Lectionary Thoughts: August 23

1 Samuel 15 – 2 Samuel 6

The story of salvation is the story of two Adams. According to Paul in Romans 5 (and elsewhere), the first Adam plunged his descendants into sin, condemnation and death. And the second Adam (Jesus), in similar fashion, plunges his descendants into righteousness, acceptance and life.

So, not surprisingly, in the Old Testament, we see many re-tellings of the “faithless Adam” story accompanied by foreshadows of the “faithful Adam-to-come.” The story of Saul and David is one such story/foreshadowing.

Saul, like Adam, began his reign under the blessing of God. But when Saul failed to put Agag, the wicked Amalekite king to death, Saul lost both the favor of God and his place in the kingdom. Adam failed to dispatch the wicked serpent, and as a result lost the favor of God and his place in the Garden. Saul was, in the end, overcome and put to death by an Amalekite, the very enemy that he had failed to dispatch earlier (2 Samuel 1:8-10). Adam is cursed with death for heeding the wicked counsel of the enemy that he had failed to dispatch in the Garden.

David is victorious over the Amalekites, obliterating them and rescuing those of his own that had been captured by the Amalekites (1 Sam. 30:17-18). Jesus is victorious over his enemies - Satan and death -  (Heb. 2:14), rescuing those that had been imprisoned by them in the grave (Eph. 4:8-9).

Then Samuel gives us a very interesting detail as the Amalekite who slew Saul relates to David how it happened:

“So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.” (2 Samuel 1:10)

    

An Amalekite, a member of the tribe that Saul had faithlessly failed to dispatch earlier, kills Saul, removes his crown and gives it to David. Think about it: the enemy that was Saul’s undoing was the instrument that God used to transfer kingdom authority from Saul to David. And directly after he received the crown, David dispatched the one who brought it to him (2 Sam. 1:15). Eleven-hundred years later, Adam’s arch-enemies, Satan/death, were the very instruments used by God to put the crown on Jesus’ head (Philip. 2:8-9). And in Jesus’ death, the power of Satan and death were destroyed forever.

As Jesus said to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, all the Old Testament is about him. Jesus is indeed the last Adam who succeeded gloriously where the first Adam failed miserably. And the one who in his death, has conquered death for us. As the people marveled about Jesus in Mark 7:37, “He has done all things well.” Amen, and amen!