David Protected
Introduction
1st Samuel 19
1st Samuel 19
Johnathan becomes David’s advocate
Verses 1-7
Verses 1-7
1 Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David.
“Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his
servants to put David to death.”
Why is Saul now soliciting his son and servants to
kill David?
Remembering back to I Samuel 18:8; Saul was displeased
because the people gave David greater acclaim than the King. Jealousy of David quickly kindled into
hatred.
Saul’s hatred towards David had reached a feverish pitch. In Saul’s desperation he was reaching out to
those he felt could get close to David to kill him.
We know from 1 Samuel 18:1 that Johnathan
Delighted/loved David as himself. We see
Johnathan’s reaction to the king's command in the next verse.
2 So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore, please be on guard in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself.
“Saul my father is seeking to put you to
death.” -
Johnathan finds David, but instead of killing him, he
wanted to protect him from his father’s wrath.
The secret place may have been a cave that only David
and Johnathan knew. According to
Johnathan, David would hear of any threat Saul might make. At this time we do not know where this hidden
place was. However, in the next verse,
we get a clue. “be on guard
in the morning”
-
Why did Johnathan want to wait until the morning to
speak to his father?
Johnathan knew his father would be more reasonable in
the morning, and he would have a better chance to reason with him regarding David.
3 “I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; if I find out anything, then I will tell you.”
stand beside my father in the field where you are -
There is some indication that David might have been
close enough in his location to hear Saul and Johnathan speaking but not close
enough to hear everything.
I will speak with my father about you -
Johnathan was going to try to persuade his father to
give up his quest for David’s death. We
will learn more of this conversation and the approach Johnathan used in verse
4, and Saul’s response.
4 Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you.
“spoke well of David” –
Johnathan spoke of David’s attributes and his loyalty
with his father.
Do not let the king sin against his servant David,
since he has not sinned against you –
David uses logic and fear to convince the king to give
up his death wish for David.
We will see what Johnathan said to his father in the
next three verses.
5 “For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?”
We see in verse five how fervently Johnathan advocates
on David’s behalf.
struck the Philistine
Johnathan reminds his father of the fact that he owes
David a debt for defeating Goliath (the Philistine).
deliverance for all Israel
Saul remembered the promise he made to the one who
would defeat Goliath.
putting David to death without a cause
Appealing to Saul’s honor as a man and King; David
asks his father why.
Only one answer remained for Saul (V6).
6 Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.”
Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan –
‘Listened” - was translated from the Hebrew root word
shama` shaw-mah' meaning; to hear intelligently.
Saul understood what his son was saying, and for a
moment his anger towards David subsided.
Saul vowed –
A vow sworn before the Lord would have bound that Saul
to that vow.
In Numbers 30: 1-16 (“…he shall do according to all
that proceeds out of his mouth”). Even
though this verse referenced marital vows; I believe it applies to all vows
sworn before God.
We should take to heart the words of Paul in Ecclesiastes
5:2.
7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told
him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence
as formerly.
Saul attempts to kill David
8-18
8-18
8 When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines and defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled before him.
Saul had tried to kill David, and yet David remained
faithful and fought the Philistines, and with God’s help defeated them.
9 Now there was an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand.
evil spirit from the Lord
There is no evil in God (Job 34:10). Therefore, evil and good do not coexist. The Spirit of God had already left Saul (I
Samuel 16:14 ). Once the Spirit of
God left Saul, the evil spirit filled the heart of Saul.
What was this evil spirit?
Jealousy once again entered Saul’s heart. Even though Saul had no cause to be jealous
of David, this feeling persisted in him.
Jealousy that persists in a person will bring that
person to rash decisions.
with his spear in his hand
Saul was seething in range instead of David’s music
soothing Saul it served only to increase his rage.
10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
to the wall with the spear -
The wall was probably an interior partition; possibly
constructed of bricks made from straw mixed with clay. Their ancestors learned this method of making bricks
while in captivity in Egypt.
It would have taken a lot of force to drive a spear
through a man’s body pinning it to a stone wall. However, this was Saul’s intention and
considering Saul was a large and powerful man, perhaps that might have been
possible.
David fled and escaped that night -
There was no hiding it now. Saul would not honor his vow. Saul wanted David put to death. David realizing this fled Saul’s court and
escaped into the darkness.
11 Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.”
We are seeing in Saul how Jealousy grows to anger,
then hate, and how hate changes a person’s spirit into a ugly specter.
Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house … -
Saul still feared the people’s scorn, he knew the
people loved David, and there would be trouble if he openly had David put to
death. Therefore, Saul resorted to
subterfuge to kill David, by way of messengers.
The Hebrew word used here is mal'ak mal-awk' from an
unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy.
Michal knew of her father’s treachery and warned her husband.
We do not know how Michal found out about her father’s
plans. We can assume her brother
Johnathan might have told her.
It is apparent to me Michal loved David, and her
loyalty was with her husband. Scripture
tells us the extent of the union of husband and wife (Genesis
2:24 ).
Hate is a powerful tool used by Satan. We have seen how sin begets sin; this simple
true statement should cause us to realize two things:
We
cannot have a close relationship with God and harbor hatred in our hearts
towards anyone; and hate brings
out the darkest thoughts in man, causing him to seek vengeance. However, we know scripture tells us that
“vengeance is mine says the Lord…” (Deuteronomy
32:35, Romans 12:19).
