Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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Saul Chased David
Saul and his men chased David - not sure where “Crags of the Wild Goats” were.
Saul’s men find a place to camp - favorable to them.
Probably near water (because of the sheeps pens) and the cave gave them protection from the elements but also a sense of safety.
God’s providence is seen here.
Israel is littered with caves and outcroppings where Saul could have rested, and yet it was in the very one David was hiding in that he chose.
David Tempted to take the Easy way Out
David’s men saw this as an opportunity.
God has given your enemy to you.
Take advantage of it.
The men viewed this as God’s providence to “give (David’s) enemy into (his) hands…) This prophecy is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture and probably represents an example of false prophecy (cf.
); alternatively, it may have been a genuine prophecy relating to non-Israelite enemies misapplied to Saul.
David moves secretly to where Saul was and uses his weapon, but not to attack Saul.
Instead he cuts off the hem of his robe.
This act was far from meaningless because David’s confiscation of a portion of the royal robe signified the transfer of power from the house of Saul to the house of David.
Furthermore, by removing the corner of the robe, David made Saul’s robe to be in a state of noncompliance with Torah requirements (cf.
; ); thus, Saul’s most obvious symbol of kingship was made unwearable.
In essence, David had symbolically invalidated Saul’s claim to kingship.
This act was far from meaningless because David’s confiscation of a portion of the royal robe signified the transfer of power from the house of Saul to the house of David.
Furthermore, by removing the corner of the robe, David made Saul’s robe to be in a state of noncompliance with Torah requirements (cf.
; ); thus, Saul’s most obvious symbol of kingship was made unwearable.
In essence, David had symbolically invalidated Saul’s claim to kingship.115
115 Gordon notes that “in Mesopotamia the hem of a person’s garment could be used in the person’s absence as a means of authentication” and speculates accordingly that David interpreted his actions toward Saul as “tantamount to a violation of Saul’s—sacrosanct (6)—person” (I and II Samuel, 179).
Along this line, note the comment by V. H. Matthews: “The rather elaborate hems with suspended tassels found on most garments in the ancient Near East symbolized the ranks of kings and their advisers as well as the military” (Manners and Customs in the Bible [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1988], 119).
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 239.
This prophecy is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture and probably represents an example of false prophecy (cf.
); alternatively, it may have been a genuine prophecy relating to non-Israelite enemies misapplied to Saul.
David’s Conviction
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 239.
Despite this, David is immeditely convicted.
He knew that God said that he would give Saul’s kingdom to him, but David was tempted like Abraham and a host of others to “help” God accomplish his purposes.
We can be guilty of this too.
We get so caught up in life that we feel God is not doing things on our time-frame and so we help him along.
David refuses - and David Announces what he could have done (v.
8-15)
David treated the king properly, not because of anything the king had done or might do, but because of what the Lord had done.
David’s respect for human authority was based on his respect for divine authority.
We often seek to destroy those who attack us - But David shows Christian grace, must as Christ shows grace to us.
Saul’s Responses to Grace
Grace can be the thing that brings about repentance.
Begging him to grant two requests, he first asked that his successor “not cut off my seed” (v.
21; Hb. v. 22; NIV, “descendants”)—that is, that David not follow the ancient Near Eastern custom of exterminating all descendants of his dynastic predecessor (cf.
discussion at 20:14).
Second, he requested that David not “wipe out my name from my father’s family,” a request closely related to the first but emphasizing the preservation of a link between Saul and his forebears.
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