When David came back to Saul with the head of the Philistine Goliath, Saul wanted to talk to David and learn more about his family and his father. When they had finished talking, David met Jonathan. With their first meeting, they had an instant bond and became the closest of friends. From that time on, Saul kept David by his side all of the time and would not permit him to go home. David was a dutiful servant to the king and the more Saul gave him to do, the more David succeeded. Saul made him commander over the entire army, which was welcomed by the officers and the people. Upon return from the battle where he killed Goliath, all of the women welcomed home Saul and the army with singing and shouts of victory. They sang:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”
Saul was very angry with their cheer and he became very jealous of David. The next day Saul became troubled by an evil spirit and David was called to calm the King. While playing his harp, the king grabbed a spear and threw it at David and almost killed him; he escaped him twice. Then Saul sent him away to be commander over 1,000 troops. The LORD was with David and everything that he did prospered. This made Saul even more jealous and angry. At this point Saul wanted David dead. He sent him on dangerous missions with the hope that he would be killed.
Saul owed David his daughter in marriage as reward for killing Goliath. One day he told David that he was ready to give his daughter to him in marriage; but he demands that David must go back into battle before he will consider him worthy. Saul only did this with the hope that David would die in battle.
1 Samuel 18:17 NLT One day Saul said to David, “I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I’ll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself.”
When David didn’t believe that he was worthy to become the king’s son-in-law, Saul gave his oldest daughter to another man; but Saul’s younger daughter Michal, had actually fallen in love with him. Saul looked at this as another chance to kill David; he asks David to bring him the foreskins of 100 Philistines. Surely David would die in the attempt to fulfill this requirement of the king. David delighted in Saul’s daughter so much, that he brought the king 200, foreskins; and Saul gave his daughter to David. Everything that David was given to do, he excelled in! This continued to trouble Saul and he again tried to kill him with a spear; when he failed, he sent messengers to his house to kill him; but the LORD was with David and his wife warned him and he fled.
1 Samuel 19:9-11 ESV Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. (10) And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. (11) Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."
Jonathan couldn’t believe David’s claims about Saul seeking his life; so Jonathan set up a plan to find the truth. When David didn’t show up for a celebration dinner, Jonathan presses the issue of David’s absence with his father and Saul boiled with rage! He even threw a spear at his son and demanded that David be brought before him so that he could kill him. Then Jonathan realized that David’s claims were true and Jonathan set out to protect David.
1 Samuel 20:30-33 ESV Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? (31) For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die." (32) Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" (33) But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death.
With the help of Jonathan, David was able to escape from Saul. He fled to the town of Nob to see the priest there named Ahimelech. David and his men were hungry; but all Ahimelech had there, was the Holy Bread of Presence; so he gave David and his men the holy bread.
1 Samuel 21:4-6 NLT “We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently.”(5) “Don’t worry,” David replied. “I never allow my men to be with women when they are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!” (6) Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.
Then David asked the priest if he had a spear or a sword there that he could have; but all he had was the sword of Goliath, the giant. So he took the sword of Goliath and left to try to appeal to King Achish of Gath, for help. The king’s officers were troubled by David being there. They knew David’s reputation of being a man of war. In order to escape, David acted crazy so that they would leave him alone.
1 Samuel 21:9-14 NLT “I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.”
“There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!”
(10) So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. (11) But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. “Isn’t this David, the king of the land?” they asked. “Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing,
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”
(12) David heard these comments and was very afraid of what King Achish of Gath might do to him. (13) So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. (14) Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? (15) We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?”
David left Gath and soon was joined by his brothers and others who were loyal to him and he mustered a small army of about 400 men. He then made an arrangement with the King of Moab to give his parents protection from Saul and so his parents stayed in Moab while David was in exile. Later, Saul found out that the priest Ahimelech had helped David; his servant Doeg had been there to see David and his men receive the Holy Bread of Presence and Ahimelech give David the sword of Goliath. Saul then ordered Ahimelech and his priests to be brought to him. He ordered them all put to death, but his men refused. Then he ordered Doeg to kill them and he killed 85 priests in their priestly garments and went to their town and killed all of their wives, relatives, children and all of their livestock.
1 Samuel 22:16-20 ESV “You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!” the king shouted. (17) And he ordered his bodyguards, “Kill these priests of the Lord, for they are allies and conspirators with David! They knew he was running away from me, but they didn’t tell me!” But Saul’s men refused to kill the Lord’s priests.
(18) Then the king said to Doeg, “You do it.” So Doeg the Edomite turned on them and killed them that day, eighty-five priests in all, still wearing their priestly garments. (19) Then he went to Nob, the town of the priests, and killed the priests’ families—men and women, children and babies—and all the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. (2)0 Only Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, escaped and fled to David.
It seemed as if evil was winning out and that Saul’s wickedness was going to triumph; but these things were allowed for David to grow in character and prove his faithfulness to the LORD.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you know the end from the beginning. When I am in the middle of a trial, I can’t see how you are going to bring about a blessing. Help me to have faith in your mercy and love while in the middle of my trials, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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