We cannot purge
ourselves of hate, apart from Jesus.
12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. 13 Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.
At Michal’s insistence David escapes through a window
to avoid being seen by the Kings deputies (messengers).
Michal let David down -
Use of the term let down tells me the sleeping
quarters were perhaps on the second floor.
The critical thing to realize here is the presence of
an idol in David’s house. I find it
difficult to believe David for find favor with God and have an idol in his
house. I, therefore, believe perhaps
this idol belonged to Michal. The
disguise was necessary to fool the would-be assassins.
14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death.”
He is sick.” –
Michal told the messengers that David was sick and
could not get out of bed. Michal’s
deception would soon be revealed. The
messengers must have reported David’s illness to Saul who was not satisfied.
that I may put him to death –
Saul impatiently told his messengers to bring David to
him so he might kill him.
16 When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head.
Each pagan culture has its idols to worship. Is it surprising to read of idols in a Hebrew
dwelling?
Not when you consider the history of Israel. As slaves in Egypt (Exodus 32:1). However, the household idols were
called teraphim. “The word teraphim comes from the Hebrew word hatterapim that
in the Bible usually refers to as household idols or
family gods. We first see this word in Genesis 31:19.”(What are teraphim?
- GotQuestions.org)
The surprise is that God would permit such a flagrant
disregard of His commandment “you shall have no other gods before me” (Deuteronomy
5:7).
Teraphim – “…Probably they had been stealthily brought
by Michal from her father's house. "Perhaps," says Bishop Wordsworth,
"Saul, forsaken by God and possessed by the evil spirit, had resorted to
teraphim (as he afterwards resorted to witchcraft); and God overruled evil for
good, and made his very teraphim (by the hand of his own daughter) to be an
instrument for David's escape.", Deane's David, p. 32. Josiah attempted to
suppress this form of idolatry ( 2 Kings 23:24
). The ephod and teraphim are mentioned together in Hosea 3:4 . It has
been supposed by some (Cheyne's Hosea) that the "ephod" here
mentioned, and also in Judges 8:24-27
, was not the part of the sacerdotal dress so called ( Exodus 28:6-14
), but an image of Jehovah overlaid with gold or silver (Compare Judg. 17,18; 1 Samuel 21:9
; 1 Samuel 23:6
1 Samuel 23:9 ;
1 Samuel 30:7 1 Samuel 30:8 ),
and is thus associated with the teraphim. (See THUMMIM
.)” (M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897.)
17 So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’”
Why have you deceived me
Michal was brought before Saul once the deception was
discovered.
Michal, fearing the wrath of her father, lied once
again; saying in effect, she was only obeying the wishes of her husband.
18 Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.
"came to Samuel at Ramah -"
We know from I
Samuel 7:17 Ramah was where Samuel lived.
Everyone would have known where Samuel lived.
David was not only seeking asylum with Samuel but also
guidance as to Saul’s desire to kill him.
Samuel went and stayed in Naioth -
What was special about Naioth?
“the name was given to the prophetical college
established by Samuel near Ramah. It
consisted of a cluster of separate dwellings, and hence its name” [Bible Hub]
God intervenes in Saul’s attempts to kill David
verses 19-24.
verses 19-24.
19 It was told Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied
With Samuel standing and presiding over them -
It was common practice for an older prophet to gather
younger prophets to teach them.
The Spirit of God was upon this place. And those who
Saul had sent were overcome by the Spirit of God, and they acted like the
prophets.
The word prophesied used here, comes from the Hebrew
word “naba‘ naw-baw meaning speak or sing by.
We must bear in mind that we are not talking about foretelling the
future here. They were undoubtedly
speaking as the prophets in a strange tongue.
inspiration” [5]
21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.
22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”
"Where are Samuel and David?" -
Secu may have been somewhere between Gibeah where Saul
lived and Ramah where Samuel lived.
"the large well "
The community well was a place where people
congregated to draw water and perhaps catch up on local gossip. The public well would be the place to go if
you wanted information.
23 He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and
the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying
continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
Once again Saul was overcome by the Holy Spirit. The first time was when Samuel anointed him
as King (1
Samuel 10:10).
The first time the Spirit of God changed his heart and
Saul either sang or spoke in a tongue the same as the prophets. However, this time was different the Spirit
came upon Saul for a different purpose.
Saul acted differently in that he disrobed, as we will see in the next
verse.
24 He also stripped off his clothes, and he too
prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night.
Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
stripped off his clothes –
Some biblical scholars believe Saul took off his armor
and royal robe (the vestige of a King) and began behaving as the prophets.
lay down naked –
The word naked was translated from the Hebrew
word `arowm aw-rome' or marom
{aw-rome'}; from 6191
(in its original sense); nude, either partially or totally:--naked. See
HEBREW for 06191
[5]
Having done my own research I have concluded that Saul
was not completely naked. Both root
words means to be prudent or crafty, and in this case God was causing Saul to
cast off his garments of kingship (See also (1
Samuel 17:27)
.
End of Chapter Discussion
Johnathan becomes David’s advocate
Saul attempts to kill David
God intervenes in Saul’s attempts to kill David
Credits Citations and Web links
[1] –scripture verses from Cross wire Study Bible
[2] - commentaries
by /Jamison-Fausset-brown
(published in 1871)
[3] – Wikipedia.org
[5] - Bible
Hub concordance
