1 & 2 Samuel

1 Samuel Chapter 19

Saul Tries to Kill David

1Samuel 19:1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.

Now we see that Saul's true motive that was previously hidden within his heart comes out in the open as sin usually does. In a way, it's a good thing because it made Jonathan aware of his father's desires. Jonathan did not agree with his father at all.

1Samuel 19:2 But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:
3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.

Some would call Jonathan one who betrays but I would disagree. I wonder sometimes if those that were killed in the past for being a traitor might have just disagreed with the ones in charge. To me a true traitor would be one who pretended to go along with the program but in his heart he was deceptive and worked against those in charge. If one is open and let's it be known how he believes, I don't think he is a traitor because then we all at times would be a traitor unless we are the type that go along to get along and never speak out against things that are not right. To kill an innocent person is never right.

1Samuel 19:4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:
5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

I'm going to quote the words of Dake here: "This is one of the most appealing pleas for righteousness from a son to a father on record. It struck right at the root of the matter and covered every general principle involved between the two men. It cleared David of any wrongdoing and indicted Saul of extreme selfishness and jealousy before God and man. It cleared the injustice regarding an innocent, blameless, faithful man. It showed what a godly man will do for God and his country, being an example for all to follow. It was a most touching defense of a friend, a man of God, and a true patriot who had risked his life for the good of his people and saved them in a desperate crisis."

1Samuel 19:6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

We see here a spiritual struggle that many suffer. They admit their wrong doing one day but do not get complete victory over it and it returns when something happens to stir up the evil within them. As we shall see.

Jonathan though we see here as a peacemaker and one who stands up for what is right. He knew harming David would be a great wrong that would haunt them for the rest of their lives and probably into eternity.

1Samuel 19:8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.

That old spirit of jealousy rose up again and Saul's previous repentance fled from him. We must remember that this same evil spirit caused the very first murder in the beginning when Cain killed his brother Abel.

1Samuel 19:10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
11 Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.

Saul now is getting desperate. His jealousy is out of control and now he is instructing his soldiers to watch his home and slay David. Fear and jealousy is at play here.

I see this now in my own country. Some who we use to trust as those who were once heroes who brought down real criminals, have changed into those that go after people for political reasons to try to find a crime to bring them down with. Most of them they go after is innocent like David.
Fear and jealousy is dangerous. It also can spread. It is the cause of wars and much bloodshed. Good innocent people can turn into people of vengeance in return. The innocent may be under such pressure that they become evil and want revenge and begin to do the same things. I often wonder if something bad may have happened in Hitler's past to cause him to fear and hate so much that he changed into a person that wanted to steal, kill and destroy instead.

Thankfully David didn't change but continued to have compassion on Saul instead. This probably broke his heart for he loved Saul and Saul's family.

1Samuel 19:12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.
13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.

Saul's original plan to have David marry Michal was that she would be a snare to David and Saul would be abel to slay David easier. Michal at that time loved David and sought to deliver him, taking his side against her father. In this Michal did right.

1Samuel 19:17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

Michal let her father believe that David threatened her with death and then fled.

1Samuel 19:18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

David fled to Samuel. He could have went to his friends and fought against Saul but he instead went to the one he thought could help Saul. He refused to harm Saul and take vengeance against him.

1Samuel 19:19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

Our merciful God intervenes and gives Saul and chance to see the error of his ways. When Saul sees the hand of God hindering his evil jealous ways, will he repent and realize God's will is to put David on the throne? We shall see the struggles of Saul here. He bounces back and forth but fails to permanently resist evil. We sometimes struggle like this against our weaknesses and our sins. We can overcome but we must be determined to put God first and resist evil temptations such as jealousy. If we don't those human traits we might have whether it is addiction to drugs and alcohol, hate, sexual sins, the lust for wealth, or any other things Satan tempts us with to bring us down.

Jealousy is a bad one to have but we can overcome through steadfast determination to have the power of God in our lives instead of giving into evil.

The school of prophets are those that want to know more about God and they seek out others of like faith. Prophesy is not just foretelling the future. It can be praise, exhortation, proclaiming the word of God by the Holy Spirit and speaking out boldly even if they normally are shy about public speaking. In the New Testament prophesy is more about the gospel of Jesus, praising Jesus both in a language understood or tongues and interpretation. Anyone to seeks God and loves His word can prophesy when the Holy Spirit comes upon them especially after the coming of Jesus. We can read more of this in the New Testament.

1Samuel 19:22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.
23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

He took off his royal robes or outer garments down to his tunic and began also to sing, pray and prophesy. The spirit of God was so strong that it even affected Saul and brought back what he use to have when he was first called to be king. God was giving him a way out of the evil that had overtaken him. God is so good and merciful. He doesn't just slay Saul to remove him from being king. He gives him a chance to overcome and not yield to evil. If only......if only he would have stayed that way. Who knows but what God would have let him live longer and be king longer and have David take over at a later time when Saul was too old or something. This is my speculation but things only ended badly for Saul later on because it was his own choice. God gives us a choice and a way out but we have to decide to follow him or our human instincts. DC

1 Samuel Chapter 20