We just finished preaching through 1 Samuel during our Sunday morning gatherings. Spending 45 weeks going verse-by-verse through 31 chapters of the Old Testament might sound boringly dull to some. But, once again, I am amazed by the transcendent truth and transformational wisdom to be discovered in the pages of Scripture. The depths of understanding our God are truly inexhaustible!
As we follow the narrative of 1 Samuel, we contrast the rise and fall of King Saul with the rise and perseverance of King David. Whereas the foolishness of Saul is on display, the faithfulness of David is revealed. Saul is consumed with wicked jealousy and selfish arrogance. David’s character, though not flawless, exemplifies consistent qualities of “a man after God’s own heart.”
Surely, David provides hope for a weary nation that their second ruler will be better than their first. But David also provides a shadow of an even greater King to come – One who will establish a kingdom with no end. David was a shepherd boy, anointed by Samuel, who defeated Israel’s greatest enemy – a giant of Philistia. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, anointed by the Spirit at his baptism, who defeated our giants (of sin, Satan, & death) through the cross and empty grave.
The overarching storyline of 1 Samuel clearly and consistently points to Jesus. However, when you take a deep dive into the details of the text, there are countless lessons to glean from the stories of 3,000 years ago. I found myself in constant awe as I prepared to preach these principles from the pulpit each week.
One lesson that impacted me most profoundly is found toward the end of the book. David is on the run from King Saul for nearly a decade of his life. Saul wants David dead. David actually has a seemingly divine opportunity to kill Saul in chapter 24, and once again in chapter 26. Committed to not taking matters into his own hands, David spares Saul’s life. Twice.
However, David is sure to let Saul know that he could’ve killed him. And there are some curious details that David uses in his outbursts of frustration. In chapter 24, David exclaims, “After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea!” In other words, “Why in the world are you trying to kill me? I am nothing to you. Surely you have better things to do as the king of Israel!”
In his second passionate monologue (perhaps just a year later), David says in chapter 26, “Let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.” David refers to himself as a mere flea both times, but changes the second metaphor from a dead dog to a partridge. That piqued my curiosity, so I took to Google. Why would David refer to himself as a partridge? And what even is a partridge? All I knew was that my true love gave me one on the first day of Christmas.
I quickly learned that the partridge is part of the pheasant family. It is a ground-dwelling bird that is not built for long, sustained flights, like other migratory birds. They get tired very easily. And, when they are threatened by a predator, they will rely on a quick, explosive burst of energy that will send them into flight. But that flight will likely only yield about 40-50 yards.
So primitive hunters would approach a partridge and chase it back and forth around a field for a few minutes until the bird finally got so tired that it would just concede to being clubbed to death. And this is the metaphor that David uses for himself. He is utterly exhausted and completely worn out.
Here’s what struck me the most, though… David is a hungry, tired nomad that lost everything when he left his hometown of Bethlehem way back in chapter 20. He lost Michal, his first wife. He lost his family. He lost his job. Everything, gone. But the thing that he misses the most? Being among God’s people.
One verse before he refers to himself as a partridge, David says this [paraphrased], “I have been driven out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord. I’ve been tempted to worship other gods.” In other words, “I hate it here. This is torture for my soul. I just want to go back home. I want to go back to Shiloh. I miss the tabernacle. I miss the priests. I miss the sacrifices, and the worship, and the fellowship with my brothers and sisters.” David truly understood the necessity of biblical community.
So now, dear reader, I want to ask you a question that I struggled to contemplate for myself. Does David’s perspective concerning the people of God and the house of God reflect your perspective at all concerning the people of God and the house of God? Do you have a genuine hunger and longing to be among the people of God? Do you look forward to the Sunday morning gathering? Do you prioritize church on your calendar?
I feel confident to stand upon the authority of God’s Word and to tell you that you need to belong to a local church. This is God’s design for you and God’s safeguard for you. You will be spiritually weak and weary – you will be a spiritual partridge – if you are not deeply known by a spiritual family.