Biblical Precautions: Saul

Dark of night. The basket lowered slowly down the wall as its occupant silently crouched, not making a sound. He was a marked man.

Saul was in a tough situation. He had been on his way to Damascus on a mission to arrest the followers of the recently-crucified Jesus, and following the subsequent public execution of Stephen. As a devoted Pharisee, he was notorious for his ongoing efforts to persecute and martyr the followers of Christ. He was determined to arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem for prosecution and execution. But all that changed on the road in a blinding flash of light when Jesus spoke to him and turned his life around. Instead of arresting followers of The Way (as it was called at the time), he was led into Damascus, blind, having been told to await further instructions at the house of Judas on Straight Street.

The basket creaked as it lowered further. He recalled more about this strange adventure.

Three days had passed since his arrival in Damascus. He had been blind and had not eaten anything, opting instead to fast and pray. He heard a man approaching and felt hands on his shoulders. "Brother Saul," said a voice, "the Lord - Jesus, who you saw on the road to Damascus - has sent me to you so that you can see and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Something like scales fell off his eyes and he looked into the face of Ananias, a follower of Christ who had been sent to him for this purpose. He got up and was baptized, and then he got some food.

As the days passed, the Jews and the followers of The Way were thunderstruck to find a man they knew had come to arrest them, instead boldly proclaiming in the city streets and proving that Jesus was the promised Messiah. This was the polar opposite of the mission he had so recently been pursuing and enforcing. As news got out, the Jews in Damascus smelled a turncoat and started watching the city gate day and night to make sure he couldn't leave before they could arrest and kill him. But Saul got wind of the plot, and he and his new friends came up with a plan. There was a hole in the city wall. They took a large basket and he got in it. They let it out through the hole and slowly lowered him in it with ropes.

The basket reached the ground. Stealthily, he moved away from the wall, avoiding the city gates, and returned to Jerusalem. 

Saul's life was saved due to precautions that he had to take. He would encounter similar shock from the followers of The Way in Jerusalem, but Barnabas would stick up for him. He would debate with the Hellenistic Jews, who also tried to kill him. The followers of The Way in Jerusalem took him to Antioch, and from there sent him on to his hometown of Tarsus. Barnabas would later go to Tarsus to find Saul. They would then spend a year ministering in Antioch, and Saul, also known as Paul, would go on to travel around the Mediterranean area spreading the Gospel.

Paul's life was saved because he took precautions. God protected him, but he also had to take action. Without those precautions, we would not have a large portion of the New Testament, and the beginnings of the Christian Church would have been very different.

We need to have faith. Faith allows us to boldly proclaim the Good News. Faith in God's love and protection has been a major factor down through the years in propelling the growth of the Church. But precautions are also necessary.

How many lives would be saved today for lifesaving work in the future if we would just take precautions during this pandemic? Compared to the precautions Paul had to take, we are being asked so little. Just a mask and a poke. If Paul had boldly left Damascus through the gate, he would have become a martyr before the bulk of his ministry even began. Similarly, we must eschew the idea that wearing masks and getting the vaccine shows a lack of faith. We have a mission to save lives, and we must not just assume God will miraculously protect us from our own folly. He can easily do so, but that is not how He operates every time.

Saint Paul, painting by Rembrandt, c. 1657

David on the Run

The Philistines were bearing down on the town of Keilah, pillaging and hurting the people. David got word of it and came to their rescue. He and his men defeated the Philistines in Keilah, but pretty soon Saul found out. His jealousy at David’s success continued, and he was determined to kill him. When David found out Saul was on his way to Keilah to kill him, he fled with his men. David had 600 warriors with him, and they went from place to place. They never stayed too long because any time Saul found out where they were, he would go there.

David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph when he found out Saul was after him again. Jonathan found him and comforted him. Jonathan said, “Don’t worry. My dad won’t hurt you. You’ll be king someday, and I’ll be second to you. Dad knows it.” They made a promise to each other, and Jonathan went home. The Ziphites betrayed David to Saul, but David got word of it and fled. David and Saul’s forces very nearly met, but Saul suddenly got word that the Philistines were attacking, and he realized that was more urgent. So Saul gave up chasing David for the moment and instead went in pursuit of the Philistines. David, meanwhile, went to the Desert of En Gedi. After Saul was done dealing with the Philistines, his murderous rage came back, and he went off in search of David again.

