of Saul and David meet their parallel with the Jews and Jesus. One was to form the basis of the other. David was to form the basis of Christ. How is it, friends? How is it a man who lived 10 centuries before Jesus experienced the spirit of Christ before it ever happened?

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    How is that possible? If it not, it was planned out from the beginning. It was a road map to Christ. Now the psalm. Let's have a look at the spirit of the psalms in Psalm 59. Psalm 59. Psalm 59.

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    Psalm 59. As you can see from the title, you will see that this is a title of his escape from Saul. So when David climbed out the window, right, in chapter 19, this is the psalm of that moment. Psalm 59. I'd like us to notice it's in the first person. And in verse 2 to 3, David the psalmist says, deliver me from bloodthirsty men.

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    I have done no sin, says David in the psalms. Notice in verse 9, they come at evening prowling the city. Notice verse 7, swords are on their lips. So this psalm, Psalm 59, is the narrative or the psalm of the narrative of 1 Samuel 19. And what was happening in 1 Samuel 19?

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    Well, we saw there was a malicious nighttime plot to kill David. Now, listen to the words carefully. There is a malicious nighttime plot to kill a Messiah in which a Messiah escapes through an opening, only then to be saved in the morning. And we know the Messiah is saved in the morning because if you look at verse 16 of Psalm 59, the psalmist says, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning.

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    So where else in the Bible might we find there to be a malicious nighttime plot in which there was an escape out of an opening where we see a Messiah saved in the morning? Where else do we find this? This is the entire story of Christ's passion, where Jesus was plotted against that night and he escaped out of the tomb in the morning, David's escape in 1 Samuel 19 just so happens to be the prophetic blueprint of Jesus' plot in the evening and his morning resurrection.

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    And what we begin to realize is, as the spirit of the psalmist is telling us, there is a two-fold providence happening simultaneously. God is literally going to put David through the trials of Christ. So in some way, David can experience the struggles that Messiah would accomplish in the flesh, so that when Christ came a thousand years later, those very same struggles of David would inspire him to victory.

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    It was all planned out for Christ. The struggles of David was all planned out for Messiah's victory. The struggles and the turmoil of David was a road map that Jesus Christ would tread, even before he trod the path. That is the spirit of God. Providence. Do you believe in that? Do we believe in providence?

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    Because David found out that that was absolutely true. David inspired Jesus, even before Jesus came, and Jesus was inspired by David. He was a thousand years dead. They inspired each other through the spirit, separated by time. And where do you think David fled to? David is in a time of crisis. Where does he flee to in chapter 19 and verse 18?

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    Where's he going to go? He seeks refuge with Samuel, the prophet. Samuel is a symbol of who? Or whom? He's a symbol of the prophets. And I believe in Matthew chapter 4, Matthew chapter 8, Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 13, and Matthew chapter 21, in a time of crisis, who did Jesus turn to?

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    Who did he read? He read the prophets. Jesus Christ found solace and refuge with the prophets, knowing full well he would fulfill those words. And David, in a time of crisis, he fled to the man who ironically is the very symbol of the prophets. And friends, in a time of crisis, I'm telling you, it works.

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    You get to the prophets. The prophets. The law of Moses can only take you so far. The prophets is what gives comfort. Because that gives the surety of the work of Christ. And Jesus gained comfort from the prophets, as the Messiah of old gained comfort from Samuel. And for 10 years, 10 years, Saul hunted David.

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    He hunted him in the forests. He pursued him in the mountains. He chased him in the deserts. He walked over the plains and right there into the caves. Even David himself says, I was chased like a partridge in the mountains, was the words of David. And as Saul was chasing David, I love what Saul says.

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    The words are in 1 Samuel 23, verse 23. Do you know what Saul says? He looks at his men and he's like this. He's out of breath. He's been chasing this evading man for 10 years and he says, I will search him out. I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.

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    Now my question is this. Where might we find the phrase out of all the thousands of Judah? Who picks up that exact phrase? A prophet, beginning with M, rhymes with Pica. Micah chapter 5, verse 2. Micah 5, verse 2 is a phrase that prophetically concerns Jesus Christ. And Micah says, out of all the thousands of Judah, lowliest in Bethlehem.

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    And Saul says, out of all the thousands of Judah, I will search him. Little did Saul know he was prophetically proclaiming a prophet about Jesus. He was talking about Micah's prophecy of Jesus before Micah even came. He proclaimed Christ or he proclaimed Messiah in 1 Samuel 23, verse 23. Basically, Saul was saying, I'm going to get that Messiah.

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    He admitted he was the Messiah. He didn't even know it. For the spirit was with David. Where might we think David met Saul the final time? The final time that has our energy levels.

