A Tale of Three Kings

by Gene Edwards

Yet even this element of God cannot accomplish its task nor grow and fill your entire inner being unless it is compounded well. It must be mixed lavishly with pain, sorrow, and crushing.”

“Each, in his time, shall be king.”

Then do you find it strange that this remarkable event led the young man not to the throne but to a decade of hellish agony and suffering? On that day, David was enrolled, not into the lineage of royalty but into the school of brokenness.

Saul felt threatened by David,

as kings often do when there is a popular, promising young man beneath them. The king also knew, as did David, that this boy just might have his job some day.

David was caught in a very uncomfortable position;

God did not have—but wanted very much to have—men and women who would live in pain.

God wanted a broken vessel.

And what about your king? Is he the Lord’s anointed?

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 ...

God has this school because he does not have broken men

He has people who claim to have God’s authority

and don’t...

people who claim to be br...

and a...

All of these he has in abundance, but broken men and women, hardly at all.

Because all students in this school must suffer much pain.

it is often the unbroken ruler (whom God sovereignly picks) who metes out the pain.

David was once a student in this school, and Saul was God’s chose...

He knew that God had placed him in the king’s palace under true authority.

The authority of King Saul was true? Yes, God’s chosen authority. Chosen for David. Unbroken authority, yes. But divine in ordination, nonetheless.

David drew in his breath, placed himself under his mad king, and moved farther down the path of his earthly hell.

Chapter 6 What do you when a spear is thrown at you?

David had a question: What do you do when someone throws a spear at you?

Why, you pick up the spear and throw it right back!

You are courageous. You stand for the right.

You boldly stand against the wrong.

You will not stand for injustice or unf...

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 do when spears are thrown.

Something was different about David. All he did was dodge the spears.

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.

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 ...

You cannot tell (none of us can) who is the Lord’s anointed and who is not.

“Is this man the Lord’s anointed? And if he is, is he after the order of King Saul?”

No one knows the answer. Except God. And he never tells.

“Many times he almost speared you to death in his palace. I saw that with my own eyes. Finally, you ran away.

Furthermore, the whole world believes the lies he tells about you.

But tonight you had him at the end of his own spear and you did nothing!

“Better he kill me than I learn his ways. Better he kill me than I become as he is. I shall not practice the ways that cause kings to go mad. I will not throw spears, nor will I allow hatred to grow in my heart. I will not avenge. I will not destroy the Lord’s anointed. Not now. Not ever!”

That night men went to bed on cold, wet stone and muttered about their leader’s distorted, masochistic views of relationships to kings—especially mad ones.

that God might yet be able to give his authority to a trustworthy vessel.

Many pray for the power of God. More every year. Those prayers sound powerful, sincere, godly, and without ulterior motive. Hidden under such prayer and fervor, however, are ambition, a craving for fame, the desire to be considered a spiritual giant.

The person who prays such a prayer may not even know it, but dark motives and desires are in his heart . . . in your heart.

Prayer for power is the quick and the short way, circumnavigating internal growth.