Many of us know about the anointing and all the wonderful things that follow it but have you ever considered if it’s possible to STOP the anointing from moving? The answer to that question is hidden in David’s relationship with Saul! There was one thing that blocked David’s musical anointing from touching Saul, and it was jealousy!
David’s musical anointing is seen in 1 Samuel 16:23 where Saul would receive temporary deliverance as David would play the harp, “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” But this all changed only two chapters later in 1 Samuel 18:10-11 “10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. 11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.”
What changed? We can clearly see David was playing the harp as Saul went on the attack, but why didn’t Saul experience refreshing deliverance like before? What happened was Saul let jealousy separate him from David. 1 Samuel 18:6-9 Describes how the woman of the land made a song about David’s valor, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands”. It was this vain glory that pushed Saul over the edge and made him jealous of David at his own expense!
Saul’s persecution against David started over this event, but what did it end up costing him? Look at where Saul was in his lift at this time, failed to keep God’s commandment and was promised he’d get replaced by another (1 Sam. 15:28), lost the Holy Spirit and got an unclean spirit in return as punishment (1 Sam. 16:14), and had his biggest enemy defeated by a child (1 Sam. 17). I’d say Saul had a handful of reasons to feel insecure (from his perspective), he was a boat without a sail and you can see why he was so wild in his persecution against David. He used David as a punching bag for all his faults, but by doing so he ended up separating himself from the last bit of grace God was willing to give him.
Lets look at this from a different perspective for a bit. Despite all of Saul’s sins against God, the Lord was still willing to give him temporary relief through David’s music. Yes, the Lord sent the unclean spirit but His mercy was willing to acknowledge Saul’s humility in seeking help through another. This shines a bright light on, James 4:10 “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up." God rejected Saul as king, but didn’t deny him as an Israelite. Saul did that to himself when he sought help from the witch of Endor a bit later, 1 Sam. 28. What did this vengeance cost Saul? The last bit of mercy God was willing to give him, and after he condemned that through attacking David, things went downhill fast.
Saul ended up cursing his son Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:31), attempts to take his son’s life (1 Sam. 20:33), massacres unarmed priests (1 Sam. 22:18), and continues to persecute David until he takes his own life in 1 Sam. 31.
Brothers and sisters, don’t let vain things and offenses separate you from the grace of God. This is the side effect of church hurt that many don’t see when they separate themselves from the body of Christ. Yes, we have Christ with us at all times and the same is true for our others in the Lord. Just as much as God might be using you to touch others, He also wants to speak to you through others as well. It requires humility and honesty but if God was willing to honor Saul’s humility as he sought young David, how much greater will He do for us who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit all the days of our lives?
John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever”