I love the books of 1 and 2 Samuel because they contain many stories that are illustrations of real lessons in life. In the long section concerned with David's being persecuted and tried by Saul, there are two striking points—God's sovereignty and David's taking the lessons of the cross. My burden in this brief message is to speak a word regarding these two points.
The first striking point in this portion of 1 Samuel is God's sovereignty. It is crucial for us to have a vision of God's sovereignty. As the sovereign One, God is above everything, behind everything, and in everything.
On the one hand, God prepared David to be a man according to His heart for His kingdom. On the other hand, God prepared a Saul to perfect David by testing him and putting him on trial. Saul was produced and prepared through God's sovereignty. Without Saul, David would have been greatly lacking in perfecting. David's father and brothers did not care very much for him. David received only a limited perfecting through his experience with the lion and the bear. The greatest part of David's perfecting took place through Saul. Under God's sovereignty, Saul was an excellent perfecter.
In His sovereignty God not only prepared Saul to perfect David but also prepared Jonathan, the son of Saul, and Michal, the daughter of Saul who became David's wife, to help David. Apart from the help rendered by Jonathan and Michal, David could not have endured being persecuted and tried by Saul. The sovereign God prepared David and, for David's sake, He also prepared Saul, Jonathan, and Michal.