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    Oh, the enthusiasm has weakened. 1 Samuel 26. The final time they meet. I'm going to work you hard. And I make no apologies for it. 1 Samuel 26, verse 18. This is the final time they meet.

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    David said to Saul, Wherefore doth my Lord thus pursue after his servant? For what have I done, he says. What evil, says David, is in mine hand. This is the last time they meet. They don't see each other after this. Now the phrase David uses in 1 Samuel 26, verse 18. He says, Wherefore doth my Lord pursue after his servant?

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    And if you look at that word pursue, do you know what it means? David says to a man called Saul, Why do you persecute me?

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    What tribe was Saul from? I believe he was from the tribe of Benjamin. So where else in the Bible, 1,000 years later, might we find a man of Benjamin talking to a Messiah in which the question was asked, Why do you persecute me? And in all of its irony, the man who was asking the question was to one called Saul.

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    How funny that the story of 1 Samuel 16 was going to turn up years later with another man called Saul, a Benjamite by birth, fueled with rage and hatred as he hunts down the Messiah to the ends of the earth, and they meet together on the road to Damascus. In Acts chapter 22 and verse 7, the Messiah turns to a man called Saul of the Jewish elite and cries out that very same question, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

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    And terrified, gazing into the light, Saul asks a question. He asks a very particular question. What was the first question we know Saul asked David? What did he say? He said, Whose son are you? So what might we anticipate the question Saul asks to the son of David? Who are you? And I find it fascinating that Jesus responds to that question by informing him of his earthly origins.

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    Who does he say he is? Ah, he says, Saul, I am Jesus of Nazareth. Now can we remember what the word Nazareth means? The branch. And where's our prophecy? Isaiah 11 and verse 1, there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a Nazarene, a branch shall grow out of his roots.

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    I find it wonderfully, divinely poetic that a man who was the son of David cries out to Saul that he was the son of Jesse, the son of David. And the fact he's resurrected, he's the son of God. He looks to a man called Saul. Isn't it fascinating that Saul of Tarsus was to live the same story as King Saul of old?

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    The same persecuting spirit. It's the same story really told in different ways. David and Saul, Jesus and the Jewish elders, and now it's turned up in the life of Saul of Tarsus and Jesus Christ. But you know what? The spirit of Saul is going to live again. We're going to see it re-emerge.

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    It's going to appear in the life of the apostle, Paul. And how rightfully so. The same persecuting spirit that Saul had is going to turn up in the life of his converted self, Paul. How can we prove that? Would you like me to prove it? Would you like me to skip it?

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    Tick tock. Prove it. Well, okay, we'll prove it. Paul, you see, in his writings, particularly in 2 Corinthians, he's going to focus on an adversity. He calls him his Satan. And you'll see it appear in 2 Corinthians as Satan. And he comes up all the time. Paul had many opponents, unforgiving Jews, who never forgave Paul from abandoning Judaism.

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    And all the way through, these particular Jews tried to confound his labor as the Jews promoted their own credentials. But there was one particular Jew in the life of the Apostle Paul, one Jew, who loomed large, the chief amongst the conspirators against Paul. One. Paul calls him his Satan. He calls it him in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 11, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 14, and 2 Corinthians 12, verse 7, an adversary who opposed Saul, a Judaizer.

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    And Paul is going to focus on a little description. He's going to give us a little clue, a little clue who this adversary was. Do you know what he says? I'll read the words to you. He says in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 7, as he talks about this opposing Jew, he says, do not look on the outward appearance.

99. 44:40

    appearance. That phrase, outward appearance, only appears in one other place in all of the scriptures. Clearly, this Satan, this adversary against Saul, or Paul rather, had an authoritative appearance and an intimidating stature. So the question is, where else in the Bible do we find that phrase, I will not look upon the outward appearance?

100. 45:07

     It's in 1 Samuel 16 where we started. Yahweh said, I will look not on the outward appearance or on the height of the stature because I have refused him. And there was one man chosen by the people on these very credentials and he was rejected. Who was the only man in all of the Bible chosen on the outward appearance, his height, his stature, and God refused him.

101. 45:31

     And Paul is quoting it. Saul. I find it rather ironic that the champion of the Judaizers, Paul's bitter opponent, was in a figure like King Saul. And now Paul is going to live the same story as Jesus and David. He's now going to be pursued by a man in a stature like Saul.

102. 45:56

     He's the one who's going to be hunted. He's going to be the one plotted against. Paul fled an antagonist with Saul's persecuting spirit. He did. He's going to turn up again. That's the same with you and I. We don't have persecutors like Saul, do we? Oh, we might do. But we might inherit that same persecuting spirit and we've got to flee from it.

