Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 27:30 
Theme: Obedience

One of the greatest historians of the past century was a man by the name of Samuel Elliot Morrison. During the course of his life, Morrison taught at Harvard, Yale and a number of other prestigious institutions. At the end of his illustri­ous career, a retirement party was thrown for him, and at that party someone asked him if he could sum up what his study of history had taught him about life.

Morrison thought for a moment, and then said that history showed him that life was very much like a game of poker. Certain nations are dealt good hands in terms of people, land and resources but they play the game poorly by squandering what they're given and they end up losing the game. Other nations are dealt very little in terms of people, land and resources but they play their hand well and as a result they end up winning the game. Morrison con­cluded that history shows us that it's not the hand you're dealt but how you play the hand you've got that determines whether or not you win or lose at the game of life.

As I've thought about it, it seems that Morrison's analysis is true not just of nations and countries but also of people. Some people have been dealt a tremendous hand in life: they're attractive, intelligent, capable, come from good families and have great health. Others have been dealt a bad hand in life: they've suffered some tremendous handicaps and setbacks. Their spouse walked out or family members have died, they've suffered from poor health or some kind of disability or they were physically or sexually abused.

And yet the issue for most people in life doesn't really seem to be "the hand they've been dealt" nearly as much as it seems to be "how they play the hand they've been dealt."

We think of a person like Abraham Lincoln who was raised in abject pover­ty, wasn't anything special to look at, had some tremendous problems and losses in his life, served as President at the time of our nation's gravest crisis and yet became one of the greatest leaders the United States has ever known.

Or we think of a person like Helen Keller who was born deaf and blind and could hardly speak, yet graduated from Radcliffe College, became a talented social worker and went on to become an inspiration to millions around the world for her accomplishments.

Regardless of the hand we've been dealt, all of us want to win at the game of life so we need to ask: How do we do that? Is there a key that will enable us to manage our lives and our circumstances in such a way that when life is over, we can say that we handled it well and honored God?

The Contrast of Two Kings

I believe there is such a principle and we see it in many places throughout Scripture. But it's clearly illustrated in the contrasting background and behavior of Israel's first two kings, Saul and David.

Saul was dealt a good hand in life: he was tall, dark and handsome — a natural born leader who was chosen to be king by the people of Israel. David, on the other hand, wasn't dealt a very good hand by life's circumstances. He was the youngest son of eight boys, a shepherd who spent long, cold nights and hot summer days tending the sheep alone and fighting off lions and bears.

He was obviously gifted, but when recruited to Saul's court, he was persecuted and hounded by the king and ended up liv­ing in the wilderness, on the run for years. David's early career was not exactly what many of us would label the "good life." But in time he became Israel's greatest leader and Saul's life ended in disgrace and disaster.

So what was it that David had and Saul lacked? What was it that enabled David to win at life despite his disadvantages and why did Saul, despite all his advantages, fail to do the same? The answer to those questions comes to us in the stories that cover chapters 27-30 of I Samuel. The stories have been arranged by the author in such way that they provide a comparison and contrast of the two men and, most importantly, they reveal what made David a success and Saul a failure. Let's begin by looking at King Saul's actions as recorded in chapter 28.