Saul Attempts to Kill David David part 2 Last time, we saw how David, who was only a boy at that time, bravely faced the giant Philistine Goliath and slew him. David s confidence comes from his trust in the Lord. 1Sa 17:46 (ERV) Today the LORD will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel. 1Sa 17:47 All the people gathered here will know that the LORD doesn't need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the LORD, and he will help us defeat all of you." How do we apply the same faith today? By repeating to ourselves what David said: The battle belongs to the Lord, and He will help us defeat all our giants that make us slaves. These giants are our biggest problems, our most debilitating addictions, our worst habits in life. After David s victory over the giant Philistine, Saul had him as his servant full time. David became best friends with Jonathan, Saul s son. 1Sa 18:2 (CEV) From that time on, Saul kept David in his service and would not let David go back to his own family. 1Sa 18:3 Jonathan liked David so much that they promised to always be loyal friends. 1Sa 18:4 Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David. He also gave him his military clothes, his sword, his bow and arrows, and his belt. 1Sa 18:5 David was a success in everything that Saul sent him to do, and Saul made him a high officer in his army. That pleased everyone, including Saul's other officers. Kids, it is a real blessing when God gives us friends who love us more than a brother. Pro 18:24 (ESV) A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. It is not about having the most friends, it is about having the right friends. True friends are able to celebrate with you with your successes without getting jealous. True friends are always there encourage you when you re feeling down. True friends are those who can forgive you when you did something wrong to them.
Unlike Jonathan, his dad Saul became jealous of David when the Lord continued to bless David in everything that he do. 1Sa 18:6 (ERV) David would go out to fight against the Philistines. On the way home, after the battles, women in every town in Israel would come out to meet him. They sang and danced for joy as they played their tambourines and lyres. They did this right in front of Saul! 1Sa 18:7 The women sang, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands." 1Sa 18:7 The women sang, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands." 1Sa 18:8 This song upset Saul and he became very angry. Saul thought, "The women give David credit for killing tens of thousands of the enemy, and they give me credit for only thousands. A little more of this and they will give him the kingdom itself!" 1Sa 18:9 So from that time on, Saul watched David very closely. What kind of friends do you have? What kind of friend are you? Do you get jealous when your friends receive something that you don t have, or are you genuinely happy for them? Throughout the stories in the Bible, you will remember the stories where the bad guy became jealous of God s chosen person. You will remember of Cain who was so jealous of his brother Abel that he killed his brother. Joseph s brothers were jealous of him because their father Jacob loved him very much, and so they sold him to become a slave in Egypt. Our Lord s enemies were jealous of Him so they plotted to kill Him, persecuted Him for a long time until they finally crucified Him. 1Sa 18:10 (ERV) The next day, an evil spirit from God took control of Saul and he went wild in his house. David played the harp to calm him as he usually did, 1Sa 18:11 but Saul had a spear in his hand. He thought, "I'll pin David to the wall." Saul threw the spear twice, but David jumped out of the way both times. What a raw deal for David, huh? He was there to serve and comfort Saul, and what does he get in return? Two attempts to take his life! The servants of God should not expect a different treatment from the enemies of God. They will mistreat us, and we will be tempted to fight back. But that is not the example our Lord has set for us. The Lord didn t fight back, He turned the other cheek. Then He asked His Father to forgive them, to forgive all of us. 1Sa 18:12 (CEV) Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was helping David and was no longer helping him.
