Have you ever done a side-by-side comparison of kings Saul and David? It’s a study of contrasts. Saul, who started strong, soon learned how to play church and became the poster child for doing the least amount to get by. Which, as we’ve all learned, doesn’t really get you by. David, despite his “indiscretions,” understood true obedience and was later tagged in the New Testament as a man after God’s own heart.
The InWord study that has been the most profoundly convicting to me personally is The Heart God Seeks, a study of contrasts between Saul and David. With February being the month of “hearts,” this study has been on my mind. When we prepared this material, we arrived at nine different heart conditions that God is looking for, such as obedient, called, trusting, and so forth. Here are a few of my favorite “hearts.”
A Called Heart
At Saul’s strong start, I’m struck by how God actually changed Saul’s heart when He tapped him to be king. It’s relieving to know that God is the one doing the choosing, the calling, and the changing. It’s tempting, however, to let our fears take over, as was eventually the case with Saul, which leads us to operate out of our flesh rather than out of a trust that God has called and changed us.
(1 Samuel 10:1-9)
An Obedient Heart
The phrase “total obedience” is redundant. In God’s eyes, if it’s not total obedience, it’s not obedience. God calls us to tasks that will cause us to look silly if He doesn’t come through. If we try to avoid looking silly, we stop trusting God to come through. With Saul’s first task as king we see the consequences of this.
(1 Samuel 10:8; 13:1-15)
A God-Pleasing Heart
Saul was commanded to destroy all things associated with the ruthless Amalekites. Succumbing to his desire to please people, he didn’t destroy all things, which led to one of the funniest and yet most heartbreaking confrontations in all of Scripture (1 Samuel 10:15-23). Saul’s rationalizing went from bad (fabricating a spiritual reason for his actions) to worse (blaming others), which led to the first use of God’s great warning: He desires obedience, not sacrifice. Don’t play church.
(1 Samuel 15:1-11)
A Trusting Heart
A search committee probably would not have picked David. It’s hard for us to get past outward things like intelligence, humor, speaking ability, hair, etc. God looks at only one thing: the heart. And the trait in the heart that seems to get the most ink in Scripture: trust. That’s good news for those of us who don’t think we’re “committee savvy” in our ministries.
(1 Samuel 16:1-13)
A Secure Heart
Saul had been on a rampage to wrongfully kill David. David had a chance to take Saul out of the picture (and he had the robe fragment to prove it). But his response: he will not hurt the Lord’s anointed. That’s a secure heart. David was the master author of the phrase, “I will not be shaken.” In fact, you may want to check out the steps he took to have such a secure heart. You’ll find these in Psalm 15, 16, 21 and 62.
(1 Samuel 18:6-16; 24:1-17)
A Repentant Heart
Psalm 51 is David’s great mea culpa and is probably the reason why he is still described in Acts as a man after God’s own heart. You gotta love Nathan for confronting David in 2 Samuel 11, a gutsy move that resulted in an immediate confession from David. It makes you wonder how we would react if we had a “Nathan” get in our face; it makes you wonder how many times this has happened and we blow right through it. God loves a repentant heart.
(2 Samuel 11; 12; Psalm 51)
The contrast between Saul and David is the contrast between “playing church” and living the real deal. If we focus on the things man looks at, we can play a great game. If we stay focused on the matters of the heart, we’ll be an easy find for the things God is looking for.
For a deeper look, check out InWord’s small-group study, The Heart God Seeks.