1 Samuel 26, as much as it is another reminder to put revelation before circumstance and resist temptation (see sermon sketch/outline produced for 1 Samuel 24), it is ultimately about the loyalty of God’s King and his call for us to follow him. God’s King is loyal to the law of the LORD. He doesn’t take vengeance into his own hands. He is also loyal to the people of God.

Saul is part of the covenant community. A man who has sinned, he started life with so much potential, but he didn’t listen to the Word of God. He didn’t listen to Samuel the prophet. He didn’t listen to Jonathan his son, not to Ahimelech the priest or to David outside the cave. He closed his ears to wisdom and his heart to repentance. He showed himself to be God’s enemy, killing priests and chasing believers from the land. Still, God’s King showed him loyalty. David continued to serve him. He spoke to him, he called him to hear the voice of reason.

Coming to the New Testament, we will find that the true King Jesus Christ demonstrated the same loyalty. Loyalty to God, he perfectly obeyed his Father in all things. Though he had the power to call fire from heaven and command an army of angels, he submitted himself to suffering and hardship because that was his Father’s will. That was the means by which he demonstrated his character and earned the reward of life in the new creation.

Jesus also showed great loyalty to God’s people. Rich and poor, he shared God’s truth with all those he met. When it came to his so called enemies, the Pharisees, he didn’t turn his back on them either. Many times he joined them in their homes for conversation. When they sought to trap him in his words, he gave answers that were meant to enlighten. He wanted them to see that his kingship is not one that will be to their detriment but for their good. He even went to their power-base, Jerusalem, knowing that they would make a plan to arrest him and end his life. In this he went beyond David. David showed a loyalty to Saul, but he didn’t go back with him to Gibeah. He didn’t give his life to pay the penalty for Saul’s sin. He didn’t die the death that Saul deserved. Of course, that was not God’s plan for David and so we can’t hold him to that standard, but it was God’s plan for the true Christ. Jesus had to give his life for his enemies. He had to die for those who hated him. Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. The crowds who shouted for his blood. There were people from both groups whom God had chosen to eternal life. People who came to faith when the Gospel was preached in the power of the Holy Spirit.