103. 46:19

     Right, we're nearly there. I don't know about you. You may be tied, but I'm done. Right? I'm done. I'm on fumes. I've got one more to go. I want to show you this because I want to finish on this. I want to look at the end of Saul because it's a interesting conclusion to the life of the king.

104. 46:35

     We're going to look at the end now in 1 Samuel 29. Just 1 Samuel 29. This is the last week of King Saul and I'm going to have it all on the screen for you so we can follow it sequentially. This is the final week of King Saul and it begins in chapter 29 with David.

105. 47:00

     You will see David is in a place called Aphek. He's with the king of the Philistines called Achish and they're preparing for war against Israel. Israel are about to fight the Philistines and the Philistines are about to fight Israel and that battle commences in 1 Samuel 31. Now David comes in who's a Jew.

106. 47:21

     He's a Hebrew and the Philistines in verse 11 they don't trust David one iota. So there you go. Right. Go back to Ziklak. Now notice this. It says that David leaves early in the morning in verse 11. Can you see that? Verse 11 he leaves early in the morning. Then in 1 Samuel 30 so turn over the page now in 1 Samuel 30 in verse 1 David arrives at Ziklag notice a journey of three days.

107. 47:53

     So we're on now the third day because David left in the morning it takes him three days so we're on day three in the last week of King Saul and on the third day David discovers that Ziklag his little his little inheritance has been raided by the Amalekites. So David prays and in verse 17 he leads a rescue mission and smote the Amalekites and look at verse 17 from twilight even unto the evening of the next day.

108. 48:20

     So if it's the next day we're on day what now? We're on day four. We're at the end of day four. David smote the Amalekites. Final chapter and you'll be pleased to know is 2 Samuel chapter 1 2 Samuel chapter 1 After returning from the slaughter of the Amalekites David stays in Ziklag another two days and notice in verse 2 now on the third day an Amalekite arrives with the news of Saul's death.

109. 49:00

     So we're at the end of the week. This is the seventh day of the week of David. An Amalekite arrives with the news of Saul's death. Now this is where it gets interesting. How many days journey did it take the Amalekite to travel from the battlefield to get to Ziklag where David was?

110. 49:22

     Well it's told us. We've read it in 1 Samuel 30. It was a three day journey. Now we might come to the conclusion I think we'd be right to consider it that that messenger witnessed the death of Saul three days earlier. So if he sees the death of Saul he's gone Saul's dead.

111. 49:46

     I'm going to tell David. Travels for three days and he delivers the message. Would you agree? David got the message three days later and Saul was dead three days earlier. Which tells me what was happening at the same time at the death of King Saul. What happened simultaneously?

112. 50:11

     Saul died at the hands of the Philistines on exactly the same day David was victorious against the Amalekites. And what's remarkable is how many days after did David know he was king? On the third day he realised that he'd claimed the kingdom. And what was to happen a thousand years later? A thousand years later the law of Moses was to find defeat in exactly the same time Jesus found victory and he found out three days later when he rose out of the tomb.

113. 50:57

     Jesus conquered flesh in the same day Israel found ruin. He found out three days later. Saul represents who? Who does Saul represent? the law the law kept not by the spirit and who does David represent? Need I ask? Christ. The veil was rent wasn't it when Christ found victory. One found defeat at the same time the other triumphed.

114. 51:24

     What time of the week did this victory and defeat happen? Where would you say it was? I'd say the middle. Would you agree with that? Middle. It happened in the midst of the week in the midst of the week Israel found defeat and the Messiah found victory. My last question for this session where else in the Bible do we have a prophecy of one week in which the middle of that week the law gave way to Messiah's triumph?

115. 52:03

     One special prophecy prophecy. It's in the book known as Daniel and it's ninth chapter. Anyone remember what the ninth chapter of Daniel is all about? It's called the 70 week prophecy and in the 70 week prophecy in the 490 years the prophecy concludes with one special week. Can anyone remember what that week's called?

116. 52:29

     Daniel calls it the week of the covenant. covenant. The covenant week. And in the covenant week which is the end of the 490 years Daniel is now going to focus on one unique week. Seven years seven days the covenant week. And in that week there is an event simultaneous with the defeat of Israel.

117. 52:53

     Look what it says. Messiah it says shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. In other words Saul's ruin in the midst of that week prophetically anticipates the covenant week of Daniel chapter 9. Prophetically confirms it.

118. 53:24

     In the midst of the week friends in Daniel chapter 9 just like Saul found the law gave way to the supremacy of the son of David.

119. 53:37

     Thank you.