So if you were there on Sunday, skip the next three paragraphs of context from Gene Edwards’ A Tale of Three Kings, and go to the final paragraph. For those who weren’t there, know you missed a great day and read the first three paragraphs so you won’t be lost in the last one.
The mad king saw David as a threat to the king’s kingdom. Saul did not understand, it seems, that God should be left to decide what kingdoms survive which threats. Not knowing this, Saul did what all mad kings do. He threw spears at David. He could. He was king. Kings can do things like that. They almost always do. Kings claim the right to throw spears. Everyone knows that kings have that right. Everyone knows very, very well. How do they know? Because the king has told them so—many, many times. If your king is truly the Lord’s anointed, and if he also throws spears, then there are some things you can know, and know for sure: Your king is quite mad. And he is a king after the order of King Saul.
David had a question: What do you do when someone throws a spear at you? Does it seem odd to you that David did not know the answer to this question? After all, everyone else in the world knows what to do when a spear is thrown at you. Why, you pick up the spear and throw it right back! “When someone throws a spear at you, David, just wrench it out of the wall and throw it back. Everyone else does, you can be sure.” And in performing this small feat of returning thrown spears, you will prove many things: You are courageous. You stand for the right. You boldly stand against the wrong. You are tough and can’t be pushed around. You will not stand for injustice or unfair treatment. You are the defender of the faith, keeper of the flame, detector of all heresy. You will not be wronged. All of these attributes then combine to prove that you are also a candidate for kingship. Yes, perhaps you are the Lord’s anointed. After the order of King Saul. There is also a possibility that some twenty years after your coronation, you will be the most incredibly skilled spear thrower in all the realm. And also by then . . . Quite mad.
What can a man, especially a young man, do when the king decides to use him for target practice? What if the young man decides not to return the compliment? First of all, he must pretend he cannot see spears. Even when they are coming straight at him. Second, he must learn to duck very quickly. Last, he must pretend nothing happened. You can easily tell when someone has been hit by a spear. He turns a deep shade of bitter. David never got hit. Gradually, he learned a very well-kept secret. He discovered three things that prevented him from ever being hit. One, never learn anything about the fashionable, easily mastered art of spear throwing. Two, stay out of the company of all spear throwers. And three, keep your mouth tightly closed. In this way, spears will never touch you, even when they pierce your heart.
There you have it. Spears come in all shapes and sizes and from every direction and they always leave behind that “deep shade of bitter.” They come from those in authority of us as was David’s dilemma. From those we are in authority over (you will hear about that more this Sunday). And as we are all well aware spear throwing among peers can become a contagious destructive hobby (both in the live and virtual worlds). But the spears I want to have us keep in mind the most this week are the ones we sadly become quite skilled at delivering and receiving around family tables of celebration – for we often save the most accurate and painful sort of spear throwing for those we love the most. So when Uncle Stu slings a spear across the table on Thursday, berating you for your taste in politics, parenting style, or faith in Christ … just remember to duck and think twice about before you launch it back at him.