Again, let us observe how wonderfully our God works to fulfill His purposes. Just as God had raised up the prophet Samuel in the house of Eli to take Eli’s place when His judgments were poured out on the priesthood, so now God would raise up David in the house of Saul to take Saul’s place when God’s judgments fell on the kingdom. And then the priesthood having been judged and purged, and the kingdom judged and purged, David comes on the scene as a new "king-priest" to establish a priestly kingdom in the land. This is what God had in mind from the beginning, and He announced His intention to Moses. It was human failure that prevented it from happening then. But in the hour of human failure God continues to move in the earth to the eventual fulfillment of all that was originally in His heart and mind. Of course we are not trying to say that the "royal priesthood" was established in any sense of fullness in the life of David. But in type--and in a limited degree--David was prophet, priest, and king in Israel. And in the fullness of time his greater Son would sit and rule upon David’s throne, a King-Priest forever "after the order of Melchizedek." We all know the story concerning the anointing of David as king of Israel, how one by one the sons of Jesse passed by the aging prophet, only to be rejected. Finally they had to send to the fields to bring in the one that Jesse had not even considered eligible for the office. And when the lad David came in, God said to Samuel, "Arise, anoint him: for this is he" (1 Sam. 16:12). A new king for Israel! Anointed by the prophet Samuel! And anointed by the Spirit of the LORD "from that day forward"! Yes, but not in a position to rule and reign as yet. A man like Saul can be chosen, anointed, acclaimed as king, and immediately begin to do exploits for the nation. Not so with David. Yes, he had a very notable victory over the Philistines, and served under Saul for a while with great success. But he must go through many deep waters and dark valleys and suffer much persecution, frustration, and perplexity, before he could be entrusted to rule and reign over Israel. Two anointed kings in Israel--Saul and David! The contest is on, and it grows more and more bitter as the days go by. But let us understand the nature of the contest. It was very much one-sided. Saul out of envy and jealousy was out to trap David and slay him. But David’s only concern was to wait for God, do God’s will, and save Saul’s life. Let us learn from the spirit of David... for it would become his "key" to the throne. He would not seek to uphold or vindicate his own office. He would simply believe what God had promised, and let God bring it to pass in His own way. He would show mercy to Saul, as Saul scoured the land to find him and try to kill him. He would remember God’s past mercies, and His faithfulness, thereby drawing strength for new battles. He would praise and glorify God in all circumstances. He would wait on the Lord, and let God work everything out in His own way, in His own time. God help us all to learn how to use this wonderful "key." We only keep what we give away. We only find what we lose. We only save the life that we are prepared to lay down.