1 Samuel 19

1 Samuel 19:13

Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.

Waitasec, what?!?  A household idol?  David, the man after God's own heart, had a household idol?  What's going on here?  I thought David did all right before God, except for Bathsheba.  What is he doing with an idol in his home?  I'm now very confused, and somewhat concerned.

The thing I have to wonder here is if it wasn't David's idol, but Michal's.  We already know Saul wasn't particularly well-known for keeping to God's commands, so I can believe that he passed that apathy (or whatever you want to call it) along to his children.  So maybe it was Michal's, but still, why did David permit it to stay?  Why did he not get rid of it in order to keep his home pure?  Maybe he was never home, or she kept it hidden?  Yet another question about the perceived purity of God's "favorite" king.

1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18:1

Now it came about that when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

I've often wondered what is meant to knit souls together.  Obviously, the literal meaning is silly, but what does it mean?  I've head some people say that it means they were lovers, which is also ridiculous (even later in the chapter it says that David fell in love with and married Jonathan's sister).  So what does knitting two souls together mean?

I think part of it must be in the final statement of the verse, that Jonathan loved David as himself.  If this were written in the New Testament, it would probably use the term "agape" which we all like to throw around.  As would later be proved, Jonathan cared about David's well being at least as much as his own, and probably more so, given the risks he took for David.  To have that high a mutual esteem for each other, and know the other has it as well, is the only way I can think of that these two were joined.

1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:26

Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?  For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?"

This chapter had a toss-up on which verse to use, but I settled on this one.  The thing that caught my attention is how David uses the term "the living God."  I don't recall that term being used before, though I could just not be remembering.  It is certainly best known for being used by David.

The term shows two things of significance, in my opinion.  First, it reveals that David knows that God is not passive or hiding.  He is living and active, real and influencing daily life.  He is someone David believes and trusts deeply, someone who cared about him.

By contract, there is an implication here that whatever gods the Philistines are serving, they are not living.  They are dead, unable to care, and unable to influence anything.  The Philistines want them do help, but they can't, because they do not exist.  Since God does exist, and does act, His people immediately have the advantage.

1 Samuel 16

1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

This is a verse that both gives me heart and gives me fear.  The encouraging part is fairly obvious.  God does not care what we look like, how tall we are or how attractive we look.  The Israelites already had that once, with Saul, and we know where that got them.  Physical appearance, in the end, has very little to do with character.

However, that's the part that scares me.  I know my character, and it's far from perfect.  In fact, there are many times when I would not even call it all that good.  I am deeply familiar with my flaws and the places where I fall short.  And I know that as familiar with them as I am, God knows them even better.  The fact that He can work through those flaws seems to seldom comfort me.  I know that everyone has flaws and mistakes, but it sure seems mine are worse than others'.