HATED FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING

PROCLAMATION

“And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and The Lord was with him.  Wherefore when Saul saw that he had behaved himself wisely; he was afraid of him.”  1 Samuel 18:14-15 (KJV)

EXPLANATION

After David had killed Goliath, King Saul took him in and would not let him return to his father’s house. (1 Samuel 18:2)  David was very successful in whatever Saul asked him to do and Saul gave him a high rank in the army.  This pleased the troops, the officers, and the people. (1 Samuel 18:5)  The women from all the towns of Israel sang praises to King Saul and to David.  They sang that Saul had killed thousands and David had killed tens of thousands, and this angered Saul. (1 Samuel 18:6-8)  Saul tried to kill David by throwing a javelin at him.  Saul was afraid of David because he knew that The Lord God was with him. (1 Samuel 18:10-12)  David behaved himself wisely before the people and in all that Saul assigned him to do. (1 Samuel 18:5 and 18:14)  Saul sent David to battle the Philistines hoping that they would kill him. (1 Samuel 18:17 and 18:25)  When Saul saw that David had killed the Philistines, he knew that The Lord was with him and he was even more afraid of David. (1 Samuel 18:28-29)

APPLICATION

Just as King Saul hated David, even though David had not done anything wrong, there are people in this world who will hate believers, even when they are doing that which is right and good.  Jesus, The Christ, told his disciples that if the world persecuted Him, then they would persecute us. (John 15:20)  He also said if they hate us, we should remember that they hated Him. (John 15:18)  It has been said that the more believers do for The Lord, the more Satan will attack them in order to stop them.   When an evil spirit is defeated, it will return with reinforcements which are usually more evil than the defeated spirit. (Matthew 12:43-45)  So, expect to be hated for doing the right thing and for doing God’s will.