Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him… 1 Samuel 18:6-8a
Let’s Play ‘Find the Sinner’
If you are just a little familiar with the story you will recall that David, empowered by the Lord for service, had just single-handedly defeated the enormous Philistine Goliath and much of their army. The achievement essentially saved the entire nation of Israel from becoming enslaved by the enemy. It’s only natural that everyone would be elated by the hearing of this wonderful news…right? Nevertheless, the sight of thousands of women dancing joyously in the streets celebrating the triumph only served to anger Saul.
Aside from Saul’s obvious blunder, what’s wrong with this picture? The rejoicing women were in sin also. How so you ask? These women were giving their glory to David rather than to God and in so doing they played a part in causing Saul to transgress.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence…to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 and Romans 16:27
Now before we go any further we need to recognize that no one (not even satan) can cause a person to sin therefore no sinner can use that as his or her excuse. It might be more prudent to say that these woman in their sin enabled Saul in his. Be that as it may, Jesus had some good advice on the topic.
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
The reality is that sinners sin and Saul did not need any assistance in this arena, but the fact he would have likely committed it anyway is irrelevant. We need to know that there are things we do (and sometimes neglect to do) that make easy the sinners path. As I said earlier, these women in their sin (and even David in his sin) fashioned a vehicle by which Saul could easily facilitate his sin. What sin did David commit? It can be inferred that David likely heard the praise and did nothing to redirect it towards the Lord.
Again, the purpose of today’s application is not to make excuses for Saul, but to be cognizant of the fact that we are sometimes quick to point out the wickedness of others when in fact we may have played a role in their offense by transgressing ourselves.
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 