The Spear

My annual Bible reading has me in 1 Samuel lately, and something is jumping out at me that has never struck me in this way before. 

If you want to have some biblical fun, go read 1 Samuel (it might take a couple of days) and take a closer look at Saul, the first king of Israel. Specifically, look at how many times the Bible tells us he had his spear. 

You may remember the stories. King Saul is at a dinner, and David is there, and a tormenting spirit is there, so sometime in the middle of the meal, Saul picks up his spear and hurls it at David, intending to peg him to the wall. 

A bit later, there's another dinner. David is absent this time; Jonathan is using the opportunity to gauge Saul's actual hatred for the son of Jesse, and Saul, in his anger, picks up his spear and hurls it at Jonathan, who takes off running to go tell David that what he's feared is really, actually true. 

A few chapters later, there is a scene where Saul is sitting under a tree. Sitting under a tree. And the Bible tells us that he had his spear next to him. 

It was at this point in my reading that I actually made a note in my journal - Does Saul just always have his spear with him? Seriously. He has it at dinner. Twice. He has it while he's sitting under a tree. It's starting to give me a whole new impression of this king of Israel. 

Then, just a few mornings ago, I'm still reading, and Saul has gone out with his men to chase David...again. And David sneaks into Saul's camp, where everyone is in a deep sleep (as provided by the Lord), and Saul has his spear stuck in the ground near his head. 

At this point, I just laughed. 

I mean, c'mon. Go ahead and read it for yourself if you don't believe me. But every time we see King Saul, his spear is certain to be somewhere nearby. 

Now, you might be tempted to say...he's the king. He's the commander of Israel's army. He's often in battle. It only makes sense that he always has a weapon with him. But at dinner? 

The truth is, we don't see this detail added for any of the other kings we read about in the Bible. No one else we're talking about has a weapon always close at hand. None of the other commanders are eating with their fork in one and and their spear within arm's reach. 

Just Saul. 

It's worth it, then, to ask...why? Why can't Saul go anywhere or do anything without his spear? Why is it so near and dear to him? 

It's not because he is a warrior. I'll tell you that much.