1 & 2 Samuel

1 Samuel Chapter 18

David and Jonathan's Friendship

1Samuel 18:1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

Many of us had a best friend at one time in our lives. Jonathan and David became trusted friends. They became friends who would never betray each other. Jonathan stood by David. David grieved over both of them when they were killed in battle. We could all benefit having faithful friends who would never betray us.

1Samuel 18:2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.
3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

This was a custom at one time when people had a strong friendship and respect for each other. To give gifts to each other. I remember one time my dad took me and my sister to visit my cousins. We were just small children. My cousins began to bring out their best toys and lay them upon our laps to play with. Of course we didn't take them home with us but it was a token of respect and friendship I've never forgotten. Jonathan's and David's friendship was one of respect and loyalty. Both of them later married wives and had children but they stayed friends. A lot of us move on when we start families and lose contact with old friends we had a school. They kept their friendship even when Jonathan's father began to hate David.

1Samuel 18:5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

People liked David because he was a man that earned their admiration and trust. He was willing to fight to protect them like he did for his father's sheep. Looks like at first Saul took David into his own circle of people surrounding him like many kings did but later got jealous of David.

Saul's Jealousy of David

1Samuel 18:6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.
7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

This type of thing is never good. I see it in today's world too. It is never good to make comparisons of people. If they would have given God the glory and be thankful for all victories instead of making comparisons by putting down one to exalt another, prehaps Saul would not have been jealous. How could we ever be jealous of our God? We need to guard against the temptation of being jealous of another person. We can actually get feelings of murder in our hearts without even actually doing any murder. Letting it get started within us, is opening a door we don't want to open. As for actual murder, it was the cause of the very first murder when Cain killed his brother Abel. That one was over religion when God accepted his brother's sacrifice but not his because one was of faith and the other was not. Reference for this is in Hebrews11:4.

Here we see Saul become insanely jealous of David. His disobedence was the start of all this. He could have genuinely repented of his disobedence and God may have reversed His plan to replace Him with another person as king but instead Saul gave in to the temptation to hate and kept his position as king not realizing this thing was God's will not his own desires.

In the New Testament we see the religious Pharisees jealous of Jesus in that the people followed Jesus when the sick were healed and miracles were done that they couldn't do themselves. The Pharisees' power over the people was threatened and instead of believing in Jesus themselves and being reconciled to God, they chose to allow jealousy to rule their spirit and ended up desiring His death. Even though that is why Jesus came, to die for our sins, the Pharisees missed out on something so wonderful that there is not enough words to discribe it.

Forgiveness of sins, faith in Jesus as savior and lord, and receiving the Holy Spirit that is given to those that believe in Jesus gives us power over the fleshly feelings that cause us to hate. We still have the power to choose to give into evil but God gives us power over them if we are determined to yield to His power and not return to our own fleshly ways. We can overcome jealousy and hate.

1Samuel 18:8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

Although God would be willing to give Saul victory over a jealous spirit, because Saul didn't pursue this and instead gave into his own weakness and temptations, God withdrew His spirit from Saul and allowed an evil spirit to enslave him. Our free will comes into play here. There is a verses in the New Testament that says we can resist the devil and he will flee. Saul's will was weak and that allowed the spirit of jealousy to rule over him. God permitted this because of his hard headed disobedience and his refusal to repent fully when he sinned against God previously. This is why repentance is necessary for our disobedience and sins.

I see something else here. Saul thought to himself, "What can he have more but the kingdom?" Saul should have known God would remove him from being king. Samuel told him as much after Saul disobeyed God. Saul seems to be one who refused to believe the words of Saul and erased it from his mind or else he didn't care what Samuel said he believed he had a right to be king because God chose that for him in the beginning.

Here is the words of Samuel.

1Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

The rest of the story of why Saul was rejected is in 1 Samuel chapter 15.

1Samuel 18:10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

False spirits can also prophesy and on occasion speak truth but we know them by their fruits, not by their words. Just because something comes to pass does not always mean a prophesy is from God. If the fruit of the spirit is not present, then we know the difference between the two. This type of thing takes deep study and walking with the Lord asking Him for discernment. We must walk in love and bring forth fruit. Jealousy can really cause us to go the wrong way.

In the book of James we can see what causes this and how to overcome it:

James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Jesus gives us a better way to live. We don't have to walk in envy and lose our relationship with God.
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

God did not allow Saul to harm David no matter what he planned as we shall see.

1 Samuel 18:14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.
15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

1Samuel 18:17 And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

Saul hoped David would die by the hand of the Philistines in battle. He is not taking into account the fact that God had a hand in David's life in that He (God) has already anointed David to be king. Saul is the one who later becomes a victim in the battle with the Philistines, not David. We will find out later in the chapter why Saul wanted him to marry one of his daughters.

1Samuel 18:18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?

David seemed to be an humble person who thought he was unworthy to be a son in law to the king. He didn't seem to allow anything to rob him of his humility but stayed humble in the sight of the Lord. His confidence was in God not in his own strength.

1Samuel 18:19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.

Why this was done is not stated here. Perhaps Merab was already attracted to someone else although it seems like the children had no say in who they married. Perhaps he didn't intend to give his daughter to David at all but just to humiliate him by giving her to another.

We usually pick our own spouses today at least in the free world. Since there is so many divorces though we don't seem to be doing all that great in picking spouses. There are exceptions to that of course. I know plenty of couples that stayed married to the same spouse and never divorced. I am one of those myself. Perhaps too that is why so many in biblical times had more than one wife. I remember in the case of Jacob. He was tricked into taking Leah to be his wife when he wanted to marry Rachel. Moses in the law warned kings not to multiply wives. It does seem to get them into a lot of trouble. Both David and Solomon had trouble in this area.

1Samuel 18:20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.

One of the twain just meant one of his two daughters. Saul was hoping to use Michal to be a snare and cause David to die. Again we see that God's call on David's life protected him from anything Saul did to kill him out of jealousy.

1Samuel 18:22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son in law.
23 And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.
25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired.
27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.
28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him.
29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually.
30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.

Nothing Saul plotted against David worked out at all. David thought of himself as a poor man unworthy to be the king's son in law. Usually a king picked a rich person to marry his daughters. However, we know that Saul had David's death in mind overriding any other motive he may have had.

It was a common practice for the future son in law to provide a dowry to marry daughters at least among the wealthy. Saul thought of this hoping the Philitines would kill David instead. No way would he imagine David as being victorious in this type of thing. Reminds me of some of the things Samson did to overcome incredible odds against him.

Even though Saul realzied God was with David and protected him, it didn't stop his jealousy and he hated David even more. If Saul would have just accepted the will of God and submitted to that will his life would not have ended so badly as we shall see in later chapters. David became even more greatly esteemed by those that saw these events. DC

1 Samuel Chapter 19