1Sa 18:13 Saul put David in charge of a thousand soldiers and sent him out to fight. 1Sa 18:14 The LORD helped David, and he and his soldiers always won their battles. 1Sa 18:15 This made Saul even more afraid of David. 1Sa 18:16 But everyone else in Judah and Israel was loyal to David, because he led the army in battle. If the Lord is with us, who can be against us? We must face our enemies within with the same confidence as David has when facing Israel s enemies. 1Sa 18:17 (CEV) One day, Saul told David, "If you'll be brave and fight the LORD's battles for me, I'll let you marry my oldest daughter Merab." But Saul was really thinking, "I don't want to kill David myself, so I'll let the Philistines do it for me." 1Sa 18:18 David answered, "How could I possibly marry your daughter? I'm not very important, and neither is my family." 1Sa 18:19 But when the time came for David to marry Saul's daughter Merab, Saul told her to marry Adriel from the town of Meholah. Remember Jacob? He was promised by Laban that he could marry Rachel, so Jacob served Laban for seven years. But Laban cheated Jacob, he gave Jacob Leah instead. But Jacob didn t take revenge, he served Laban another seven years for Rachel. 1Sa 18:20 (CEV) Saul had another daughter. Her name was Michal, and Saul found out that she was in love with David. This made Saul happy, 1Sa 18:21 and he thought, "I'll tell David he can marry Michal, but I'll set it up so that the Philistines will kill him." He told David, "I'm going to give you a second chance to marry one of my daughters." 1Sa 18:22-23 Saul ordered his officials to speak to David in private, so they went to David and said, "Look, the king likes you, and all of his officials are loyal to you. Why not ask the king if you can marry his daughter Michal?" "I'm not rich or famous enough to marry princess Michal!" David answered. 1Sa 18:24 The officials went back to Saul and told him exactly what David had said. 1Sa 18:25 Saul was hoping that the Philistines would kill David, and he told his officials to tell David, "The king doesn't want any silver or gold. He only
wants to get even with his enemies. All you have to do is to bring back proof that you have killed a hundred Philistines!" 1Sa 18:26 The officials told David, and David wanted to marry the princess. King Saul had set a time limit, and before it ran out, 1Sa 18:27 David and his men left and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought back the proof and showed it to Saul, so he could marry Michal. Saul agreed to let David marry Michal. 1Sa 18:28 Saul knew that she loved David, and he also realized that the LORD was helping David. 1Sa 18:29 But knowing those things made Saul even more afraid of David, and he was David's enemy for the rest of his life. Saul finally got the message, he will not succeed against someone whom the Lord is helping. 1Sa 18:30 (CEV) The Philistine rulers kept coming to fight Israel, but whenever David fought them, he won. He was famous because he won more battles against the Philistines than any of Saul's other officers. Our enemy, the devil and the evil angels under his command are relentless. That s why we are told to be vigilant, to be always ready in facing his many lies. Saul continued his attempts to take David s life. 1Sa 19:1 (CEV) One day, Saul told his son Jonathan and his officers to kill David. But Jonathan liked David a lot, 1Sa 19:2 3 and he warned David, "My father is trying to have you killed, so be very careful. Hide in a field tomorrow morning, and I'll bring him there. Then I'll talk to him about you, and if I find out anything, I'll let you know." 1Sa 19:4 5 The next morning, Jonathan reminded Saul about the many good things David had done for him. Then he said, "Why do you want to kill David? He hasn't done anything to you. He has served in your army and has always done what's best for you. He even risked his life to kill Goliath. The LORD helped Israel win a great victory that day, and it made you happy." Saul must have felt guilty, so he swore not to have David killed. David continued to serve in Saul s army. 1Sa 19:9 10 (CEV) One night, David was in Saul's home, playing the harp for him. Saul was sitting there, holding a spear, when an evil spirit from the
LORD took control of him. Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but David dodged, and it stuck in the wall. David ran out of the house and escaped. This is incredible, not many among us would return in serving Saul after his first attempt to take our life. This story is not to encourage us to let someone continue to abuse us all our life. There should come a point that we must leave a relationship if it s clear that the other person hates us. 1Sa 19:11 (CEV) Saul sent guards to watch David's house all night and then to kill him in the morning. Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you don't escape tonight, they'll kill you tomorrow!" 1Sa 19:12 She helped David go through a window and climb down to the ground. As David ran off, 1Sa 19:13 Michal put a statue in his bed. She put goat hair on its head and dressed it in some of David's clothes. 1Sa 19:14 The next morning, Saul sent guards to arrest David. But Michal told them, "David is sick." 1Sa 19:15 Saul sent the guards back and told them, "Get David out of his bed and bring him to me, so I can have him killed." 1Sa 19:16 When the guards went in, all they found in the bed was the statue with the goat hair on its head. 1Sa 19:17 "Why have you tricked me this way?" Saul asked Michal. "You helped my enemy get away!" She answered, "He said he would kill me if I didn't help him escape!" It must have been a sad day for Saul to discover that both his son Jonathan and his daughter Michal forsook him to save David. This is one of the biggest trials that the servants of God are faced in their life. Are they willing to leave their family and friends and take side with those who truly serve God? 1Sa 19:18 (ESV) Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. 1Sa 19:19 And it was told Saul, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 1Sa 19:20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
1Sa 19:21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 1Sa 19:22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah. 1Sa 19:23 And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 1Sa 19:24 And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, Is Saul also among the prophets? This scene is a symbol of God s plan for all mankind. Nakedness is a symbol of our sinfulness. When God sends His spirit to our enemies, they too will admit of their sins. They too will prophesy among us. They will also bring glory and honor to God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Rev 5:13 (ESV) And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! Rev 5:14 And the four living creatures said, Amen! and the elders fell down and worshiped.