Saul And Messiah

As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “I really don’t know,” Abner declared. “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him. As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said. And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.” [1 Samuel 17.55-58] 

This story is commonly known as the story of David and Goliath. However today, let's consider it the story of Saul and Messiah. It's a story of lineage and Lordship.

We must remember that the spirit of the LORD had left Saul by this time. Saul was operating by the tormenting spirit of depression. Reality was setting in for Saul. Depression was (and could only be) the result of the spirit of the LORD leaving him with fear not far in succession. Saul knew the anointing was critical to his role as king.

The irony of Saul's question is that, by its very existence, the posterity of the Messiah is revealed! Thus, the father of David was important! It should be noted what the Bible said about David's father: 

Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. [1 Samuel 17.12] 

When David answered Saul's question about his father, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem,” Saul, having just witnessed David's actions in defeating Goliath, had all the information he needed to go into panic mode - from depression to fear to defense. David, from Bethlehem, was of the tribe of Judah. Consider the following passage (that Saul would have known) about the beginning and history of the tribe of Judah:

Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children. [Genesis 29.25] 

Saul would not necessarily have been suspicious about David's skill in praise regarding his lineage, even though David, a descendant of Judah, was indeed a highly skilled man of praise (having written many of the Psalms). However, when David, like a mighty king, stood before Saul with Goliath's head in his hands, Saul's closer attention to David's lineage now starts to make sense. We must remember what Saul first said to Samuel when Samuel anointed him king: 

Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?” [1 Samuel 9.21]

Why would Saul have said this? No doubt it was because Saul was aware that, by virtue of the fact of Abraham's prophecy over Judah regarding the word "scepter," Benjamin simply did not factor in as royalty (lineage of kings). 

“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. [Genesis 49.8-11] 

Having undoubtedly known this particular passage from Moses' writings, Saul would have understood the significance of the word "scepter" as the indication of royalty. It is not surprising then that Saul, being of the tribe of Benjamin, furthermore understood his lowly (in comparison) status regarding the throne. Thus, Saul responded to Samuel  as he did in 1 Samuel 9.21 above when Samuel anointed him as king of Israel.

Saul understood that lineage mattered. And then the fear that followed the depression of losing the anointing of the spirit of the LORD set in. That fear settled Saul's fate in history.

Fast forward to Jesus.

Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” [Matthew 22.41-42]

Jesus asked the Pharisees this question to remind them that they too knew the significance of lineage. Jesus was giving them opportunity to "connect the dots" of all the facts surrounding Himself: tribe of Judah (Genesis 49.8-11), born in Bethlehem (Micah 5.2), intercessor (see Genesis 37.26), healed the sick (Isaiah 61.1-3)...

The tormenting spirit Saul was left with after God removed His spirit from him was, in fact, the spirit of antichrist long before Jesus entered the scene. Depression and fear always go against Jesus. The Pharisees were operating in the exact same spirit of antichrist. And, even though we may or may not "oppose" Jesus, if we operate in and through depression and fear, opposing Jesus is the outcome just the same.

Father, may we be found embracing Jesus in every way; from lineage to Lordship - filled with Your Spirit - leaving no room for depression and fear. So be it.