In my reading of 1 Samuel today, Saul throws a spear at David for the second time. 

But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape (emphasis added).

1 Samuel 19:9-10 (NIV)

One thing that occurred to me when reading this verse was that if Saul hadn’t been holding a spear in the safety of his house, he might not have thrown it at David. While the notion might seem obvious, we must consider why Saul is holding a spear in the safety of his house, far from any enemies. Sane people don’t carry weapons in the safety of their homes.

Consider this verse from Proverbs.

Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.

Proverbs 11:27 (NIV)

In other words, trouble will find you if you go looking for trouble. That’s what we see with Saul. We know that David played the lyre for Saul because he was tormented, and Saul was tormented because the Spirit of the Lord had left him. Indeed, in its place came madness. However, Saul didn’t just sit in his throne room with his spear. He also had it with him at the dinner table. 

But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.

1 Samuel 20:33-34 (NIV)

In 1 Samuel 20, everyone had sat down for the New Moon feast, and there was Saul with his spear. When David didn’t show up for two days in a row, he got angry at Jonathan because he knew that he and David were friends, so he tried to kill his own son. I’m reminded of something Paul said.

And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

Ephesians 4:26-27 (NLT)

That’s what we see with Saul. An angry and disturbed man, sitting around his house, brooding about David while holding onto his spear. 

Although Saul’s spear was literal, he held onto it while hanging around at home. I also see it as a metaphor for temptation. Think about it. Saul was jealous of David, and he often thought about killing him. However, Saul was too smart to try to kill David himself, at least at first. After a while, it didn’t matter if anyone knew that Saul wanted David dead as long as David died. Still, we know that Saul struggled with not killing David up to a certain point in time because David wouldn’t hang around a guy who wanted him dead. Which is why David ended up taking off in the first place. However, if Saul hadn’t sat around holding onto that spear, it would have been easier not to try to kill David with it.

In Matthew 5, Jesus gives us insight into temptation.

And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:30 (NIV)

In other words, keeping things around us that might cause us to sin is not a good idea. For Saul, his spear was one of those things. 

As Christians, we, too, hold onto things we shouldn’t, things that cause us to sin. Therefore, if you have anything in your life that’s like Saul’s spear, get rid of it.