David and his men were in the back of a huge cave when they heard someone come in. They recognized Saul’s shape! He hadn’t noticed them, and he just needed to go to the bathroom. David’s men whispered to him, “This is it! God has given you a chance to get rid of Saul!” So David went into stealth mode. He took a sharp knife and crept up behind the King. Very, very quietly, David took out his knife… and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe! He crept back to his men. But then he realized that was really dumb. What had he done? He didn’t have a right to damage the King’s robe! He whispered to his men, “What were we thinking? Saul may not be the nicest guy ever, but he is the one God chose to be King! How dare we even do this much?” His men wanted to kill Saul, but David said, “No way! Don’t even think of harming God’s choice of King!”

Saul finished doing his thing and left. David knew he owed the King an apology, so he ran out of the cave and called, “My lord the king!” Saul turned around, shocked. David went on. “Why do you listen to the idiots who claim that I want to harm you? You can tell that I could have killed you just now. My men even wanted me to! But I refused to even harm you, because God chose you to be King! Look at this piece of robe I’m holding, Dad! I got that close to you, but didn’t kill you! You can tell that I have no intention of rebelling or even laying a hand on you, so why are you out to kill me? The Lord can do what He wants with you, but I will not hurt you!”

Saul said, “David, my son-in-law, is that your voice? You’re a better man than I. May God reward you for what you’ve done today! You could have killed me, and you would have had the right to do so! I know that you’ll be king after me, so please promise me that when you do, you won’t kill off my family.” Often in those times when someone who wasn’t the heir became King, he would kill off the family of the former king so nobody could challenge his role as King. David gladly promised to do nothing of the sort. As you may remember from last week, David had already made a similar promise to Jonathan. So Saul went home.

At this time, Samuel died. He was an old man, and it was his time. The whole nation of Israel mourned for him.

A bit later, the pesky Ziphites sent word to Saul again about where David was. Saul had forgotten how David meant him no harm. By this time, Saul was so jealous of David that he had given his daughter Michal to another man, and David had remarried. So much for being the King’s son-in-law! Saul led 3000 Israelite soldiers to attack David and his 600 men. It may have been overkill, but Saul was a bit overdramatic at times. Saul and his men camped at the hill of Hakilah, near where David was hiding, and David found out.

David and his friend Abishai went into stealth mode again, and they crept into Saul’s camp in the middle of the night. They found King Saul and Commander Abner sleeping, and Saul’s spear was stuck into the ground right near his head! Abishai whispered to David, “Let me stab Saul with his own spear! I’ll only have to do it once!”

But David whispered, “Are you crazy? Have I taught you nothing? Saul is God’s choice for King! Let God deal with Saul! We will not be murdering anyone tonight! Just grab Saul’s spear and water jug, and let’s go!” So, with Saul’s spear and water jug, they tiptoed out and climbed the nearby hill. When they were a safe distance away, David yelled, “Hey, Abner!”

Abner awoke with a start and responded, “Who’s calling?”

David replied, “What were you thinking? You should be guarding the King, and what do you do? You’re sound asleep! What if someone had tiptoed in and done something horrible to Saul? You’ve failed him, Abner! Saul is God’s choice for King, and you should be taking care of him, not sleeping like a log! Now look around! Where are the King’s spear and water jug?”

Saul recognized that voice. “Is that you, David, my son?” he said.

“Yes, Dad! It’s me!” David cried. “Why are you still chasing me? What have I done? You’ve come after someone who is no threat to you! You might as well be hunting a flea! What am I, a partridge for you to hunt in the mountains?”

Saul replied, “I have sinned. David, my son, come back! Since you value my life so much, I won’t try to chase you again. I was stupid, and I am so sorry!”

David called back, “Here’s your spear and water! Have someone come get them! God rewards everyone for being faithful. He gave me another chance to get you, and your life was too important to harm you. As I have valued your life, may God value mine and deliver me from harm!”

Saul said, “David, my son, you will go far in life. May you be blessed!”

So after Saul got his spear and water back, he went home and David moved on. He couldn’t trust Saul’s word, so he decided to leave Israel. He went to Gath and made friends with their King Achish. David and his soldiers lived in Gath for a year and four months, and Achish was very impressed with his talent in battle.